For some reason, Weston suddenly remembered a joke he had heard in his previous life.
The story went that there was a child who was exceptionally well-behaved and obedient. The parents and adults all praised his steady personality, but it wasn't until he went to the hospital that he was diagnosed with mild autism.
While little Zeref wasn't autistic, his intellectual deficiency seemed to be an even bigger problem!
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious!"
Yuri's expression was solemn: "Uncle Mard Geer and Madam Kyôka told me this personally. They said the doctors identified that his brain is underdeveloped and his intelligence is growing slowly."
"Even though he's already eight years old, his brain has only developed to the standard of a six-year-old."
"During these past few days when I was teaching him combat techniques, I vaguely felt it too."
"Although he can take care of himself in daily life, and he can understand when others talk to him or ask him to do things, his reaction is always a beat slow."
"They say that as he grows older, this phenomenon will become even more obvious!"
Weston fell silent instantly.
The Zeref of this world has an intellectual deficiency?
Thinking about it carefully, such a thing wasn't impossible!
After all, the Zeref of Ishgar was a super-genius who could design the 'R-System' and the 'Eclipse Gate'!
If those traits were reversed, wouldn't that result in an 'idiot' or a 'moron'?!
At this thought, Weston couldn't help but ask: "Do they know the cause of the condition?"
Yuri nodded and said: "I heard Mr. Ezel say that it's because Uncle Mard Geer and Madam Kyôka are married cousins..."
The Mard Geer and Kyôka of Ishgar were both 'Etherious' created by Zeref.
Since both shared the same origin, in a certain sense, they could indeed be considered close relatives. It wasn't a surprise that they were relatives in this world as well, and having a child with intellectual deficiencies due to consanguineous marriage fit biological theories perfectly!
Reasonable!
Too reasonable!
Mentioning little Zeref's 'imperfection,' Yuri couldn't help but feel a deep sense of pity.
"Weston, your strengths lie in magic and knowledge."
"But the people of this world have no magic power in their bodies and are naturally unable to learn magic. Little Zeref's brain is underdeveloped, his intelligence is flawed, and his comprehension skills are poor. So even if you were willing to teach him, he most likely wouldn't be able to learn your stuff."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but feel a sliver of sympathy for little Zeref. Even Weston sighed incessantly, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"Since you're teaching him fighting techniques, I'll teach him how to use weapons."
"Then... then I'll teach him how to raise flowers and plant trees to cultivate his character. Perhaps it might help his condition."
Precht and Warrod spoke up one after another.
The two had known Yuri for a long time. Since little Zeref was Yuri's apprentice, they naturally had to show some support as well.
Weston, Mavis, and Zera did not follow suit.
After all, the things they could pass on to little Zeref were pitifully few.
After learning about Yuri's experiences during this period, the group recounted what had happened in Magnolia since his departure, mainly focusing on Rita's recent situation.
Regarding the missed date, Yuri felt extremely apologetic toward Rita in his heart.
Fortunately, Rita understood that this 'Transfer Incident' was an act of God and not Yuri's fault, so she did not blame him.
"Everyone, could you let me stay in this world for a few more days?"
"I'm only halfway through teaching Zeref fighting techniques, and I also want to help the Fairy Tail here establish a firm foothold to help the people living in the West District of Sika town..."
The Mard Geer family had taken Yuri in and helped him reunite with Weston and the others; their many kindnesses were too numerous to detail.
Therefore, he felt he had to fully repay the favor before he could leave in peace.
"That's certainly no problem!"
Weston agreed readily, "We happen to have a few things to do as well."
"Anyway, we've already found you. We can go back whenever we want, so everyone can just finish up their business and leave together!"
Currently, there were three things the group needed to do:
Teach little Zeref combat skills.
Help the Fairy Tail of the alternate world gain a firm foothold in Sika town so it could help the people in the West District.
Investigate the cause of the 'Transfer Incident' to prevent more similar situations from occurring.
The first two tasks only required them to stay in Sika town. Additionally, since this new Fairy Tail had plenty of manpower, they didn't need to put in too much effort.
After some discussion, the group decided to stay for a few days.
During this time, Yuri, Precht, and Warrod would complete their special training for little Zeref.
Once things were settled here in a few days, they would investigate the transfer incident together.
In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.
The 'Founders of Fairy Tail' from the two worlds officially met.
"You're the Master Yuri mentioned? You're so young!"
"Master Mard Geer, your name is the one that truly rings a bell for me!"
Is my name that famous?
Mard Geer was puzzled for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and introduced his companions behind him to Weston's group one by one—
The Mard Geer of this world was a very warm-hearted and good person;
His wife, Kyôka, was also a gentle and kind mother;
Miss Seilah, who excelled at oil painting, was Madam Kyôka's best friend. Her personality was the opposite of the 'Demon Seilah'—she was very passionate, outgoing, and full of energy;
Ezel from 'Tartaros' was a demon who used 'Tenga Goken,' but in this world, he had 'abandoned the sword for the pen' and become a traveling poet. It was said his poetry was deeply loved by young people;
'Jackal' had become 'Foxy,' a puppy-dog type popular idol adored by wives and young ladies;
The cold-natured 'Tempester' had become 'Sunny,' a social butterfly and the boy-next-door type.
Even though they had already heard about the personalities of Mard Geer and Kyôka from Yuri and guessed that the counterparts of the other demons would surely have undergone significant changes, seeing it with their own eyes still gave Weston an irresistible sense of 'contrast' comedy.
After the introductions, Mard Geer sincerely expressed his apologies to Weston.
"Master Weston, I am truly sorry for using your guild's name without permission..."
Weston quickly waved his hand to stop him: "Master Mard Geer, there's no need for that."
"I've already heard the whole story from Yuri."
"Rather than saying you used our guild's name without permission, it's more like Yuri took over your guild's name, so I should be the one apologizing."
"In addition, I want to say thank you."
"During this time, Yuri has been in your care."