"I think the other party must have used some kind of spatial magic, but the question is, why would he avoid Sura?"
Mavis sat with her chin resting on her hand, contemplating the mysterious person in the story.
As the Vice Guildmaster of Fairy Tail, she felt a responsibility to protect the guild's companions and an obligation to maintain the order and stability of the town.
With such a wizard of unknown strength and erratic behavior appearing in town, she couldn't help but become vigilant.
Fortunately, since the other party hadn't taken any out-of-line actions, it suggested he was "safe" to a certain extent.
"Don't overthink it!"
Weston patted Mavis's little head and comforted her softly: "Perhaps it's just a 'shut-in' type who isn't good with words and dislikes socializing, who just happened to pass through Magnolia. You don't need to worry too much for someone like that."
"If you're still worried, I'll just walk around the streets more often over the next few days."
"With me watching, even if someone with ill intentions truly arrives, they won't be able to stir up any trouble!"
Mavis felt a warmth in her heart and stopped dwelling on the matter: "That... alright then."
Weston nodded and withdrew his gaze. On the surface, he continued eating, but his mind was actually a sea of turbulent waves.
According to Sura's description, the person she met...
It really must be Zeref!
Weston remembered that in the original timeline around X690, Zeref did indeed come near Magnolia once. That was the time he met Mavis again and discovered she bore the same Curse of Ankhseram as himself, which led to everything that followed.
But now, Zeref has no intersection with the people of Fairy Tail, and Mavis isn't cursed. It's unlikely for their lives to become entangled again, so the various heartbreaking events of the future are destined not to happen.
However, since Zeref appeared near Magnolia, it was still necessary for him to do something as a precaution.
What should I do...
Just then, a burst of whispering came from not far away.
"Honest confession time, what exactly happened between you two?!"
"Noth... nothing happened..."
"Don't give me that! My intuition is never wrong! You two have been acting weird since yesterday!"
It was Rita and Zera whispering!
Weston usually had no interest in secrets between girls; after all, most of what they discussed involved clothes, hairstyles, jewelry, and the like.
But this time, their topic was clearly not about those things.
If it were those items, they could have spoken quite openly. But now, not only were the two whispering behind everyone's backs, but Rita's face was flushed with a blush and her expression was bashful. Weston didn't believe for a second that they were discussing a new dress from the clothing store.
Thus, he quietly shifted his body closer and pricked up his ears to listen.
"So you've already found out. Then... then I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone else, okay..."
"I promise! Hurry, tell me, tell me!"
Zera's face was beet red, looking like she was eating "gossip" with a mix of shock and excitement, curiosity and nerves.
Rita had no choice but to lean into Zera's ear and whisper something in a low voice.
Instantly, Zera's entire head turned red from her neck to her scalp, like a rising thermometer.
"Is... Is it true?! You... you two... actually did... that kind of thing?!"
"It's... it's true!"
"When exactly did it happen?"
"It was the day before yesterday. We had a couple of drinks during our date, and in the heat of the moment, we just..."
Rita used her two index fingers to constantly twirl the hem of her clothes, half-shyly and half-seriously instructing: "You must remember to keep the secret for us. We plan to give everyone a surprise later!"
"Don't worry, we're best friends! I'll definitely keep the secret!!"
You don't look like someone who can keep a secret at all, hey!!!
Weston took their conversation in, his eyes also revealing a hint of gossip.
In all of Magnolia, the only person Rita could go on a date with was Yuri!
The day before yesterday, a date, drinking, heat of the moment?
If he remembered correctly, the day before yesterday happened to be the third anniversary of Yuri and Rita's meeting, and also the first anniversary of them officially dating!
The reason Weston knew this was because the day before the date, Yuri had specifically sought out him, Precht, and Warrod to talk about it. He had even consulted them on gifts for Rita. Then, on their one-year dating anniversary, Yuri and Rita went out on a date for the entire day!
Speaking of which, since yesterday, Yuri had seemed completely refreshed. That rakish smile on the corner of his mouth couldn't even be suppressed by Gravity Magic, looking as if he'd struck a gold mine. When everyone asked what good thing happened, he just smiled, shook his head, and said nothing.
Looking at Rita's behavior now, could it be that those two have already...
A bold guess popped into Weston's mind.
The next day.
Weston summoned Precht and Warrod, cornering Yuri in a nook on the second floor of the guild.
"I say, Yuri, you seem pretty pleased with yourself lately, don't you kid?"
Wait!
This isn't a Japanese school bullying scene; saying that doesn't quite fit the mood, does it?
But never mind.
Cornered by three large men, even if they were his best friends, Yuri couldn't help but break into a cold sweat: "Wait... wait... you three suddenly called me here and blocked me in for no reason. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Weston gave a cold snort: "Stop talking nonsense!"
"We've been watching you for three days!"
"These past few days, you've looked totally distracted, grinning like an idiot whenever you look at Rita. You've neglected your magic practice and haven't been proactive with work. More importantly, last night I saw you running to Rita's house in the middle of the night!"
"If you don't come clean today, we aren't letting you leave!"
A good brother and his girlfriend's romantic life progressing was supposed to be something worth being happy about, but being so secretive and hiding it from the brothers was just not right!
To make the guild and Magnolia more lively, Weston chose to "extract a confession" from Yuri.
"No way?!"
Yuri's eyes widened, looking at Weston in shock: "Are you a pervert? Why are you watching me all day when you're bored?!"
Weston was momentarily speechless: "Uh... I'm the one asking the questions here!"
Warrod and Precht also looked at Yuri with faces full of anticipation.
"Is it true, Yuri? You and Rita have already..."
"Even though this is between the two of you and it's not great for us to interrogate you like this, it really makes one curious..."
"If you know it's not great, then you shouldn't be asking!"
Realizing his little secret had been exposed, Yuri's face instantly reddened. He sighed and complained: "I originally planned to wait a couple more days to announce this and give you all a big surprise! Now... sigh!"
"You've guessed correctly. Rita and I... plan to get married next month!"