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"So that's the whole story, Guild Master. What do you think?"
On the fourth floor of the guild hall, after Noah recounted everything that happened at Cait Shelter to Erza and Makarov, Makarov's eye twitched.
What could he think? He could only sit there and process it all.
Natsu and Gajeel, those two time travelers, were already handful enough. Who would've thought Noah and Mystogan would go out and bring back yet another Dragon Slayer from four hundred years ago?
At least Wendy was still young and well-behaved—completely different from those other two troublemakers. That made Makarov breathe a sigh of relief.
The Guild's three Dragon Slayers were all problem children, each worse than the last. Now that a sweet little girl had arrived, they absolutely couldn't let her turn out like them.
As for the Guild Master of Cait Shelter being a Thought Projection of a great Mage from over four hundred years ago... A Thought Projection that had existed for several centuries was mind-blowing.
Thinking about it, Makarov took a long swig of liquor to calm his nerves.
"Noah, where's Wendy staying? If you haven't figured it out yet, she can stay with me," Erza volunteered confidently.
She'd never raised kids before, but if she just followed how Mira used to take care of her younger siblings, it should work out fine.
Noah shook his head at her kind offer. "My brother already sorted it out. My aunt... Porlyusica agreed to take care of Wendy."
Now that was strange. Porlyusica hated people disturbing her. Normally, she'd never agree to look after a child. But after Mystogan brought Wendy to see her, Porlyusica actually agreed to move into the city temporarily to watch over her.
Sure, Wendy was adorable and easy to like, but not to the point where Porlyusica would abandon her reclusive lifestyle. Noah figured there had to be some hidden reason behind this.
But since Porlyusica didn't bring it up, Noah didn't dare ask.
After all, when that old lady got angry, even thick-skinned Makarov couldn't handle it, let alone a young guy like him.
Clearing his throat several times, Makarov returned to the main topic with a serious expression.
"About the New Oración Seis—keep it quiet for now. Don't tell anyone else."
"The Black Magic Cult's probably even more powerful than we imagined. I'll have Mest use the Magic Council's channels to dig up more intel on this."
"And finally, Tenrou Island..."
Makarov paused. "Tenrou Island isn't somewhere just anyone can waltz into. The First Guild Master set up powerful barrier Magic there, and the Second Guild Master made it even stronger."
"There's maybe five Mages on the whole Ishgar continent who could break through Tenrou Island's protective barrier. So don't worry about it."
Seeing how confident Makarov was, Noah and Erza didn't push further. After chatting a bit longer, they left.
Only Makarov remained on the fourth floor, but he didn't leave this quiet space like usual. There was still one problem weighing heavily on his mind.
Whether it was the former Oración Seis, the hidden Black Magic Cult, or the restless Grimoire Heart... none of their threats compared to this one issue.
The Dark Mage Zeref!
This infamous figure hadn't just survived through the centuries—he was still alive today, and somehow connected to Tenrou Island!
Even Makarov, who'd been Guild Master for over fifty years, couldn't understand what his Guild's sacred ground could possibly have that would attract the father of Dark Magic himself.
Could it be the Tenrou Jade?
But that thing got damaged before Fairy Tail was even founded, after the big fight between the original four members and Blue Skull. It lost most of its power and still hadn't been fixed.
Sure, the Tenrou Jade was an incredibly powerful Magical Tool that could give life to inanimate objects, but would that really catch Zeref's eye? After all, the guy created "Books of Zeref"—Magic that literally evolved into living beings.
Besides the Tenrou Jade, the only other valuable thing on Tenrou Island was the Sirius Tree. The First and Second Guild Masters carved enchantment Magic onto it that could boost Fairy Tail members' abilities on the island.
That'd be even less likely to interest the Dark Mage.
So why the hell would he go to Tenrou Island?
It couldn't be for First Guild Master Mavis's tomb, could it?
Unable to figure it out, Makarov sighed and muttered to himself, "Guess there's no choice. I'll have to go ask him in person."
His gaze drifted to the group photo of the four founders hanging on the wall, settling on the tallest, most robust man among them.
Warrod Sequen—the only one of Fairy Tail's four founders who was confirmed to still be alive.
Just thinking about visiting that elder made Makarov's eyes fill with resignation.
I should ask Porlyusica for some blood pressure meds before I go...
Unaware that Makarov was up there sighing to himself, Noah and Erza chatted and laughed as they headed downstairs to the first floor, where they found Wendy staring at Lucy with sparkling, admiring eyes.
After just two days in the Guild, Wendy had clearly settled right in. Fairy Tail's unique warmth had even melted Carla's tsundere attitude—the white cat wasn't nearly as standoffish anymore.
"Lucy's really come far," Erza said approvingly. With seven Gold Celestial Spirit Keys in her possession, Lucy could honestly be called the most promising Celestial Spirit Mage in a century.
As long as she kept building up her Magic Power and learned to open multiple Celestial Spirit Gates at once, the title of strongest Celestial Spirit Mage would be hers someday.
Watching Lucy pull off a "Dual Gate," Erza nodded in approval. Compared to the Lucy who used to practice Magic in secret at home, her progress since joining the Guild a few months ago had been incredible.
A Celestial Spirit Mage who knew martial arts and was learning Armament Haki, teaming up with her Celestial Spirit companions to overwhelm opponents—yeah, that sounded pretty damn effective.
"Answer my call—Dual Gate!"
"Open, Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"
"Open, Gate of the Ram! Aries!"
Summoning two Celestial Spirit companions at once took a lot out of Lucy, who was only sixteen. She wouldn't have even tried it if Natsu and Happy hadn't gotten her all pumped up earlier.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Lucy felt the exhaustion fade as Wendy gazed at her with those adoring eyes and her guildmates cheered her on.
Gemini was a pair of ugly-cute little blue Celestial Spirits. They weren't scared of the unfamiliar surroundings at all and even waved back at everyone cheering.
Aries, though, was a different story—a pink-haired beauty with horns, wearing a fluffy pink wool dress, who looked painfully shy and timid.
After being abused by her previous owner, Aries's already gentle personality had turned fearful. She'd even picked up the habit of constantly apologizing.
Lucy had learned about Aries's past from her other Celestial Spirit companions. She'd summoned her here in the Guild hoping the lively atmosphere would help Aries work through her trauma.
But it didn't seem to be working... Lucy watched the timid Spirit with concern. Maybe she should find Aries a therapist? Wait—could human therapists even help Celestial Spirits?
Just as Lucy was mulling this over, Aries noticed something and actually started walking on her own toward a corner of the Guild hall.