Chapter 13
Elior POV
We reached Kardia Cathedral at around 6:50 in the evening.
The others were already waiting for us.
"There you are!"
Irene immediately walked toward us.
"Did you two have fun?"
Erza nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! Fairy Tail is amazing!"
I smiled.
"She made quite a few friends too."
"That's good."
Irene gently patted Erza's head.
"Then let's have dinner."
We decided to celebrate our first day in Fairy Tail by having dinner at one of the more famous restaurants in Magnolia.
The food was excellent, but the conversation was even better.
We spent most of the meal talking about what had happened throughout the day.
Erza excitedly told everyone about the guild members she had met, while I talked about my conversation with Laxus.
Nina and Yuna were especially interested in hearing about the guild.
"So, how was it?" Yuna asked.
"Chaotic."
"That's it?"
"Extremely chaotic."
Everyone laughed.
Irene simply shook her head.
"I still don't understand how that place functions."
"It functions because Gramps is there."
"That may be the only reason."
Eventually, our conversation moved toward our new home.
Apparently, Irene and the others had already taken care of the arrangements while Erza and I were at the guild.
"You bought a house already?"
I asked.
"Yes."
Irene answered casually.
"We had it prepared before coming here."
That was fast.
"What kind of house?"
"You'll see."
After dinner, we made our way through the streets of Magnolia toward the outskirts of the city.
We eventually reached a quieter area not too far from the eastern forest.
There were very few houses nearby.
In fact, ours was practically isolated from the others.
I looked at the building in front of us.
It was a beautiful two-story villa with a spacious yard surrounding it.
The exterior had a warm, traditional design, while the interior had clearly been renovated and furnished recently.
"Whoa…"
Erza stared at it with sparkling eyes.
"This is our house?"
Irene smiled.
"Yes."
We entered.
The inside was even better.
There was a spacious living room, a large kitchen, several bedrooms, bathrooms, storage rooms, and enough space for everyone to live comfortably without constantly getting in each other's way.
Everything was spotless.
"Nina and Yuna cleaned everything before we arrived," Irene explained.
I nodded.
"They did a great job."
Erza immediately grabbed my hand.
"Come on, Brother! Let's see our rooms!"
And so began our exploration.
We checked practically every room in the house.
Erza was especially excited about the bedrooms.
"This one is mine!"
She pointed at one.
"Wait, how do you know?"
"Because I like it!"
I laughed.
"Fair enough."
Eventually, we had seen almost everything.
The house even had a backyard large enough for training.
I could already imagine spending plenty of time there.
After all the excitement of the day, everyone eventually decided to call it a night.
It had been a long day.
I crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling.
Fairy Tail.
Our new home.
My first friend.
Everything had changed so quickly.
Yet somehow, it felt right.
I closed my eyes.
Tomorrow is another day.
And with that thought, I fell asleep.
The Next Morning
The sun had barely risen when I woke up.
Today was going to be different.
Erza was beginning her training with Irene.
I had been looking forward to seeing how she would develop, but I also had something else in mind.
My first missions.
After breakfast, I left the house and headed toward Fairy Tail.
By the time I arrived, the guild was still relatively quiet.
I walked toward the mission board.
There were dozens of requests pinned across it.
I skimmed through them carefully.
C-rank…
C-rank…
B-rank…
B-rank…
My eyes stopped on three particular requests.
The first involved obtaining a specific magical material from a forest.
The second required collecting another rare material from a dangerous area.
The third was a bandit-subjugation request.
All three were B-rank.
These should be interesting.
I took the three sheets from the board and headed toward the bar.
Gramps was sitting on one of the stools, looking over some paperwork.
When he saw the three mission sheets in my hand, his eyebrows rose.
"El."
"Hmm?"
"Are you sure you want to take all three?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
He looked at me for several seconds.
"You understand that these are B-rank missions, right?"
"I do."
"And you're seven."
"I know that too."
He sighed.
"I figured you'd say that."
He took the mission sheets from me and read through them carefully.
His expression changed slightly when he reached the third one.
"Bandit subjugation…"
He frowned.
After a few moments, he put the papers down.
"Follow me."
"Where?"
"The training ground."
I followed him toward the back of the guild.
A few minutes later, we reached a large open area used for training.
I noticed someone standing at a distance.
It was Laxus.
He was pretending to train while very obviously watching us.
I smiled slightly.
He thinks nobody noticed him.
Gramps walked several meters away from me before turning around.
"El, I know you're strong."
His expression became serious.
"But I still have to make sure you're capable enough to handle these missions."
"I understand."
"Good."
He raised one hand.
"Then strike me with your strongest blow."
I didn't argue.
I simply took a stance.
My hands shifted into a sword-holding position.
Light began gathering between them.
A moment later, a sword made entirely from condensed light materialized in my hands.
The blade shimmered softly.
I took a deep breath.
I wasn't going to argue with him.
He's a Wizard Saint.
Thinking I could casually injure someone of his level would be pure arrogance.
I lowered my body.
Then—
Light enveloped me.
My physical form transformed into light.
To someone watching from the outside, it looked as though I had simply vanished.
Even Laxus's eyes widened.
"Whoa…"
I reappeared directly in front of Gramps.
My sword was already swinging.
I poured more magic into the blade and put my entire strength behind the attack.
"HYAA!"
Swoosh!
The sword cut through the air.
Gramps didn't move.
At the last moment, he casually raised his right arm.
Magic coated his hand.
KRIING!
My sword struck his palm.
The impact sent a shock through my entire body.
What?!
It felt like I had just struck a mountain.
I pushed harder.
Nothing.
Gramps didn't even flinch.
His expression barely changed.
I finally pulled back and landed several steps away.
He looked at his hand.
Then at me.
"Oh…"
A grin appeared on his face.
"You're quite strong for your age."
I smiled awkwardly.
"Thanks."
He examined the mission sheets again.
"Fine. You can take them."
I nodded.
Then his expression became serious.
"But, El."
"Hmm?"
"Don't let your guard down."
His tone carried none of the joking attitude from earlier.
"Anything can happen out there. Even a simple mission can turn dangerous if you aren't careful."
He tapped the third mission sheet.
"Especially this one."
His eyes narrowed.
"I have a fishy feeling about it."
I glanced at the paper.
The bandit mission didn't look particularly unusual.
Still, Gramps had spent decades as a wizard.
If his instincts were warning him about something, I wasn't going to ignore it.
"I understand."
"Good."
He relaxed slightly.
"When are you leaving?"
"Around an hour or so."
He nodded.
"Alright. Good luck, kid."
"Thanks, Gramps."
I smiled.
"See you later."
"Take care."
I left the training ground and headed back home.
When I arrived, everyone was busy.
Erza was in the backyard, warming up under Irene's supervision.
Nina and Yuna were occupied with the house.
Heine was nearby.
Juliet was doing something that looked suspiciously like playing rather than working.
I decided not to interrupt anyone.
I simply went to Irene.
"I'm heading out on three B-rank missions."
I handed her the details.
She read through them carefully.
Her expression remained calm, but I could tell she was taking the matter seriously.
"Makarov approved these?"
"After testing me."
"Good."
She handed the papers back.
"Be careful. Don't underestimate your opponents simply because you are stronger than them."
"I won't."
"Keep your magical perception active whenever you're in an unfamiliar environment."
I nodded.
"Don't waste magic unnecessarily, especially during the material-gathering missions."
"I know."
"And if the situation becomes dangerous…"
"I retreat."
"Exactly."
She smiled slightly.
"Good."
I was about to leave when Irene stopped me.
"One more thing."
She reached into her pocket and tossed something toward me.
I caught it.
A ring.
"What is this?"
"A storage ring."
I looked at it curiously.
"It's enchanted with spatial magic. The interior space is considerably larger than its exterior appearance suggests."
"Seriously?"
I put it on.
I could immediately sense the spatial enchantment inside.
This is convenient.
"I prepared it specifically for you."
I opened the storage space.
Then I froze.
"What the…"
Inside was practically an entire supply store.
Food.
Water.
Clothing.
Medical supplies.
Camping equipment.
Tools.
Potions.
Spare equipment.
And an absolutely ridiculous amount of gold coins.
I stared at Irene.
"Why is there so much stuff in here?"
"Because you may need it."
"Why is there a nail cutter?"
She looked at me as though the answer was obvious.
"Because you may need it."
I stared at the nail cutter.
Then at her.
Then back at the nail cutter.
Of course.
Irene Belserion had apparently prepared for every possible scenario.
"Thanks, Mom."
She smiled.
"You're welcome."
I looked toward the backyard.
Erza was still training.
I waved at her.
"Bye, sis!"
She turned around.
"Bye, Brother! Be careful!"
"I will!"
I looked back at Irene.
"I'll be back soon."
"Don't take unnecessary risks."
"I won't."
After saying goodbye to everyone, I finally headed toward the main gate of Magnolia.
The city was already becoming busy as merchants, travelers, and guild members went about their day.
I adjusted the ring on my finger and glanced at the mission sheets.
Three B-rank missions.
My first real work as a Fairy Tail mage.
I smiled.
Let's see what kind of adventure awaits me.
With that thought, I walked through the town's gate and set off.