At the start of the new year, Simon finally saved enough money to purchase a three-story house near Noah's. He and Kagura moved in right away.
He had dreamed of this for a long time, which was why he had tirelessly taken on commissions few in the guild were as diligent as him.
Noah had noticed Simon's efforts. Though he could have offered to lend him money, he chose instead to ask Kagura in private.
"My brother feels that living at your place already caused you enough trouble," Kagura explained earnestly. "So he didn't want to burden you any further. We saved for this together, and it feels really meaningful!"
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke about their new home.
A year earlier, Kagura had earned Makarov's permission to begin taking jobs. When she learned of her brother's goal, she was eager to help. Although her youth limited her to smaller commissions nearby, she handed over nearly all her rewards to Simon. In the end, her contribution was only a fraction of the house's cost, but to her, it was priceless.
Realizing Simon had no intention of borrowing money, Noah didn't press the matter again. Instead, he made sure to support Simon in other ways answering his questions about magic patiently and thoroughly, helping him improve little by little.
When Simon and Kagura finally secured their new house, the guild celebrated with them. A lively party filled their new home, laughter spilling into the night until, one by one, everyone drifted away.
Noah told them sincerely, "If you ever wish to return, your rooms will always be waiting."
From the following day onward, life in the guild fell back into rhythm.
Ultear accompanied Ur on S-Class missions. Cana followed Gildarts on his jobs. Simon and Kagura often visited Noah's home Kagura to spend time with Erza, with whom she shared a sisterly bond, and Simon to ask Noah for guidance in magic. Noah always answered his questions in detail, never withholding advice.
The rest of the guild members continued training, taking jobs as needed. Life flowed in an orderly pattern.
Noah, however, buried himself in research once again. This time, his focus was on embedding a portable storage space into the guild emblem.
Carrying belongings had always been inconvenient. Dress-Up Magic allowed one to store weapons in alternate spaces and summon them as needed, but storing miscellaneous items in the same space was risky. If you reached for a shield and pulled out a cake instead in the middle of battle, the results could be fatal.
Magic Cards also worked for storage, but they were small, easy to lose, and fragile. If the card was destroyed, everything sealed inside would be lost.
So Noah began to experiment combining the best of both systems. His goal: to create a storage space built into the guild emblem itself, where members could store and retrieve items with nothing more than a thought.
This space needed to be stable, secure, and simple enough that anyone in the guild could use it, even without their own magic power. The emblem itself already stored magic energy, and Noah had now expanded its upper limit, reducing the consumption required for basic functions.
With his improvements, even if no one replenished the emblem's energy, as long as its protective barrier and teleportation weren't activated, the emblem's core magic could run quietly for an entire month even in a mana-deprived environment.
When the Magic Access function was activated, magic consumption increased slightly, and the emblem would notify the member of their remaining energy.
However, the reserves used for protective shields and teleportation were not counted in this tally. Only when every other portion of stored magic had been completely exhausted would the emblem send a final warning that the last emergency reserve remained.
How to use it that judgment was left entirely to each guild member.
After months of research and countless tests, Noah finally perfected the design of the storage space and successfully integrated it into the guild emblem.
Once he confirmed the function was stable, he personally upgraded the emblems of every guild member.
The moment they received them, everyone eagerly began experimenting.
"Store cup. Store cup. Store cup!" Members laughed and shouted as they tossed everyday objects into the new space one after another, delighted by the novelty.
"This is so much more convenient," Gray said in amazement. "Usually, when I head out for a job, I've got to carry spare clothes and all sorts of things. Half the time I don't even know where my clothes end up but now I can pack as much as I like without worry!"
Erza tried it herself and was visibly pleased. "This is wonderful. I usually have to drag so much luggage when I travel, but now… this saves me the trouble." Still, she tilted her head and frowned slightly. "But can't the space be a little bigger? I want to fit more of my things."
"It's already quite large," Noah replied. "Two meters in length, width, and height eight cubic meters in total. That should be more than enough for daily necessities. You really don't need to bring that much luggage."
Truthfully, he had always wondered why Erza carried so many belongings. Did she even use half of them? Wouldn't more armor be more practical than piles of clothing?
"Of course I use them," Erza countered with complete seriousness. "I keep a lot of outfits I like in there. They're important when I go out."
Noah and several guild members nearby could only think the same thing: No, you don't use them all. You'd be better off bringing armor.
Shaking his head, Noah decided not to pursue the argument. Instead, he answered her original question directly.
"The storage space is capped at this size for now. At my current level, this is the most stable, safe, and secure configuration. When my skills improve, I'll expand it further. For now, just make do."
"That's fine. Thank you, Noah."
Smiling, Erza expressed her gratitude, then hurried off to join the other girls, animatedly discussing what luggage they should place inside first.
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