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The night was perfect, moonlight spilled everywhere, stretching the old man's lonely shadow.
After the banquet, a slightly tipsy Makarov swayed along the path home. To the east of Magnolia, a modest old house, neither too big nor too small, was Makarov's residence.
Gray tiles covered the roof, eaves hung low, and moss climbed the yellowing brick walls. Makarov saw the house, older than himself, from afar.
He took out the key and opened the door. Looking at the empty house, which was in stark contrast to the lively banquet that had just ended, Makarov felt a touch of loneliness.
This house used to be lively too.
His father and his teachers had once accompanied him here.
As he grew up, his teammates often gathered here to discuss their dreams.
After taking over the Guild and starting a family, his son and grandson grew up in this house.
But now, they had all left, and the former liveliness had fallen silent.
"Ugh, I'm getting sentimental, I must be old."
Makarov grumbled to himself, then decided to wash up and go to bed. He wasn't a fragile person; it was just a bit quiet at home. The Guild was always bustling with activity.
He changed into pajamas with a hint of childishness. Just as Makarov was about to turn off the light and sleep, an untimely knock sounded at the door.
Who could it be at this hour?
There were no emergencies today, so sensible children like Erza and Mirajane wouldn't disturb him. Someone as boisterous as Natsu wouldn't knock; he'd just shout loudly.
Could it be... Laxus?
Makarov's eyes lit up slightly. A hint of anticipation rose within him, and his steps toward the door became much lighter.
He opened the door, and it wasn't the person he imagined, but it still surprised Makarov, because there were two people.
And based on Makarov's understanding of them, these two shouldn't have appeared at his doorstep at this time.
One was a mysterious quest fanatic, rarely seen for ten days to half a month; the other, to put it nicely, was a lazy slacker, but in reality, a lazy dog who would rather die than go out late at night.
"Mystogan, Noah."
"Is there something you need late at night?"
Facing Makarov's suspicious gaze, Noah held up the thermos in his hand. "Can't we visit you if there's nothing wrong? We're here to bring you some soothing soup, old man, and also to tell you something."
Scratching his face, Makarov gestured for the two to come inside.
Sitting down with Mystogan in the small living room, Noah looked around. The room's furnishings were simple, the walls a delicate off-white, with no superfluous decorative paintings or hangings. The wooden coffee table still bore the brown rings left by teacups.
The home of the esteemed Fairy Tail Guild Master, a long-renowned veteran Ten Wizard Saint, Makarov's house was unexpectedly simple and unadorned.
He couldn't have used all his retirement money to subsidize the Guild, could he... He really is something, it makes me want to cry.
After a bowl of hot soup, Makarov smacked his lips. It was clearly chicken soup, but they called it soothing soup. This kid was really glib, but given that it tasted good, he'd let it slide.
"The soup tastes good, Noah, you're thoughtful." Makarov knew that all the restaurants were closed at this hour and thought Noah had made it for him personally, feeling a little touched.
"It tastes good, huh? It seems Mira's cooking has improved a lot."
Seeing that Makarov was fine, Noah then served himself a bowl of soup, speaking as he poured: "Guild Master, you don't know, Mira has been cooking for me every night recently, but her skills as a beginner..."
"The time before last, when I asked Natsu to help me taste-test, he found it so awful he threw up directly. And that was Natsu, mind you."
Noah was speaking excitedly, but Mystogan quietly shifted his body. He was afraid of getting blood on himself later. To dare to use the Guild Master as a guinea pig, his younger brother truly had a lot of nerve.
Makarov indeed wanted to kick Noah, but then he remembered it was his own house, and if it broke, he'd have to pay to fix it, so he reluctantly dropped the idea.
Anyway, Mira's chicken soup this time tasted good.
Wait... Mira! She cooked for Noah! I don't even get that treatment!
Makarov only just realized, although Noah wasn't a fat pig, and Mira wasn't an innocent little cabbage, this didn't stop him from feeling a complex emotion, like his little cabbage had been rooted up by a pig.
After a long silence, Makarov finally processed it internally, then spoke to the two who were waiting for him: "The soup is drunk, it's getting late, let's get to the point."
Noah nodded, a smile on his face, "Guild Master, I've found my elder brother. It's Mystogan."
Mystogan also took off his mask, revealing a face identical to Jellal's.
Hearing this news, Makarov wasn't surprised.
When Noah first joined the Guild, he suspected Mystogan was Noah's long-lost elder brother, but Noah had denied it with the bizarre explanation, "Mystogan is a powerful Mage, so he isn't my elder brother."
Now that the brothers had reunited, Makarov really wanted to know why Noah had so adamantly denied it back then.
"Because my brother isn't from this world. He comes from a parallel world where humans don't have Magic in their bodies."
Noah revealed everything about the Edolas world, and the origins of himself and Mystogan.
Makarov was dumbfounded. So there was such a thing as parallel worlds? And his parallel self was actually the king of a human kingdom, and a father who had seen the error of his ways? That sounded a bit cool.
Truly worthy of me!
After a small moment of self-satisfaction, Makarov grasped the crucial question: his parallel self, who had clearly planned to use Anima to plunder Earth Land's Magic.
What made him change his mind, abandon the plunder plan, and thus create Noah?
Mystogan also wanted to know this. He had been running around for so many years to prevent Anima, but his father had only used it once, nearly twenty years ago.
Noah was silent for a moment, then decided to confess everything to his biological brother and Makarov.
"Nineteen years ago, an unfortunate Mage was caught in the Anima and brought to Edolas. He was very ambitious and caused a lot of trouble, but eventually, he was subdued because his Magic couldn't be replenished."
"To save his life, that Mage provided information about 'infinite Magic', thus saving his own life."
"That Mage's name was... Ivan Dreyar."
"And the item he spoke of that could bring 'infinite Magic' was called Lumen Histoire."