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The Western Continent?
Noah remembered that Lucy's mother, Layla's former maid, Grammi, had married far away to the Western Continent.
Later, due to natural disasters blocking the path, she couldn't deliver the Aquarius Key to Layla in time, and was stabbed to death by another servant, Zoldeo.
According to the letters Jude found that Grammi wrote to Layla, Grammi's marriage was not happy. Her husband died of illness in the second year of their marriage, leaving her alone to raise their daughter.
With Grammi's death, her daughter became an orphan.
This made Lucy feel very sorry for that child, and although it was too late to talk about compensation, she still wanted to go to the Western Continent to meet Grammi's daughter.
Jude opposed this idea because he didn't know where Grammi's home on the Western Continent was, and without a specific direction, finding someone in such a vast sea of people would be incredibly difficult.
The only useful information Jude could find in the correspondence was that Grammi's daughter inherited her emerald green hair and was named Brandish.
Girls with emerald green hair are indeed rare, but the search area is an entire continent. How is that different from looking for a needle in a haystack?
Only a hothead like Natsu would blindly follow Lucy into such an adventure.
Oh, right, and Happy... Noah sighed. Lucy is a smart person, but after teaming up with Natsu and Happy, the team's average IQ didn't increase. Instead, there were signs of her being assimilated.
Natsu's astonishing wisdom is indeed terrifying.
It feels like this team's intelligence is beyond saving.
Entering the guild, Noah led Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, Rogue, and Anna directly to the fourth floor.
Makarov didn't like staying in his office. Even if the entire fourth floor was his exclusive space, a month of absence had accumulated some affairs that needed handling—otherwise, he would probably be drinking in the first-floor hall right now.
A knock sounded, and before Makarov could speak, Noah pushed the door open, followed by three small and one large Dragon Slayer, as well as an unfamiliar blonde woman.
Makarov feigned anger and looked at Noah. "You brat, this is the Guild Master's office, after all. You always just push the door open and come in—you're not giving me any face, are you?"
"Didn't I knock?"
Noah scratched his head and sat down casually on the sofa.
Makarov pouted. He didn't actually care if his authority was challenged. He was just happy that the children in the guild wanted to be close to him.
His gaze swept over Gajeel and the others, then paused on Anna, and finally, Makarov's eyes returned to Noah. "I still have official business to handle, Noah. If you have something to say, say it quickly."
Noah nodded, informing Makarov of Anna's identity and the fact that Gajeel and the others had recovered their memories from when they traveled through time.
As for the Black Dragon, Noah chose to keep it a secret.
The Black Dragon was too dangerous. If Makarov knew he was going to confront this Dragon of Destruction, he would absolutely not agree. Rather than letting the old man worry, it would be better to tell him everything after it was dealt with.
When he learned that the beautiful blonde woman before him was Lucy's ancestor from four hundred years ago, Makarov took a deep breath.
Who would have thought that Anna, who was in her twenties, would still be in her twenties after four hundred years?
Makarov was at a loss as to how to address Anna.
After all, the age gap between them was too great, but to call a young person who wasn't even half his age a senior, Makarov really couldn't bring himself to do it.
And if he really called Anna a senior, then wouldn't Natsu and the other kids who also came from four hundred years ago also have to...
"Guild Master Makarov, just call me Anna."
Noticing the old man's dilemma, Anna smiled and said, "Although I am from four hundred years ago, due to time travel, I have only truly lived for less than thirty years."
With the steps already laid out, Makarov naturally followed suit, and the matter was thus settled.
As for Gajeel and the others, Makarov instructed them not to reveal their origins to others, even their guildmates, if possible.
If ill-intentioned people found out about their time-traveling experience, they might be targeted.
Anna and the grown-up Gajeel were not a concern, but Wendy, Rogue, and Sting, the three youngsters, made Makarov have to consider their safety.
"Oh, right, where's that kid Natsu?"
Makarov just remembered Natsu and subconsciously looked at Noah.
Noah spread his hands. Natsu was also a reason he came to see Makarov. "Natsu? He, Lucy, and Happy went to the Western Continent."
Hearing "Western Continent," Makarov's expression instantly turned grim.
The Western Continent, Alakitasia, was originally a continent like Ishgar, with many countries and numerous Magic Guilds.
However, just over ninety years ago, a nation called "Alvarez" was established on the Western Continent. In the following twenty years, this nation forcefully unified the entire Western Continent with absolute power.
Afterward, the Magic Guilds on the Western Continent were disbanded, and all 730 disbanded Magic Guilds were absorbed into "Alvarez," allowing this terrifying empire to completely monopolize Mages, making its military power even more invincible.
It should be noted that Ishgar currently only has about 500 Magic Guilds.
And one year before Noah first arrived in Earthland, which was X782, the Alvarez Empire, which had always kept to itself and not interfered with the Eastern Continent, suddenly launched an invasion war against Ishgar.
The army composed of Mages was overwhelmingly powerful, far beyond what the armies of the various nations of Ishgar could contend with.
In the end, the Magic Council was forced to use Etherion, which made the Alvarez army voluntarily retreat.
The war ended, but this invasion war only revealed the tip of the terrifying iceberg of the Alvarez Empire's power, while Ishgar was forced to reveal its trump card.
Although Ishgar and Alvarez had temporarily returned to peace, Makarov knew that the ambitious empire would never give up invading the land beneath their feet.
Moreover, his intuition told Makarov that Fairy Tail might one day face this terrifying empire.
To gather information about the Alvarez Empire, Makarov sent Mest, a "double agent" who mastered Memory Magic and Teleportation Magic, to infiltrate the Magic Council and use their means to collect intelligence on Alvarez.
However, over the years, due to Alvarez's closed nature, Mest had obtained very little useful information.
Now, hearing that Lucy, Natsu, and Happy had gone to the Western Continent, Makarov looked worried, fearing they would encounter danger—especially Natsu, who was most prone to causing trouble.
The Alvarez Empire was not Ishgar. If something went wrong, Makarov wouldn't be able to rescue them, nor did he have the ability to.
Noah leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs, and spoke in a relaxed tone. "I say, old man, I'm planning to take Erza and Mira to the Western Continent for a trip. Do you want to come along?"
Oh, right, Noah is there.
Thinking of Noah's astonishing performance of moving land in Edolas, Makarov slapped his forehead. What was he worrying about?
"In that case, let's go sightseeing then."