After exchanging a few pleasantries, Hope followed Mira for a tour around the guild interior.
The Fairy Tail Guild building is divided into four floors.
The first floor hall, besides being a place for members to eat, relax, chat, and fight, is also where the request board is located. Guild Mages pick suitable requests here and collect rewards upon completion.
The second floor is the pick-up point for S-Class and higher missions. Because these missions are too dangerous, the guild rules state that only Mages recognized by the Master—namely S-Class Mages—can enter the second floor to take on those high-difficulty tasks.
The third floor belongs to the Master's space, but Makarov rarely goes there. Usually, he stays in the hall, only reluctantly returning to his office to handle official business.
Finally, the basement level is the guild's warehouse for storing supplies. Because the area is large and quiet enough, Makarov moved the guild library to this floor a few years ago.
Besides getting familiar with the guild, Hope was introduced to many guild members by Mirajane.
For example, the common guild drinking trio: Cana, Wakaba, and Macao.
Loki, whose popularity ranks at the top of the magic world's 'Boyfriend List.'
Bisca and Alzack, the 'Gun and Bullet Duo' who immigrated from the Western Continent.
Levy, who can concentrate on reading no matter how noisy it gets, and Droy and Salamander, who are always pestering her.
Beyond them, there was Laki discussing fashion, Warren studying magic alone, Nab wandering indecisively in front of the request board, Reedus quietly painting in a corner, and the super talkative Marcus... After a full round, Hope had met many people. Everyone's attitude was very kind, especially after learning about Hope's 'amnesia'; they all brainstormed ways to help him recover his Memory.
However, listening to weird folk remedies like drinking horse urine, eating croton seeds, hanging weights, or driving nails, Hope almost thought he had transmigrated into 'Underground Traffic Station' and was being tortured as a Japanese soldier by Captain Ma's 'indirectly saving the nation' tactics.
In short, with all sorts of people gathered here, Fairy Tail was even more lively than imagined.
The entire guild was filled with vitality and warmth, and the joyful atmosphere seemed never-ending, allowing Hope, an 'outsider,' to unconsciously relax.
Truly an interesting guild.
"Right, Hope, this is for you."
Mirajane handed a card to Hope. She knew he was currently penniless. "There is 100,000 Jewel in this card. I've authorized it; it should cover your daily living expenses for two months. If it's not enough, come find me again."
"Thanks a lot, I'll pay you back."
Hope hesitated for a moment but still accepted Mirajane's help.
As the saying goes, a single penny can stump a hero, let alone a guy like him who only inherited a tiny bit of the original owner's memories.
"Don't worry about such a small amount. I'm going back to work now." Mirajane smiled slightly and returned to the tidied counter to begin her work as a waitress for the day.
Watching Mirajane carrying a tray of drinks and cheerfully weaving through the hall, Hope rubbed the Magic Finance Card in his hand, lost in thought.
Does this... count as living off a woman?
At that moment, the overly familiar Natsu leaned over again, sniffing curiously. "Hope, I wanted to say this earlier, but you have a faint smell of magic on you. I feel like I've smelled it somewhere before."
Natsu's words made Hope's heart tighten. He knew this Fire Dragon Slayer Mage's nose was incredibly sharp; it would be bad if he really discovered something was off.
Seeing that Natsu didn't seem very bright, Hope tried to brush it off. "Mirajane just took me around to meet everyone; I probably accidentally picked up the scent of someone else's magic in the guild."
"Oh, so that's it."
Natsu had a look of sudden realization, but then his expression became puzzled again. "Strange, it really is the scent of a guild comrade, but why can't I remember who that person is?"
"Could it be Mystogan?"
"No, that guy never leaves a trace, let alone a scent."
"Who could it be?"
Hope smiled and patted Natsu's shoulder. "Don't rack your brain. Since you're sure it's a comrade, they'll show up at the guild sooner or later."
Natsu wasn't someone who liked to use his brain outside of fighting. Led astray by Hope, he immediately gave up thinking.
Just as Hope was feeling lucky that Natsu was so easy to fool, a shout came from nearby. "Natsu, I've heard some good news! Someone in the guild heard that a 'Fire Dragon' has appeared in Harujion~"
"Really?! Happy!"
Hearing this, Natsu jumped up in excitement.
Hope remained silent, but his gaze was completely drawn to the creature talking to Natsu.
Though it spoke human words, the creature wasn't human; it was a cute blue cat with a pair of magical wings on its back.
If Hope remembered correctly, there were several of these special magic cats in the story, but they all seemed related to Dragon Slayer Mages.
Happy flapped his small wings and landed on Natsu's shoulder, curiously eyeing the stranger, Hope.
Before the cat could do anything, Natsu scooped Happy into his hands, held up its cute paw, and said to Hope, "Hope, this is Happy, my best partner."
"Aye~ That's right~" Realizing what was happening, Happy also gave Hope a cute look.
"Hello, Happy. I'm Hope, the new handyman today." Faced with a kitten acting cute, it was hard for Hope not to be charmed. "Natsu, can I hold Happy?"
Without waiting for Natsu's answer, Happy flew onto Hope's shoulder himself.
While Happy hadn't retracted his magical wings yet, Hope took the chance to feel them while petting the cat.
[Ding~]
[Host has come into contact with extraordinary power — 'Wing Magic']
[Analyzing—]
[Analysis complete. Estimated time required to crack 'Wing Magic' is 7 days. Start cracking?]
Without hesitation, Hope chose to start.
As for Magnetic Field Power, he'd better postpone it indefinitely; he really couldn't afford to wait a hundred years.
[Parsing of 'Wing Magic' has begun. Remaining time: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes...]
The test was a success. After confirming his cheat could crack magic for him, Hope returned Happy to Natsu.
Petting the cat felt great, but Happy wasn't a pet after all; he was Natsu's important partner.
"Hope, Happy and I have to go out for a bit. If anyone asks about us, just say Happy and I went to Harujion to find the 'Fire Dragon'."
As soon as he finished speaking, Natsu and Happy quickly left the guild.
Hope shook his head. He remembered that creatures like dragons didn't seem to appear until the middle of the original plot. Right now, even the female protagonist hadn't appeared yet. If nothing went wrong, Natsu would likely return empty-handed.
"Eh? Wait, didn't the female protagonist debut in Harujion?"
"Forget it, I can't remember clearly."
Muttering under his breath, Hope saw that Mirajane's side was getting busy, so he proactively went over to help. After all, a handyman is like a brick—you move it wherever it's needed.