Chapter 35

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Do you want to find Grandine?

Isn't the answer to this question quite obvious?

Although Grandine is a dragon, she raised Wendy like a mother, and is now the most important person to Wendy besides Noah.

Noah did indeed help Wendy when she was in her most helpless state, occupying an extremely important place in Wendy's heart, to the point where Wendy almost couldn't leave him.

But if you ask Wendy if she wants to find Grandine, of course she does, right?

However, Wendy also doesn't want to leave Noah.

Even though it's only for three days, Noah is still a very important presence to the current Wendy. If given a choice, Wendy absolutely doesn't want to leave Noah, which is why she clung to him tightly during those three days.

"I... I want to find Grandine..." Wendy, nestled in Noah's embrace, began to tremble, her voice quivering, clearly with great emotional turmoil.

"But... but... I don't want to leave Big Brother Noah..."

"Leaving is just temporary. I won't suddenly disappear like Grandine. If Wendy wants to find me, it will be very easy." Noah clearly felt Wendy's wavering, gently patting her back while sighing.

"I am a mage of 'Fairy Tail,' and I'm not yet at the age where I can handle things on my own. I can't accompany you on a world search for Grandine. Originally, I wanted to take you back to 'Fairy Tail' to see if the guild members could help, but now that Jellal wants to travel the world to stop 'Anima,' and Wendy needs to search the world for Grandine, your goals, though different, have a similar process."

Noah glanced at Jellal, who was silently standing to the side, and smiled slightly.

"In that case, why not let Jellal help you find Grandine? Wouldn't that be better?"

"..." Wendy buried her small face in Noah's chest, not saying a word, but her body continued to tremble, clearly still wavering.

"Is that okay?" Jellal finally spoke, with a hint of concern.

"Although what you say makes sense, if we really encounter 'Anima' during the journey, it would be too dangerous for Wendy to be with me. To be honest, I'm not very in favor of it."

"I believe you can take good care of Wendy!" Noah met Jellal's gaze, staring intently.

"Can you promise me that no matter what, you will ensure Wendy's safety?"

Looking into Noah's deep, star-like eyes, Jellal felt a strong sense of responsibility, took a deep breath, and nodded firmly.

"I promise, no matter what, I will ensure Wendy's safety!"

Noah smiled freely, gently pulling Wendy out of his embrace, looking at her deeply bowed head, and stroked her head.

"If you really don't want to, I won't force you. Come with me to 'Fairy Tail,' and I will definitely help you find Grandine!"

Wendy bit her lip, her eyes still filled with hesitation.

To be honest, Wendy really didn't want to leave Noah and was very moved by his offer.

But, Wendy asked herself, is this really okay?

Wendy believed that if she asked Noah, he would do his best to help her find Grandine.

However, it was precisely because she trusted Noah so much and cared about him so deeply that Wendy didn't want to trouble him.

Wendy lifted her head, first looking at the gentle, smiling Noah in front of her, then at Jellal beside her, and finally, her gaze settled on the 'Fairy Tail' guild emblem on Noah's hand.

Reaching out, Wendy took Noah's hand with the 'Fairy Tail' guild emblem, looking at the emblem for a long time before meeting Noah's gaze.

"Big Brother Noah, will we meet again?"

When she said this, Wendy's eyes were filled with both reluctance and determination, which Noah clearly saw, and he smiled warmly.

"'Fairy Tail' is the most prestigious guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, renowned far and wide. I believe that even in the future, the name 'Fairy Tail' will be known throughout the continent, and no one will be unaware of how to find 'Fairy Tail'!"

Noah stroked Wendy's smooth cheek, speaking with a voice filled with warmth.

"If you miss me, come to 'Fairy Tail' to find me!"

This time, Wendy smiled, a bright and happy smile.

"I will always miss you, Big Brother Noah. I believe Grandine will like you too. You are both the people I like the most!"

Wendy threw herself into Noah's arms again, hugging him tightly.

However, this time, her embrace was less sorrowful and more filled with a bittersweet longing.

Holding Wendy's small body, Noah looked up and said to Jellal with a serious expression.

"I entrust Wendy to you."

Jellal nodded, his eyes filled with sincerity.

"I will do my best!"

...

In the forest under the sunlight, the roars of wild beasts echoed, adding a sense of danger to the hot and humid air.

Noah, carrying a long cloth bag over his left shoulder, ran through the forest at an incredible speed, like a cheetah dashing through the trees, so fast that only a blur could be seen, and he skillfully dodged the trees blocking his path, which was quite impressive.

Even in this state, Noah was still observing his surroundings, carefully listening to the sounds around him, not missing any slight movements.

According to the villagers who hunted in the forest, they had seen Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna arguing and passing through this area, and they seemed to be looking for something.

This meant that the Strauss siblings were likely still wandering around this area.

This also made Noah inwardly curse a few times.

Noah thought that the Strauss siblings would have given up and left after the three days, knowing that he had completed the mission.

He didn't expect them to still be in the forest, apparently not giving up on taking the mission from Noah.

It was clear that the Strauss siblings had not left the forest since they entered it three days ago.

Otherwise, they would have known about the village chief's announcement allowing villagers to enter the forest for hunting.

"These three are really too persistent, aren't they?"

Noah gritted his teeth slightly, but his running speed did not slow down.

Logically, even if the Strauss siblings were still wandering in the forest, Noah didn't need to come out and look for them, nor did he need to rush to find them.

But for some reason, Noah had a bad feeling.

"Could they have encountered some danger?"

The forest should not have any dangerous monsters.

But that's not always the case.

What if some strong, foreign monster just happened to be something the Strauss siblings couldn't handle?

From Mira, Noah could sense a considerable amount of magical power, but Elfman and Lisanna showed no signs of magical power, clearly not having started learning magic yet.

This made it difficult to ensure that nothing would go wrong.

Most importantly, Noah trusted his intuition.

"If I find you, I'll give you a piece of my mind!"

With this resolve, Noah further increased his speed.

"Roar———!"

At that moment, a huge roar echoed from not far away.

"This voice..." Noah stopped abruptly, his expression changing.

"Could it be that bad?"

Saying this, Noah leaped forward, rushing in the direction of the sound.

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