Chapter 42

(Seeking Three Rivers votes! First time on Three Rivers! Friends, you can't not support me!)

(Extremely grateful for the donations from 'Qi Guan Xuan Qi', 'Bing·Yue Ying', '? Lu He Qin', '? Hui De Xie', '? Zhai', 'Yun Qi Qing Gu', 'Mi Ye Can Ying', and '? Shang Yan Jing Jiu Shi Tian Liang'!)

(Hesitating between first and second place, but I'm confident that as long as the friends reading this book can spend one or two minutes each day to cast a vote, we can definitely secure the first place. So, please cast a Three Rivers vote for this book...)

Magnolia, by the forest river...

"Clang————!"

Amidst the clash of steel against steel, the two figures, each wielding different knight swords, separated and retreated rapidly. After creating some distance, they steadied their stances and stopped their retreat.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Their eyes, filled with fighting spirit, clashed in the air. Noah and Erza, after slightly catching their breath, simultaneously smiled.

"You've become even stronger than before, Erza."

"You too, Noah."

Like rivals who respect each other, Noah and Erza both relaxed for a moment, then a new fighting spirit surged in their eyes.

"Again?"

"Again!"

After this brief exchange, the two, as the best partners and the best rivals, once again raised their knight swords and assumed a stance ready to charge.

Unfortunately, before Noah and Erza could follow through with their preparation, a voice rang out nearby.

"Enough! That's it!"

Mira stood up and glared at Erza.

"You're trying to extend the sparring time again? It's my turn now!"

"Mira-nee!" Lisanna, sitting next to Mira, complained.

"Why do you have to be so precise with the timing? Isn't it better to let Noah-nii and Erza continue?"

"Not at all!" Mira said bluntly.

"If they continue, it means Erza gets more training time. What if she becomes stronger than me?"

"Mira-nee, you're too competitive," Lisanna pouted.

"Noah-nii, Erza, and you are the strongest among us, and the only ones allowed by the guild master to take jobs outside Magnolia. Me, Natsu, Gray, Cana, and Elf-nii are only allowed to take jobs in Magnolia. What's there to be unsatisfied about?"

"Of course, I can't be satisfied!" Mira said matter-of-factly.

"I can't lose to anyone, especially not Erza. And I can't let Noah surpass me either!"

"Mira-nee..." Lisanna sighed.

"You really are something..."

In the center of the field, Noah and Erza, who were in a charging stance, exchanged a glance and both felt a sense of helplessness.

With Mira's interruption, the state they had worked hard to enter was broken. Mira must have timed her interruption to disrupt them.

With no choice, Noah and Erza reluctantly sheathed their knight swords, allowing their bodies, which had been training all morning, to rest for a while.

Originally, this place was a secret spot known only to Noah and Erza. Unless led by them, the chances of someone stumbling upon it were slim.

Mira was here for a simple reason.

"What? Erza is going to train? I absolutely won't allow you to secretly become stronger!"

This was the second day after Mira and Erza had a formal confrontation. When Noah and Erza planned to train by the forest river and Mira saw them, she immediately shouted.

Thus, Mira also became one of the users of this secret spot.

As for Lisanna, the reason was even simpler.

"If Noah-nii and Mira-nee are going, then I want to go too!"

So, Lisanna, as an observer, also became a regular at this secret spot.

Actually, Natsu and Gray also wanted to come along, but they were intimidated by Erza's glare and, sweating profusely, announced their withdrawal.

It seemed that the strong and occasionally violent Erza had become the bane of Natsu and Gray's existence, a devil in their hearts.

Now, when Noah, Mira, and Erza had no jobs, they almost always gathered here, occasionally sparring to hone their skills.

At first, Erza was very unhappy that Mira joined them, but after Mira's rapid improvement in her 'Reception Magic,' she was soon recognized by Makarov and allowed to take jobs outside.

Now, among the same age group in 'Fairy Tail,' Noah, Mira, and Erza, as Lisanna said, had become the leading figures, the strongest among the younger members.

Even some of the weaker mages in the guild were no longer a match for them, earning the admiration of the guild's mages.

Because of this, Mira and Erza became increasingly competitive, always thinking about who would come out on top, and even involving the innocent Noah in their rivalry to prove who was the strongest among the three.

In reality, if the three were to go all out, their strength would be roughly equal, making it very difficult to determine a winner.

Of course, Mira and Erza both knew that the so-called equal strength was based on Noah not using his trump card, the magical effects of his knight sword.

So far, the two girls knew that Noah's knight sword was a magical weapon, but only Noah and the original owner, Makarov, knew the full extent of its abilities and magical effects.

"By the way, Noah-nii, Mira-nee, Erza, aren't you going to take any jobs?" Lisanna tilted her head.

"I remember you haven't taken any jobs for a month."

"What's the matter?" Mira frowned.

"Are you running out of living expenses?"

"If we don't make any additional expenses, let me see..." Lisanna cutely counted on her fingers.

"We should be able to last another month."

"I see..." Mira thought for a moment and nodded.

"Then we'll go out to work in a few days!"

"I'm not in a hurry either," Erza shook her head.

"Although I want to save money to buy a magical weapon, I'm still looking for the right one, so I'll wait a few more days too!"

After saying that, Mira, Lisanna, and Erza all turned their gazes to Noah, their eyes full of inquiry.

"Me?" Noah's face, rarely, showed a look of pleasure and excitement.

"I don't plan to go out to work for a while!"

Hearing this, the three girls were slightly taken aback.

Noah grinned, not explaining, and pulled out a handful of black beads from a nearby backpack, tossing them into the air.

"Buzz————!"

A vast surge of magic power, like rolling waves, rose and spread out, enveloping the black beads that fell from the sky.

Instantly, the outlines of all the black beads were covered in a faint glow, causing them to hover in mid-air.

Then, the black beads began to dance.

It was a scene that could only be described as a dance.

Like comets orbiting a satellite, the black beads, driven by the dense magic power, traced circles around Noah, sometimes spinning up and down, sometimes swaying left and right, sometimes speeding up, and sometimes leaping gracefully, flashing through the air.

After a long while, Noah extended his hand, and the black beads, which had been tracing elegant arcs around him, immediately fell into his hand in an orderly manner, until they all returned to his palm.

Noah calmly put away the black beads.

Mira, Lisanna, and Erza were completely stunned.

"Noah-nii..." Lisanna spoke in a daze.

"You just..."

Noah's inability to control his magic power and his lack of magic training were well-known to Mira and Lisanna, who had joined 'Fairy Tail,' and Erza had known about it even earlier.

Therefore, the three of them understood the significance of the scene where Noah had controlled the black beads with such finesse, demonstrating a mastery of magic control.

In front of the three, Noah smiled, a very happy smile.