Chapter 7

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The tall youth, taking advantage of his height, looked down at Noah with an increasingly fierce gaze, making the atmosphere heavier and even giving off a sense of tension.

"It's been a long time..."

"Since I moved into the 'Fairy Tail' guild, it's been a whole year since we last met, right?" Noah nodded calmly.

"Brother Laxus, you're still the same as before."

"Don't joke around, I'm much stronger than I used to be!" Laxus lowered his arms, took a step forward, bent down, and leaned his head close to Noah's ear, chuckling deeply.

"But you, you're still the same as you were a year ago. Even though you have magic power that even that old man was surprised by, you still don't dare to learn magic just because of his one word. You're such a coward!"

"Hmm?" Noah didn't get angry; instead, he smiled slightly.

"Do you really want me to learn magic?"

As soon as Noah finished speaking, Laxus suddenly reached out and grabbed Noah's neck, pulling him tightly against himself.

Seeing this, even Erza couldn't help but frown.

Erza didn't want to interact with anyone, even her guildmates, but that didn't mean she could remain indifferent to internal conflicts within the guild.

Of course, while she couldn't remain indifferent, Erza had no intention of intervening and continued to stand quietly to the side.

Although Laxus was emitting a dangerous aura, giving the impression that he might attack at any moment, Erza didn't sense any real hostility from him.

Most importantly, Noah, who was tightly restrained by Laxus, remained calm, seemingly unconcerned about Laxus's actions, in stark contrast to Erza's frown.

"I hate that look of yours, the one that makes it seem like you can handle anything!" Laxus's smile faded, and he continued speaking expressionlessly.

"I just want to tell you that even if you were picked up from who knows where by that old man, now that you're my brother, I won't allow you to be weak. Understand?"

Picked up from who knows where?

Erza, who had been standing to the side, finally fixed her gaze on Noah for the first time after Laxus said this, her eyes revealing a complex expression.

Originally, he was an orphan like me...

Unaware of the change in Erza's thoughts, Noah let out a light laugh, almost a scoff, in response to Laxus's words.

"You act like you're strong, but compared to Grandpa, you're still far behind!"

A shadow of gloom appeared on Laxus's face, quickly replaced by a rebellious smile.

"That's just temporary. One day, I'll step on that old man!"

"Besides..." Laxus laughed maniacally.

"Even now, I could crush you with one hand, my little brother..."

Leaving those words, Laxus seemed to lose interest in the conversation, released Noah, glanced at Erza, and snorted.

"That old man actually made me babysit two kids who don't even know how to walk. These weaklings should just be thrown aside. 'Fairy Tail' isn't a nursery!"

Such harsh words were clearly directed at the wrong people. The two young guildmates, one with a calm expression and the other not even lifting an eyelid, remained unusually cold, making Laxus feel bored. He turned and walked away.

"Let's get this boring mission over with!"

Noah and Erza continued to ignore Laxus, walking in step behind him toward the exit of Magnolia Town.

...

The journey from Magnolia Town to Lake of the Rituals required at least a day-long train ride through at least four towns.

Since being adopted by Makarov and joining 'Fairy Tail', Noah usually only wandered around Magnolia Town. This was his first long-distance trip. Even though Noah had studied the route to Lake of the Rituals in detail and even looked at maps, it was uncertain whether a station attendant would allow an eleven-year-old child to board the train.

Therefore, Noah and Erza simply followed Laxus, boarding the train under his lead and spending the entire day on the train to reach Lake of the Rituals.

It's worth noting that throughout the journey, Noah, Erza, and Laxus did not exchange a single word, but Laxus paid for the train tickets and meals for all three of them.

Of course, such small expenses were of no concern to Laxus, and he wouldn't fuss over them just because he had two annoying teammates.

When it got dark, the three of them got off the train.

"Excuse me..."

As soon as they got off the train, a middle-aged man in formal attire approached, glanced at the 'Fairy Tail' guild marks on Noah's right hand and Erza's armor, and asked politely.

"I am the person sent by the Council to accompany the mages who will infuse magic into Lake of the Rituals. Are the three of you the mages from 'Fairy Tail'?"

"The Council?" Laxus glanced at the man for a second before looking away.

"Then lead the way!"

The man frowned.

"Shouldn't we wait for the other members of your guild?"

"Others?" Laxus understood the man's meaning and grinned.

"There are no others, just the three of us!"

"Three people?" The man looked surprised.

Although the man was not a mage, since the Council had sent him to accompany the mages infusing magic into Lake of the Rituals, he was naturally familiar with the process.

As expected, the man knew that every year, the guilds sent large teams of dozens of mages to infuse magic into Lake of the Rituals to activate it and make it glow.

Now, the man was told that they had only sent three people?

His first reaction was disbelief, but then he remembered the rumors about 'Fairy Tail'.

While 'Fairy Tail' was one of the strongest mage guilds in the Fiore Kingdom, the Council did not favor them.

The reason was simple: 'Fairy Tail's' guild master, Makarov, advocated that guild members follow their own paths and develop their own magic, even declaring publicly that they didn't need to heed the Council's orders.

Such behavior was seen as free-spirited and spontaneous by 'Fairy Tail' members, but as indulgent by the Council, leading to a lack of favor for the guild.

Could it be that they didn't take the Council's commission seriously this time?

The man's frown deepened.

"Three of you, I think it would be better if your guild master sent more people..."

"Huh?" Laxus laughed, a laugh filled with arrogance.

"Is there a requirement for more people to be sent on this mission?"

"No, there isn't..."

"Then stop talking nonsense. As long as we can complete the mission, it's fine!" Laxus said impatiently.

"Since you're here to lead the way, just do it!"

The man was speechless and could only lead the way out of the station.