Chapter 71

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“Rumble——!”

Dark rain clouds enveloped the sky above Tenrou Island, accompanied by deafening thunder.

“Rush——!”

Torrential rain continued to pour down, showing no signs of stopping and only intensifying.

In the forest, Noah and Lisanna did not run at superhuman speeds but instead ran at a pace comparable to ordinary humans to avoid unnecessary exhaustion.

Before long, Noah and Lisanna finally entered the canopy range of the Tenrou Tree.

Here, due to the massive canopy of the Tenrou Tree, the heavy rain had significantly diminished, almost like a light drizzle.

Given this, Noah and Lisanna did not look for a cave or any shelter but instead stopped under a tree to take cover from the rain.

With the protection of the Tenrou Tree and the relatively large tree, the torrential rain was completely blocked out.

“Hah…” Lisanna took a deep breath, shaking off the water from her arms, and complained, “Luckily, I was wearing a swimsuit when we came, and I didn’t have time to change after arriving on the island, or I would have been completely soaked.”

Noah shrugged, took a towel from the bag hanging on his knight sword’s sheath, and began drying Lisanna’s hair.

“Even so, your body is still wet. If you don’t dry off, you’ll easily catch a cold.”

“Giggle…” Lisanna smiled sheepishly but did not refuse Noah’s help. Her slightly flushed face seemed to show a hint of happiness, clearly enjoying Noah’s service.

“When that happens, can’t you just take care of me, Noah?”

“I don’t have the time to take care of someone who deliberately catches a cold.” Noah tapped Lisanna’s forehead, ignoring her cry of pain, and stopped drying her hair, leaning against the tree trunk and sitting on the ground.

“If you catch a cold, you’ll just be causing trouble for Mira and Elfman.”

Lisanna puffed out her cheeks, stuck out her tongue at Noah, and made a silly face but still came to sit beside him.

Noah was leaning against the tree trunk, sitting on the ground.

Lisanna, however, leaned directly against Noah’s body, as if snuggling up to him, and sat down.

“Why are you so close?” Noah felt the smoothness of Lisanna’s skin, barely covered by her swimsuit, pressing against him, and he blushed as usual.

“Isn’t that…inconvenient?”

“It’s not at all.” Lisanna, seemingly oblivious to Noah’s discomfort, pressed even closer and skillfully wrapped her arms around Noah’s, resting her head on his shoulder. At first glance, they looked like a couple.

“This is much warmer.”

“Is…is it?” Noah could only scratch his cheek, unable to say anything useful.

After all, for seven years, Noah had spent most of his time training, and he had no experience with romantic relationships.

While he wasn’t completely clueless—Noah had read many books and knew quite a bit—understanding something and actually experiencing it were two different things.

Thus, even though Lisanna’s affectionate behavior likely had deeper meaning, Noah, with no similar experience, couldn’t be entirely sure.

Every time he felt Lisanna had such intentions, Noah couldn’t help but think:

What if it’s a misunderstanding?

Moreover, even if it wasn’t a misunderstanding, Noah didn’t know what to do.

It was understandable, given his circumstances.

Noah’s peers, despite being the same age, had lived for at least a decade.

Most of them, except for Cana, had no experience or immunity in this area.

Given that, it was quite remarkable that Noah, who had only truly existed for seven years and had the appearance and intellect of a ten-year-old, could vaguely sense Lisanna’s feelings.

If anyone was to blame, it could only be Noah’s youth.

While Lisanna was also young, she had always been precocious and mature, making Noah’s frequent awkwardness understandable.

Of course, Noah didn’t yet realize that this experience with Lisanna would later be invaluable, helping him handle various situations without looking too awkward.

Unaware of Noah’s complex and troubled thoughts, Lisanna closed her eyes, looking as if she had fallen asleep, with a smile on her face, leaning against Noah’s shoulder, looking content. After a while, she suddenly spoke.

“Actually, I’ve always been very grateful to you, Noah.”

“Grateful to me?” Noah was taken aback.

“Since we were young, Mira, Elfman, and I only had each other.” Lisanna’s eyes remained closed, as if lost in memories.

“We lived in a very ordinary village. We should have had a father and mother, but in our memories, we only had each other.”

Noah remained silent, listening quietly.

“Sometimes, I wondered what it would be like to have a loving father and mother, but I never felt lonely. However, everything changed when Mira awakened her ‘Reception Magic’ after coming into contact with a demon in the village church.” Lisanna’s tone became somber.

“From that moment on, Mira stopped laughing and hardly spoke. I knew she felt guilty, thinking she had dragged us into trouble and caused us to be expelled from the village. Elfman also became more timid because of this.” Lisanna smiled bitterly.

“Seeing Mira in so much pain and Elfman afraid of being rejected, I didn’t know what to do.”

“That’s all in the past.” Hearing the pain in Lisanna’s voice, Noah couldn’t help but speak.

“Now, you won’t have to go through that again.”

“Yes!” The sadness in Lisanna’s eyes faded, and she looked up at Noah with bright eyes.

“And the one who changed everything and saved us was you, Noah.”

“No, that’s not true.” Noah shook his head.

“I just happened to know a bit more than you and invited you to join ‘Fairy Tail’ at the right time. Even without me, you would have eventually discovered the truth about Mira’s power.”

“But the one we met wasn’t just anyone; it was you, Noah!” Lisanna reached out, cupping Noah’s face and turning it to meet her gaze.

“You saved Mira, you helped Elfman not become more timid, and you brought us into the guild, giving us friends and a new life. To us, you are that kind of person, Noah!”

“Noah!” Lisanna’s voice became more passionate.

“Actually, from that moment on, I…”

“Ding——!”

Just as Lisanna was about to confess her feelings, a strange sound interrupted her.

“Huh?” Both Noah, who was caught off guard by Lisanna’s actions, and the excited Lisanna were momentarily stunned. They turned their heads and saw a figure standing in the rain not far from them.

It was a very cute little girl, around twelve or thirteen years old.

The girl had bright green eyes and a pair of small wings on her head. Her long, curly, and thick golden hair reached her ankles, and she wore a thick, cloak-like dress.

Seeing the extremely cute and beautiful little girl, Noah and Lisanna were momentarily speechless.

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