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Tenrou Island.
The birthplace of Fairy Tail.
Over a hundred years ago, Mavis, who lived on Tenrou Island, met three bounty hunters from a bounty guild: Warrod, Precht, and Yuri.
For various reasons, after a life-or-death crisis against a Dark Guild, the four forged a deep friendship and eventually established their magic guild—Fairy Tail.
When the guild was newly founded, the original four members, to commemorate their bond, designated Tenrou Island, where they first met, as the guild's sacred ground. They also jointly developed a unique magic barrier to protect Tenrou Island.
However, unforeseen circumstances struck. Mavis's death dealt a heavy blow to Fairy Tail, and the original four members also fell apart.
In the end, only Precht remained.
The Second Guild Master shouldered the burden of the four's efforts, pulling the floundering guild back on track and gradually developing it into a powerful force.
At the same time, he also had to care for and teach the young Makarov, write magic books for the guild, and secretly research magic to revive Mavis.
It seems Precht was truly a workhorse.
"Brat, are we heading to Tenrou Island now?"
Just as Noah's thoughts drifted further and further away, Makarov's words brought him back to reality.
Snapping back to attention, Noah noticed that all three pairs of eyes were focused on him, especially August's eager gaze, wanting to see his "old father," which made him uncomfortable.
Noah quickly said, "There's no rush for Tenrou Island. I've met Zeref, and the Contradiction Curse has tormented him into a recluse. Tenrou Island is quiet and undisturbed by outsiders, making it an excellent place for reclusion. He won't leave anytime soon."
August twitched his mouth. To criticize his father so sharply in front of him, his son, if he couldn't beat Noah, August would definitely have argued with him properly.
But did his father really have a tendency to be a recluse? In August's memory, Zeref showed no emotions other than indifference, as if he viewed the Western Continent and the Empire as his game, and everyone else as pawns manipulated by him.
The Alvarez Empire had been founded for eighty years, yet Zeref had spent less than ten years on the Western Continent, leaving all matters to August.
August now understood that his father was hiding away in reclusion due to the Contradiction Curse.
Seeing that August didn't object, Noah breathed a sigh of relief.
Indeed, August had endured seventy or eighty years; a few more days wouldn't make a difference.
Noah looked at Makarov: "Once a secret is known by more than two people, it's no longer a secret."
"Little old man, I think you should tell Warrod and Laxus about the Fairy Heart, right?"
Noah's last sentence was subtle, but Makarov understood.
As one of the original four members, even if Warrod knew about the existence of the Fairy Heart, which possessed "endless Magic Power," he would not covet it.
As for Laxus, ever since his good-for-nothing father was expelled from the guild by Makarov for secretly looking at the Fairy Heart, the relationship between grandfather and grandson had been a bit "awkward."
By telling Laxus what the Fairy Heart truly was, Makarov believed his grandson would understand why he had expelled Ivan back then.
Just as Noah said, the secret that only the Guild Master could know had already been revealed to three other people, so two more wouldn't hurt.
Moreover, neither Warrod nor Laxus were talkative people.
The four left the underground space, and Makarov immediately went to confront his good uncle and good grandson.
Gildarts returned to the hall to drink with Cana. The Black Wizard, the Fairy Heart, and such indeed shocked him, but in Gildarts' opinion, none of it was as important as the daughter he had neglected.
August went to find a house to settle Dimaria.
As for Brandish, she had already moved into Lucy's dormitory. August was very pleased that his granddaughter-like child finally had another good friend.
The guild was bustling with noise, people coming and going, everyone having their own tasks, even a slacker like Noah.
After Makarov and the others went their separate ways, Noah turned and sought out Natsu.
However, Natsu seemed too busy to pay attention to him at the moment.
"Ice-block bastard!"
"Flame idiot!"
"Stripping pervert exhibitionist!"
"Brainless barbarian!"
Noah watched the two ice and fire mages wrestling, speechless. These two were exchanging insults, one after another; anyone who didn't know them would think they were playing a descriptive game.
Happy, standing on a table nearby, spotted Noah and happily held up the fish in his arms above his head. "Noah, want some fish?"
Noah, of course, wouldn't take a bite from the little cat. He stroked Happy's head and asked, "What are those two fighting about now?"
"Because of fish, meow." Happy sat down with his fish and began to explain the reason for Natsu and Gray's fight.
It turned out that after Elfman completed a request, the client gave him a basket of fresh fish, which Elfman then gave to the guild's cats.
But not every cat liked fish. The guild's cats had different food preferences, and besides Happy, the other cats weren't interested in fish.
So, Happy, who had suddenly acquired a basket of fish, was delightfully troubled about how to eat them.
At this point, Natsu declared that grilled fish was the obvious choice, confident that his control over flames would prevent any burning. Gray, however, held the opposite opinion, believing that fresh fish was best as sashimi, and he could make ice containers to ensure the fish wouldn't spoil.
Thus, Natsu and Gray engaged in an "understanding discussion" about whether "grilled fish" or "sashimi" was better, and as expected, it escalated from just talking to talking and then fighting.
They truly lived up to their names, the 'no-brainer' and the 'unhappy one.'
They could fight over the smallest things, but this was also Natsu and Gray's usual way of interacting.
Noah glanced at the basket of fish under the table, which contained about twenty or thirty fish, not too many, but all quite large. "What's there to argue about? Grill half and make sashimi with the other half."
As soon as these words were uttered, Gray and Natsu, who were head-to-head in a struggle, instantly froze, then both revealed expressions of sudden realization.
"Oh, right, there's that option!"
"How come I didn't think of that? Noah, you're so smart."
This has nothing to do with being smart, does it?
It's clearly that you two rivals were stubborn and ended up in a dead end together.
Noah grumbled inwardly, quietly suggesting to Happy to fry a few of the fish and make fish soup. The leftover fish soup could then be given to the two ice and fire mages to help them think better.
Though it might not necessarily work...
"Natsu, come with me."
With that, Noah turned and left. Although Natsu was puzzled, he obediently followed.
The guild's lounge was rarely used; everyone preferred to stay in the main hall. The deserted environment perfectly suited Noah's needs.
"Noah, what did you want to talk to me about privately... Huh? Why am I suddenly so sleepy...?" Before he could finish speaking, Natsu swayed and fell asleep.
Noah helped Natsu, who had fallen under his Dream Magic, and laid him on the lounge sofa. Then, he closed his eyes and his consciousness entered the depths of Natsu's spirit.
The tall and majestic Fire Dragon King and the Purgatory Dragon, constantly engulfed in flames, immediately appeared before Noah.
"Fire Dragon King, I'm going to deal with Zeref. If all goes well, I should be able to curb the curse he's afflicted with."
"Regarding the plan to deal with the Black Dragon, shall we discuss it?"
"There are many ways to prepare fish; don't be so rigid."