Going Home

Christina landed gently in the guild's courtyard.

The group disembarked from the airship one after another.

The members of the Tenrou Island assessment team looked left and right, only noticing that the guild seemed a bit deserted compared to when they left.

That's normal, since their minds are still stuck on the idea of "leaving the guild for two days".

The Fairy Sphere sealed them away for seven whole years.

As expected of one of Fairy Tail's three most Super Magic, calling it a super defensive spell is less accurate than calling it a time-travel spell.

"Oh, thanks, this damn feeling."

Riyao was still clinging to Mirajane, limp and dangling, humming incessantly.

Natsu stepped onto the ground and immediately jumped twice, swinging his arms wildly.

It feels so good to be grounded!

Riyao rolled his eyes.

The group entered the guild hall.

Desolate.

It was so quiet that you could hear your own footsteps bouncing between the walls.

Compared to the chaotic guild of the past, it's like heaven and earth.

Natsu scanned the empty hall, his chest heaving twice.

"Those bastards!"

He roared, his voice echoing through the empty hall.

"He actually left the guild!"

Makarov, however, didn't seem to care, standing with his hands behind his back and speaking in a calm tone.

"Children have their own ideas, and they are taking responsibility for themselves."

Mirajane thought for a moment, then helped Riyao walk towards the manor.

"We're heading back now."

Lisanna and Elfman greeted everyone and followed.

"We're going back to the manor to clean up too. Bye-bye."

Wendy and Carla quickly jogged to catch up.

"We'll head back now."

These words served as a reminder to the rest of the group.

Gildarts scratched his head, his hair a mess, his face scrunched up in a grimace.

"Another cleaning session, oh well, so annoying..."

Romeo blinked and coughed lightly.

"Uh... Uncle Gildarts, you don't need to clean up."

"Um?"

Your house has collapsed.

Gildarts and Cana both froze on the spot, their expressions simultaneously frozen.

Romeo scratched his cheek, carefully choosing his words.

"Because the house was damaged in many places and had been neglected for a long time, it collapsed."

Gildarts opened his mouth, his mind racing.

"I was originally planning to deal with it after I got back from the assessment."

Cana took a deep breath and kicked Gildarts in the shin.

"Can't you just control your Crush Magic properly?!"

Gildarts hugged his calf and hopped twice on one foot, his mouth stretched to his ears, whether from pain or laughter was hard to tell.

Lucy suddenly thought of her apartment, covered her face with her hands, and muffled sounds came from between her fingers.

"Oh no, oh no, the landlord's going to kill me."

Bisca pulled a letter from behind the bar and handed it to Lucy.

"This was sent by your parents. They said they'd give it to you when you come back."

Lucy took the letter, her fingers trembling slightly.

She didn't open it on the spot. Instead, she squatted down in a corner with the letter in her arms, her back to everyone, her shoulders slightly hunched.

After a moment, his shoulders relaxed.

"Thank goodness, they didn't rush me to go home."

Everyone was preparing to go back to their rooms to tidy up.

Bisca's voice drifted over from the bar, her tone clearly gloating.

"By the way, Fairy Hills closed down, and all your stuff is piled up in the guild warehouse."

Erza, Levy, Evergreen, Juvia.

All four people froze at the same time.

Then they all wailed in unison.

"No..."

Looks like I'll have to sleep on the floor at the guild tonight.

Bisca led the four of them toward the warehouse.

As soon as the warehouse door was pushed open, a cloud of dust rushed out, making Levy sneeze twice.

Juvia was the first to see what was inside and exclaimed in surprise.

"Is this an armory?!"

The warehouse was full of weapons—longswords, battle axes, spears, and shields—neatly stacked in several rows, reflecting a cold light in the dim light.

The other three all shook their heads.

"This is from Erza's room."

Erza one hand on her hip, raised her chin, and gave a thumbs-up.

"If you have free time, you can exercise in your room."

Levy's lips twitched, and she dragged a large box out from the corner.

When I opened it, it was full of books, crammed to the brim.

The top few books had covers adorned with pink bubbles, and the title fonts were crooked and messy.

These are the romance novels she usually likes to read.

Levy the lid of the box shut, her ears turning bright red.

Juvia dragged out an even larger suitcase, which, when opened, was filled with Gray's photographs.

Various angles, various expressions: sleeping, eating, halfway through undressing.

The expressions on the faces of the people nearby were subtle.

His lips were twitching.

My eyebrows are twitching.

Evergreen extended her index finger, pointing at the box, her fingertip trembling slightly.

"Are you sure this isn't perverted?!"

Juvia waved his hand frantically, his hand almost leaving a blur.

"Most of these were given to Riyao by Juvia!"

The expressions on their faces became even more subtle.

His lips twitched even faster.

His eyebrows twitched even more excitedly.

"Big pervert and little pervert?!"

Levy's witty remark hit the nail on the head.

The group checked their belongings and then fell silent.

Levy sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Where are we going to live now? Fairy Hills, which we used as a girls' dormitory, is gone. No landlord in Magnolia will be willing to let a bunch of troublemakers rent a place together."

Fairy Hills was originally an apartment building that Makarov consulted with others to build in the suburbs.

It went bankrupt.

Bisca clapped her hands, her palms coming together crisply.

"Actually, you could stay at Riyao's manor."

The group thought about it for a moment.

Levy shook her head.

"There aren't enough rooms in Lisanna's building, so another one has been converted into a recreation room, Riyao building isn't available for anyone else."

Erza touched her chin, rubbed her fingers around it twice, and then her eyes suddenly lit up.

"How about we build one ourselves? Right next to Lisanna's."

Their eyes lit up at the same time.

Levy started counting the materials on her fingers.

Evergreen suggested getting a garden.

Juvia suggested building a large swimming pool.

Erza is already planning the location for the weapons display wall.

The four people became more and more excited as they talked, and their voices grew louder and louder.

Bisca leaned against the warehouse doorframe, watching them plot, and finally couldn't help but mutter a complaint.

"Aren't you going to ask Riyao for his opinion?"

All four of them stopped talking at the same time.

There was a moment of silence.

Erza patted her chest, the armor clanging loudly.

"I'll go talk to Mira about it!"

Bisca, rubbing her forehead.

This means they intend to bypass Riyao.

The group huddled together again, chattering even louder than before.

Each of these four people has their own ulterior motives.

Erza wanted to eat strawberry cake every day.

Juvia thought it would be easier to get Gray's photo.

Levy wanted to spend the whole night talking about the novel with Lisanna.

Evergreen was thinking of some big guy.