(Heartfelt thanks to 'World's End Ballad,' 'You're Quietly Watching Me Update,' 'Long Lian Qingxue,' '~. Meow the Meow,' 'Lei Xiang,' 'Hymn of Light and Wings,' and 'Tian Di Shuang Shang' for their rewards!)
The clearly audible rain had been echoing throughout Magnolia, forcing every household to keep their windows and doors tightly shut and hide indoors, unable even to do business.
Thick, dark clouds blanketed the skies above Magnolia, relentlessly pouring down torrential rain. Not only had the temperature in the air dropped considerably, but a somewhat gloomy atmosphere had spread throughout the entire city.
In weather and an atmosphere like this, no one would want to go outside.
Thus, quite unusually, Fairy Tail was not as lively as usual today. All the mages were huddled in the hall, looking listless and drained of energy. They were not even taking on jobs, merely idling around.
As a result, when Noah came downstairs, he was momentarily stunned by the somewhat depressed atmosphere before understanding what was going on and smiling helplessly.
Noah's appearance immediately caught the attention of two people.
Two girls who, though occupied with their own things, kept stealing glances toward the staircase as if expecting someone to appear.
One of them was Wendy, who was chatting intermittently with Charlulu.
"Noah!"
The moment Wendy saw Noah come downstairs, her eyes lit up, and she waved at him.
"Hmph."
Charlulu noticed Noah's arrival as well, but she merely snorted and turned her head away somewhat haughtily.
Noah shook his head with a laugh. After returning Wendy's greeting, he headed toward the bar.
There, Mira was wiping plates, but her gaze remained fixed on Noah. The sweet smile on her face told him who the second person who had been secretly watching the stairs was.
Noah returned her smile, then looked