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Noah had heard Makarov mention Porlyusica before. Though she was not particularly famous, she was an extremely formidable person.
When Makarov had said that, Noah had assumed Porlyusica was a powerhouse whose strength could rival Makarov's, one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
Now Noah understood that when Makarov called Porlyusica formidable, he had not been referring to her strength, but her healing abilities.
Although Noah's injuries could not be called severe, they were certainly not light either. Yet after Porlyusica examined him once and said he would recover in three days, he really did make a complete recovery three days later.
Once the three days had passed, Noah removed the bandages around his body. His left shoulder and arm, which had previously been charred black by electricity, had completely returned to normal, leaving only several rather gruesome scars.
Of course, if Porlyusica had come to look after Noah during those three days, there would definitely not have been even the slightest trace left on his body.
Unfortunately, getting Porlyusica, who hated humans, to come to Fairy Tail again just to keep Noah from getting scars was probably something even Makarov could not manage, right?
Noah did not care much about the gruesome scars stretching from his left shoulder down his entire arm. After confirming that his injuries had completely healed, he hesitated for a moment before wrapping his entire left arm in bandages to conceal the scars, then left his room.
Fairy Tail was as noisy as ever.
Looking at the guild's first floor, as boisterous as a bar, Noah wore a somewhat nostalgic expression. An unconscious smile appeared on his face as he stepped into view of his guildmates.
"Noah?"
Gray, who had been talking to someone at a wooden table, froze when he saw Noah. Then he hurried over and began feeling Noah all over.
"You're okay now?"
"I'm fine." Noah smiled as he brushed away Gray's searching hands.
"My injuries have completely healed."
"Seriously?" Gray stubbornly continued feeling around him, his gaze constantly inspecting Noah's body.
"When you came back, you looked like you were about to die. It's only been three days. Are you really completely better?"
"If I weren't fully recovered, I wouldn't have come downstairs." Noah helplessly slapped Gray's hand away again.
"You know Grandpa is unusually stubborn about this sort of thing. If I wasn't better, he wouldn't have allowed me downstairs."
"That's true." Gray finally stopped pestering Noah. Folding his arms, he clicked his tongue in amazement.
"But I never expected your first job to leave you so badly injured. Didn't I tell you not to go?"
"I know you were worried, but no one could have expected something like that. It's enough that I'm okay." Noah was surprisingly open-minded about it and even tried to reassure Gray instead.
"When you get the chance to go out on a job, be careful. Don't end up like me."
"You only went out on one job before me. What's with talking like you're some experienced elder?" Gray smacked his lips in annoyance, then gestured to the side.
"Instead of looking at me, look over there."
Noah looked in the direction Gray indicated with some confusion, only to be surprised the next moment.
There, Erza, still dressed in armor, sat beside a wooden table. Her red hair remained as brilliant and dazzling as ever, and her expression was as stern as always.
The difference was that this time, Erza was not sitting alone in a corner of the guild.
Several girls from the guild were sitting at the wooden table with Erza, seemingly chatting with her. From the looks of it, they were getting along quite well.
"This..." Even Noah was bewildered by the sight.
"What's going on?"
Noah clearly remembered that Erza had always seemed distant before and never interacted with anyone.
But what was this scene now?
"Three days ago, after you two came back, Erza became much more approachable and stopped rejecting her guildmates when they tried to get close to her." Gray asked curiously.
"Did something happen while you were out on that job? Otherwise, how could Erza have changed so much?"
"I'm not really sure either." Noah scratched his cheek. He actually had an idea what had happened, but he only smiled at Gray.
"Well, it's a good thing, isn't it?"
"True. Erza isn't as unpleasant as before now, but I heard that during this job, Erza apparently defeated wizards from Phantom Lord!" Gray said eagerly.
"When I get the chance, I'll challenge Erza and see whether she's really that strong!"
Hearing Gray's words, Noah opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But seeing Gray's excited expression, he knew that whatever he said would be useless.
Honestly, Noah was not optimistic about Gray challenging Erza.
Leaving aside the fact that Gray's magic was still in the learning stage, he would have no problem using magic successfully, but applying it in combat was still far too early.
Erza, on the other hand, not only possessed swordsmanship strong enough to defeat the regular wizards of a Phantom Lord branch in one stroke, but was also highly proficient with Requip Magic. She was not someone Gray, who was still fumbling his way forward, could compare to.
If Gray faced Erza, Noah felt that lasting even one minute would be a miracle.
Just as Noah was feeling helpless over Gray's decision, Erza noticed him from afar. She immediately said something to the people at her table, stood up, and headed toward Noah.
Watching the gallant young girl in armor walk over, Noah chuckled. Once Erza reached him, he spoke directly.
"Looks like you've finally started getting used to this place too..."
"Mostly because everyone is easy to get along with." Erza nodded, then asked with concern.
"Are your injuries all right now?"
"Just as you can see, I'm basically fully recovered." Noah moved his left arm, but his gaze was drawn to Erza's eyes.
Of course, it was not because Erza was particularly charming, nor because she had an extremely pretty face and a pair of beautiful eyes. It was because both of Erza's eyes were exposed to the air.
Yes!
Both of them!
The medical eyepatch Erza had once worn over one eye was gone, and both her eyes appeared before Noah completely intact.
Naturally, it drew Noah's attention.
"Your eye..." Noah asked carefully.
"My eye..." Erza touched the eye that had once been covered by the medical eyepatch, her expression full of complicated emotions. After a while, she shook her head.
"It was originally gone, but the old lady the Guild Master brought back to treat you also examined my eye at the Guild Master's request."
"I see." Noah understood.
"A prosthetic eye?"
Erza nodded. She seemed unwilling to talk about her eye and became serious as though changing the subject.
"I still haven't thanked you for saving me!"
Noah shrugged. Just as he was about to brush it off, something stirred in his heart, and he looked intently at Erza.
"If that's the case, there's something I'd like to ask of you. Can you come with me?"
"No problem!" Although she did not know what Noah wanted to ask of her, Erza agreed readily.
Thus, led by Noah, the two of them left the guild together.
Watching Noah and Erza leave as though no one else existed, Gray, who stood nearby, was dumbfounded. After a long while, he let out an explosive roar.
"Are you two ignoring me----?!"
Before you continue