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'Fairy Tail' was one of the foremost mage guilds in the entire Kingdom of Fiore.
In terms of scale and strength, there were fewer than five guilds in the entire Kingdom of Fiore that could compare to 'Fairy Tail.'
Naturally, 'Fairy Tail' received quite a few requests from all over the Kingdom of Fiore every day, with every kind of strange and unusual job imaginable.
Standing before the Request Board, Noah saw simple requests such as finding certain items, driving away thieves or bandits, somewhat difficult requests such as lifting curses that required the power of magic, and even high-level requests such as exterminating unlawful mage organizations and Magical Beasts that harmed people, among many others.
Generally speaking, the harder a request was to complete, the higher its reward would be. Needless to say, requests involving mortal danger usually offered exceptionally high rewards.
For the time being, however, those were beyond the scope of Noah's consideration now that he had only just become qualified to take on work.
After discussing it with Erza, they both decided that their first mission absolutely could not be too difficult, nor could it be too far away. Otherwise, going alone would bring all kinds of trouble. Setting aside whether danger might arise, efficiency could not be guaranteed.
Thus, Noah ruled out all requests that required traveling to distant places and carried considerable risk, as well as those that specifically required a certain kind of magic to complete.
At some point, Erza had already torn down a request slip and gone to Makarov to accept the job, preparing to head out for work.
After lingering over the many request slips on the Request Board for a while, Noah fixed his gaze on one of them, reached out, and tore it down.
"Have you decided?"
Makarov had been standing behind Noah all along. After seeing the contents of the job Noah had chosen, he nodded.
"This task seems somewhat strange, but it should not be too difficult. Still, you need to be careful. If you find that you cannot handle it, or sense any danger, do not force yourself. Give up the task immediately. You are still young!"
Hearing Makarov's words, Noah nodded, though his hand tightly gripped the request slip. His heart stirred with a faint surge of excitement.
The azure sky stretched endlessly overhead.
The vibrant green fields extended as far as the eye could see.
On a path through those boundless fields, a boy of only eleven or twelve walked forward with a long cloth bag slung over one shoulder. It was like a long backpack reaching down to his ankles. One hand held its strap while the other held a sheet of paper.
Along the way, many people tending livestock in the fields cast curious, puzzled, appraising looks at the boy walking down the path. Perhaps they were all wondering whether he was some family's lost child.
In fact, Noah had encountered quite a few kind-hearted people on the way who came over to ask if he was lost. He had even been bothered by human traffickers who seemed to have come from nowhere, leaving him rather helpless.
However, those encounters ended here.
At a certain moment, Noah stopped walking and looked ahead.
A village.
A village not too far from Magnolia.
At the very least, Noah had reached his destination on foot without taking a vehicle, though it had taken quite some time.
Looking at the village before him, which was not very far away, then shifting his gaze to the request slip in his hand, Noah confirmed once again that this village was his destination.
This request had been issued by the village chief.
Generally speaking, requests issued by villages of this size were usually for driving away wild beasts or bandits, or finding medicinal herbs and ingredients to treat illnesses. Requests with high difficulty or danger were rare.
That was why Noah had chosen to accept the request issued by this village.
Of course, Noah had also checked the contents of the request.
How should he put it?
He did not know whether it was difficult, nor did he know whether it would truly be simple. In any case, it was rather baffling.
With those thoughts in mind, Noah followed a villager into a house and met the village chief.
The village chief was an elderly man, perhaps even older than Makarov. He leaned on a cane, stooped at the waist, and had a grizzled beard that trailed all the way to the ground.
"..." The old man first looked Noah up and down, then spoke in a drawn-out tone.
"Welcome, guest from 'Fairy Tail'..."
Seeing this, Noah could not help but think a little more highly of the old man before him.
Just now, Noah had clearly seen a trace of doubt in the old man's eyes.
Evidently, the old man was puzzled that the mage who had come to solve his village's troubles was such a young child.
Yet even so, the old man said nothing, nor did he seem inclined to verify anything with Noah. He first welcomed him, showing not the slightest dissatisfaction because of Noah's young age.
Noah did not know whether the man had chosen to trust in his ability because he was from 'Fairy Tail,' or whether he intended to be polite before turning hostile. In any case, the old man's failure to make trouble for Noah right away made Noah feel much more at ease.
Although the previous task of activating Lake of Rituals had depended on Noah, Laxus had handled nearly all matters involving contact, discussion, and negotiation with the client.
Because of that, strictly speaking, this was Noah's first time working independently. He could not help feeling a little nervous.
However, the old man's conduct dispelled what little nervousness Noah had, lightening his heart as he greeted him.
"Hello, Village Chief. I'm a mage from 'Fairy Tail,' and I've come to help you solve your problem!"
"Thank you very much for your assistance." The village chief nodded extremely slowly.
"Though our village is small, we do have one or two inns for passing travelers. If you need one, we will accommodate you free of charge. Would you like to rest first?"
"It is indeed getting late, and it is not a good time to work. I would be very grateful if I could rest for the night, but before that, there are a few questions I would like to ask you, Village Chief." Noah raised the request slip in his hand, his voice carrying a hint of uncertainty.
"The request says that the task is to drive away ghosts. What exactly is going on?"
That was right!
Drive away ghosts!
That was precisely what Noah found so baffling!
Although this was a world where magic was extremely widespread and had even become integrated into people's daily lives, and although Magical Beasts capable of endangering people's lives existed as well, Noah had even heard Makarov mention that demons existed in this world.
But did ghosts really exist?
Perhaps they did, but Noah had never seen one, so he could not help feeling skeptical.
It was not just Noah. Even if it had been someone else, they would probably have been just as full of doubts.
After all, the people of old villages often had far less knowledge than the residents of towns and cities outside. Sometimes, it was entirely possible for them to mistake unusual phenomena, the activities of weak Magical Beasts, or malicious people pretending to be ghosts for actual spirits.
If that was the case, this task would not be difficult to solve. What Noah feared was that there was another hidden reason, that something beyond his ability was causing trouble.
That was why Makarov's advice had merely been to come and take a look. If anything seemed wrong, requests of this kind could be abandoned.
After all, if ghosts really were causing trouble, Noah had no means of driving them away.
Therefore, it was necessary to get a clear explanation.
Perhaps the village chief understood this as well. Seeing Noah directly ask about the job, he began to explain unhurriedly.
"Actually, ever since some time ago, villagers who go into the forest to hunt have often heard the sound of ghosts crying!"
Before you continue