Sudden News and Decisions

(A big thank you to 'Ice Moonshadow', 'Panda!', 'Black Cat Lazuli', 'Wandering in a World Without You', 'Heartbroken Soul', 'Yunqi Green Valley', 'Dragon Heaven i', 'Sing Boy', 'Our Two-Dimensional Dream', 'Little H Otaku', 'Windless Skyline', 'Shadow of Ti', 'Rabbit of 703' for the donations!)

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The moderately warm sunlight shone on the village, which was neither large nor small, and also shone on the courtyard of an old inn, enveloping the man and woman in the courtyard in a layer of golden gauze.

"Hah—hah—hah—!"

Accompanied by a series of stern shouts, Noah, wielding Knight Sword, practiced his slashes with the standard posture he had diligently practiced for three months. Each strike created a fleeting flash of sword light and a sharp whistling sound in front of him, giving a pleasing feeling.

Not far away, Wendy sat on the doorstep, her small hands propping up her cheeks, her watery eyes constantly watching Noah swinging his sword in the courtyard, a satisfied expression on her face, her gaze never leaving Noah.

This was the third day after Noah, Wendy, and Jellal returned from the forest.

On the first day of their return, Noah went to the Village Chief's house and told him that he had completed the task, asking the Village Chief to instruct the villagers to return to the forest to hunt as before.

Naturally, the Village Chief thanked Noah while subtly suggesting that Noah stay in the village for a few days. He would pay the reward for completing the commission after the villagers entering the forest confirmed that there were no more crying ghosts and broken skies in the forest.

This was a matter of course.

Noah didn't expect to gain the Village Chief's trust with just his words, so he took Wendy and stayed at the inn in this village.

As for Jellal, Noah originally thought that he would leave directly. However, Jellal also stayed and temporarily resided in the village.

"Although, according to my deduction, Anima shouldn't activate in this area again, it's better to stay and observe for a while, just in case."

Thus, Noah, Wendy, and Jellal stayed in the village together and also lived in the inn.

It is worth mentioning that although the three of them stayed in the village inn, they only rented two rooms.

Noah was the first person Wendy had ever met.

Now, Grandine, Wendy's mother, had suddenly disappeared. Wendy had been searching desperately in the forest for several days and had cried for several days. One can imagine how difficult the process was for a little girl who was not even ten years old and knew nothing of the world.

Perhaps because of this, as the first person Wendy had ever met and the first person to give Wendy warmth, Noah seemed to have a very high position in Wendy's heart in just three days.

In addition, Wendy's only relative was gone. In these three days, Wendy basically never left Noah for a moment. She even had to sleep in the same room and the same bed as Noah, otherwise, she would have a sad expression as if she was about to cry, completely clinging to Noah.

Having no choice, Noah could only let Wendy do as she pleased.

"Hah—hah—hah—!"

Rhythmic shouts continued to sound, and the flash of the cold sword blade continued to flicker in the courtyard.

Noah had spent almost all of these three days training his swordsmanship and magic control. Compared to Magnolia, the only differences were the location and the absence of Erza as a sparring partner. Everything else was the same.

Even outside, Noah did not forget to train his only combat ability, which had only just begun to be recognized.

Wendy, who had been watching Noah practice his sword, noticed someone approaching. After a moment of stunned silence, she stood up and called out to Noah in a delicate voice.

"Noah, Jellal is back!"

The Knight Sword in Noah's hand, which had just been swung halfway, immediately stopped in mid-air, not following the trend to continue the slash.

From this, it can be seen that Noah's progress in swordsmanship can be described as rapid. Even Erza, upon seeing this scene, would involuntarily praise him.

"Noah." Wendy had already run to Noah's side at some point, holding a towel in her hand and handing it to Noah.

"Thank you." Noah took the towel, wiped his sweat, and patted Wendy's head. As Wendy showed a comfortable expression, he turned his head and looked at Jellal, who was walking over.

"How is it?"

"Still stable." Jellal nodded.

"Anima currently shows no signs of continuing to activate in this place. I think it's safe here."

Hearing this, Noah also nodded.

Even after spending three days together, Jellal still showed no signs of telling Noah about the Hyper-Spatial Magic Anima, so Noah didn't know anything about Anima.

However, from Jellal's words, 'it's safe here', it can be inferred that if Anima were to successfully activate, it would definitely cause a disaster no less than Noah's magic going berserk!

It was to stop this disaster that Jellal appeared here.

According to Jellal, he would continue to travel around the world, tracking the activation of Anima and embarking on a journey to constantly shut down the Anima that was about to activate.

Knowing this, Noah turned his gaze to Jellal.

"Planning to leave?"

Jellal opened his mouth, just about to say something when a voice interrupted him.

"Guest from Fairy Tail!"

The person who spoke was the owner of the inn, who had walked in from outside the inn and came to Noah.

"What's wrong?" Noah looked at the inn owner, frowning slightly at his hesitant appearance.

"Did something happen?"

"The Village Chief asked me to bring you a message." The inn owner shook his head, saying this.

"Not long ago, three white-haired children about your age went to the Village Chief to ask about your whereabouts, and then went into the forest. They haven't returned yet. The Village Chief asked me to ask you if those three are your companions?"

"Three white-haired children?"

Wendy and Jellal both looked at Noah at the same time. Therefore, they also clearly saw Noah's expression suddenly change.

"What is it?" Jellal asked.

"Is it someone you know?"

"Sort of." Noah's expression was a little unpleasant, and he asked the innkeeper.

"You're saying that after entering the forest, those three never came back?"

"It's not just that they didn't come back." The innkeeper answered honestly.

"The villagers only saw those three enter the forest, but they never saw them come out again."

Noah was silent for a while, then nodded.

"I understand, please thank the Village Chief for me."

The innkeeper smiled and nodded, then retreated out.

"Noah, big brother..." Wendy suddenly felt a little uneasy, and tightly grabbed Noah's silent hand, refusing to let go.

"Noah." Jellal then asked.

"Do you need help?"

Noah's expression changed a few times, and finally he sighed and pulled Wendy in front of him.

"If you want to help me, then I want to ask you, can you take Wendy to find Grandine?"

"Take Wendy to find Grandine?" Jellal was a little surprised.

"I don't want to!" Wendy's face turned pale instantly, and she suddenly hugged Noah's leg.

"I don't want to leave Noah, big brother!"

Noah seemed to have expected things to turn out this way, with a helpless smile on his face, and he squatted down, pulling Wendy in front of him once again.

"Wendy, be a good girl, let Jellal take you to find Grandine, okay?"

"I don't want to, I don't want to!" Wendy plunged into Noah's arms again, hugging him tightly, as if she would never let go.

"Noah, big brother, don't leave me alone like Grandine did!"

Listening to Wendy's words, feeling how much force was in Wendy's small arms hugging him, Noah himself was surprised.

Although Noah also liked Wendy, this cute little girl who was like a little sister, he really didn't expect Wendy to be so attached to him.

Thinking of this, Noah couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, stroking Wendy's thin back in his arms, and said softly.

"I don't want to be separated from Wendy either, but, doesn't Wendy want to find Grandine?"

Wendy trembled all over.