Too Cruel

Clatter, clatter~

Listening to the steady rhythm of the wheels, Noah looked over the vehicle known as the "Magical Train."

It used Magic Crystals that stored magic power to fuel the train. It wasn't very efficient, and it didn't go especially fast. Even its comfort left much to be desired—the wooden seats became uncomfortable if you sat in them for too long.

Yet the Magical Train was still popular, thanks to its cheap fares and the railway network connecting the major cities. Those two advantages were enough to make up for all its shortcomings.

Similar forms of transportation existed in Edolas, but with magic running out, they had stopped operating decades ago. Noah had only ever read about them in books.

What puzzled Noah was that Earth-land wasn't Edolas. Magic was plentiful in this world, yet when it came to magical transportation, it hadn't advanced much beyond Edolas.

It shouldn't have stagnated like this.

Noah turned to Mira, who sat by the window beside him, and voiced his question.

Resting her chin on one hand, Mira gazed at the changing scenery outside. "Why hasn't anyone continued developing it? Of course, it's because there isn't enough profit in it."

"I heard the Heartfilia Konzern, which controls the railways, ran into financial trouble. They've already been forced to sell ownership of several railway lines to pay off their debts."

Noah understood. It was a perfectly reasonable explanation. Research always needed a great deal of money and resources to support it. Without those, progress would be difficult.

Across from them, Lisanna sat beside Elfman. She asked innocently, "Noah, you're not familiar with much about the outside world. How are you going to find your older brother?"

"I'll take it one step at a time," Noah replied with a smile.

To conceal his identity, Noah had made up a story: he'd lived in the mountains with his family for a long time, and had come down into the world to look for his older brother.

He couldn't exactly say that he was from a parallel world and had come to steal Lumen Histoire from their guild.

Back in the valley, Noah had noticed a white emblem resembling a dancing fairy on the left thigh of both Mira and Lisanna. Elfman had the same emblem in black on the left side of his neck.

Noah had seen that emblem in Edolas.

He might have been a shut-in, but as the second prince, Noah read all kinds of newspapers from across the country every day. The Mage Guild Fairy Tail was always making the headlines in the border news.

Noah had been certain then that Mira and the others belonged to the Fairy Tail of Earth-land, the guild Ivan had mentioned.

So Noah had subtly let them know he had nowhere to go.

And Mira had been as welcoming as he'd expected, inviting him to join her guild. Noah had readily agreed.

As for the one true part of his story—his search for his older brother, Jellal—all Noah could do was what he'd told Lisanna.

In a world of countless people, he'd take it one step at a time.

A long whistle sounded as the Magical Train pulled into the final stop on its route: Magnolia, the city where Fairy Tail was based.

Same time, different place.

In the valley where the Beast King had fallen, a mysterious figure in a black robe that concealed his face arrived, five magic wands strapped to his back.

"Am I too late...?"

Seeing that nobody was around, the mysterious figure removed his mask, revealing a handsome face that looked about seventy percent like Noah's. His hair was dark blue, and a brown tattoo ran above and below his right eye.

"The first Anima in over a decade, and it activated in reverse. What was sent over from Edolas?"

The mysterious man studied the enormous Corpse Remains being devoured by weaker monsters in the valley, then slowly drew a magic wand from his back.

Magnolia was a port city in the Kingdom of Fiore, with a permanent population of more than sixty thousand. By the standards of the continent, it just about qualified as a major city.

As he left the station, Noah spotted two tall buildings standing at opposite ends of the city.

One was a cathedral.

The other was facing away from him, so Noah couldn't see its front. It looked a little like a tavern.

Mira eagerly began introducing the city to Noah.

"That's Kardia Cathedral. It's extremely important to most of Magnolia's residents."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "It has so many believers. What god does the cathedral worship?"

"It doesn't worship anyone~"

Seeing Noah's stunned expression, Mira gave him a mysterious smile. "To us, Kardia Cathedral is more like a giant notification device. When its bells ring out urgently across the whole city, it means someone has come back."

As for who that someone was, Mira only smiled and told Noah he'd find out eventually.

With Mira leading the way, Noah arrived at the other building, a three-story place that looked like a tavern.

The flag fluttering from the top floor had a red background with white markings. Noah didn't need Mira to tell him what this place was; the Dancing Fairy emblem on the flag said it all.

The Mage Guild, Fairy Tail!

Even through the thick wooden doors, Noah could hear all kinds of commotion coming from inside.

But after listening more closely, Noah's expression turned strange. Why did it sound like fighting and people egging someone on?

"Our guild... gets a little lively."

Mira saw Noah's expression and felt a little embarrassed. Couldn't those troublemakers settle down for once? What if they left Noah with a bad impression?

Doing her best to keep smiling, Mira pushed open the guild doors. "Everyone, we're ba—"

Whoosh!

Before she could finish, a streak of fire shot past her.

In an instant, her angelic smile vanished, replaced by a devilish scowl.

The first floor of the guild was laid out like a tavern. A crowd of guild members had gathered around the two boys "dueling" in the middle of the hall, cheering them on. Not one of them noticed the danger closing in behind them.

By the time they realized what was happening, the white-haired girl's fist was already in front of them.

A flurry of blows rang out, quick and brief.

In the blink of an eye, the crowd had been knocked to the floor in disarray.

Now, aside from Mira, only the two boys at the center of the commotion remained standing.

One had cherry-blossom-colored hair and wore a scarf, flames flickering around him.

The other, a black-haired boy with his upper body bare, was surrounded by a chill.

The two boys, Natsu and Gray, had already stopped grappling when Mira arrived.

Natsu, as oblivious as ever, hadn't figured out what was going on. He cheerfully greeted Mira. "Welcome home, Mira! Looks like your mission went pretty well."

Unlike the thickheaded Natsu, Gray noticed that something was wrong when he saw their companions sprawled across the floor. Mira was usually combative, but she wouldn't normally take on this many people at once.

"Mira, who was the idiot who made you angry?"

At Gray's question, Mira's gloomy expression suddenly changed. Smiling brightly at Natsu and Gray, she held out both hands toward them.

"Just like I'd expect from Gray. You've got more brains than Natsu."

"And those idiots... are you two bastards!!"

Mira slammed Natsu and Gray's heads together, one on each side. Both boys rolled their eyes back and lost consciousness on the spot.

Watching this, Noah couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat.

If he hadn't mistaken what he saw, Mira had knocked everyone out, and she'd hit the last two especially hard.

That was brutal.

Was it really acceptable to beat up your own guildmates like that?!

For some reason, Noah suddenly remembered how Ivan had described Fairy Tail: a light guild with a dark side.

This guild...

Was it some kind of shady establishment...?