Like Father, Like Guild

The merchants' compensation was ultimately paid by Erza on Natsu's behalf.

Judging by how decisively she pulled out the money and how practiced she was at making Natsu apologize, it was easy to tell how familiar Erza was with cleaning up after the kid.

Though she was strict with Natsu, Erza cared about him just as much, like a stern big sister.

The merchants left, satisfied with their compensation. Erza turned her head slightly and caught sight of the pink-haired boy sneaking off out of the corner of her eye.

"Natsu, get over here!"

Natsu felt a sense of foreboding as she grabbed him by the ear. He could only turn a pleading look toward Noah and Happy, hoping they'd help beg for mercy on his behalf.

However, the person and cat Natsu had pinned his hopes on both looked away—one at the sky, the other at the ground. Not a single pair of eyes acknowledged his plea.

Erza dragged the despairing Natsu into an alley. Who knew whether he was in for a verbal lecture or a straightforward beating to teach him a lesson.

Taking advantage of the time, Noah went with Happy to the client's location on the next street over. They returned the two dogs to their owner and smoothly collected the 30,000-jewel reward.

After taking his share, Noah put the rest of the money into a small wallet and handed it to the cat on his shoulder. "Happy, this is your and Natsu's share of the reward. Hold on to it."

"Aye! We can eat big fish again!"

Clutching the wallet tightly, Happy looked as if a delicious fish dish was right in front of him. He was practically drooling.

What a little glutton.

Noah lifted Happy down from his shoulder. "I have something to take care of, so I'm heading back to the guild first. Can you go find Natsu on your own?"

"Aye, no problem!"

Happy immediately spread his little wings and flew toward the central street. If nothing unexpected had happened, Erza and Natsu would still be there.

Noah looked at the completed pet-finding request form in his hand. The reward for this job was already high for a request of its kind, yet it wasn't even one percent of the total reward for "Hunting the Beast King."

S-Class Missions really were terrifying.

Of course, Noah was only musing to himself. Even Mira, an S-Class Mage, had nearly fallen to the Beast King. A rookie like him, who had only just awakened his magic, wouldn't dare hope for anything like that.

He set off toward the guild.

Since he wasn't familiar with this world, Noah was eager to learn some "common knowledge" about magic, so he wouldn't attract unnecessary suspicion through ignorance.

When choosing between the city library in Magnolia and the library at the Fairy Tail guildhall, Noah chose the latter without hesitation.

As far as Noah was concerned, the city library, which was open to the public, surely had a poorer selection of books on magic than a magical guild's collection.

Ten minutes later, at the bar in the guild hall.

An old man and a young boy stared at each other, the atmosphere painfully awkward.

Noah stared at Makarov with a deadpan expression. "Master, what do you mean, 'we don't have one'?"

"What I mean by 'we don't have one'... is... well..."

Makarov scratched his bald head, though there was no hair there to scratch. His old face reddened as he replied awkwardly, "The guild doesn't have a library now."

"If we don't have one now, that means we had one before, right? You couldn't have sold the books."

"Of course not. Our guild isn't so poor that we'd sell all the books. At a few coins a pound, we'd be losing out..."

He even knew the going rate for wastepaper. And he claimed he'd never considered it... Noah felt that his ability to complain had improved considerably since coming to this guild. Out of politeness, though, he kept those complaints to himself.

At this rate, he'd eventually become a brooding cynic...

This "Fairy Tail" really did have a dark side: it subtly changed people.

Back to the point. From Makarov's tone, Noah gathered that the guild library had been repurposed for some reason. But as long as the books were still around, he could read them.

When Noah asked where the guild's books were kept, Makarov grew awkward once again.

Seeing this, Noah forcibly suppressed the urge to complain and said helplessly, "Just tell me, Master. I can take it."

"The books are in the storeroom."

That was it?

Noah had thought they might be propping up the legs of some tables. So they were in the storeroom. What was there to be embarrassed about?

Makarov immediately revealed the truth. "The library books are at the very back of the storeroom, and the storeroom... hasn't been cleaned in a long time."

"But don't worry too much, Noah. If four or five people clean it together, they should be able to finish in a day or two."

Worried he might dampen Noah's enthusiasm for reading, Makarov hurried to make up for it. The guild had finally found its second child who wanted to read. He couldn't let him down.

"I'll get a few of the boys to clean it later. I guarantee you'll be able to read there tomorrow."

Then I'm sure those poor guys will be grateful to you...

Noah was speechless. Now he finally understood why the guild had someone as foolish as Natsu. The guild's pillar was just as ridiculous.

"Master, I have one more question. What did you turn the old library into?" Noah was now quite suspicious that some corner of the tavern-like hall had once been the library.

"Haha... that... I seem to have forgotten."

Makarov stammered, trying to bluff his way out of it. He found it too embarrassing to say, but even if he wouldn't, someone else would.

"The library? Isn't that the first floor of the wine cellar now? Master, you're so forgetful. You really are getting old."

A graceful figure suddenly appeared from behind the bar. It was Mira, wearing a sweet smile, though her words struck right at Makarov's heart.

Makarov felt as if he'd lost all the thick skin he'd spent years cultivating—and in front of the guild's new member, no less!

As the number of guild members grew, so did the demand for drinks, until the guild's underground wine cellar ran out of space.

So, three years ago, Makarov had turned the library into a room for storing alcohol.

And why had he chosen the library? Because aside from one girl who had read all the books there long ago, no one else in the guild was willing to lose themselves in a sea of knowledge.

After hearing Mira's explanation and learning the absurd chain of events behind it, Noah remained expressionless.

He suddenly realized he was used to this.

Come to think of it, Makarov himself was probably among those who didn't like reading, right?

To spare the respected Master any further embarrassment, Noah tactfully changed the subject and looked at the drinks Mira was arranging on a tray.

"Mira, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm working as a barmaid. I greet clients and usually serve the other guild members."

Mira's smile was gentle, but Noah wasn't so sure. After all, when he'd arrived yesterday, he'd seen Mira take on more than a dozen people by herself.

Was this barmaid job really about serving people with her fists...?