Gildarts sat off to the side, holding a jug of wine and watching him with a smile.
"Take it slow. No one's going to steal your food."
Watching Lu Chongwei wolf down his meal, Gildarts' eyes flickered with sympathy.
The kid must have been through a lot these past few days.
Once Lu Chongwei had eaten his fill, Gildarts slowed down too, staring blankly at the dancing flames.
His gaze gradually grew distant.
Even though he'd soon be leaving the forest, what would he do after he got out?
He knew nothing about this world.
He had no family, no friends, and no home.
The world was vast, yet it seemed there was nowhere for him to belong.
"What's wrong? You were so cheerful just a moment ago. Why the sudden gloom?"
Gildarts had keenly noticed the change in Lu Chongwei's mood and asked casually.
"What about your family? Are you planning to look for them once we get out?"
Lu Chongwei shook his head, his voice a little low.
"I don't have any family."
He watched the firewood crackling in the flames and spoke softly.
"I don't even know how I got here. Anyway... now I'm all alone."
Gildarts paused mid-sip.
An orphan?
No wonder there was always a hint of unease in the kid's eyes.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
Gildarts set down his jug, his expression turning serious.
He looked at Lu Chongwei, his gaze sincere and warm.
"Since you have nowhere to go, how about joining my guild?"
Lu Chongwei looked up at him in confusion.
"A guild?"
"That's right. Fairy Tail."
Gildarts spread his arms as if he meant to embrace the entire starry sky.
"There are plenty of people there just like you. Loudmouthed idiots, brawling lunatics, and all sorts of oddballs."
He smiled proudly.
"But there, we're not coworkers, and we're not in a chain of command."
"We're comrades. We're family."
"A guild is a home where comrades gather."
A home...?
Lu Chongwei froze.
The word felt both familiar and strange to him.
In this perilous otherworld, having a place he could call home, with comrades he could rely on...
That might not be so bad.
Lu Chongwei looked at Gildarts' rugged yet sincere face.
The warm firelight seemed to dispel some of the confusion and loneliness in his heart.
"Okay."
Lu Chongwei nodded, finally breaking into a heartfelt smile.
"Then I'll go see this place called Fairy Tail with you."
"Hahaha! That's the spirit!"
Gildarts laughed again and held out the half of a roast chicken in his hand.
"Here, let's celebrate you joining soon. Eat up!"
"Thanks, uncle!"
The two of them promptly bent over their food and continued enjoying their last dinner in the forest.
The next morning.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, spilling across the forest path.
With Gildarts leading the way, Lu Chongwei made it out of the West Wild Forest—the place that had trapped him for ten days—in just half a day.
When the view opened up before him and he saw the rows of houses in the distance, Lu Chongwei was so excited he nearly cried out.
This was human civilization.
This was Magnolia City.
The two of them continued on and soon entered town.
The streets were bustling with people.
The vendors' cries, the rumble of carriage wheels, and the chatter of passersby blended into a vibrant hum of everyday life.
Lu Chongwei followed Gildarts, looking around with delight.
Everything seemed fascinating to him.
The people here wore strange clothes, and all sorts of magical items he'd never seen before were displayed along the roadside.
Some people were even putting on dazzling displays of little spells in the street.
So this is the world of magic?
This is amazing!
However.
Just as Lu Chongwei was immersing himself in the bustling scene,
a piercing announcement suddenly rang out across the city.
"Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast!"
"Gildarts' return has been confirmed! Gildarts' return has been confirmed!"
"Magnolia City is about to switch to Gildarts Mode! All residents, proceed to the designated safe zones immediately! Repeating..."
Along with the broadcast, the church's enormous bell began to toll.
Dong—dong—dong—
The bells rang out urgently and loudly across the entire city.
"What's going on? Are we under attack?"
Startled by the sudden commotion, Lu Chongwei looked around nervously.
But the townspeople didn't seem the least bit alarmed.
Instead, they wore expressions of familiarity and quickly moved in an orderly manner toward the sides of the street.
Then—
Rumble—!
The ground began to shake violently.
Lu Chongwei nearly lost his footing.
Horrified, he saw the buildings ahead begin to move!
The whole town seemed to have turned into a gigantic mechanical toy.
White steam billowed from beneath the buildings, while the sound of enormous gears turning rumbled up from underground.
The city split into countless movable blocks.
Buildings slid aside, while sections of the ground rose or sank.
In less than a minute,
the tangled streets that had been there before disappeared.
In their place stood a broad, straight road wide enough for a dragon to pass through.
It stretched from the city entrance all the way to the building at the end of the road, emblazoned with an enormous crest—the Fairy Tail guild.
There wasn't a single obstacle in the way. The entire route was clear.
Lu Chongwei's mouth fell open in astonishment.
What kind of crazy high-tech sorcery is this?
They rearranged an entire city just to welcome one person?
Isn't this a bit much?!
"Th-this is what you meant by 'going home,' uncle?"
Lu Chongwei turned to Gildarts, his face full of shock.
"This is the kind of treatment a king gets!"
Gildarts scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his face turning red.
Embarrassed, he avoided Lu Chongwei's admiring gaze.
"Ahem... It's not what you think."
Gildarts explained, looking a little sheepish.
"Actually, there's something a little wrong with me. When I walk, I tend to space out or get lost in thought."
"And before I know it, I've smashed into someone's house..."
"So the residents set up this mode specifically to stop me from destroying their homes. They clear the road for me."
Lu Chongwei: "..."
Before you continue