"No! I don't want this! Master, you were lying to me, right? I don't want Bassku and the others to disappear!"
After hearing Rob's explanation, little Wendy, only seven years old, burst into tears.
But Rob still hardened his heart and recalled all his thought-form clones right in front of Wendy.
"I'm sorry, Wendy. I've been hiding this from you, but I knew you would have to face it someday. People cannot remain immersed in dreams forever, and phantoms of the departed cannot take care of you forever.
Didn't you want to go to a real wizard guild? Then go with these two older siblings. You never belonged here."
"Waaah... but... but..."
Watching the scene before him, Aibo scratched his head and spoke.
"Well... there's no need to make it seem like a life-or-death farewell, right? Old man, your magic power is so strong—you can keep existing for a long time, can't you? If little Wendy misses the old guild master, I can just bring her back to visit him, right?"
"Huh?"
The blue-haired little girl froze, even blowing a snot bubble. She looked adorably blank.
Rob stroked his beard. "That is true. This old man has lived here for several centuries, and I will continue guarding this place. If Wendy is willing to come back and visit an old man like me, I would be very happy."
Wendy's little brain turned twice before she sorted it out. Her lips trembled. "Y-you're just trying to comfort me. If I leave, I'll have to travel a very long way to return to Cait Shelter..."
"Nope. It only takes an instant."
Aibo pulled a flag bearing Fairy Tail's guild emblem from his storage space and casually planted it in the ground. Pointing at it, he said, "I left spatial coordinates on this