Cana

After finishing the drink in his cup, Cain noticed a little girl sitting alone nearby, fiddling with a deck of cards. A little white dog was running around beside her.

Cana noticed Cain looking at her as well and blinked curiously.

"Hello, I'm Cain, Cain Saint-Ciris. I joined the guild today."

Looking at the smile on Cain's face, Cana could not help thinking that the newcomer did not seem difficult to get along with.

"My name is Cana Alberona, and this is Little White."

As she spoke, she looked at the white puppy by her feet. Little White barked twice, as if greeting Cain.

So this was what Cana had looked like as a child. She was quite cute. Cain could not help comparing young Cana to the grown-up Cana in his mind, wondering how she had ended up becoming such a drunkard.

In the end, he decided that Ultear was cuter, whether as a child or as an adult.

Little White was so adorable that Cain could not help crouching down to pet it. He had loved dogs in his previous life, but unfortunately, he had never been able to afford to keep one.

Little White was delighted by Cain's teasing, its short tail spinning nonstop like a top.

After playing with it for a while, Cain asked curiously, "What are these cards?"

Cana became a little excited at the mention of them. "They're fortune-telling cards. Cain, do you want to try?"

"Yeah, sure."

Cain had never believed in such things before, but now that he had come to a world of magic, perhaps he could believe in them a little.

Cain drew a card from the spread Cana had laid out. Cana frowned deeply as she looked at the card in her hand.

That made Cain a little nervous. "What? Is it really bad? You... you can just tell me. I can take it."

"No, this card says you'll have good luck."

Cain waited for Cana to say the "but" that should have followed, but after waiting for a long time, she said nothing. He finally asked carefully, "That's it?"

"Mm, that's it."

Cana's answer left Cain speechless. He had so many complaints in his heart, yet for a moment, he did not know which one to voice first.

In the end, Cain gave up on complaining about Cana.

As they chatted, Cain learned that Cana had joined the guild last year in order to find her father.

Cain knew that Cana's father was Gildarts, an S-Class Mage in the guild and, aside from the Guild Master, its strongest member.

However, as far as Cain knew, Cana had never revealed this to Gildarts all the way until the story began.

It was only after Tenrou Island that she and Gildarts acknowledged each other.

Cain asked curiously, "You said you joined the guild to find your father. Is your father a member of the guild?"

Cana hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding. "Mm. My father is Gildarts."

Cain had originally been wondering how to get Cana to say it so that he could tell Gildarts directly. That way, father and daughter would not have to wait more than a decade to recognize each other.

He had not expected Cana to tell him herself. Though he did not know why, it certainly made things easier for him. He just needed to find an opportunity to tell Gildarts.

The reason Cana had told Cain was that she was not yet as insecure as she would become later.

Later, Cana came to feel that she was not strong enough and was unworthy of being Gildarts's daughter. That was why she decided she would tell him only after becoming an S-Class Mage.

In a way, this was somewhat like Laxus. The reason the future Laxus became so rebellious was because no matter what he accomplished, people would always attribute it to him being Makarov's grandson.

Cana then took Cain to register at the boys' dormitory.

The dormitory conditions were quite good, somewhat like the university dorms from Cain's previous life. However, those university dorms housed six people, while Fairy Tail's dormitories were single rooms.

The monthly rent was only 500, which was very cheap. Children like Cana and Cain, who could not afford rent for the time being, could even delay payment.

It was fine to pay once they had money.

Cain also learned from Cana that, for now, he could only accept simple commissions within Magnolia, such as running errands and delivering goods for shopkeepers, clearing clogged rivers, or cleaning up trash.

He could not accept commissions that required leaving the city. The Guild Master would not approve them. As for commissions like subjugation requests, he would have to wait until he was twelve and have his strength recognized by the Guild Master.

Cain did not remember Fairy Tail having such rules, but the anime probably could not possibly show every minor detail.

After all, the Ninja World next door was much the same. They started taking missions at around twelve, and they even had someone leading them. Of course, that was during peacetime, not wartime.

After returning to the guild, Makarov learned that Cana had already taken Cain to register at the boys' dormitory and praised Cana enthusiastically.

Suddenly, Makarov seemed to remember something and said to Cain, "Cain, spend the next few days getting familiar with the guild. Then I'll take you to meet someone."

Cain was curious about whom the Guild Master wanted him to meet, but seeing how mysterious Makarov was being, he did not ask.

That night, after taking a bath, Cain lay down on the soft bed and quickly fell asleep. Since awakening his memories, it was the most comfortable sleep he had had.

The next day, Cain first ran a lap around Magnolia before heading to the guild. Everyone inside greeted him warmly.

Seeing Cain covered in sweat, Cana asked in confusion, "Cain, why are you sweating so much? Is it hot outside?"

"Haha, no. I just ran around Magnolia after getting up, so I ended up like this."

Hearing that, Cana could not help opening her mouth wide. "A-amazing."

Cain looked around and quickly spotted Makarov sitting at the bar, sipping alcohol. He walked over and asked, "Guild Master, if I train with weights now, will it put too much strain on my body and affect my growth?"

Cana, who had followed him over, could not help complaining inwardly, Isn't this taking things way too far?

"Burp..." Makarov let out a drunken burp, sobering up a little. He set down his glass, rubbed both their heads, and said to Cain, "You need to rest properly when it's time to rest."

"Guild Master, I have been resting properly."

Seeing this, Makarov said no more. With him watching over Cain, what could possibly go wrong? "At your age, carrying around six to eight jin of weight won't affect your growth, but I don't recommend that you train with weights yet."

"In a few days, you'll come with me to meet someone and see what she says. For now, just train normally."

"Mm, okay, Guild Master."

Cain and Cana went to an unoccupied spot. Seeing Cana fiddling with her cards, Cain suddenly remembered that he still could not read.

He asked Cana, "Cana, can you read?"

Though she did not understand why Cain was asking, she still nodded.

Seeing that, Cain said excitedly, "Cana, teach me how to read."

"Eh??"