Father and daughter

The next morning, inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, Blanc leaned against a table, looking a little restless. Every so often, his gaze drifted toward the closed doors, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the wooden tabletop.

Just yesterday, Cana had sworn she would come clean today, and Blanc was eagerly waiting to witness this historic moment. But the guild hall was nearly full now, lively chatter rising from every corner, and that familiar figure was still nowhere to be seen.

She hasn't chickened out at the last second, has she? Blanc wondered, his brow furrowing slightly.

Unable to sit still any longer, he turned toward Mira, who was sitting beside him with her legs crossed and her posture atrocious-she lived in the girls' dormitory with Cana.

"Mira, do you know what's up with Cana? How come she still hasn't shown up today?"

"Huh? How would I know?" Mira propped her chin on one hand and shot him a sidelong glance.

"I was wondering why you kept looking at the door. So you're waiting for Cana. What's going on? You've never been this concerned about her before."

"Nothing," Blanc said evasively.

Lisanna, who was wiping glasses nearby, overheard their conversation and poked her head out helpfully. "Cana left first thing this morning. She went to the river."

"What did she go to the river for?" Blanc asked, taken aback.

"To talk to the water." Lisanna tilted her head, earnestly recalling the scene. "She kept saying the same thing over and over, but her voice was too quiet for me to hear. Oh, right, sometimes she asked the rocks on the ground questions, then answered them herself. It was really strange."

Blanc understood at once.

When people faced something they desperately wanted or deeply feared, they tended to fall into this sort of frantic rehearsal, trying to practice every possible unexpected development until nothing could go wrong.

All right, let her get herself ready. Since she's made up her mind, she'll have to get through this sooner or later.

After another long wait, Cana finally appeared at the guild hall entrance. Her head was lowered, and her feet seemed weighted with lead as she hovered before the threshold. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Blanc staring at her with a deathly still look that said, "I'm watching you from backstage." Her expression stiffened.

After taking a deep breath to steady herself, she finally summoned every ounce of courage she had and walked toward Gildarts at the counter.

"Gildarts..." Her voice was barely a whisper.

Gildarts turned away from his conversation at the sound of her voice and gave her a hearty smile. "Oh, Cana! What's up? Need something from me this early in the morning?"

"Um... well..." Cana clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands, her little face so conflicted it nearly twisted into a knot. She stammered for ages without managing another word, leaving Blanc fretting helplessly on the sidelines.

Of all times, Guild Master Makarov chose that moment to amble over on his short legs. With a perfectly casual expression, he raised a hand and called loudly to Gildarts:

"Gildarts! Sorry about this, but you..."

It was an ordinary enough expression, but in this situation, it looked downright punchable.

They had come this far. Blanc couldn't let the Guild Master barge in and ruin this rare opportunity.

Blanc lunged forward and, under everyone's astonished gazes, grabbed Guild Master Makarov by the collar, dragged him along, and sprinted straight out of the guild hall.

"Huh?! Blanc! What do you think you're doing, you brat?! Put me down! I have important business with Gildarts!!!" Makarov flailed wildly in midair, struggling for all he was worth.

Blanc turned and fixed the Guild Master with a fierce glare. "Guild Master, please shut up for now!"

Everyone in the guild hall froze, staring in utter bewilderment as Blanc "kidnapped" the Guild Master in broad daylight and disappeared into the distance.

"What's gotten into Blanc... has he lost his mind today?"

Gildarts scratched his head, equally baffled. "Was the Guild Master calling me just now?"

Despite the absurd scene she had just witnessed, warmth welled up in Cana's heart. Knowing Blanc had cleared an obstacle out of her way, she gritted her teeth and blurted everything out in one breath:

"Um! Could you come outside with me? There's something very important... that I need to tell you alone!"

"Oh?" Gildarts looked a little surprised, but when he saw the unprecedented tension and seriousness in Cana's eyes, his joking expression faded. "All right, let's go."

The two left the guild hall one after the other and stopped in the quiet alley where Cana and Blanc had talked yesterday. The tall brick walls cut off the sunlight, leaving a patch of peaceful shade.

"Cana, what's this all about? You even picked a mysterious little alley like this." Gildarts looked at the small figure in front of him with faint amusement. He truly couldn't imagine what serious matter this normally quiet girl could have to discuss with him.

Cana slowly turned around. She kept her head firmly lowered, staring at the tips of her shoes, unable to look the tall man before her in the eye. Her hands gripped the edge of her skirt until her knuckles turned white, and her voice trembled with nerves:

"The reason I came to the guild was to find my dad."

"Oh... this is the first I've heard of that." Gildarts raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"So, does that mean...?" Gildarts rubbed his chin and ventured, "Your dad is in Fairy Tail?"

"Uh, yes." Cana squeezed a faint murmur from her throat.

Meanwhile, two furtive heads were stacked one above the other around the corner of the alley. Blanc was on top, the Guild Master below, both pairs of eyes fixed intently on the scene inside. Makarov was still blinking in utter confusion.

Deep in the alley, a deathly silence lingered for a moment.

Cana's fingernails nearly dug into her flesh. After countless deep breaths, she finally spoke the words she had kept buried in her heart for six years:

"It's... you, Gildarts."

"Huh?" Gildarts froze completely. The face that had looked so mature and weathered became utterly comical in an instant. His mind went blank as he stared at Cana, as though he had just heard some incomprehensible ancient incantation.

Around the corner, Guild Master Makarov looked as though lightning had struck him. His mouth opened wide enough to swallow a cow, and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Huh?" Gildarts blinked mechanically, trying to make sense of the situation with his crashed brain.

A few seconds later.

"WHAT?!!!!!!"

A scream that pierced the heavens rang out across half of Magnolia. Having finally grasped what her words meant, Gildarts could no longer remain calm and clutched his head in sheer panic.