"Who is it? Tell me, quick!" Xi Feng's words sent Gildarts into a frenzy of excitement, and he kept shaking him.
"Stop shaking me! I'm getting dizzy!"
"Oh, right." At Xi Feng's protest, Gildarts calmed down a little, but his eyes still shone with excitement.
Seeing his expression, Xi Feng said quietly, "Gildarts, your daughter is Cana."
"What? It's her?" Xi Feng's words shocked Gildarts all over again. Finally, he gave a bitter smile. "No wonder she used to come looking for me all the time. What was I thinking? I actually mistook my own daughter for a fan."
"Hm? What are you two talking about? Gildarts, why do you look so troubled?" Just then, Makarov walked over.
"Master," Xi Feng greeted Makarov.
"Master..." Gildarts greeted him too, then stood there smiling bitterly.
"Gildarts, what's wrong with you?" Seeing him like this left Makarov utterly puzzled.
"Here's what happened, Master." Xi Feng walked over to Makarov and told him about Cana.
"What?! Cana is Gildarts's daughter?!" Makarov was stunned when he learned the truth. Finally, he patted Gildarts on the shoulder and said, "Stay a little longer when we get back, Gildarts. Talk to Cana. These past few years haven't been easy for her."
"I will, Master."
Fairy Tail's guildhall.
After Xi Feng and the others returned, Makarov announced that Xi Feng and Laxus had become S-Class Mages.
The entire guild erupted in cheers and immediately launched into a celebration.
"Xi Feng, fight me!"
Without another word, Natsu charged straight at Xi Feng.
Thump!
But before he could reach Xi Feng, Erza sent Natsu flying with a kick.
"Xi Feng just got back from his S-Class Mage exam. Let him rest first!"
"Not bad, Xi Feng. You actually became an S-Class Mage." Mira walked over to Xi Feng and wrapped her arms around his arm.
"Uh..." Mira's sudden embrace left Xi Feng stunned for a moment. The soft sensation against his arm made his body stiffen. Though Mira was only in her teens, her curves were slowly taking shape.
"Mira!" Just as Xi Feng was enjoying himself, Erza's icy voice rang out. He turned to see her staring at them, a dark aura rising around her.
"What are you doing, delinquent girl?! Why are you hugging him?!"
"Why shouldn't I? What are you going to do about it, armor girl?" As she spoke, Mira clung to Xi Feng even tighter. He inwardly cheered at the wonderful feeling, but dared not let his expression change.
"You..." Seeing Mira act like that only fueled Erza's anger. "You want a fight, don't you?!"
"Come on, then! Who's afraid of you? I'm going to beat you into the ground today, armor girl!"
"I'm the one who'll beat you into the ground, delinquent girl."
"Haah..." Watching Mira and Erza, Xi Feng sighed. Not a day passed without those two fighting. He shook his head and glanced around. Spotting Cana drinking, he got up and approached her. "Cana, come down to the river for a bit. I have something to tell you."
"Hm?" Though puzzled, Cana followed him. But when she reached the river, Xi Feng was nowhere to be seen. Instead, someone she both longed and dreaded to see stood before her.
Cana froze briefly at the sight of Gildarts, then turned to leave without hesitation. But the moment she turned, Gildarts wrapped her in his arms.
The sudden embrace made Cana stiffen. Holding back the bitterness in her heart, she said, "Gildarts, what are you doing? Let go of me."
Hearing his own daughter call him by his name filled Gildarts with bitterness too. Guiltily, he said, "I'm sorry, Cana. You've suffered so much all these years."
"!!!" Gildarts's words stunned Cana. Her stiff body relaxed, and she turned to look at him in disbelief.
"You're Cornelia's child. You look so much like her." Stroking Cana's cheek, Gildarts felt emotions he could not put into words. A powerful sense of responsibility welled up within him.
"Give your dad a chance to love you, Cana."
"Okay." Hearing Gildarts's words, Cana nodded and hugged him tightly, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
Watching from his hiding place nearby, Xi Feng smiled, then turned and left.
Chapter 18: A Chance Encounter with Grimoire Heart (Please Send Flowers and Bookmark)
After the S-Class Exam ended, everyone carried on as usual, bickering, playing, and taking jobs. Nothing changed. When the guild members learned that Cana was Gildarts's daughter, they all cried out in disbelief. But after Gildarts used his fists, no one dared question it again.
Ever since Gildarts and Cana had acknowledged each other as father and daughter, he wanted to stay by her side all the time. At first, Cana liked it and thought having her father around was nice. But as time went on, she began to find it annoying.
Thanks to this incident, Cana and Xi Feng grew closer and closer. She came to see him whether she had a reason or not, leaving Gildarts green with envy. His own daughter ignored him and went looking for Xi Feng every day.
Although having a sexy beauty like Cana cling to him made Xi Feng happy, it also frequently angered Mira and Erza.
"Job complete!" Looking at the thoroughly dead magical beast, Xi Feng brushed the dust off his clothes. He glanced at the sun overhead and, deciding it was still early, set off to explore a nearby city.
"Hm?" But as Xi Feng approached the city, he spotted billowing black smoke.
"What's going on?" Full of questions, Xi Feng hurried over.
What he found when he arrived shocked him. The entire city had been reduced to ruins.
"What on earth happened here?!"
Running into the city, Xi Feng looked all around, but there was nothing except rubble.
"Big sis... where are you?"
Just then, Xi Feng heard a small, childish voice. He immediately ran toward it and found a little pink-haired girl wearing headphones.
"Who are you?" the pink-haired girl asked fearfully when Xi Feng suddenly appeared.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm a good guy." Noticing her fear, Xi Feng hurried to reassure her as he approached step by step.
"A good guy... really?" Despite his words, she remained wary and frightened.
"Yes." Xi Feng nodded and slowly walked up beside the pink-haired girl. Stroking her head, he asked, "Do you know what happened here?"
"No." The pink-haired girl shook her head, looking forlorn. "When I woke up, the city was already like this. Mom and Dad were gone too."
"I see." Hearing her answer, Xi Feng frowned.
"Flame God's Fire Fist!"
Just then, a massive black fireball hurtled toward Xi Feng.
"!!!" Startled by the sudden attack, Xi Feng immediately scooped up the pink-haired girl and dodged.
With a boom, the attack blasted a deep crater into the spot where Xi Feng had just stood. At the same time, a girl's clear voice rang out. "Zancrow, you could hurt Meredy doing that."
Hearing the voice, Xi Feng turned to look. There were two men and a girl. One man had wild blond hair, while the other was burly and black-haired. The girl had beautiful, long black hair and wore a tight-fitting outfit that perfectly accentuated her figure. Something about her seemed familiar to Xi Feng.
"I'm just following orders from above. We're supposed to kill everyone in this town," the blond man said in his shrill voice.
"Big sis!" Xi Feng had been watching the three warily, but the cry from the pink-haired girl in his arms made him freeze.
"What's going on?" Looking at the little girl in his arms, Xi Feng could not make sense of it.
"Come here, Meredy." Hearing Meredy's call, the girl beckoned to her.
"Okay." The little girl named Meredy nodded, then said to Xi Feng, "I'm going to big sis now. Bye!"
Then Meredy wriggled out of Xi Feng's arms and ran toward the girl.
"Now I can kill this guy, right?" the blond man asked again. But without waiting for the girl's answer, he launched an attack.
"Flame God's Arrow!"
Black flames blazed in the blond man's hand, then formed a black arrow that shot toward Xi Feng.
Boom! A tremendous explosion erupted where Xi Feng stood.
"Big brother..." Meredy, who had just reached the girl's side, hurriedly turned at the sound of the explosion. Though this was their first meeting, that unfamiliar young man had made her feel very comfortable.
"Don't go." Seeing Meredy's reaction, the girl frowned, then immediately hugged her and tried to comfort her.
"All right, we're done here. Let's go."
The blond man spoke as he watched the spot where Xi Feng had been engulfed in the explosion.
"Whirlwind Slash!" Just then, a tornado swept out from Xi Feng's position and hurtled furiously toward the blond man.
"!!!"
The sudden attack stunned all three of them. The blond man was caught off guard and slammed straight into the tornado.
With a boom, the blond man was sent flying into the rubble, battered and disheveled.
"You attacked me, and now you think you can just walk away? Did I give you permission?"
As the smoke cleared, Xi Feng stood in his original spot, completely unharmed.
"Damn it! Damn it!" The blond man scrambled back to his feet, his face covered in dust, which only enraged him further. "I'll kill you!"
"Zancrow."
Just as the blond man named Zancrow was about to attack again, the girl stopped him with a call.
"What?!" Zancrow looked at her irritably.
"Leave him to me. You two go on ahead."
Before you continue