Chapter 28 — Settling In
Elior POV
"Welcome to the family."
Those words seemed to finally break the tension.
Cana blinked a few times before looking at Cornelia.
"Mom…"
Cornelia smiled and gently squeezed her daughter's shoulder.
"I suppose we really are part of Fairy Tail now."
"You are," Makarov said warmly. "And don't worry about not being able to use magic. Fairy Tail isn't only about magic. It's about the people."
Cana smiled.
"Then I'll become the best non-mage in the guild!"
I laughed.
"That's the spirit."
Erza immediately looked at her.
"Then we can train together."
Cana's eyes widened.
"You train?"
"With my mother."
"Is she strong?"
Erza nodded with complete seriousness.
"Very."
I coughed.
"That's putting it mildly."
Laxus laughed.
"You should see Elior talk about his mother. It's hilarious."
"Hey!"
"What?"
"Don't expose me."
"You expose yourself every day."
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"You want to fight?"
"Not here."
"Scared?"
"Of you? Never."
"Good."
Makarov sighed.
"Please don't start fighting in my office."
"We weren't going to."
Laxus and I answered at the same time.
Makarov stared at us.
"That sounded suspiciously rehearsed."
I grinned.
He shook his head before looking toward the black book resting in my hand.
"Now, about this."
I looked down at it.
The Book of Zeref.
Even though I already knew what it was, seeing it sitting in my hand still felt strange.
Makarov's expression had become much more serious.
"That's definitely a Book of Zeref."
"That's what I thought too."
"Where did you put it after the mission?"
"In my ring."
I immediately opened my storage space and returned the black book inside.
Makarov nodded.
"Good."
His eyes remained on the ring for another moment.
"Keep it there for now."
"Sure."
I wasn't exactly eager to carry around a cursed book created by one of the most dangerous dark mages in history.
Makarov leaned back in his chair.
"I'll look into it. There may be records concerning that demon or the books Zeref created. Until we know more, don't do anything reckless with it."
I gave him a thumbs-up.
"Understood."
Laxus glanced at me.
"That's probably the first time you've heard the words 'don't do anything reckless' and actually listened."
"That's because Gramps is smart."
Makarov smiled.
"Good answer."
"See?"
I looked at Laxus.
"I can be obedient."
"No, you can't."
"Rude."
Cana giggled from beside Cornelia.
I looked at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She covered her mouth, still smiling.
I pointed at her accusingly.
"You're already learning from them."
"Maybe."
"Traitor."
She laughed.
Makarov shook his head with amusement.
"Enough about that. Your missions are officially complete."
He pulled several small bags from his desk and placed them in front of me.
"These are the rewards for the three requests."
I picked one up and opened it.
Gold.
A decent amount of it.
"Nice."
Laxus leaned over slightly.
"You don't need more money."
"Of course I do."
"You have a storage ring full of gold."
"That's different."
"How?"
"This is guild-earned money."
Laxus stared at me.
"You're weird."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
I stored the rewards in my ring.
Makarov smiled.
"Make sure you actually spend some of it. You're still a child."
"I have Luna."
I looked toward the Moon Fox sitting comfortably on Cana's lap.
"She needs food."
Cana looked down at Luna.
"She eats milk, right?"
"For now."
Luna looked up at us.
"Kyuu."
Cana smiled.
"She's adorable."
"She knows."
I walked over and scratched Luna behind the ears.
"She also knows she's adorable."
Luna proudly lifted her head.
"Kyuu!"
Erza immediately joined Cana and began petting her.
"She's so soft."
"Careful."
Erza looked at me.
"Why?"
"Because once you start, she might never leave you."
Luna seemed to hear that and immediately curled against Erza.
Erza's face lit up.
"She's staying with me."
I laughed.
"See?"
Cana smiled.
"She's really friendly."
"Only because she's spoiled."
"Kyuu!"
"Don't deny it."
Luna flicked her tail at me.
Everyone laughed.
Makarov watched the three children playing with Luna for a moment before his expression softened.
Then he looked toward Cornelia.
"Cornelia."
She straightened slightly.
"Yes?"
"I want you to know that you don't have to feel like you're a burden here."
Cornelia looked surprised.
"I…"
Makarov smiled.
"Fairy Tail has plenty of members who aren't frontline fighters. There are jobs around the guild, businesses, errands, cooking, cleaning, information gathering and plenty of other things. Everyone contributes in their own way."
Cornelia's expression relaxed.
"Thank you."
Cana immediately grabbed her mother's hand.
"See, Mom? I told you."
Cornelia smiled.
"Yes, you did."
I folded my arms proudly.
"And I told you."
She looked at me.
"You did."
I smiled.
"I like being right."
Laxus muttered, "There he goes again."
"What?"
"Narcissist."
"Confident."
"Narcissist."
"Handsome."
"Definitely narcissist."
I laughed.
Makarov rubbed his temples.
"Why did I allow two children like you into my guild?"
"Because we're awesome."
"That answer proves my point."
The office door suddenly opened.
A guild member poked his head inside.
"Master, everyone's asking when the new members are coming out."
Makarov sighed.
"Of course they are."
He stood up.
"Well, there's no point keeping everyone waiting."
We left the office and stepped into the main hall.
The reaction was immediate.
"THEY'RE OUT!"
"NEW MEMBERS!"
"COME OVER HERE!"
"WHO ARE THEY?"
Cana instinctively moved closer to me.
I placed a hand on her head.
"Relax."
She nodded.
The guild members weren't threatening.
They were simply curious.
Within seconds, Cana was surrounded by people asking questions.
"What kind of person are you?"
"Do you like cards?"
"What's your favorite food?"
"How old are you?"
Cana looked overwhelmed.
I stepped between her and the crowd.
"One question at a time."
Everyone laughed.
"Look at him acting like her big brother already."
"I am her big brother."
Cana smiled.
"He's Brother El."
That earned several amused reactions.
"Brother El?"
"That's cute."
I nodded proudly.
"Excellent title."
Erza walked over.
"He's my brother too."
Someone laughed.
"So you're collecting little sisters now?"
"Apparently."
Cana looked at Erza.
"You're his sister?"
"Yes."
"I'm his little sister."
Erza thought about that.
"Then you're my sister too."
Cana smiled.
"Okay."
And just like that, the two of them seemed to click.
I smiled.
That was easier than I expected.
Then I noticed Laxus standing a short distance away, watching them.
He caught my gaze.
"What?"
"Nothing."
I walked over and bumped my fist against his.
"Thanks for looking after them."
He shrugged.
"They're guild members."
"Still."
He gave me a small smile.
"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on them."
I nodded.
For some reason, that meant more to me than I expected.
I looked around the guild hall.
The noise.
The laughter.
The people arguing.
Someone drinking.
Someone shouting.
Someone probably preparing to throw a chair.
It was chaotic.
Ridiculous.
Loud.
And somehow…
It felt right.
A few months ago, I had been traveling alone.
Now I had a family, friends, a guild and a Moon Fox.
And somehow, that list kept getting longer.
I smiled.
'Fairy Tail really is something else.'
Luna suddenly jumped from Erza's arms and landed on my shoulder.
"Kyuu."
I scratched her head.
"Yeah."
I looked at Cana and Cornelia, who were now being welcomed by the guild members.
Then at Erza.
Then at Laxus.
I couldn't help smiling.
'This is only the beginning.'