Chapter 153: Grimoire Heart
Everyone lay on the ground, looking up at the brilliant, starry sky, and an involuntary silence fell over them. A gentle breeze blew past, bringing with it a hint of coolness and the soft rustling of leaves. Lying there quietly, everyone felt the peaceful atmosphere. The usually rowdy guild members were all enjoying this wonderful scene of looking up at the stars together, with their comrades by their side.
The feeling was so comfortable that Noah once again began to feel sleepy. This time, no one made a sound, and in a daze, Noah drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Noah was awakened by the bright sunlight. He opened his eyes and saw that the sun had already risen above the horizon. As he was about to get up, he noticed a thin blanket covering him. From the style, it looked like it was Erza's. He made a mental note to ask her about it later. He looked at the time and saw that it was already past 7 AM. Many of the guild members were already up, and he could see people making breakfast in the cooking area.
He got up, folded the blanket, and noticed that Natsu was already gone. He went to wash up and then went to help with breakfast. After they had eaten and packed everything up, Noah teleported everyone back to the guild.
Everyone then went about their own business. Noah found Erza, the Sorano sisters, Wendy, and Carla, and they prepared to head home together. Ultear's group and the Simon siblings were heading in the same direction, so they all walked together.
On the way, Noah asked Erza, "The blanket on me last night... you were the one who covered me, right?"
"Mhm. You were sleeping out in the open without a blanket. I was afraid you'd catch a cold, so I covered you up."
"Thanks. I'll wash it and give it back to you."
"Mhm. But you really need to take care of your body. I've noticed you're not very careful with it. Just like how you forget about time when you're doing research, this time you just fell asleep right out in the open," Erza said with a serious expression. Ultear and Sorano nodded in agreement beside her.
"I wonder if you're like this when you're out on requests by yourself?"
"That's right! We've never seen him on a mission. We don't know if he takes care of himself at all."
As they spoke, the three of them—Erza, Ultear, and Sorano—all turned to look at Noah with scrutinizing gazes.
Noah quickly waved his hands and replied, "Of course not! When I'm out, I always set up a proper tent and sleep in a sleeping bag. How could I just sleep out in the open? Last night was just because it was so comfortable that I fell asleep."
The three of them studied him for a moment and, seeing that he wasn't lying, finally let him off the hook. Noah felt immense pressure under their gazes and breathed a sigh of relief when they backed off.
"You have to take care of your body, Big Brother Noah. It's really uncomfortable to be sick," Wendy also added.
Noah reached out and stroked her little head. "I know. I'll be careful," he said with a smile.
The group walked and laughed on their way back. Ultear's and Simon's groups said their goodbyes and went to their own homes, and Noah and his group returned to theirs.
After getting everything in order, Noah washed Erza's blanket and then began his studies and research.
After resting for a day, Erza went with Ultear to do an S-Class request, to get familiar with the process. Everyone returned to their daily lives. But a few days later, Noah received an emergency call from Erza.
"Noah, get over here, quickly! There are two enemies, and they're very tricky!"
Hearing her call, Noah put down his book, located her position, and teleported to her side in an instant.
The moment he arrived, he saw Ultear in a standoff with two people. One was a burly man with fair skin and spiky black hair, wearing a tight-fitting suit and a cape. The other had long, messy blonde hair and red, spiraling eyes. What looked to be a guild mark was tattooed on his right chest. Noah looked closely and recognized it as the emblem of the dark guild, Grimoire Heart.
Erza was nearby, holding a crying little girl with short pink hair, comforting her. Seeing Noah arrive, she visibly relaxed.
Noah looked around and saw that they were surrounded by collapsed and burning houses. He noticed that the color of the flames was wrong; they were black. This was clearly a city, or at least it had been a short while ago, because he could see many new-looking things inside the ruined houses. And the magic power radiating from the two men facing Ultear was very strong, only a little weaker than Ultear's current level, and about on par with Erza's.
"What happened here?" Noah asked Erza while searching his memory. The two men looked familiar. Finally, from the depths of his mind, he found them. They were two of the Seven Kin of Purgatory from Grimoire Heart: Kain Hikaru and Zancrow. But Ultear, who was originally one of the Seven Kin, had been brought back to Fairy Tail by him. It was a question whether they could even gather all seven in the future. And the most amazing thing was that the current Ultear was now facing them. How interesting, Noah thought.
"Ultear and I had just finished an S-Class request and were on our way back to the guild," Erza explained, her expression grim. She gently patted the back of the little girl in her arms, her eyes fixed on the two men with anger, especially the blonde one with the arrogant smile. "We happened to pass by and found this city was under attack, so we came to investigate. We found those two killing people. We tried to save them, but in the end, we were only able to rescue this little sister."
"You said that if we encounter an enemy we can't beat, we should call you or someone else from the guild for help, and not fight alone. So I called you."
"Mhm. That's exactly right. You did well, Erza," Noah said with a satisfied smile. He had told the guild members countless times to call for help when they were in trouble and never to be reckless. The communication function he had added to the guild mark wasn't for fun; it was so they could call for help when they were in danger. He didn't want a situation that could be easily resolved with a call for backup to turn into a tragedy because someone had to be a hero and go it alone. This was perfect. Erza had been able to notify him immediately. For the current Erza and Ultear, these two opponents would have been a very difficult fight.
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