Chapter 157: Meredy
The Magic Council members wanted to take her back with them for resettlement, but she refused, clinging tightly to Erza's clothes and looking at them with tear-filled eyes, her expression helpless and pitiful.
Seeing her like this, Erza and Ultear's hearts went out to her, and they agreed to let her stay. But what to do with her was a problem, so they both looked to Noah.
Hearing them discuss her arrangements, tears once again streamed down the pink-haired girl's face.
Noah knelt down and carefully looked at the girl hiding behind Erza. From the Council's earlier questioning, he had learned that her name was Meredy. She had short pink hair and was wearing a pair of red headphones. Her casual clothes were dirty, and tears streamed down her face, mixing with the dust and making her look smudged and grimy.
Noah took out a tissue and gently wiped her face. Meredy didn't resist. After cleaning her face, Noah looked at her seriously. He could see the sadness, confusion, and all sorts of other emotions in her expression. In one day, she had lost her family, her friends, her home—everything. She had experienced too much, and lost too much. She was still quietly crying, constantly wiping away her tears. One of her hands was still clutching Erza's clothes; having lost everything, she was now clinging to the people who had saved her.
"Do you want to join Fairy Tail?" Noah asked her.
Meredy just looked at him blankly.
"Let me explain. My name is Noah. This big sister with the scarlet hair is named Erza, and the other big sister with black hair is named Ultear. We are all members of the wizard guild, Fairy Tail."
"Fairy Tail?"
"That's right. The three of us are all members. So I want to ask, do you want to join?" Noah asked gently.
Hearing that both of the "big sisters" were in Fairy Tail, Meredy answered without hesitation, "I want to join too!"
Erza, hearing this, couldn't help but ask Noah, "You want Meredy to join?"
At this, Meredy clutched her clothes nervously, looking at her with a pitiful expression, afraid Erza would say no.
"Have you forgotten? I was the one who invited you to join the guild back then, too. Seeing Meredy like this now, of course I want her to join. The guild can give her warmth and help her to live a better life," Noah said earnestly.
Erza and Ultear both remembered their own pasts. They too had been invited by Noah to join Fairy Tail after suffering a major tragedy. Meredy's experience was similar to their own; it was only natural that Noah would do this.
"I have no problem with it," Erza said.
"I don't either," Ultear added. "But it still needs the Master's approval in the end, right?"
"Gramps won't refuse. He'll probably welcome her with open arms," Noah said, knowing Makarov's personality.
"That's good. Then let's head back to the guild now."
"Alright. I'll just go and speak with the Council's official first."
Noah walked over to the official and said a few words. He had already explained everything earlier; this was just a final farewell. After that, he returned to the girls.
With Meredy's guidance, they went to the ruins of her home. Noah used his Gravity Magic, causing all the debris to float in the air. Meredy pointed out her family's belongings, and Noah packed them all away. He also collected the remains of her parents, planning to bury them later. Seeing the bodies of her parents, Meredy couldn't help but break down and sob again. Ultear and Erza stayed by her side, comforting her for a long time until she slowly calmed down.
After confirming they hadn't missed anything, they prepared to leave. Because they needed to get Meredy back to rest as soon as possible—her mental state was clearly very poor—Noah teleported them directly back to Magnolia, to his own house.
Erza and Ultear helped Meredy take a bath and change her clothes, then took her to an empty room to rest. But Meredy was terrified, clinging to the hem of Erza's clothes and refusing to let go. With a pained heart, Erza decided to stay with her, comforting her until she fell asleep.
Ultear, meanwhile, came out of the room. Seeing that Noah was no longer at home, she guessed that he must have gone back to the guild to report to Makarov. It was a major incident, and since she and Erza were busy with Meredy, he was the only one who could go.
In the living room, the Sorano sisters and Wendy, holding Carla, were all looking at Ultear with questioning expressions. They had seen the three of them return with an unknown little girl and had wanted to ask what was going on. But seeing their grim expressions and that Noah had left right after dropping them off, they had all tacitly held their tongues.
Ultear sat down and told them everything that had happened.
The Sorano sisters' faces turned grim. The story clearly reminded them of what had happened to them. They too had experienced losing their parents, relatives, friends, and home in a single night, becoming completely alone, with one sister even being kidnapped. If they hadn't been rescued, they didn't know what would have become of them.
Wendy and Carla were terrified. Although Wendy had experienced the pain of being separated from her foster mother, Grandeeney had only disappeared; she hadn't died. Now, hearing that someone who looked to be her own age had gone through something so horrible, tears began to stream down her face. Carla, too, was trembling all over just from hearing the story.
Ultear comforted them softly, and after a while, their emotions stabilized. She had decided not to hide the truth, but to tell them early. Because everyone here had, to some extent, a painful past, knowing each other's situations would help them get along better. They were all people who could be trusted, and understanding each other's circumstances could help to heal their own spiritual wounds.
After everyone had calmed down, they decided that tomorrow, they would all take Meredy shopping in Magnolia to buy her some daily necessities and to try and cheer her up.
~~~
Get early access to 50+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn