Chapter 158: Joining the Guild
Noah went to the guild, found Makarov, and told him everything that had happened.
"Grimoire Heart, you say..." Makarov was silent, seriously digesting the information.
The situation this time was complicated. A top-tier dark guild, Grimoire Heart, had actually massacred the people of an entire town. Usually, this kind of thing only happened when they were preparing for or performing some kind of dark magic or ritual. But according to the on-site investigation by Noah and the Council, no obvious traces of spell-casting had been found. Combined with the lack of other clues, it was impossible to guess their objective.
"You said someone threatened you from a distance, and you felt that they were stronger than me?"
"Mhm. In my perception, that person was indeed stronger than you, Gramps. I suspect they might be the Master of Grimoire Heart."
"I see..." Makarov considered it, then said to Noah, "Based on the current situation, we can't deduce what they're planning. You, Erza, and Ultear need to be extra careful, since you were the ones who interfered with their actions. I will also have the other members be on alert for any retaliation. It's a good thing you have those protective measures on the guild marks; everyone's safety has been improved. Finally, I will follow up with the Council to see if there are any new developments. For now, this is all we can do. Remember to notify me if anything happens."
"I will, Gramps. I'll go and tell Erza and the others."
Makarov thought for a moment, then continued, "You want to let the little girl you brought back, Meredy, join the guild?"
"Mhm. After everything she's been through, and seeing how attached she is to Erza and the others, I think it would be best to just let her join the guild so she can have a better life. As for a place to live, I still have plenty of rooms. She can stay with me, and Erza, Sorano, and Ultear can look after her."
After hearing Noah's solution, Makarov thought for a moment and agreed. "That will work. When you see that her emotions have stabilized, you can bring her to the guild, and we'll handle her registration."
"Okay. Then I'll be heading back. See you, Gramps."
"Mhm."
Noah said his goodbyes and teleported back to his house. When he arrived, he found Ultear, Sorano, and the others all sitting in the living room with somber expressions.
"What's wrong?"
"I told them about Meredy," Ultear replied. Hearing that, Noah was no longer surprised by their expressions.
"Where's Erza?"
"She's still in the room with Meredy. Meredy is scared and can't sleep."
"I see. Well then, I'll go and make dinner. We can talk when she comes out."
"I'll help."
"Me too."
Ultear and Sorano both got up and followed him into the kitchen. By the time they were done, Erza had also come out of Meredy's room.
During dinner, Noah told them about Makarov's arrangements, and they all nodded. After some discussion, Erza, Ultear, and Sorano decided not to go out on requests for the next week or two and to stay and look after Meredy. They would also use the time to see if any new information came to light. Noah also supported their decision; he himself was planning to go and investigate some other dark guilds for information.
After eating and cleaning up, everyone went to bed.
The next day, Meredy woke up and, not seeing Erza or Ultear, ran out of her room, crying. When she saw Ultear in the living room, she rushed up and hugged her. Ultear quickly comforted her in a soft voice, and after a long time, Meredy finally calmed down.
After breakfast, Ultear, Erza, and Sorano took Meredy to the guild. Yukino, and Wendy holding Carla, also followed along. They were very fond of this new "big sister" who was close to their age. Noah also went with them and witnessed Meredy, with Makarov's approval, officially joining the guild and completing her registration.
Then, with a single order from Makarov, a party to welcome Meredy began. Meredy was clearly overwhelmed by everyone's enthusiasm and clung tightly to the hem of Erza's clothes. Ultear acted as her bodyguard, fending off the surging tide of guild members, especially the male members who were rushing over while shouting, "So cute!"
Erza and the others then took Meredy to the side to eat and drink. Noah could clearly see that, in the warm and happy atmosphere, the sad expression on Meredy's face had faded considerably.
Seeing that Meredy was more or less settled, Noah walked over to Erza and the others, whispered a few words to them, and then prepared to leave.
"Remember to be safe," they all told him seriously.
Noah nodded and replied just as seriously, "I will." Then he left.
After leaving the guild, he went to the location of a dark guild he had previously investigated. He set up a magic formula to prevent them from contacting the outside world and leaking information, and also to reduce the possibility of being discovered. After setting up his own concealment measures, he began his assault. To keep the noise down, he didn't use a Grand Magic spell, but instead used his Wood-Make magic. It didn't take long for him to subdue all the members.
After interrogating them one by one, Noah packed up all the valuables in the dark guild, not even sparing the personal belongings on the members themselves. He cleaned the place out. He then notified his contact at the Council, the Enforcement Unit Captain Harris, to come and handle the aftermath. After observing him for several years, Noah had confirmed that he was a relatively good Council member, one who hadn't been bribed or gone astray. However, Noah specifically told him not to mention him to anyone else and to just say that an unknown person had contacted him. Harris understood immediately and personally led his trusted subordinates to the location.
Noah then destroyed several more dark guilds in a row, but after interrogating them, he found that none of them knew why Grimoire Heart had killed so many people. They were also shocked; it was a huge, atrocious incident that would definitely cause the Council to crack down hard on all dark guilds. Because of this, they had all been laying low recently. Who knew they would still be found?
Using the same method, Noah cleaned out all their valuables and then notified Harris to come and deal with them.
In the end, Noah had wiped out every dark guild he knew of or had found information on in the process, but he still hadn't found any important information related to Grimoire Heart. All he had gained was a huge pile of money.
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