Chapter 284: Character Bento
Noah stepped forward, stopping right in front of the Council army.
Whoosh!
Two magical staves crossed in front of him, blocking his path.
"Please halt!" a guard commanded.
Noah stopped, smiling. "I am Noah Flare. You're here about the battle between us and Phantom Lord, correct? We will cooperate with your investigation. There's no need to be tense."
Hearing Noah's name, a man stepped out from the ranks.
"Captain—" a soldier tried to warn him, but the man waved him off.
"We are here to ask questions, not to arrest criminals. No need to be so tense."
He pushed the staves aside and walked up to Noah, extending a hand with a friendly smile. "You are Noah, correct? It's a pleasure to meet you. I am the officer in charge of this operation. We would like to invite you back for questioning regarding the conflict between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. Of course, this is just an inquiry, not an arrest. Please do not misunderstand."
The officer spoke sincerely.
On his way here, he had intercepted the retreating Phantom Lord members and taken them into custody. From their testimony, he had a rough idea of the situation.
He knew that Phantom Lord had initiated the conflict and that Fairy Tail was the victim.
Most shockingly, he had learned from the Phantom members that their master, Jose Porla—a Wizard Saint—had not been defeated by Makarov, another Wizard Saint. He had been defeated by a single Fairy Tail member named Noah Flare.
So when Noah introduced himself, the officer immediately stepped forward.
He couldn't afford to antagonize someone who could defeat a Wizard Saint, especially when that person appeared to be in the right.
"I see. That's fine. We will cooperate with your work," Noah nodded.
The officer sighed in relief, his expression visibly relaxing.
Noah turned and called the guild members over.
Initially, the Fairy Tail members were panicked by the arrival of the Rune Knights. But upon learning they weren't being arrested, they relaxed.
They followed the Council personnel to the army's encampment for questioning.
Noah returned to the guild hall, backed up the footage he had recorded, and locked the doors.
He then gathered the prepared documents and evidence and handed them to the officer.
"These documents contain proof of Phantom Lord's attack on us, as well as evidence of their other illegal activities. I leave them in your hands."
Taking the thick stack of documents, the officer was secretly astonished. The sheer volume of evidence suggested they had been preparing for this for a long time.
"By the way," Noah added, "the wreckage by the lake is Phantom Lord's mobile guild headquarters. It's our spoil of war. Please be careful when inspecting it; we intend to salvage anything useful."
"Of course. Those belong to you. We will be careful," the officer agreed with a smile.
Noah nodded and followed the officer to the encampment.
For the next few days, the Fairy Tail members were questioned by the Council. Following Noah's advice, they truthfully recounted the events.
Finally, the questioning ended.
All physical evidence and witness testimony pointed to Phantom Lord as the aggressor. Noah's documents detailed Jose's words and actions, as well as the specifics of the attack.
Crucially, the fact that Phantom Lord's Magic Giant had attempted to fire the forbidden spell Abyss Break toward Magnolia was damning. The giant magic circle had been visible even from the town. That alone was enough to land Phantom Lord in massive trouble.
Combined with the evidence of kidnapping, initiating a guild war, and attempted murder of guild members, Noah wasn't worried about Fairy Tail facing any repercussions.
As for the punishment for Fairy Tail (for the excessive property damage and public disturbance), the officer said they would have to wait for the Council's official ruling.
With the investigation over, everyone returned to the guild to continue the cleanup and reconstruction.
"Sooooo... heaaaaavvyyyyy..."
Natsu groaned, bent double under a stack of long stone slabs, sweat pouring down his face.
"Who told you to carry so many at once? Are you an idiot?" Gray mocked him mercilessly.
They were moving the stones to a designated area.
Since the battle had churned up the land behind the library, Noah and Makarov had decided to repave and reinforce the area.
The stone slabs Natsu was carrying had been created by Noah from the pulverized remains of the Magic Giant, after Lucy and Levy confirmed there was nothing valuable left in them.
Noah had inscribed runes onto these stones. Once laid in place, they would interact to form a defensive barrier, protecting the rear of the guild.
"?"
Gray suddenly sensed something and looked toward a corner, but saw nothing.
"Haha! You're weak, so that's your limit!" Natsu jeered.
"Hah? If I wanted to, I could carry twice as much as you!" Gray snapped back.
He immediately grabbed a stack twice as high as Natsu's, the weight nearly crushing him to the ground.
"Ooh... oof... h-how's... that!" Gray panted.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Applause came from nearby. Gray turned to look, but again saw no one.
Distracted, his grip slipped. He face-planted into the dirt, the stone slabs burying him.
"Gah!" he cried out in pain.
"Pathetic! Did you see that, Happy?" Natsu laughed.
"Aye!" Happy chirped from the air.
"What did you say, bastard?!"
Gray exploded out from under the stones, charging at Natsu and slamming his forehead against Natsu's.
"You wanna go?!" Natsu shouted.
'Ah... Gray-sama... please carry Juvia away too...'
Hidden in the corner, Juvia watched Gray arguing with Natsu, cupping her flushed cheeks in her hands.
"You two! Less talking, more working! We need to finish this reconstruction!"
Erza walked by, swinging a massive stone slab that knocked both Natsu and Gray to the ground.
"Yes, ma'am..." they groaned.
"Erza is so serious..."
"Is that outfit a requip too?"
Other guild members murmured, watching her work in her construction gear.
"Noah, where do these go?" Erza asked Noah, who was processing the remaining rubble.
"Over there," Noah pointed. He then glanced at the corner where Juvia was hiding.
He had noticed her arrival immediately but ignored her since she wasn't doing anything harmful. Seeing her stalking Gray and recalling their interaction during the battle, Noah watched with amusement.
Soon, it was noon.
"Waaah! I'm starving!" Natsu stretched and yelled.
"Now that you mention it, I'm hungry too. Is it lunch time yet?" Gray agreed.
Suddenly, a stream of water sprayed Natsu and Happy, blinding them. A figure flashed by, dropped something into Gray's hands, and vanished.
"What was that?" Gray asked, confused.
"Gah! I'm soaked!" Natsu complained, dripping wet.
"It's a bento!" Happy shouted, pointing at the box in Gray's hands.
"Huh? A bento?"
Gray opened the lid.
He froze.
There was food inside, yes. But that wasn't the point.
On the right side, the rice and ingredients formed a perfect portrait of Gray's face. On the left, the food spelled out "LOVE".
"Ooh! That looks delicious!" Natsu drooled.
"I know what this is! It's called a Character Bento!" Happy exclaimed.
"Can I even eat something this suspicious?" Gray looked at the box with dread.
It was creepy. Especially the part where he would have to eat his own face. He got goosebumps.
"If you don't want it, give it to me!" Natsu said happily. He didn't care what it looked like; food was food.
'Juvia is so sad... I spent three nights making that...'
In the corner, Juvia bit her handkerchief, tears streaming down her face as she heard Gray's hesitation.
~~~
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