In a quiet corner of the guild, a girl with long, dark-brown hair had fixed her gaze on Gildarts from the moment he returned. Her expression was a tangle of emotions, and she stared so intently that she didn't even notice when her favorite drink spilled across the table.
No one in the guild seemed to notice her strange behavior, except Ur.
Ever since Gildarts arrived, Ur's attention had drifted, almost by instinct, to the tanned girl watching him so intently.
Cana Alberona.
That was her name.
Within Fairy Tail, Cana wasn't considered anything special. To most people, their strongest impression of her was her drinking capacity. After all, she alone consumed nearly thirty percent of the guild's yearly alcohol supply.
But what no one knew was that she held another identity.
She was Gildarts' daughter.
When she was little, Cana had come to Fairy Tail alone, with the simple hope of meeting her father.
But because of various reasons, her quest somehow twisted into a challenge of becoming "worthy" to meet him.
Honestly, when Ur read the original story in his past life, he had absolutely no idea what Cana was thinking.
Maybe that's why I stayed single for over twenty years, he thought wryly.
"…Should I give that carefree uncle a little hint someday?"
Ur rubbed his chin as the idea surfaced.
As far as he was concerned, this one-sided father–daughter recognition benefited neither of them. More importantly, if Gildarts learned he had a daughter, he'd definitely stop running around behaving like a wandering playboy on every job.
Ur felt it would be a noble service to the women of this world.
Yes. He had made up his mind.
He would find a chance later to slip that wayward uncle a tiny hint.
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Gildarts' return made the guild livelier than usual, but otherwise, nothing changed much. Everyone returned to whatever they usually did.
For example, Natsu, who had just been punched across the room by Gildarts, was now being mercilessly ridiculed by Gray. The two who never saw eye-to-eye immediately started brawling again.
On the other side, Erza, who had planned to stop them, suddenly ended up face-to-face with Mirajane for reasons unknown. The air around the two women turned downright dangerous.
With no one left to break it up, Natsu and Gray's fight grew even "more enthusiastic," and the guild was quickly thrown into chaos.
Despite their age, Natsu and the others weren't weak. There were only a few people in the guild strong enough to overpower all of them at once.
Gildarts was definitely one of those people.
He even sat on the counter watching with great interest, occasionally offering commentary like a seasoned spectator. Makarov, sitting beside him, had a dark vein pulsing on his forehead and was moments away from exploding.
Finally, when a mug full of beer smashed directly into Makarov's forehead, his patience snapped.
"You idiots! Knock it off right now!"
With a thunderous roar, his body expanded rapidly, muscles bulging until he towered over them like a seven-meter-tall giant.
Then, he casually punched down one kid after another. In moments, Natsu and the others were lying on the floor, seeing stars.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
The rest of the guild burst into laughter at the sight, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. The cheerful atmosphere thickened even further.
Meanwhile, the shrunken, frazzled Makarov rubbed his aching head, feeling the urge to retire grow stronger than ever.
❖≔﴾═══════ﺤ
Ur watched the chaos unfold and felt equally helpless.
Back in his previous life, when he read the original story, he had always envied Fairy Tail's warm, rowdy energy. That kind of genuine happiness was rare in his old world.
But now, he found himself trying very hard not to get swept up in it. Mainly because he feared his IQ would drop.
Beside him, Levy was giggling behind her hands at the commotion.
Then, Makarov looked toward her from behind the counter and asked. "Levy, have you found teammates for your mission yet? If you're planning to take that commission, you definitely can't go alone."
"Teammates? A mission?"
Ur blinked and turned to look at Levy. At that moment, he found Levy looking at him, lips pressed together, hesitation written all over her face.
Seeing that, Ur asked, "What's going on?"
"I, I wanted to ask if you would come with me to complete a job…" she murmured, voice growing softer and softer.
Ur immediately understood that her timid, shy habit was acting up again.
So, he simply turned to Makarov and asked directly. "Master, what mission were you talking about?"