"Laxus, huh…"
Whenever Laxus was mentioned, Makarov's expression inevitably carried helplessness. There was one thing he had to admit—he had failed as a parent.
"He's still the same as always."
Moen stepped forward and lightly kicked the glowing orb. It bounced upward, then fell again, just like a football. He began juggling it with his feet, one kick after another, the sphere's glow flickering up and down in the shadows. Their grandfather and grandson silhouettes shifted constantly along the walls.
Moen could say with certainty that Laxus becoming who he was now—Grandpa Makarov bore an undeniable share of responsibility.
He hadn't protected Laxus' environment while he was growing up, letting the boy be crushed under the weight of his grandfather's reputation. And driving out Laxus' father had been the final straw that broke him.
"…"
Makarov fell silent. On this matter, he truly had no idea what to do. Even the wisest judge struggles to handle family affairs. He had poured all his energy into the guild, leaving too little attention for his own family. As a result, his son had been expelled from Fairy Tail, and his eldest grandson had grown sullen, barely speaking to him anymore.
When he looked at Moen, however, Makarov found some small comfort.
'At least this younger grandson is excellent and mature, never giving me trouble. Otherwise… my way of raising them would really be a complete failure.'
That was Makarov's thought. With Moen around, his heart didn't feel quite so heavy. He didn't have to bottle everything up inside. Sometimes he could even talk with Moen about ways to help change Laxus' attitude. Moen had truly shared a lot of his burden.
But the truth was, Moen's character had nothing to do with Makarov. His steadiness came from within himself, like a Saint Seiya warrior born with his cosmos burning bright. Of course, Moen never said that aloud—better to let Makarov take comfort in his own way.
The two soon arrived home. Makarov went to his room on the first floor, while Moen climbed to the third. As he passed by Laxus' door, the light inside instantly went dark.
"…"
Moen shook his head and returned to his own room.
Ding-ding-ding-ling-dang!
The next morning, Moen was startled awake by an urgent ringing of bells.
Still groggy, he immediately threw off his blanket and rushed to the window. That bell wasn't his alarm clock—it was the bell tower of Magnolia itself.
"Could it be… Gildarts is back?!"
Hearing the urgent rhythm of the bells, Moen instantly realized what it meant.
This ringing carried a very special meaning in Magnolia.
It was telling the citizens that the city was about to enter Gildarts Mode. Because that man had returned—Fairy Tail's strongest mage, Gildarts Clive!
"Warning! Warning! Magnolia City is shifting into Gildarts Mode! All citizens, please proceed to your designated positions at once!"
Winged magic loudspeakers flew through the skies, blaring the announcement so every citizen could hear.
Then, under Moen's gaze, the entire city began to rumble.
Rumble—!
The city split apart. Yes, literally split apart.
From the city's entrance all the way to the Fairy Tail guildhall, every house along the line slid sideways, creating an open road.
On either side of this new path, foundations rose up, forming towering walls. Arrows were even painted on the ground, pointing the direction—almost as if afraid that man might get lost.
"This sight… no matter how many times I see it, it's still breathtaking."
Leaning out his window, Moen muttered in awe. The sheer scale of Magnolia's reaction spoke volumes of Gildarts' terrifying might. That man's destructive power was beyond measure.
Gildarts' magic was called Crush—a super high-tier destructive magic. What others would treat as a trump-card "Super Magic," Gildarts wielded as casually as his most basic spell.
"Crush" could completely shatter anything it touched, making it one of the most terrifying spells of all. Yet Gildarts himself was absent-minded by nature, with a peculiar habit of spacing out. Whenever he did, Crush would unconsciously break down nearby buildings. He was practically a walking bulldozer.
After suffering losses again and again, Magnolia finally learned from the pain. They redesigned the main street into what was called "Gildarts Mode," just to prevent him from accidentally destroying roads and homes. The results were the streets seen now.
"He's back!"
"Gildarts has returned!"
Hearing the people shout, Moen quickened his pace and rushed toward the guildhall. Someone had to open the doors, otherwise Gildarts might just tear the entire guild apart.
Click!
Moen opened the massive doors and exhaled in relief.
He didn't step inside, though. Instead, he waited outside, because if no one reminded Gildarts, the man wouldn't even bother with the door!
Moen had been with the guild for years; he knew everyone's quirks all too well. To put it simply, it wasn't just the young ones who were unreliable—the older ones were just the same!
That was why Fairy Tail, the only official mage guild in Magnolia, was seen by the townsfolk both as their pride and as a bunch of dangerous troublemakers.
Waiting at the entrance, Moen soon caught sight of "that man."
Gildarts was tall and broad-shouldered, with slicked-back orange hair and stubble on his chin. He wore a dark green cloak over a deep-colored vest, a wide belt around his waist, dark blue trousers, and brown boots.
As Gildarts approached, Moen could clearly see the cloak's tattered edges, worn down badly. The man's appearance radiated a carefree, rugged energy. He was full of masculine charm—a true "uncle" figure.
"Gildarts-san!"
Moen shouted loudly, because if he didn't, that man was about to walk headfirst into the guild's outer wall!
Moen wasn't worried about Gildarts hurting himself—he was worried about the wall being smashed! That had already happened more than once!
"Huh?"
Moen's voice startled Gildarts.
"Moen? What are you doing here?" Gildarts asked, confused why Moen was standing there.
"Obviously, I came to get you."
Moen couldn't help but cover his face. This was Fairy Tail's strongest wizard…
"Oh, so I've already made it to the guild, huh!"
After a pause, realization finally struck Gildarts.
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