"Did Grandpa Makarov pick up three more kids again?"
Seeing this one elder and three children at the door, Moen didn't find it strange at all.
Most of the children in the Fairy Tail guild had been picked up by Makarov, including Moen himself.
Today, Makarov was dressed fairly normally, in deep blue casual clothes, with a yellow training outfit underneath. Although still surprisingly short compared to normal people, at least he no longer looked like a troupe's special actor.
Bringing the three children, Makarov walked into the guild, introducing Fairy Tail to them as he went along.
"This is Fairy Tail, a wizard guild, a warm family made up of many wizards."
Makarov walked with his hands behind his back to the bar counter, then jumped up and sat directly on it.
There was no other way; he was simply too short, and without sitting on the bar, he couldn't drink or eat normally.
"Erza, get me a bottle of alcohol."
Makarov shouted to Erza, who had already started working.
Then he pointed to the three chairs in front of him, signaling for the three new children to come and sit around him.
"Starting to drink early in the morning, Master, you should take care of your health too."
Erza, tidying up the tableware, offered a word of advice to Makarov.
"Erza, since when did you become so naggy?"
Erza's well-intentioned advice was met with Makarov's complaint. She could only smile helplessly, placing a bottle of liquor next to him and a cup, pouring him a drink thoughtfully.
"At eighty-two years old, it's already the age to take care of my health."
Moen walked over and advised him as well, but he knew it was useless.
"Your grandfather's body is still strong."
Makarov retorted, continuing his usual ways, taking a sip from the cup and letting out a satisfied sigh.
Relying on his abundant magic power, even at eighty-two, Makarov could maintain his body as he wished. Unless his magic ran out, he rarely got sick. Drinking a bit of alcohol was no problem, though it could occasionally cause mishaps.
Moen didn't press further; his advice was partly out of personal belief and partly as a gesture of filial piety. Since drinking didn't significantly affect Makarov's health, there was no need to force him to quit.
"And who are these three children?"
Moen's gaze shifted to the three new arrivals. All three had white hair, clearly belonging to the same family.
The girl, about Erza's height and likely the eldest, had a gloomy expression. Her thin body was tightly wrapped in a cloak, especially her arms, which were completely hidden.
Moen could sense that her right arm was emanating Dark magic.
Next to the girl, the little sister wore a pink dress and looked very cute, giving off an obedient and adorable impression.
As for the boy, he probably resembled his father more, with a rougher appearance and a skin tone completely different from the two pale girls. If not for the striking white hair, one would never guess they were siblings.
"I saw them outside the guild when I arrived, watching Natsu and the others play around, so I invited them in."
Makarov replied while drinking.
This time, these three children hadn't been picked up by him from outside; they came to the guild themselves. He had met them outside the Fairy Tail gates.
"You look worn out. Did you run away from home? Did you come specifically to join Fairy Tail?"
Moen asked the three of them. He wondered if Fairy Tail's reputation as an orphanage for wizards had already spread far.
The three children before him were dirty, clearly having been homeless for a long time, even more miserable than Moen's own time surviving in the Wass Forest.
It was partly for this reason that Makarov brought them into the guild; it was obvious that their living conditions had been poor.
"No, we just happened to be passing by."
The cloaked girl answered, her voice low and matching her gloomy expression. Her entire presence exuded a sense of despair.
After saying this, the girl fell silent, appearing withdrawn, reminiscent of Erza when she first arrived at the guild—a story-heavy personality.
"We were driven out by the villagers."
Unlike their withdrawn sister, the younger sister and brother were more proactive, talking back and forth without hesitation.
The three of them were surnamed Strauss: the withdrawn eldest sister was named Mirajane, the cute younger sister was Lisanna, and the dark, rugged-looking younger brother was Elfman.
The reason they were driven out of their village and forced to live as homeless wanderers was that the eldest sister, Mirajane, had been possessed by a demon.
"Possessed by a demon? I doubt that."
Hearing their story, Moen was astonished—not because Mirajane was possessed, but because of her magical talent.
In their village's church, a demon appeared. Mirajane, being reckless but very enthusiastic, went straight into the church to expel it.
During the battle, she absorbed the demon into her body, causing her arm to become the way it is now.
"Can I take a look at that arm?"
Moen politely asked the withdrawn sister, Mirajane.
Mirajane did not answer immediately. Reluctantly, she pulled her right arm out from her cloak. Her eyes on that arm were filled with disgust.
Her right arm was dark red overall, extremely withered, with many purple, crystal-like protrusions densely covering it, enough to give someone trypophobia.
"That's right, it's not possession by a demon, but Take Over Magic—a type of magic that houses a demon's power within one's body."
Makarov shook his cup, confirming Moen's observation. Mirajane was not possessed by the demon; she had received it.
During her battle with the demon, Mirajane awakened her magical talent, "Take Over Magic."
If she hadn't successfully awakened "Take Over Magic," it would have been impossible for Mirajane to defeat the demon terrorizing the village.
"Magic Awakening"—this is something only highly gifted wizards experience.
Ordinary wizards need to study and meditate to harness magic, sufficient to use and control it, whereas true prodigies only need a "Magic Awakening" to automatically master magic.
The last person Moen had seen undergo a "Magic Awakening" was Erza. According to Erza, her mana suddenly exploded, and she immediately mastered "Requip Magic."
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