Moen wasn't particularly worried about the Saint Seiya System's warning that said "avoid excessive communication."
Compared to worrying about that, he was far more concerned about what might happen if they didn't send them back. The consequences of leaving them here could be far more terrifying.
"That's right. We really can't hide it from you, Moen. We did come from the future—we came from the year X784. What year is it now?"
After Moen completely exposed their identities, Erza accepted reality calmly. She no longer looked as nervous as before, gradually regaining some of the dignity of the "Fairy Queen."
The older Erza from X784 was far more imposing than the present one. But right now, dressed in that white cat-girl outfit, it was truly difficult for her to look dignified.
"X784, huh? It's X778 now. You two came from six years in the future…"
Moen didn't look very surprised.
His earlier guess was that the time gap wouldn't be more than ten years. After all, this older Erza still looked young—full of life, overflowing with energy, her skin glowing with collagen.
"X778? That feels like forever ago… That means Happy hasn't joined the guild yet, right?"
Erza thought back on past years and realized it quickly. In X778, Happy probably hadn't joined the guild yet—wait, no… Happy was born this year!
"Happy? Who's that? Someone who will join the guild in the future?"
Moen followed up naturally. Among the strangers who time-traveled, he had already met Lucy—only Happy remained.
Judging by the name, Happy sounded like a boy. Otherwise, he wouldn't be messing around with Natsu and Gray all day.
"We can't say, we can't say! Anyway, you'll meet him soon enough."
Erza quickly covered her mouth, shaking her head repeatedly. She didn't dare reveal more. And now she was certain—Happy wasn't born yet.
The "Fairy Queen" screamed internally. Even in front of the young Moen, she found it hard to stay on guard. If this continued, she would probably leak everything.
No! We must go back as soon as possible!
Erza strengthened her resolve.
"Moen, can you understand the contents of this magic book? We were brought to this time because of it."
Erza handed the magic book to him. Since their cover was blown, it didn't matter anymore if Moen helped.
Even though Moen wasn't as obsessed with magic studies as Levy, Erza remembered very clearly that he was extremely well-read. He had a lot of knowledge—maybe he really could decipher this book.
Moen took the worn-out magic book and opened it. It was extremely obscure. The contents were messy, scattered, rambling all over the place—like an academic paper stuffed with filler. The actual useful information seemed to be only a few lines.
"How is it? Can you do it?"
Lucy stared at Moen with anticipation. If they couldn't decipher this book, then even if they found Natsu, Gray, and Happy, they still wouldn't be able to return.
"I can. But I need time."
Moen looked serious, but he was confident. As long as he filtered out the useless distractions inside the book, he should be able to uncover the secret of time travel!
"That's great! As long as there's a way!"
Lucy bounced happily—almost like a rabbit. Her voluptuous figure rippled wildly, swaying up and down without stopping.
This blonde girl truly had an explosive body. Of course, Erza standing beside her was not inferior. Both were young, beautiful, and stunningly well-figured.
Unfortunately for them, Moen's entire attention was locked onto the magic book. He didn't have time to appreciate such scenery.
Right now, Moen's interest in this magic book surpassed everything.
This was time magic capable of traveling to the past!
Hearing Moen's reply, Erza let out a quiet breath of relief. With Moen here to help, she suddenly felt much lighter—her confidence instantly shot up to maximum.
But she couldn't leave Moen alone. They had been thrown into the past out of nowhere. Who knew whether this book would cause another strange accident? If Moen ended up being sent away by accident, things would become even more troublesome.
So Erza decided to stay here and decipher the book with him, while Lucy continued searching for the three troublemakers.
"Lucy, go keep looking for Natsu, Gray, and Happy. I'll stay here with Moen and try to unlock this book."
Erza spoke seriously.
"Okay! I'll go right away!"
Lucy agreed immediately. She didn't refuse. Even though she wanted to spend more time talking with the younger Moen, the situation didn't allow it.
The bunny-girl Lucy ran off toward the outskirts of Magnolia.
She had already circled the city once. Now it was time to check outside the city. She planned to search the river first—maybe Natsu and Gray were revisiting their old spot.
She even asked Moen where that small river was located. In her time—six years later—this river had already disappeared. She had no impression of such a place existing at all.
"Does Magnolia change that much after six years?"
After Lucy left, Moen asked curiously.
"Emmm… it changes quite a bit. A lot of old shops gradually disappear."
Erza hesitated slightly, but still gave a vague answer. Faced with the slightly immature young Moen, she found it really hard to refuse him or to lie.
"Many shops disappeared? Even Magnolia has times of economic downturn?"
Moen's expression became strange, and he looked very confused. Because of Fairy Tail's existence, Magnolia's industries had always been developing. The flow of people in the entire city was large, the economy was strong, and many old stores were practically the same age as the guild itself—stores Makarov had visited since childhood.
It had always been in a period of growth and was even expanding outward year after year. For Magnolia to lose many long-standing shops…
Moen truly couldn't understand. Did something major happen?
Otherwise, how could those century-old establishments—those deeply integrated into the citizens' daily lives—gradually disappear?
"Maybe… you could—no, never mind. I shouldn't say it."
Erza opened her mouth, struggling a little, but didn't dare to continue.
She originally wanted Moen to keep an eye on Natsu and Gray. If so, all the shops destroyed or damaged by those two blockheads might have survived.
But she wasn't sure what consequences that might cause.
"Erza, you're giving me this magic book, and yet you're still worried about other things?"
Holding the magic book, Moen gave a helpless laugh. Time travel clearly had a huge impact on Erza. In front of him, she kept making mistake after mistake.
". Ah!"
Only after Moen pointed it out did Erza suddenly realize. Her expression turned into pure frustration.
She had only thought that since Moen had already exposed them, letting him help wasn't a problem.
But she completely forgot that giving Moen this time magic book and letting him master time magic at this age could cause far more unpredictable danger!
Her unconditional trust in Moen had backfired on her.
"Don't worry, Erza. What do you think I'm going to do? Change the past?"
Moen said with a smile. He reached out and gently touched Erza's hair, the two of them still leaning over the book together.
"No… you wouldn't do that."
Erza paused for a moment, then answered with certainty. She didn't dodge—she simply let the younger Moen pat her head.
"Exactly. Why would I change the past? Doing so would be denying the people we are now.
Because it's our memories of the past that shaped who we are today. Every bit of it connects together to form the present us. If the past is changed… are we still us?"
Moen's words left Erza momentarily dazed, but they sank deeply into her heart. The thoughts stirring inside her gradually faded away.
After all… who doesn't have something they wish they could change in their past?
But even if you did change it, would the result truly be better?
Hard to say.
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