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General Erza only had two drinks with Rob before leaving.
As a high-ranking minister and one of Faust's most trusted individuals, she needed to quickly mobilize forces and, before the news of Brain's capture spread, send word to other legions to completely wipe out Brain's influence.
"Look at others, then look at you."
Mira playfully poked Noah's face, feigning disdain, and teased, "As a prince, you show no inclination to share the country's burdens."
Noah pouted, turned his head to Mystogan, and said, "Big brother, you heard that, right? Your sister-in-law is very displeased with your slacking off."
Bang!
Before he could finish speaking, Noah's head was pressed down hard onto the table by Erza. "Don't stir up trouble here!"
Mystogan, who was quietly drinking not far away, gave Erza a thumbs-up; his brother was good in every way, except he was too unreliable.
Noah sat up as if nothing had happened, secretly giving his big brother the middle finger to express their superficial brotherhood.
"Noah, Noah, when are we going to the Exceed Kingdom?" Cheese, holding Shirayuki, landed on the table; it seemed truly interested in the Exceed Kingdom.
Noah, as usual, wanted to pet the adorable little snow cat before answering its question, but Mira snatched Cheese away first.
Watching Mira kiss and hug Cheese, Noah was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, and with a hint of jealousy, he snatched Shirayuki, which Cheese was holding, and kneaded it into various shapes.
The innocent mouse seemed to say: Am I also part of your human play?
After a satisfying session of petting the magical hamster, Noah finally spoke to Cheese. "We'll leave after the banquet."
"That fast?"
Erza knew Noah's temperament; since he said he would go to challenge the Exceed Kingdom, he would definitely go, but she didn't expect him to be so eager.
Noah chuckled, pointing to Carla, who was sitting at a table with Wendy; anyone could see the white cat's unconcealed worry.
Ever since arriving in Edolas, Carla had always worn that distraught expression.
Mira, being sharp-minded, immediately understood Noah's meaning. "Could it be that you think Carla's current state is related to the Exceed Kingdom?"
"It's also possible that Carla 'foresaw' something again," Erza added.
Carla's ability to foresee the future was no secret in the guild, but she couldn't control when it activated.
Each premonition was a passive vision of a short, time-indeterminate snippet of the future, and the seen future fragments were very blurry.
Foreseeing the future is powerful.
But a precognitive ability that cannot be controlled is somewhat useless.
So everyone didn't pay too much attention to Carla's special ability.
But regardless of what she foresaw, or what other factors caused Carla to be unhappy, it actually had nothing to do with Noah; he simply wanted to stir up trouble in the Exceed Kingdom.
Amidst laughter and joy, the banquet gradually drew to a close.
Seeing that everyone had enjoyed themselves enough, Noah grabbed a megaphone and shouted, "Anyone who wants to visit the Exceed Kingdom can sign up here! Don't be late!"
However, the scene Noah imagined, with everyone scrambling to sign up, did not occur.
In fact, after learning what Exceed were like in Edolas, everyone's interest in the Exceed Kingdom greatly diminished.
If the Exceed Kingdom were all cute and friendly cats like Cheese and Frosch, everyone would certainly be happy to visit.
But from the information obtained from Pantherlily and Fairy Tail here, most Exceed considered themselves superior.
So everyone lost interest in the Exceed Kingdom.
Of course, not everyone was like that; Natsu, ever the one to join in the fun, wouldn't let Noah be left out, and immediately carried Happy, being the first to sign up.
Natsu didn't care about the Exceed's attitude toward humans; he just wanted to go on an adventure in the kingdom of magical cats.
Seeing Natsu move, his little fan Sting also followed suit, bringing his cat Lector to sign up; Rogue, who was always inseparable from his good friend, naturally followed with Frosch.
When Wendy saw her Dragon Slayer companions signing up to go to the Exceed Kingdom, her heart stirred, and she turned to Carla for her opinion. "Carla, why don't we go too?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Wendy's question was like stepping on Carla's tail, making her loudly reject Wendy's proposal as if her fur had bristled.
Panic, conflict, worry... all sorts of uneasy emotions appeared on the white cat's small face.
Wendy had never seen Carla like this before and was momentarily at a loss, until a hand gently stroked her head, which helped the little girl relax her tense heart.
Noah released Wendy's small head and looked at Carla. "Tell me, what about the Exceed Kingdom frightens you so much?"
At this moment, Natsu, Sting, and Rogue, with their respective cat companions, also gathered around.
Carla glanced at the cats, then looked at Noah, gritted her teeth, and as if having made some decision, said, "Actually, Happy and I, and the others, all came to Earth Land with an important mission."
The cats' mission?
Noah suddenly found it interesting, because whether it was Cheese, Happy, Lector, or Frosch, none of them had ever mentioned this matter.
Sensing Noah's confusion, Carla proactively explained, "Because they all completely forgot their mission; they don't have to be like me, who occasionally remembers that task from the Exceed Kingdom due to premonitions."
"So what is your mission?"
Carla took a deep breath and said gravely, "To capture the Dragon Slayers and bring them back to Edolas."
Noah immediately gasped at Carla's answer.
Is the Exceed Kingdom that brave? Don't they know that the Mages of the other world are very powerful in combat? Sending magical cats, whose only qualities are cuteness and more cuteness, to capture Dragon Slayers... That's not a mission, that's a death wish!
Noah looked speechlessly at the solemn-faced Carla, raised his hand, and patted her cat head. "I thought you were usually quite smart; why are you overthinking such a small matter?"
Carla looked up at Noah, perplexed.
Noah pulled out a chair and sat down. "Carla, do you think I'm more powerful, or is the Exceed Kingdom stronger?"
"Of course, you..."
Carla paused, finally understanding why Noah was looking at her as if she were an idiot.
That's right, why should she worry about what the Exceed Kingdom would do to Wendy, or to their own Dragon Slayers?
The four adult Dragon Slayers in the guild were each stronger and more capable fighters than the last. Especially Noah and Laxus; they possessed the absolute power to physically turn the Exceed Kingdom upside down.
"Wendy, let's go to the Exceed Kingdom together."
Carla grabbed Wendy's hand; she also really wanted to meet the Exceed Queen who always appeared in her premonitions and dreams.