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Sometimes, repairing a relationship only requires one heart-to-heart conversation.
Although Noah didn't know what Erza and Irene talked about last night, when he saw the mother and daughter the next morning, both of their faces were beaming with heartfelt smiles.
That was the warm affection that only exists between parent and child.
Erza was different from her other guildmates; peers like Natsu, Gray, and Lucy had loving family members from a young age, but Erza had never received the love of blood relatives.
"Having no parents" is a pain others cannot comprehend.
Later, after enduring various hardships, Erza joined Fairy Tail, became a part of this big family, and finally had a family.
However, the Fairy Tail family was merely an atmosphere Makarov worked hard to create for the children; ultimately, it was different from "blood relatives."
Erza didn't care about the difference between "family" and "blood relatives"; she cherished the "friendship" of her companions, but she also couldn't ignore the deep longing for "familial love" within her heart.
This feeling was like a sharp thorn deeply embedded in her throat, causing Erza immense suffering yet leaving her helpless, able only to bury this longing deep in her heart so as not to worry those who cared about her.
Noah discovered this when he first started dating Erza, but he was powerless to do anything, only hoping that their love could dispel some of the obsession in Erza's heart.
However, circumstances are unpredictable; the group's original intention in coming to the Western Continent was to find Natsu's Team, but instead of finding them, they unexpectedly brought out August and Irene.
Thus, searching for people turned into a family reunion; truly joyous and celebratory.
Looking at the red-haired girl clinging to Irene, Noah was genuinely happy for Erza. "Congratulations, Erza, but how do you plan to thank me, your great benefactor?"
Erza walked over with a smile and whispered in Noah's ear, "While you were gone these past two days, I bought a very sexy nightgown~"
Noah immediately perked up at that.
It was a pity it was daytime, and Irene, his mother-in-law, was present; otherwise, Noah would have definitely asked Erza to wear a pair of black stockings with it.
Watching her daughter's playful look as she whispered to Noah, Irene didn't interrupt, merely remarking that Erza was much better than her mother at picking men.
Because they had booked an entire floor of hotel rooms, everyone had breakfast delivered to their rooms instead of going to the restaurant, and the extra rooms were perfect for gatherings.
As they savored the Western Continent's specialty butter bread and milk tea, everyone also learned about the relationship between Irene and Erza, but their reaction wasn't as strong as when Noah revealed August's identity.
After all, the mother and daughter's extremely similar appearances made it difficult for even uninformed passersby not to suspect that Irene and Erza were family.
A story where a mother and daughter, after experiencing various hardships, finally reunite as a family always makes people happy.
Makarov regarded everyone in Fairy Tail as important family members and treated the guild's juniors as his own children. After the two involved, he was the happiest about Erza and Irene's reunion, and even the vexation that had arisen due to the Second Guild Master vanished.
"To celebrate Erza finding her family, let's have a party!"
Watching Makarov pull out a bottle of wine from who knows where, Noah's mouth twitched. Sure enough, a crooked beam makes a crooked pillar; the guild's habit of throwing parties at the drop of a hat was brought about by Makarov.
And who drinks alcohol first thing in the morning!
Are you Cana!?
Putting the celebration aside for now, Noah didn't stop the old man from wanting a few drinks because he was in a good mood; if he really got sick, wasn't Noah still there?
Moreover, Makarov's body was very healthy now.
Noah looked at August; he hadn't forgotten the original purpose of this trip to the Western Continent. "Senior, how is the favor I asked you for?"
August naturally remembered and stated, "I have already given the orders. Invel is very reliable; he should be able to find those two people and one cat within two days, and ensure they are sent back within five days."
Now that August was one of their own, with his identity as the Wizard King and Grand Strategist, finding Natsu's Team in the Alvarez Empire was simply too easy.
So everyone felt at ease and planned to thoroughly relax and rest these next few days.
However, before they could even decide where to go for fun, trouble came knocking.
White tentacles with mottled black spots suddenly grew wildly from the ceiling, floor, and surrounding walls of the room, emitting an invisible Magic Power.
For a moment, everyone in the room felt incredibly hungry, instinctively grabbing the breakfast on the table and frantically eating. Laxus, Erza, Mira, Gajeel, Gray... even Makarov couldn't resist the sudden surge of gluttony.
Only Noah, August, and Irene were completely unaffected.
August's face darkened, and the violent Magic Power around him instantly destroyed all the tentacles, which brought everyone back to normal. He then snorted coldly.
"Larcade, since you're here, why don't you show yourself? Resorting to these low-class, underhanded tactics."
August's words made Makarov and the others' expressions a little unnatural. If the magic that made them so ravenous just now was low-class, then wouldn't they have to live in the sewers?
Fortunately, the sound of the door opening interrupted their wild thoughts. A pale-haired man wearing a monk's robe, with his left chest and left arm's large floral tattoo exposed, walked into the room with his hands clasped together, looking at everyone with a smile.
"I am Larcade; greetings to you all."
Larcade, the most mysterious of the Spriggan 12; besides his name, no other information about him circulated, yet now he had come knocking.
Before Noah could speak, he saw August, completely changing his previous benevolent demeanor, retort with dissatisfaction, "Larcade, stop your hypocritical act."
"Hypocritical?"
Larcade chuckled. "However hypocritical I am, I am still better than you, August, who was defeated by outsiders and now works for them. Ask yourself, do the things you are doing live up to Father's trust?"
The conversation between August and Larcade was full of tension.
It was Irene, also a member of the Spriggan 12, who explained, "Larcade claims to be our Emperor's son, but he is actually a demon from the Book of Zeref. You understand what I mean, right?"
Everyone suddenly understood.
So Zeref was recognized as a father by the demon he created; no wonder August was so impolite to Larcade.
It was already hard enough for August, being the biological son but unable to acknowledge it, and now some blond-haired guy popped up wanting to take the place of "son."
It would be strange if this biological son could swallow that indignity.
Such is always the struggle among heirs.