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Lucy's inner shock came and went quickly.
Having joined Fairy Tail less than a year ago, she was already completely used to her companions, who would make a big splash from time to time.
I'm clearly a beautiful girl, so how did I turn into the straight man in a comedy duo?
As Lucy grumbled internally, she and Natsu's team stepped onto the "main road" that Magnolia had specially prepared for Gildarts.
The road was wide and led directly to Fairy Tail's location, with towering walls on both sides made of magic-resistant material, and not a single obstruction on the path, not even a pebble.
It showed how deep an impression Gildarts had left on the city.
With an unobstructed path, they walked quickly, and Lucy and her group arrived outside Fairy Tail's main gate in less than five minutes.
However, upon seeing the closed guild doors, Natsu looked puzzled, because whenever Gildarts returned in the past, the guild members' cheers could be heard from a street away.
But today, the guild seemed unusually quiet.
That shouldn't be right; the broadcast of Gildarts' return would be impossible to miss if you were in Magnolia.
With a head full of questions, Natsu habitually kicked open the guild doors as usual, and what greeted him was the vast majority of his companions gathered three deep, seemingly engrossed in some excitement.
What on earth was it? It couldn't even distract everyone from Gildarts' return. Natsu, bursting with curiosity, immediately got excited and pushed his way into the crowd.
Gildarts was also greatly curious, but he didn't push his way through like Natsu; instead, under Lucy's strange gaze, he pulled apart the people blocking his path, one by one, forcefully creating a clear route.
As expected of the person Natsu admired, his style was even more reckless than Natsu's.
Lucy grumbled silently, pulling Brandish and Dimaria along, following closely behind Gildarts, and squeezed into the center of the crowd.
There, a long table was placed horizontally, with Makarov and Warrod sitting on the left, a white-haired old gentleman in the middle, and Noah and a mature woman who resembled Erza on the right.
And at the very end of the long table, the guild members were honestly queuing up; they were actually asking the old gentleman for advice on magic.
How did everyone in the guild become so diligent and eager to learn after I was gone for a while?
Lucy rubbed her eyes, looking around.
The guild was still the familiar guild, with no changes; the people were still the familiar faces, the only difference from before was the unprecedentedly high learning atmosphere.
Where did the fighting go?
Is this still Fairy Tail?
"August! What are you doing here?!"
Just as Lucy was wondering if she was under an illusion, Brandish's voice rang in her ears and also reached the ears of the surrounding guild members.
It was then that everyone realized Lucy and her group had returned.
August, known as the "Wizard King," naturally knew magic that could predict trajectories. While in the Western Continent, he had used divination magic to foresee that Natsu's team, whose whereabouts were unknown, would safely return to Magnolia soon.
So, Makarov immediately ended his "vacation," and returned to the guild with Noah and a few others, as well as August and Irene, who expressed their desire to accompany him.
August's identity was not made public; besides Noah and a few others, only Makarov had told Warrod.
When he learned that Mavis had another child, the old tree-man fainted with joy, almost having a happy funeral at over 120 years old.
These past few days, August had been at the guild listening to Warrod recount stories about his mother. Warrod had branded him with a Fairy Tail emblem, signifying his return to his roots.
Later, August couldn't bear to see the guild's juniors using their respective magic so crudely, so being idle, he simply began to guide the guild members in their magic.
The "Wizard King's" understanding of magic was arguably the best in the world; even Noah had to express his admiration in this area.
August's guidance was enough to help people achieve breakthroughs in magic, so these past two days, so many people had lined up to ask him for advice that even a major event like Gildarts' return was overlooked.
"Hmph! Natsu, you brat, you finally decided to come back!"
Makarov grabbed Natsu, who was trying to sneak away in the crowd, and said angrily, "Don't you know the Western Continent is very dangerous?"
"It's fine if something happens to you, but Lucy and Happy aren't as tough as you. What if something happens to them?"
Watching Makarov vigorously shake Natsu, Lucy's expression was a little unnatural. After all, it was her idea to go to the Western Continent; Natsu only went with her because he was worried.
And although they did encounter danger along the way, in the end, only Natsu suffered, while she and Happy didn't really endure much hardship.
Thinking about it this way, she really did feel a bit sorry for Natsu...
The more Lucy thought, the more awkward she felt. Just as she wanted to speak up and explain for Natsu, Makarov let go of Natsu and turned to look at Gildarts, who had returned with Lucy.
"You brat, are you finally willing to come back and see us?"
"I heard from Natsu that you didn't even leave Ishgar during the three years you were on the Hundred Year Quest."
Gildarts grumbled internally that Natsu had sold him out so quickly, but on the surface, he chuckled, "Master, you can't blame me; you know I get lost easily."
Makarov snorted unhappily.
He strongly suspected that Gildarts didn't want to take over as the Fourth Guild Master, which was why he took the Hundred Year Quest and ran off.
After all, even Makarov didn't know the detailed requirements of the Hundred Year Quest; who knew if Gildarts had been slacking off these past few years.
"Let's put the request aside for now."
Makarov said in a deep voice, "Gildarts, you've honestly returned to the guild, so you must have learned some things from Natsu and Lucy, right?"
Gildarts nodded slightly, turned, and walked along the path his companions tacitly cleared for him, arriving beside Cana.
"I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you. My daughter was right beside me, yet I..."
"It's okay, I've been intentionally hiding it from you all this time."
Cana responded to Gildarts with a forced calmness. After revealing her identity in Edolas, she thought she had come to terms with it, but why did her heart become uneasy when she saw Gildarts again?
It was as if she was afraid, afraid that Gildarts would leave in a hurry again for some reason, just like before.
Seeing Cana's forced composure, Gildarts' guilt deepened, and he hugged her tenderly. "I'm sorry, Cana. I will never leave you alone again; there will never be lonely days again."
"From now on, whether it's work or drinking, I'll be by your side."
"So, please give me... the right to compensate you... and love you."
Listening to Gildarts' heartfelt plea, Cana's years of accumulated emotions turned into tears.
She joined Fairy Tail for Gildarts, and after nearly ten years, she could finally lean into her father's warm embrace. Her emotional knot was completely untangled at this moment.
Cana hugged Gildarts tightly, tears streaming down, yet they couldn't hide her smile. She could finally say those words.
"It's so good to see you, Dad."