Early the next morning, as the first rays of dawn barely illuminated Galuna Island, the demon villagers were already bustling with activity.
In the village's central square, temporary earthen stoves blazed fiercely, their orange flames greedily licking the blackened bottoms of pots.
Rough-hewn long tables, polished to a faint gleam, stood neatly arranged beside clean burlap-covered seating mats.
The air was filled with the mingled aromas of various foods, but the most dominant and enticing was undoubtedly the charred fragrance of grilled fish, carried by the sea breeze in wispy threads that crept into one's nostrils.
This aroma seemed almost magical, penetrating the gaps in the crude wooden windows of the huts and precisely hooking onto Happy's very soul.
In his slumber, Happy's plump little belly rose and fell gently with each breath, his long whiskers occasionally twitching.
His small wings fluttered unconsciously, as if pulled by invisible threads of that tantalizing scent, causing him to drift unsteadily away from Natsu's warm side and float out through the window.
With eyes still closed, Happy moved like a sleepwalking sprite drawn by deliciousness, tracing a wobbly path through the air as he followed the soul-stirring source of the grilled fish aroma.
Eventually, he came to a perfect hover right above Bobo's grilled fish stall.
Bobo, who had been intently turning the fish on the grill, looked up and nearly dropped his metal skewer into the fire in shock.
He stared wide-eyed at the blue cat floating mid-air with closed eyes, yet drooling profusely.
This ability to seek out food while asleep was truly unheard of!
Pop~
A snot bubble filled with sweet dreams burst, and Happy plopped onto the ground.
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed, then quickly flew up again.
His eyes sparkled like stars as he gazed at the grilled fish in Bobo's hands, drool nearly dripping to the ground.
He couldn't believe his sweet dream had come true—opening his eyes to find fish waiting for him.
"Actually, fish should be eaten raw. That's when it's most delicious," Happy declared, despite the irresistible aroma of the grilled fish before him.
He struggled to swallow his saliva and solemnly wiped the corner of his mouth with a tiny paw, expressing his feline beliefs.
"Here you go," Bobo replied with a simple, honest grin, revealing his white teeth.
He deftly scooped a lively, silver-scaled fresh sea fish from a nearby bucket, dried it off, and handed it to Happy, fully respecting the cat's culinary convictions.
"Aye! Thank you!" Happy chirped, taking the long sea fish from Bobo and hugging it to his chest before flying back to the room in delight, waking Natsu in the process.
"Happy! Where did you steal that fish from?!" Natsu sprang up, pointing at Happy and shouting.
The commotion woke the others, and soon everyone emerged from their rooms and gathered at the prepared open-air banquet seating.
Rows of tables were set up in the village's spacious square, with cloth cushions placed on both sides for seating.
The village had no grand banquet hall, so all public events were held in the square, and feasts were no exception.
"Where's Marco?" Natsu and Gray spontaneously rolled up their sleeves, helping the villagers move heavy wine barrels and hang strings of dried shell wind chimes, all while wondering why they hadn't seen Marco since waking up.
Surely he hadn't left them behind and gone ahead?!
"Marco-san went to the temple," Bobo explained to everyone.
He knew Marco's whereabouts—Marco had woken up very early, around four o'clock, and headed up the mountain.
"What did he go to the temple for?" Natsu and the others looked utterly confused, clearly puzzled by this.
"Well... it's a long story. You can guess—why have we never approached that temple? Not even once?"
Bobo smiled as he posed a question to the group.
This question even stumped Lyon and the others involved. Logically, they should have sent someone to check it out at some point.
"Because we can't get near that temple. We're demons, and the sacred aura around the temple harms us."
BoBo's tone was serious; it was clearly no joke. It wasn't that they didn't want to go, but they genuinely couldn't.
"This..."
Lyon opened his mouth, while Sherry, Yuka, and Toby exchanged bewildered glances.
They had considered all sorts of possibilities but never imagined this one—that the temple possessed such power?
"The aura around the temple can actually suppress demons!"
Lucy was equally astonished.
She quickly took out her notebook and jotted down this piece of knowledge.
As an author who had already published a book, Lucy was now considered a "rising star in the literary world," though her first book could only be classified as children's literature.
Lucy's debut book was titled Maya's Forest, compiled from stories her mother had once told her, so it was fitting to call it a children's book.
The sales were mediocre; even with Marco's enthusiastic recommendations, it remained lukewarm.
This was because the stories in the book were based on real prototypes—after all, Lucy's mother, Layla, wasn't a novelist, so bedtime stories naturally had their templates.
Lucy's version was more of a creatively adapted edition, fermented through the memories of both her and her mother, with many alterations, so it couldn't be considered plagiarism.
However, Lucy had to admit that her debut work was relatively unsuccessful.
The sales it achieved were entirely due to Marco's influence.
Lucy wasn't discouraged.
She genuinely loved reading and writing—enough to rival her affection for Celestial Spirits.
Now, her biggest dream was to one day write a book about "taking missions at a magic guild and adventuring everywhere."
It would be a book about her, about "Fairy Tail."
Lucy had already asked in advance—Marco had no plans to write it himself and had entirely left the theme to her.
Therefore, Lucy took careful notes of these small details and previously unknown magical secrets, knowing they would come in handy when she wrote her novel later.
...
Marco had indeed gone to the temple because of this matter.
If BoBo and the others hadn't mentioned it, Marco wouldn't even have known about it.
Now that he knew, he had to study it thoroughly.
This power capable of suppressing demons had to be utilized.
"But... I really can't sense anything."
Standing in the temple, Marco reached out and touched the stone bricks of the shrine.
He didn't find anything particularly special about this place—the magical energy surrounding the temple wasn't denser than elsewhere, nor did it exhibit any unique characteristics.
Come to think of it, when he had previously unleashed the "Athena Exclamation" here, he had consumed a considerable amount of magical power and had also absorbed and replenished it from this very location.
Yet, after returning to the village, he hadn't frightened the demon villagers nor caused them any harm.
So, the magical energy here shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.
"Then... could it be due to the temple's layout? Or the patterns within the shrine? Ultimately achieving an effect similar to a magic circle?"
Marco pondered but found no immediate answers.
"Regardless, this Moon Temple must be protected first. We can study it slowly later. If we can truly find a way to counter demons from it, that would be a great achievement."
Looking at the already quite dilapidated "Moon Temple," Marco, clad in the Aries Gold Cloth, sealed off the shrine using the "Crystal Wall" before leaving.
Of course, prior to this, Marco had also made a trip to "Edolas" to retrieve the "Deliora" he had previously sent there.
"Deliora" was sealed away together with this "Moon Temple."
After completing these tasks, Marco returned to the village just in time to join the banquet.
In truth, the banquet wouldn't have started without him, and Marco, aware of this, made sure to return early.
"Come! Let's drink to this! To everything returning to normal!"
At the banquet, everyone ate and chatted merrily.
Marco raised a toast, inviting all to drink together—humans, demons, outsiders, locals—none of these distinctions mattered anymore.
From now on, everyone would be close companions and comrades-in-arms.
"Cheers!"
Naturally, no one refused Marco.
They all stood up and clinked glasses, some drinking alcohol, others enjoying juice.
"We can also bring some of the island's alcohol and juice back to the guild. The demons' drinks and fruit beverages have a unique flavor too."
After taking a sip of the refreshing alcohol, Marco smiled and suggested.
In fact, the demon tribe had many distinctive features—their swing dance was quite entertaining as well.
The entire banquet could be described as a joyous gathering for hosts and guests alike.
"No problem! Let's bring plenty back! Lilian can make fruit drinks too. We'll keep supplying 'Fairy Tail'..."