Chapter 184: The Master's Assistant
After resting for a day, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, and Sorano teamed up for another S-Class job and left the guild.
Noah, meanwhile, paid a visit to the Heartfilia estate to see Jude. He wanted to get an update on the situation with the Western Continent, Alakitasia, and the state of relations with Ishgar.
After catching up, Noah asked about the news from the west.
Jude told Noah, with a good deal of frustration, that because of the Alvarez Empire's recent military aggression, relations between the two continents had been severely damaged, even though they had retreated. Travel and communication had become extremely difficult. It was now very hard for Grammi to travel over.
Thankfully, Grammi had built up a solid foundation over the years, so her business wasn't too heavily impacted. Jude was doing his best to help them make one more trip, just in case all contact between the continents was severed. Noah asked Jude to notify him immediately if Grammi and her daughter managed to make it, as he had business to discuss with them.
Noah also made a copy of all the basic information Jude had collected on the Western Continent. Before leaving, he gave Jude his routine health check-up and left him with some restorative potions.
He then went to visit Layla and Lucy. He checked their health as well, left them some potions, and answered a few questions Lucy had about her magic studies. After having dinner with the family, he finally returned home.
After that, Noah returned to his daily life, completely immersing himself in his usual routine of studying, research, and training. Of course, he would still occasionally go out on jobs to gather materials he needed.
After Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, and Sorano completed three S-Class jobs together, they felt confident enough to start taking on S-Class requests individually.
The other young members of the guild had also grown strong over the years, and with Makarov's approval, they began taking on more difficult jobs.
Gray, Cana, and Lyon all started taking jobs solo. Natsu teamed up with Happy, while Lisanna and Elfman formed their own pair. Simon and Kagura would sometimes team up and sometimes work separately.
Levy's "Team Shadow Gear" and Freed's "Thunder Legion" had become famous teams within the guild, always taking their jobs as a full squad. Of course, the members of the Thunder Legion were all strong enough to take jobs on their own as well.
Wendy, Yukino, Meredy, and Carla formed their own team. As they were the youngest, Makarov was still a bit protective and only let them take jobs in the nearby area.
Yukino's magic was Celestial Spirit Magic. Her sister, Sorano, had gotten incredibly lucky on a recent job and found a golden Zodiac key—Libra. Sorano's first thought was of her sister. She already had her powerful, Noah-improved Angel Magic, but Yukino-kun was still finding her footing. This rare key was the perfect fit. After a quick test confirmed that Yukino-kun had a strong aptitude for Celestial Spirit Magic, the key became hers.
After Yukino formed a contract with Libra, Sorano helped her find a few silver keys as well. Since opening a Zodiac gate requires a lot of magic power, which was still a challenge for the young Yukino-kun, the silver keys were perfect for her everyday battles, saving Libra for when she really needed her.
Meredy, on the other hand, was learning Light Magic from Noah. She was a quick study, and under Noah's guidance, she soon gained a respectable level of skill, allowing her to join Wendy, Yukino-kun, and Carla on their jobs.
But even with all the jobs, no one forgot to train. After all, brawls broke out in the guild almost daily, and if your strength didn't keep up, you'd get beaten. And since no one in Fairy Tail likes to lose, they all trained hard.
Five months passed in this busy and fulfilling way.
One day, after finishing his solo training, Noah headed to the guild hall to relax and read a book. He was surprised to find the guild hall, usually the epicenter of chaos, completely empty. He walked over to Makarov, who was at the bar.
"Gramps, Natsu and the others aren't here? It's so quiet today."
"Oh, Natsu? He and Happy went out on a job. Everyone else is out on jobs, too."
Noah nodded and couldn't help but sigh. "It's so rare to have this much peace and quiet!"
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, it really is," Makarov mused, also finding it a bit strange. He felt like something was missing, and now he realized it was the usual racket from the younger generation.
"Then again," Noah said with a grin, "with all of them gone at once, the real victims are probably the towns they're working in. Gramps, maybe you should start writing your apology reports for the Magic Council now?"
Makarov's good mood instantly evaporated. He shot Noah a weary look. "Don't ruin my peace, boy. We'll deal with those problems when they happen. If it hasn't happened yet, it doesn't exist!"
Noah couldn't help but smile at Makarov's blatant denial. As Natsu and the others got older, their destructive power only grew, and the guild was already receiving countless complaints about property damage during their jobs.
And then there were Gray and Lyon, the resident stripping maniacs. Thanks to Ultear's tireless efforts, they had finally learned to at least keep their underwear on, but they were still constantly being reported for public indecency. Almost every member had one issue or another. Makarov was basically writing apology letters to the Council every month. The peace was only temporary. The paperwork was inevitable; it would only be delayed, never absent.
"I've just had a brilliant idea!" Makarov suddenly declared, his spirits lifting completely. "You can write the reports, and I'll just sign them!"
Noah was so stunned he almost dropped his book. "Gramps, are you serious? Me? But you're the Guild Master."
"It's fine, it's fine! You write, I sign."
Noah stared at Makarov's earnest face, realizing he wasn't joking. "Gramps, you are absolutely certain you want me to write the official apologies, and you'll just sign them?"
"Absolutely!" Makarov beamed. "In fact, to make it easier, I've decided to appoint you as the Guild Master's Assistant. You'll help me handle the guild's daily administrative tasks. That makes you writing the reports perfectly reasonable, don't you think?"
Noah looked at the smug, triumphant expression on the old man's face and was utterly speechless.
'He just made me his assistant just to get out of doing paperwork,' Noah thought, completely exasperated.
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