Finally, Erza paid the compensation to the vendors on Natsu's behalf.
From her decisive way of taking out money and her practiced movements of making Natsu apologize, it was clear how familiar Erza was with this process of covering for him.
Although she was firm with Natsu's actions, Erza also cared about him, like a strict older sister.
The vendors, satisfied with their compensation, left. Erza slightly turned her head, catching sight of the pink-haired boy trying to sneak away in her peripheral vision.
"Natsu, get over here!"
Natsu, whose ear was pinched, immediately felt a sense of dread and could only look at Noah and Happy with pleading eyes, hoping they would intercede for him.
However, the man and cat Natsu had placed his hopes on—one looked at the sky, the other at the ground—neither seeing Natsu's plea.
Natsu was dragged into an alley by Erza, looking desperate. He didn't know if a verbal lecture awaited him, or a straightforward beating to teach him a lesson.
Noah took this time to go with Happy to the client's location on the next street, returning the two dogs to the client and successfully receiving 30,000 Jewels in reward.
Taking his share, Noah put the remaining money into a small wallet and handed it to the small cat on his shoulder. "Happy, this is your and Natsu's reward. Make sure to hold onto it tightly."
"Aye! I can eat big fish again!"
Clutching the wallet tightly, as if delicious fish dishes were right before him, Happy's mouth was practically watering.
What a gluttonous little cat.
Noah took Happy off his shoulder. "I have to go back to the guild first. Can you find Natsu by yourself?"
"Aye, no problem."
Happy immediately spread his small wings and flew towards the central street. If nothing unexpected happened, Erza and Natsu would still be there.
Noah looked at the completed pet retrieval request form in his hand. The reward for this job was already very high for its type, yet it was less than one percent of the total reward for the "Beast King Subjugation."
S-Class jobs were terrifyingly lucrative.
Of course, Noah was just sighing. Even Mirajane, an S-Class Mage, almost fell to the Beast King. He, a mere novice who had just awakened his Magic, dared not hope for such a thing.
He started walking towards the guild.
Due to his unfamiliarity with this world, Noah now urgently wanted to understand some "common knowledge" about Magic to avoid unnecessary suspicion due to ignorance.
Between the Magnolia City Library and the Fairy Tail guild's library, Noah unhesitatingly chose the latter.
In Noah's view, a city library open to the public would certainly not have as rich a collection of Magic-related books as a Mage Guild.
Ten minutes later, at the guild hall's bar counter.
An old man and a young man stared at each other, the atmosphere extremely awkward.
Noah stared at Makarov with a deadpan expression, his look quite meaningful. "Master, what do you mean by 'none'?"
"None means... it's just... it's just..."
Scratching his bald head where no hair existed, Makarov's old face flushed, and he spoke with some embarrassment. "The guild currently has no library."
"No now, so there used to be? The books couldn't have been sold, could they?"
"Of course not, our guild isn't so poor as to sell books. A few cents a pound is too big a loss..."
He even knew the price of recycled paper so clearly, and still said he hadn't thought about it... Noah felt that since coming to this guild, his ability to internally complain had significantly improved, but out of politeness, Noah only complained in his heart.
If this continued, he would eventually become repressed... Subtly changing a person, this Fairy Tail indeed had some issues...
Back to the main topic, Noah heard from Makarov's tone that the guild's library should have been repurposed for some reason, but as long as the books were still there, he would have something to read.
When Noah asked about the location of the guild's collection of books, Makarov became awkward once again.
Seeing this, Noah forcibly suppressed his urge to complain and spoke helplessly. "Just say it, Master. I can handle it."
"Those books are in the warehouse."
Is that all?
Noah had thought those books would appear under the legs of some tables. It turned out they were in the warehouse. What was so embarrassing about saying that?
Makarov then revealed the truth. "All the books from the library are in the deepest part of the warehouse, and the warehouse... hasn't been tidied up in a long time."
"But Noah, don't worry too much. If four or five people clean the warehouse together, it should be done in about a day or two."
Seemingly worried about dampening Noah's enthusiasm for reading, Makarov quickly tried to make amends. The guild had finally found a second member willing to read, and he couldn't let him down.
"I'll call a few of the young ones to clean it up in a bit. I guarantee you'll be able to read normally tomorrow."
Well, I really should thank you on behalf of those unlucky guys... Noah was speechless. He finally understood why the guild had such reckless members like Natsu. Turns out, the pillars of the guild weren't serious either.
"Master, I have another question. What was the original library converted into?" Noah was now quite suspicious that a corner of the bar hall, similar to a tavern, was once the library.
"Haha... that... I seem to have forgotten."
Makarov stammered, trying to gloss over it, finding it truly difficult to say. But while he was unwilling to speak, others were.
"The library? Isn't that the first floor of the current wine cellar? Master, you're so forgetful. You really are getting old."
A beautiful figure suddenly emerged from behind the bar counter. It was Mirajane, with a sweet smile, but unfortunately, she was saying things that pierced Makarov's heart.
Makarov felt that he had completely lost the thick skin he had cultivated in recent years today, and in front of a new guild member!
It turned out that as the number of guild members increased daily, the demand for drinks also grew, leading to insufficient space in the guild's underground wine cellar.
So, three years ago, Makarov converted the library into a room for storing alcohol.
As for why the library was chosen, it was, of course, because apart from one girl who had already read all the books in the library, no one else in the guild was willing to explore the ocean of knowledge.
After hearing Mirajane's explanation and learning such an absurd backstory, Noah showed no expression.
He suddenly realized that he had already gotten used to it.
By the way, among those who were unwilling to read, did that include Makarov himself?
To prevent the respected Master from continuing to be embarrassed, Noah, with good judgment, changed the subject, looking at the drinks Mirajane was placing on the tray.
"Mira, what are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm working part-time as a waitress, which means receiving clients and serving fellow guild members."
Mirajane's smile was gentle, but Noah wasn't entirely reassured. After all, when he arrived here yesterday, he had personally seen Mirajane beating up a dozen people by herself.
The so-called waitress—she wouldn't be entertaining with her fists, would she...?