X776, Earth Land, the eastern continent of Ishgar, the Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia Town.
Magnolia was unusually lively today.
“Alarm!
Alarm!
Gildarts is back!” “Gildarts Shift!
Activate!” Gildarts Clive was the strongest Mage of Fairy Tail, the only Magic Guild in Magnolia.
Famous throughout the magic world for his extremely powerful destructive magic, Crush Magic, Gildarts could be rather absentminded.
He often destroyed nearby buildings without even realizing it.
Because of that, Magnolia had specially modified its main street so Gildarts could walk straight to the guild whenever he returned, keeping him from wandering around town and wrecking half the city.
This time, however, Gildarts didn’t have one of his usual episodes.
He didn’t even stop to smash through his own guild wall and instead walked straight through the front door.
That could only mean one thing: Gildarts was serious right now, far too focused to get distracted.
And the usually solitary Gildarts hadn’t returned alone today.
He had brought a little boy with him.
…
On the second floor of the Fairy Tail guildhall, a tiny old man sat on the railing.
He was Makarov Dreyar, Fairy Tail’s Guild Master and one of Ishgar’s renowned Ten Wizard Saints.
Makarov pulled his gaze away from the boy downstairs and turned toward the man who currently served as the guild’s backbone.
“Gildarts, if everything you said is true, this is no small matter.
Do you have solid proof?” Gildarts nodded, his expression grave.
“I’m certain they were a black-magic cult.
They were abducting civilians and secretly enslaving them to build something…
I saw it with my own eyes.
There’s no mistake.” Makarov’s expression darkened after hearing his report.
“…The R-System?
That legendary resurrection magic?
Damn…
This is serious.
We need to get the Magic Council to stop them immediately.” Makarov hopped down from the railing and, looking rather pleased, gave Gildarts a heartfelt pat on the knee.
“You did well, Gildarts.
I knew I hadn’t misjudged you.
It seems we’ve found the perfect candidate for Fairy Tail’s Fourth Master—” “Ahem.
Gramps, I’m still young.
I’d like a few more years to enjoy myself.
You’re only eighty.
That’s prime working age.” Gildarts waved both hands, firmly rejecting the old master’s generous offer.
“You brat…
You’re the only S-Class Mage in this guild I can actually rely on right now!
If you won’t succeed me, who will?
That bastard Ivan?!” “I think Laxus would do just fine.” “That boy still has a long way to go!” Makarov nearly laughed from frustration.
He shook his head helplessly and set the subject aside for now.
“So what’s the story with that kid you brought back?
Another illegitimate son of yours?” “Of course not!
Wait, what do you mean another one?” Gildarts immediately denied it.
He glanced downstairs, scratched his head, and let out a sigh.
“Aito’s family was brutally killed when they resisted that black-magic cult.
The shock awakened his magic, and I followed his distress call until I found what was happening.” “He hasn’t been doing well since then.
He’s got no family and nowhere to go, so he said he wanted to follow me…
The kid’s talented, so I figured I’d bring him back to the guild.” “I see…
Poor child.” Makarov sighed.
“Then let him stay.
From now on, Fairy Tail will be his home.” “Oh, right.
What kind of magic did he awaken?
His magic power is incredible.
He’s already comparable to some adult Mages.” “Telepathy Magic.” “Telepathy?
Hmm, that’s a little unfortunate.
Still, his talent is excellent, and with that much magic power, he’ll have a future no matter what kind of magic he learns.” “Uhh…
yeah, about that.” Gildarts nodded with a strange expression.
“The kid had only just awakened his magic, and he still managed to send me a distress call from more than ten kilometers away.” “Oh, that’s impressive…” Makarov nodded at first.
Then his eyes suddenly widened.
“Wait!
H-How far did you say?!” Gildarts tilted his head and thought about it.
“I didn’t measure it exactly, but it was definitely more than ten kilometers.
It took me quite a while to reach him.
That kid’s ridiculously gifted when it comes to Telepathy.” “Even ten kilometers is absurd!
Normal Telepathy only works over roughly five kilometers.
How old is he?” “Uh…
five or six?
I didn’t ask.
Hahaha.” Makarov sucked in a sharp breath.
His eyes lit up, and a broad smile spread across his face.
“Good, very good.
He’s a promising seedling.
Maybe he’ll become one of Fairy Tail’s pillars someday.” “All right, I’m heading to the Magic Council branch.
Gildarts, the guild is yours for the next few days!” “Huh?
Gramps, I’m not planning to stay at the guild for long—” “Enough whining!
It’s decided!” …
While the two men held their very loud “secret discussion” upstairs, the little boy Gildarts had brought back stood blankly off to the side downstairs.
Aito had striking short, pale cherry-pink hair and delicate features that made him look especially cute.
At the moment, however, his pupils were unfocused and his expression vacant.
He looked…
a little slow.
Aito was a transmigrator, and his current situation wasn’t exactly pleasant.
A few days earlier, he had watched the old village chief who raised him die right in front of him.
The overwhelming shock awakened the memories of his previous life.
At the time, a group of strangely dressed cultists had just beaten him up and captured him.
To say he had been in danger would have been putting it mildly.
Fortunately, just when despair was setting in, the power sleeping within him awakened.
Using his newly awakened Telepathy Magic, Aito sent a distress signal into the distance.
Then his great savior Gildarts descended like a hero from the heavens and crushed the cultists with overwhelming force.
Aito had survived the life-or-death crisis, but that didn’t mean he could finally relax.
The magic he’d awakened seemed far too powerful, and he had no idea how to properly control his new ability.
According to Gildarts, his magic was called Telepathy Magic, an ability that allowed people to communicate through their minds.
That sounded useful enough.
Aito could send a distress signal more than ten kilometers away, but there was one enormous problem: his magic also passively received information, and he couldn’t turn it off.
And that made his life miserable.
People could stop themselves from speaking, but it was much harder to stop themselves from thinking.
The moment someone thought, their inner voice appeared, and Aito could “hear” the thoughts of everyone within nearly a hundred meters.
Thoughts were also different from ordinary voices.
The stronger someone’s emotions were, the louder their inner voice became.
Camping with Gildarts out in the wilderness hadn’t been too bad.
Listening to one horny middle-aged man’s fantasies was still something Aito could endure.
But after entering town—and especially after stepping into a guild called Fairy Tail…
Aito felt like his head was about to explode.
Countless “voices” poured into his mind.
He didn’t know how to shut his brain off, and unlike ordinary noise, he couldn’t block them by simply covering his ears.
The more attention he paid to them, the clearer they became.
For now, Aito had only two ways to ease the pain.
Empty his mind and think about absolutely nothing.
Fill his mind by focusing completely on a single thought.
Either method made him look equally absentminded from the outside.
Gildarts had assumed Aito simply hadn’t recovered from losing his family.
He had awkwardly tried to show concern several times, leaving both of them equally uncomfortable.
And now, while Aito was mentally drifting away—or rather, concentrating very hard on doing absolutely nothing—two small figures approached him.
Their inner voices gradually became clearer.
‘That’s the kid Dad brought back…
That hair color…
D-Don’t tell me…
Is he my little brother?’ ‘Cana is such a pain.
Why’d she drag me over here?
I don’t care about some little brat.’ Aito turned toward the source of the “voices.” Two children, a boy and a girl around ten years old, were standing in front of him.
The boy had spiky black hair and no shirt, with Fairy Tail’s emblem stamped on his chest.
He frowned slightly, looking openly impatient.
The girl had shoulder-length hair and wore a light crop top that exposed her midriff.
Her guild emblem rested near one side of her lower abdomen, and a complicated look flickered in her eyes.
“Hi.
I’m Cana.” “…I’m Gray.” “Welcome to Fairy Tail.” …