This was Earth-land, a world of magic.
More specifically, the continent of Ishgar, the Kingdom of Fiore, and the city of Magnolia.
Magnolia’s central district was both the busiest and most expensive part of the city.
It saw the greatest amount of foot traffic, drew the most merchants and travelers, and happened to be where Noah had opened Hope Cottage.
After spending so much time shut inside his shop making Magic Items, Noah had barely gone outside lately.
Walking through the streets again, he was struck by how quickly everything seemed to change.
‘Seriously, how long have I even been cooped up in there?
A few days?’
Fortunately, the people were still the same, and so was the atmosphere.
As Noah made his way through the city, the familiar bustle around him almost felt like cheerful background music accompanying his walk.
His mood lifted without him realizing it, and his steps quickened as he headed toward the guild.
Magnolia was one of the better-known cities in Fiore, prosperous and lively, with an endless stream of people coming and going.
Some were merchants traveling between cities and kingdoms to trade their goods, while others were tourists wandering the continent simply to broaden their horizons.
The friendliness of Magnolia’s residents certainly helped the city thrive, but there was another, far more important reason for its fame.
Magnolia was home to one of the most renowned Mage Guilds in the Kingdom of Fiore.
Fairy Tail.
Two guilds stood above the rest in terms of reputation throughout Fiore.
The first was Phantom Lord, which possessed numerous smaller branch guilds and surpassed every other Mage Guild in both membership and territorial reach.
The second was Fairy Tail, a place that often looked less like a guild hall and more like an especially rowdy tavern.
The guild building itself had a vaguely pyramidal shape, with a large clock mounted at the highest point.
Beneath it flew the guild’s banner, white markings emblazoned across a red field, while a fenced courtyard surrounded the exterior.
The courtyard gates stood wide open, and a black sign reading FAIRY TAIL hung above the entrance.
From the outside, the building resembled a small Western-style manor.
Its wooden front doors were open, allowing passersby to glimpse Mages drinking and chatting inside.
Even from the street, Noah could hear the occasional burst of shouting.
‘These idiots really never stop making noise.’
Nearly ten years had passed since Noah first joined Fairy Tail, and the guild’s atmosphere had barely changed.
It was always this lively.
The only real difference was that there seemed to be even more people sitting around drinking these days.
Noah had never understood how half of them managed it.
These background-character-looking guild members rarely seemed to go out on jobs, yet somehow always had enough money to drink and gossip in the guild hall every day.
It was an enviable lifestyle.
Even nobles would probably shed tears over that level of financial freedom.
Noah swept his gaze across the hall and, unsurprisingly, found that the loudest people present were Cana, Wakaba, and Macao, who were currently engaged in yet another drinking session.
The three of them were practically Fairy Tail’s resident drinking trio, though this time they had somehow dragged Gray into it as well.
The busiest person in the room was Mira, who was working behind the bar as usual.
She wore her familiar warm smile, looking as sweet and approachable as ever while handling half the guild’s affairs at once.
Elsewhere, Loke—who enjoyed considerable popularity on Sorcerer Magazine’s lists of desirable men—had a beautiful woman tucked under each arm and looked thoroughly pleased with himself, inspiring envy from more than a few men nearby.
Then there was Elfman, who seemed to be shouting something about what did or did not qualify as “manly,” though Noah had no idea what argument he had gotten himself into this time.
Levy, meanwhile, had somehow managed to remain completely absorbed in a book despite the surrounding chaos.
Hovering close beside her were those two devoted lackeys whose names Noah had once again forgotten.
The rest of the guild hall was filled with familiar faces serving as part of the scenery.
Some people gathered around tables discussing clothes and food, others stood motionless in front of the request board as though choosing a job required hours of contemplation, and one person sat quietly in a corner sketching.
Dozens of wildly different personalities had somehow been crammed together beneath one roof, filling the tavern-like guild hall with noise, laughter, arguments, and cheerful chaos.
That was Fairy Tail.
The commotion did not stop for even a second after Noah entered, but that did not mean no one noticed him.
Mira was the first to greet him.
As warm, attentive, and considerate as ever, she somehow managed to work as a waitress while also keeping track of nearly everything that happened inside the guild.
Naturally, she was usually the first person to notice anyone coming through the doors.
“Oh my, Noah! It’s been a while,” Mira said with a smile.
“What brings you away from the shop today?”
Ever since Noah had started running Hope Cottage, it was common for weeks to pass without anyone seeing him at the guild.
“Hey, Mira! Long time no see!” Noah greeted her cheerfully.
“Business was great today, so I’m celebrating. Come on, give me whatever new drink you’ve got!”
“Coming right up~”
Noah took a seat at the bar and stretched his arms high above his head.
“Ah, having a big-spending customer like Erza really saves me a lot of trouble. I don’t even need to go out on jobs anymore. I can just stay in my shop, make Magic Items, and rake in the money.”
“Is that so? That certainly sounds convenient.” Mira tilted her head slightly.
“But if you’re making Magic Items, don’t you still need to go out and gather materials?”
“Oh, that.” Noah waved a hand casually.
“Every now and then I post material-gathering jobs here at the guild. I get the materials I need, and the guild members get more work. Everybody wins.”
If Noah was being perfectly honest, even he had to admire how thoroughly he had embraced the principle of keeping business within the family.
Then something occurred to him.
“Though there are some materials that are too difficult to obtain. Ordinary guild members can’t exactly take jobs that dangerous, so every once in a while I still have to go collect things myself.”
“Here’s your new drink…”
Mira handed him a glass, then tilted her head again.
“What about Erza?”
Noah accepted the drink and took a long, satisfied sip before giving her a somewhat melancholy look.
“Erza? Oh, she’s taken some of my gathering jobs before. The problem is that less than ten percent of what she brings back is actually usable.”
“Hm? Why?”
Noah raised an eyebrow.
“Because she’s Erza. You know how she fights. She’s not exactly gentle with whatever she’s supposed to be collecting.”
Mira immediately understood.
“Oh, I see! That does make sense. Amazing, as expected of Erza!”
Noah stared at her.
‘Amazing?’
Was this really the part where they were supposed to be praising her?
Sometimes Mira’s thought process genuinely confused him.
“Anyway, where are Natsu and Happy?” Noah asked.
“Are they out on a job? Usually whenever I come by, he and Gray are already yelling at each other.”
“Yes. Apparently Natsu heard some news about a Salamander, so he took Happy and went to investigate,” Mira replied while polishing a glass.
Noah paused mid-sip.
‘A Salamander?’
Igneel?
At this point in time?
No, wait.
That did not sound right.
He did not remember anything like that happening.
“A Salamander? As in Natsu’s father?” Noah asked.
“There’s no way that rumor could be real. If an actual dragon showed up somewhere, it would already be enormous news.”
“Exactly.”
Gray had wandered over during the conversation.
“But you know what Natsu’s like. The second he heard even the slightest rumor, he ran off overnight. By the time the follow-up information reached the guild, he was already gone.”
“Follow-up information? What did it say?”
Cana approached with the unmistakable smell of alcohol hanging around her.
She was carrying a small cask under each arm and casually hooked one arm around Noah’s neck and the other around Gray’s from behind.
“Apparently there’s some Mage involved in shady dealings who’s been using the name ‘Salamander’ to scam people,” she said.
Then she called toward the bar, “Mira! Two more barrels!”
“Yes~”
Noah nodded slowly.
“Now that you mention it…”
This sounded familiar.
Wasn’t this how the main story began?
Which meant Lucy should be showing up soon.
Natsu was about to fall in love—
No, wait.
That was probably not the right conclusion.
More importantly, Fairy Tail was about to start becoming completely lawless.
Noah reconsidered.
Actually, Fairy Tail had always been completely lawless.
“Forget all that,” Cana said, tightening her arm around him.
“It’s rare enough to see you here. Come have a drink with us~”
“No, I’m good.”
Faced with Cana’s enthusiastic invitation, Noah lifted the drink already in his hand.
‘Too late, girl.
You missed your chance.
Opportunities like this have to be seized when they appear.’
Since the opportunity for shameless implication had presented itself, Noah naturally transitioned into one of his favorite daily activities.
Selling things.
“Actually, since you’re here, remember what I told you last time? Hope Cottage is about to get a new batch of Magic Items, and some of them happen to be cards that work perfectly with your Magic.”
Noah gave Cana his best merchant’s smile.
“So? Interested in buying a few?”
End of Chapter 3