Chapter 10
Elior POV
"Let me take it from here, El."
Irene stepped forward, calmly taking control of the conversation. Her expression was polite, but I could already tell she was about to do something that would probably make Master reconsider every decision he had made in the last five minutes.
"I am Irene Belserion, and these are my children, Elior and Erza. The four standing at the side are my subordinates. We want to join the guild. Will that be possible?"
Makarov looked between us for a moment before nodding.
"I see. That is acceptable. Also—"
"Well, there are a few things I would like to clarify."
Irene interrupted him without the slightest hesitation.
Makarov raised an eyebrow but nodded, letting her continue.
"First, it will mainly be Elior and Erza who are active in the guild. Erza will only start from next year, as I want to personally train her for the coming year. She will still visit from time to time, unlike the rest of us."
Erza puffed her cheeks slightly.
"I can train now too!"
Irene simply placed a hand on her head.
"You can. But you will do it properly next year."
Erza looked dissatisfied, but she didn't argue further.
Irene continued.
"As for what the guild gains from this arrangement, I will act as a guardian of sorts for the guild and assist whenever the situation truly requires it."
Makarov's expression became slightly more serious.
"I appreciate the offer."
"There is one more condition."
Irene's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I would like my identity to remain a secret."
Makarov seemed surprised.
"Your identity?"
"Yes."
Irene didn't elaborate.
Instead, she released a tiny amount of her magic power.
Only Makarov was targeted.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
The air itself seemed to become heavier.
Makarov's eyes widened.
"S-So much…"
Sweat began forming on his forehead.
"Impossible… How can someone possess this much magical power?"
Irene maintained the pressure for only a few seconds before withdrawing it.
Makarov took a deep breath.
I couldn't help but whisper to her.
"You overdid it."
Irene looked at me with a slightly offended expression.
"I didn't even release my full pressure."
Makarov froze.
His eyes slowly moved toward Irene.
"You… didn't?"
I gave him an awkward smile.
Yeah, Gramps. You might want to sit down for this one.
For the next few minutes, Makarov simply stood there trying to regain his composure.
Eventually, he sighed and rubbed his forehead before looking directly at Irene.
"I would really like to know more about you people."
Irene remained silent.
"But guild policy is simple. The past doesn't matter."
Her eyes softened slightly.
Makarov's expression then became serious.
"However…"
He leaned forward.
"If you ever do anything that harms my children…"
His eyes became surprisingly menacing.
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Irene crossed her arms.
"Hmph. I'd really like to see you try."
The two stared at each other.
For a moment, the atmosphere became tense again.
These two are going to get along wonderfully.
I was about to intervene when—
"Brother~!"
Erza suddenly grabbed my sleeve.
"When can we get the guild mark~?"
The tension instantly disappeared.
Makarov blinked before laughing.
"Hohoho! You can get it right now."
Erza's eyes sparkled.
"Really?!"
"Of course. Where would you like your guild mark, little Erza?"
Erza immediately rushed toward him.
"Here!"
She pointed excitedly toward her left shoulder.
Makarov laughed.
"Alright, alright. Hold still."
He pressed the magical stamp against her shoulder.
A blue Fairy Tail guild mark appeared.
Erza stared at it for several seconds.
Her face practically lit up.
"Wow…"
She turned toward me.
"Brother! Look!"
"It looks great."
She proudly puffed out her chest.
"I am officially part of Fairy Tail!"
"You were already part of the family."
Erza smiled even wider.
Makarov then looked at me.
"And you, young man?"
"Right forearm, please."
He stamped my right forearm.
The familiar Fairy Tail emblem appeared on my skin.
I stared at it for a moment.
So this is really happening.
After knowing this world only through fiction in my previous life, I was finally standing inside the Fairy Tail guild with an actual guild mark.
It felt strangely surreal.
One of the biggest changes I had wanted to make in this life was to give myself and my family a place where we could belong.
And now I had one.
Next came Juliet and Heine, followed by Nina and Yuna.
All four chose their left shoulders, just like Erza.
Finally, only Irene remained.
She stared at Makarov's stamp for a few seconds.
Then she crossed her arms.
"Hmph. Hurry up and do it."
She was trying very hard to look annoyed.
It didn't work.
Makarov chuckled.
"You're quite impatient."
"Just do it."
He stamped the guild emblem onto her left shoulder.
Irene examined it carefully.
She moved her arm slightly, observing the magic engraved into the mark.
"How simple…"
She paused.
"…yet efficient. An interesting piece of magic."
Makarov smiled proudly.
"That's one way of putting it."
He looked at all of us.
Then his expression became warm.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail."
He spread his arms.
"Welcome to the family!"
We all smiled.
I had to admit it.
Makarov had quite the charisma.
There was something genuine about the way he spoke.
He wasn't simply accepting us as members.
He really meant it.
For someone like Irene, who had spent centuries carrying loneliness and pain, hearing those words probably meant more than she would ever admit.
After some more discussion and the usual guild formalities, Irene finally decided it was time to leave.
"Alright. We should go."
Erza immediately shook her head.
"But I want to stay!"
I nodded.
"Same here."
Irene looked at both of us.
"No."
"But why?"
"Because you two don't know anyone here yet."
"That's exactly why we should stay."
Irene opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
She glanced at Makarov.
He simply smiled.
"There's no need to worry. I'll keep an eye on them."
Irene narrowed her eyes.
"That is precisely what worries me."
"Oi!"
Makarov laughed.
Eventually, after several minutes of persuasion from both me and Erza—and surprisingly, even Makarov—Irene finally sighed.
"Fine."
Erza immediately celebrated.
"Yay!"
Irene pointed at me.
"But you are responsible for your sister."
I nodded.
"Don't worry."
She gave me a suspicious look.
"That's exactly what worries me."
"Hey!"
Irene smiled faintly before turning toward the others.
"We'll meet you guys at seven o'clock near Kardia Cathedral."
She looked at me one last time.
"El, take care of your sister."
"I will."
Irene nodded.
A magic circle appeared beneath her and the others.
A moment later, they disappeared in a flash of magic.
And just like that, the guild hall became a lot quieter.
I looked around.
Erza looked around.
Makarov looked at us.
"Well then…"
He suddenly jumped down from his chair.
"Come! Let me introduce you to the rest of the guild."
"Yes, Master—"
He immediately waved his hand.
"No need to be so stiff!"
He grinned.
"You can call me 'Gramps,' just like my grandson."
I raised an eyebrow.
His grandson…
I knew exactly who he was talking about.
Laxus Dreyar.
The future Thunder Dragon Slayer.
The future S-Class mage.
And, unfortunately, also one of the biggest troublemakers in the guild.
"He is around your age," Makarov continued. "I'm sure he'd be very happy to meet someone his age."
I smiled.
"Sure, Gramps."
Erza nodded enthusiastically.
"Sure, Gramps!"
Makarov laughed.
"Hohoho! That's better!"
He began walking toward the main hall.
Erza and I followed behind him.
As we entered the main guild hall again, the noise immediately returned.
People were eating, drinking, laughing, arguing, and generally doing everything except behaving like civilized human beings.
Erza's eyes widened.
"So many people…"
"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Makarov said proudly.
I couldn't help but smile.
Yep.
This is definitely Fairy Tail.
And somewhere inside this chaotic guild was a blond boy around my age.
Laxus Dreyar.
I had a feeling my first day in the guild was about to become very interesting.