Chapter 449: I Really Like Your Scent, I Wonder Why
More importantly, there was a crucial unresolved issue weighing heavily on Carla's heart; she simply did not want to associate with these Exceeds.
Hearing Carla's words, the Exceeds hovering in the sky instantly lost their excited expressions. They floated down to the ground, lowered their heads, and looked incredibly dejected.
"There, there," Happy quickly tried to smooth things over.
Wendy also chimed in, "Extalia is gone, and they cannot go back either. Just let them stay here."
"No!" Carla refused without hesitation.
The crowd of Exceeds began speaking all at once, their voices overlapping in a desperate plea:
"We are sorry, we shouldn't have thrown stones at you."
"We apologize..."
"But we are completely homeless now."
"We will turn over a new leaf from now on."
"Please, forgive us."
"Setting aside what happened earlier! You gave me the mission to eliminate the Dragon Slayers and sent me to Earth Land!" Carla yelled, waving her hand fiercely at them.
"That's exactly right! The Queen stole our eggs six years ago! Do not tell me you have forgotten! Hmph!" A middle-aged white male cat with a mustache and a unibrow jumped forward, shouting angrily.
"Dear..." A middle-aged female cat with blue fur identical to Happy's and a green bandana on her head stepped out, speaking gently to the white cat.
When Happy saw those two cats, he froze. He felt a profound, inexplicable sense of familiarity and warmth radiating from them.
"Those two cats..." Sorano walked over to Noah's side and whispered.
"Just as you suspect. Besides, didn't he just say their egg was stolen six years ago?" Noah replied quietly, noticing her gaze darting back and forth between Happy and the blue female cat.
"Then my guess was right. No wonder their fur color is exactly the same," Sorano nodded in understanding.
The middle-aged female cat shared the exact same blue fur as Happy. Coupled with the fact that their egg was taken by the Queen six years ago, she had to be Happy's mother. And the white male cat beside her was undoubtedly his father.
After saying their piece, the two cats couldn't stop staring intensely at Happy, clearly having realized the truth as well. However, Happy showed no obvious reaction, completely oblivious to his own origins, leaving Sorano to shake her head in amusement.
"We have never properly explained things to you, have we?" one of the Exceed elders said, looking at Carla. "This goes back to something that happened six years ago."
"I believe I told you that the Queen possesses the ability to foresee the future, correct? One day, Shagotte foresaw a vision of Extalia plummeting to the ground. Thinking back on it now, it was likely a natural fall caused by the depletion of Edolas's magic. But at the time, we thought it was the result of a human attack."
"We knew very well that if we went to war with the humans, we could not win," the elders continued explaining to Carla. "So, after much deliberation, we devised a plan to help one hundred children escape Edolas."
"What? Are you saying... the goal was to let them escape?!" the white male cat shouted, utterly shocked by the elder's revelation.
The other Exceeds who had been present back then were equally stunned; this was completely different from the story they had been told.
"To ensure the plan succeeded, the true nature of the operation had to be kept secret from the citizens of Extalia. So, on the surface, we needed an excuse. The Queen lied to everyone, claiming it was a strategic operation to defeat the monsters of the other world—the Dragon Slayers. It broke our hearts to make the Queen lie, but we had no choice. We could not publicly announce that Extalia was destined to fall. And of course, we hold no actual grudge against the Dragon Slayers," the elder explained.
"I see, you just needed a cover story, right?" Wendy said gently.
"Moreover, if you had told the truth, it would have caused mass panic," Lucy added.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Cana agreed.
"Lying for the sake of your species' survival..." Ultear sighed emotionally.
"By utilizing the humans' Anima, our plan was a success. However, there was one variable that exceeded our expectations. And that was you, Carla, and your ability. Like me, you possess the power of Premonition," Queen Shagotte finally spoke, addressing Carla directly.
Carla froze entirely. She turned to look at Noah, who smiled and gave her an affirming nod.
"However, it seems your ability activated subconsciously, which scrambled your memories. Among the one hundred Exceeds sent to safety, you were the only one who retained memories of Edolas. You likely foresaw fragments of Edolas's future and mistakenly believed those visions were your designated mission," Shagotte continued, as Carla stared at her intently.
"Then what about us...?" Happy couldn't help but ask.
"There was never any mission. Eliminating the Dragon Slayers was nothing more than an excuse we fabricated. It is incredibly tragic that you manufactured a mission for yourself that never existed," Shagotte said, looking at Carla with deep sorrow.
"Her Majesty can only foresee fragments of the future, but she cannot change the outcome. To maintain the Queen's absolute authority, we had no choice but to relay the foreseen outcomes to the King of Edolas as 'orders'. We are deeply, truly sorry," Nadi bowed, apologizing to Carla, Noah, and the others.
"So that is why the Royal Army in the tunnels said they were informed by the Queen," Erza realized.
"To think the images in my head were actually the result of my own magic," Carla murmured, awash with emotion.
"You already knew you had the power of premonition?" Shagotte asked, looking at Carla in surprise.
"I didn't know at first. Noah told me early on that it was a type of magic, but because I had never realized it before, I didn't believe him. It wasn't until we were in the Royal Capital that I started to feel it, and only with your confirmation am I finally certain that this is my innate magic," Carla explained, glancing at Noah before turning back to Shagotte.
"Even though you have wonderful comrades, the countless tragedies that occurred, and my own posturing before our people and the humans, caused you immense suffering... No, I brought tragedy to everyone—to all the families whose eggs were taken six years ago," Shagotte said, her voice heavy with guilt.
"..."
Hearing this, the white cat didn't know what to say. Beside him, his wife lowered her head in silence. The Exceeds behind them exchanged complicated glances, falling into deep thought.
"So, when I handed you that sword earlier... the fault does not lie with the Exceeds. The fault is mine alone," Shagotte said, lowering her head to Carla.
The crowd of Exceeds immediately broke into a flurry of supportive shouts:
"No! You are wrong, Your Majesty!"
"You did everything with our best interests at heart!"
"We were simply too arrogant about our own existence!"
"Since we've finally made it to Earth Land, let's go find the children who were sent away for safety six years ago!"
"Yeah, absolutely! We have a brand-new goal now!"
"Let's make sure to get along with humans this time!"
"This is our fresh start—!"
"Haha, what an optimistic bunch," Natsu chuckled, seeing how quickly the Exceeds had bounced back.
"Everyone..." Hearing her people's words, Shagotte covered her mouth, her voice choking with sobs.
"For those of us who were the victims, being framed and attacked isn't exactly a pleasant experience. If we lacked the strength to defend ourselves, something far more tragic could have happened. And if that had been the case, I don't think we would be standing here having such a peaceful conversation," Noah spoke up smoothly, slicing through the emotional atmosphere.
Shagotte and the Exceeds instantly tensed up, looking at Noah nervously. They all knew his words were absolute truth. If things had gone worse, they wouldn't be having a civil chat. If a fight broke out, they wouldn't stand a chance—the very people standing before them had effortlessly toppled the mighty Kingdom of Edolas. Wiping out the Exceeds would be child's play.
"However," Noah continued, "I can understand why you resorted to such methods for the survival of your race. Since we didn't suffer any lasting harm, and out of respect for Happy and Carla, I won't hold you accountable. I just hope you truly correct your mistakes moving forward. What about you guys?" Noah turned to Laxus, Ultear, and the others.
"I don't really care," Laxus waved his hand dismissively.
"I share your opinion. We weren't harmed, and because of Happy and Carla, we will let it go," Ultear stated.
"Same here," Sorano smiled, while the others waved their hands to indicate they had no objections.
"Now, the final decision is up to you two," Noah said, looking at Happy and Carla, the ones who had suffered the most. "Do not worry. Whatever decision you make, we will support you. You are our comrades, after all."
The rest of the guild looked at Happy and Carla with earnest expressions. Just as Noah said, their opinions mattered the most.
Happy didn't voice his thoughts; instead, he looked worriedly at Carla. Throughout this entire ordeal, Carla had suffered the most. He had only learned the truth at the very end, whereas Carla had been crushing herself under the weight of that fake mission since the day she hatched.
Carla remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Fine, you can stay. But you must do exactly as you promised: turn over a new leaf, correct your behavior, and seek out the children who were sent away."
"Of course! Thank you so much, Carla!" Shagotte replied, overjoyed.
"However, I have one more question. Why do you and I possess the exact same power?" Carla asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Ahem!"
"W-Why indeed..."
"Er... ah... well..."
"What lovely weather we are having today..."
Faced with her question, Shagotte and the elders instantly started stammering and dodging her gaze, looking everywhere but at her.
"No matter how you look at it, this is incredibly suspicious..." Carla narrowed her eyes at the cats, briefly doubting if her decision to forgive them was the right one.
"Hey, mister," Happy had unknowingly wandered over to the white and blue cats, addressing the father.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Don't Her Majesty and Carla seem a bit similar?"
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Look, for instance, their mannerisms are really alike."
"Mannerisms?"
"Yeah, like right there."
"Hmph! What do you mean 'right there'?!"
As Happy and the white cat chatted, they unknowingly struck the exact same frustrated pose. Beside them, the blue cat covered her mouth, giggling secretly.
"Anyway, it is great that everything ended smoothly!" Natsu said happily to Nadi.
"Yes!" Nadi replied, his voice trembling slightly. Achieving this peaceful outcome had been no easy feat.
"Hey, you've been infected by him, Natsu," Gray pointed out, noticing Natsu was constantly waving his arm in the exact same quirky manner Nadi did.
"You are doing it too!" Lucy roasted Gray, who was also mindlessly waving his arm in the same rhythm.
"But then again, what a magnificent, mellow parfum! Allow me to—urk..." A cat with a face identical to Ichiya's sniffed the air and tried to approach Erza, but froze mid-step.
Beside him, an angelic being hovered next to Sorano, Erza had drawn her sword, and magical power surged menacingly around Ultear and Mirajane. All four women were glaring at him with murderous intent.
The Ichiya-cat broke into a cold sweat, laughing awkwardly as he rapidly backpedaled until he was a safe distance away.
"We plan to settle down somewhere nearby for the time being," Shagotte said to Carla.
"That means we can meet up anytime," Wendy smiled. Meredy and Yukino also looked at Carla with bright smiles.
"What are you all so happy about?" Carla grumbled, looking back at the three girls.
"She is right. We can meet anytime, Carla," Shagotte couldn't resist stepping forward and pulling Carla into a warm hug.
"Wait—" Carla tried to resist the sudden embrace, but her expression quickly softened into one of comfort.
"Your name is Happy, right? What a wonderful name. You must come visit us often, okay?" The blue cat, having learned his name, smiled warmly at him.
"Aye!" Happy agreed without hesitation.
"Hmph! You don't have to come if you don't want to! You don't have to!" the white cat yelled stubbornly.
"Haha, Happy will definitely visit you often, and you are always welcome to come visit him at the guild. We would love to have you. When you do, we can share plenty of stories about Happy's childhood," Noah walked over and said to the two cats.
"That sounds wonderful. Truly wonderful." Meeting Noah's gaze, the two cats immediately understood that Noah knew their true identities. The blue cat nodded happily, and even the white cat refrained from saying anything to reject the offer.
"By the way, I really like your scent, mister and ma'am. I wonder why?" Happy asked curiously.
Hearing his innocent words, tears instantly welled up in the eyes of both cats.
"Hmph! You are a hundred years too early to be smelling people's scents!" the white cat yelled, waving his arms aggressively at Happy to hide his overwhelming emotion.
"Eek!" Happy shrieked and ran away, with the white cat chasing right on his heels.
Noah and the blue cat watched the two felines running in circles and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Ma'am, you are welcome to visit anytime. We have kept many photos of Happy from when he was younger, and we have lots of funny stories to share with you," Noah said softly.
"Yes, yes, yes! I will definitely come!" The blue cat nodded enthusiastically.
Seeing that Carla and Shagotte had finished their hug, Noah walked over to them.
"I can help treat the physical deficit in your body later and nurse you back to full health. After all, you ended up in this state because of Carla," Noah said to Shagotte.
Shagotte froze for a moment. Meeting Noah's knowing gaze, she instantly realized what he was referring to.
"Really? Thank you so much! Shagotte has suffered terribly because of that!" Before the Queen could even respond, an elder enthusiastically accepted the offer on her behalf.
"What do you mean, 'because of me'?" Carla asked, looking at Noah with a deeply confused expression.
"Well..." Noah noticed Shagotte looking at him with pleading eyes, so he smiled and said to Carla, "Why don't you find the answer to that yourself? Didn't you just confirm that you possess the magic of premonition? Try using your newly awakened magic to find the truth. It will be excellent practice."
"Always so mysterious and cryptic," Carla furrowed her brow but didn't push the issue. She knew Noah would never harm her; he just had a penchant for being dramatically secretive sometimes.
Seeing that Noah had kept her secret, Shagotte nodded at him in profound gratitude.
"Goodbye!"
"Thank you all, truly!"
"See you next time!"
"Take care!"
"Come play with us!"
The Exceeds took to the sky one by one, shouting their farewells to Noah and the Fairy Tail mages.
"Yeah! See you later!"
"See ya!"
"Goodbye, everyone!"
Natsu and the others waved enthusiastically at the departing Exceeds.
"Well then, since everything is settled, let's make the weather a bit more cheerful," Noah said. Seeing everyone's happy expressions, he felt the heavy downpour didn't quite match the mood.
He tossed a golden orb of magic high into the sky, sending it shooting straight into the thick storm clouds.
Immediately, ripples of golden magic pulsed outward from the clouds, pushing the storm away in every direction. The effect spread rapidly until the sky over Magnolia and the surrounding regions was completely devoid of a single cloud.
Brilliant sunlight cascaded down from the heavens, bathing everyone in its warm glow. As the lingering mist in the air caught the sunlight, a vibrant, magnificent rainbow appeared before their eyes.
~~~
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