"Why did you come out?!" Warrod hissed, very puzzled by Precht's sudden appearance.
"He was the one who let me go on the island. What's the point of me hiding from him now?" Precht sighed. His single eye met Raizel's calm gaze.
"I did come looking for you, but not entirely," Raizel said. "By the way, I want to know, is your Guild Mark still there? The one for Fairy Tail."
"Of course it is. Otherwise, why do you think I survived on Tenrou Island with a damaged heart after my magic reserves were emptied?" Precht snorted.
Being stabbed and defeated by kids was something his pride couldn't accept, no matter what.
"That's no problem then." Raizel wore an inscrutable smile and nodded repeatedly.
Just as Precht was about to press further—
"Ding ding ding!!!" Mavis, her eyes brimming with laughter, suddenly jumped out from behind Raizel's cloak with her arms raised.
"Mavis!" Precht and Warrod were shocked upon seeing the blonde girl.
Then they both stepped forward simultaneously, instinctively wanting to embrace her.
Precht was still leaning heavily on his cane, but Raizel actually sensed a burst of speed from him.
Unfortunately... they couldn't touch Mavis.
Their arms phased right through her glowing form.
While Warrod and Precht stumbled, at a loss, Mavis smiled warmly.
"Long time no see, Precht, Warrod." Mavis squinted her eyes, tilting her little head as she greeted them.
"Really... it's been so long..." Warrod's arms trembled slightly, his voice choked with heavy emotion.
Raizel even saw tears welling up in the old man's eyes, giving a rather poignant feeling of an old tree weeping sap.
Precht beside him was no different; his wooden cane had already been cast aside on the porch.
He wanted to say something to Mavis, but his expression was deeply conflicted.
Precht's feelings were very complicated; he truly never thought he would see Mavis again.
"I heard everything from Raizel! You attacked Tenrou Island while I was away on vacation!" Mavis placed her hands on her hips, looking indignant and puffing her cheeks.
"I'm... I'm so sorry..." Precht closed his eye and knelt heavily on both knees in the dirt, looking as if he were ready to face execution.
'What happened to that terrifying expression of yours that said 'I'm going to destroy Fairy Tail'...? I think I still prefer your former unruly self,' Raizel really wanted to complain about Precht's sudden pathetic expression.
Mavis stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Precht's trembling shoulder.
Even though she couldn't actually physically touch him, Precht felt as if he could truly sense the warmth of Mavis's palm on his coat.
"I know you did it all for me, Precht. But you were wrong. The moment you attacked Tenrou Island and hurt my children, you denied all our past efforts and achievements." Mavis said softly.
"I'm sorry... I..." Precht didn't know how to respond and could only bow his head and apologize.
"But I forgive you! Just correct your mistakes... just correct them." Although Mavis was indeed angry about Precht attacking Tenrou Island, Precht had been incredibly kind to her in the past.
If it weren't for Precht preserving her body in the crystal, she might not have been able to maintain her current spiritual form.
"Warrod! I heard you're now one of the Four Gods of Ishgar! That's amazing!"
Mavis didn't want to dwell on this dark topic for too long, as it would make Precht blame himself excessively, so she turned her bright gaze toward Warrod, who was watching them both with a watery smile.
"Of course! We are the First Generation Mages of Fairy Tail, after all!" Warrod laughed, wiping his eyes.
He raised his arm and clenched his fist, flexing muscles that had long since vanished with age.
Raizel saw an expression called "pride" glowing on Warrod's bark-like face.
"Sorry to interrupt the reunion, but I think we shouldn't stand at the doorway catching up," Raizel coughed to draw their attention.
Raizel felt like a super-bright 100,000-watt lightbulb standing awkwardly on the porch at the moment.
"Please come in! Come in!" Warrod quickly stepped aside to clear the path.
Warrod used his plant magic to create several sturdy wooden chairs in the living room and let Mavis sit down first.
"You guys chat, I won't intrude," Raizel waved his hand, stepping back.
"Mind if I take a look around the greenhouse, Warrod-senpai?"
"Not at all, not at all! My plants love the aura of strong humans the most. Feel free to look!" Warrod nodded enthusiastically.
Raizel strolled around the warm greenhouse, occasionally touching the trunks of the two large trees inside and smelling the exotic blooming flowers.
The house wasn't large, and although Raizel didn't intend to eavesdrop, he still overheard their conversation from the living room.
"Tell us about yourself, Mavis. When did your consciousness actually awaken?" Warrod asked.
"I'm not sure... Anyway, when I woke up, I was floating on Tenrou Island. At that time, there were only magical creatures on the island. It seemed like a lot of time had passed before Raizel and the Third Master finally found me by my grave." Mavis tilted her head slightly upward, resting her finger on her chin in thought.
"We found the First Master around X774," Raizel chimed in at the right moment from the greenhouse doorway.
"So it's been that long..." Precht and Warrod nodded simultaneously.
By then, both of them had left the guild for a long time and naturally hadn't visited Tenrou Island, afraid of being overwhelmed by painful memories.
"And your current state...?" Precht asked hesitantly.
"Let's call it a spiritual body for now. Due to my excessively powerful magical power, my consciousness didn't dissipate after physical death," Mavis explained confidently.
She had learned this impressive-sounding term from the ancient books on Tenrou Island.
However, Mavis's situation was different from a normal ghost—she hadn't truly died.
Her physical heart was still beating inside the lacrima crystal in the guild basement.
Her consciousness could return to her body, but even if it did, the curse meant she couldn't move or interact safely, so she simply maintained her ethereal spiritual form.
"I will definitely find a way! I will definitely bring you back to life safely!" Precht said with determined eyes, making a vow to Mavis.
"No, Precht... even if I were fully revived..." Mavis recalled the deadly Curse of Ankhseram, and her green eyes dimmed slightly.
"That curse... I've experimented it with Zeref. Perhaps one day, I can resolve it," Raizel said, walking back into the room.
He hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to give Mavis some hope.
"Really?!" Mavis stared intently into Raizel's eyes.
"I can't guarantee 100%, but I'm over 80% confident in my theory because Zeref himself said I have hope," Raizel nodded.
"Wait! What curse?!" Warrod and Precht didn't know that Mavis also bore the deadly Curse of Contradiction.
They looked at Raizel and Mavis, confused by their hushed conversation.
"Zeref... Mavis... curse..." Precht closed his eye and began frantically recalling his decades of obsessive research about Zeref.
"Ankhseram... How could it be?!" Precht's eye suddenly snapped open, staring at Raizel and Mavis with horror as he tried to find answers in their expressions.
"Shh!" Mavis smiled sadly, pressing a finger to her lips.
"I see..." Precht slumped back in his wooden chair, feeling the pressure mounting again.
This wasn't something that could be resolved by mere resurrection magic.
"It's alright! I'm quite happy with how things are now! Raizel and the others even plan to take me traveling around the world!"
Not wanting the reunion to remain somber, Mavis quickly lightened the mood with a bright smile.
---------
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator