Tall and gaunt, with hair shaped like a head of broccoli and skin as rough as tree bark, Warrod spread his arms wide and laughed.
"I'm joking! Just joking! In truth, flowers, grass, and trees all love the sound of human voices! Hahaha!"
"A tree?" Lucy blinked, hardly believing her eyes.
"Did I wake up too suddenly? Let me look again—no, one more time!"
Happy squeezed his eyes shut, rubbed them, and checked several more times before finally accepting reality.
"What is up with this old guy?" Natsu muttered.
"Is he really as amazing as the rumors say?" Gray asked.
"Thank you for coming all this way, wizards of Fairy Tail," Warrod smiled warmly. "Natsu and Gray… you two look even more like cats than I imagined!"
With Happy balanced in one hand and Carla in the other, Warrod stared at them in surprise.
"I'm joking, I'm joking!"
"This old man is way too hype, isn't he?"
Raizel stepped forward. "Warrod-senpai, enough with the jokes."
"Oh! Raizel, you came too?" Warrod put on an exaggerated look of surprise.
In truth, he knew from the beginning that Raizel was there. He just pretended not to notice him.
"Come to think of it, where's the Second Master?" Raizel asked.
"Ah, him." Warrod started to answer when a deep voice echoed from the back of the greenhouse.
"Right here."
Leaning on a magic staff marked with the Fairy Tail emblem, Precht stepped out from the shadows.
It was a new staff, one symbolizing his rebirth.
"What?!" Natsu reacted as though he'd seen a ghost.
Ur and Erza dropped into fighting stances, and Kagura prepared to draw her sword.
"Look at his staff," Ultear whispered, placing a hand on Erza's shoulder.
Besides, the way Raizel asked made it obvious he already knew Precht was here.
"The guild… emblem." Erza's expression turned strange, though some of the tension drained from her body.
After all, this was the same man who declared last year that he would wipe out Fairy Tail and destroy Tenrou Island.
And now he was standing here like this. The contrast was completely absurd.
"My throat's so dry..." Warrod remarked.
He tipped his watering can up and took a gulp right out of the spout.
He was clearly trying to ease the atmosphere.
No matter how much Precht had turned over a new leaf, the fact remained that he had attacked his own guild.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Warrod Sequen, one of the founders of Fairy Tail."
"What?!"
"Joking." Warrod burst into laughter again.
"???"
"That part was the joke!"
The group froze.
This man's conversational turns were way too sharp for anyone to keep up!
Raizel gave everyone a brief explanation of the founders, then turned back to Warrod.
"He really is one of the founders. Warrod-senpai, maybe it's time to get to the point and stop teasing everyone."
"No wonder the Master looked so serious..." Lucy recalled how grave Makarov had seemed earlier.
...
The group moved outside the greenhouse and sat around a rustic wooden table.
Warrod brewed flower tea for everyone while recounting a bit of history. "It was me, Mavis, Precht, and the current Master Makarov's father, Yuri Dreyar, who founded the guild together." Warrod pulled a yellowed, cracked photograph from his robes and set it on the table.
"He really does look a lot like Laxus."
"The First Master!"
"The First Master is smiling so happily!"
"So that's you!" A storm of astonished exclamations and questions followed.
Only after answering them all did Warrod finally get to the main point.
"After I retired from the guild, I devoted myself to using Green Magic to stop the desert from spreading further. Because of that, I travel to many places fairly often. A few days ago, I discovered a very curious village."
"A curious village?" Erza repeated, puzzled.
"According to the records, it's called Sun Village. It's a village of firm faith, one that reveres an eternally burning flame as its guardian deity."
"An eternally burning flame?" Natsu perked up instantly.
"That's right. But the village itself has been sealed in ice. Whether by natural disaster or by human hands, I don't know. In any case, the people, the animals, the plants, the buildings—even the flame that guarded the village—have all been frozen over."
"Even the fire was sealed in ice?! How's that possible?" Lucy asked in disbelief.
"I don't know exactly what happened. But the villagers trapped inside the ice are still alive. They're alive, yet imprisoned in a frozen hell. I can't simply ignore that. So I wish to commission you to save that village."
Natsu sprang to his feet, brimming with confidence. "I get it! Then this is easy, right? I'll just melt the ice with my flames!"
Ur frowned, still puzzled. "If that's the case, then why specifically request Gray and me as well?"
Warrod's tone deepened. "Because that is no ordinary ice. We will need your strength."
Erza chose her words carefully. "Allow me to ask, Warrod-senpai—someone of your caliber should be able to handle this yourself, shouldn't you?"
Warrod answered in a measured voice. "I think you may be misunderstanding something. Even the Ten Wizard Saints aren't all-powerful. That title merely refers to ten people arbitrarily chosen by the Council. On this continent alone, there are many wizards stronger than I am. Not to mention those beyond it. Besides, the only magic I truly excel at is plant magic."
He smiled softly at the group. "To be honest, when I first learned magic, I struggled greatly. Mavis and Precht advanced with astonishing speed, while I remained stuck in place. Everyone has things they're good at and things they aren't. Those who can complement each other are called companions."
Warrod turned back to Erza, who still seemed like she wanted to argue. "And if you take that idea one step further... that's what a guild is."
"Ah..." Erza let out a small, relieved laugh. "You're right."
Ur rose to her feet and nodded solemnly. "I accept this request.
"So do we!" Natsu and Gray, who had been bickering only moments ago, clenched their fists and knocked them together.
"You can leave it to us."
"So then," Wendy asked, "where exactly is this village?"
"About two thousand kilometers south of here."
"That's really far," Carla remarked.
Warrod pointed his wooden cane toward an open patch of dirt. "No need to worry. I can send you all there myself. Just gather over there."
"Teleportation?!" Natsu cheered, shouldering his pack.
Best of all, that meant no vehicles!
Raizel could teleport too, but unless it was an emergency, he usually didn't bother relying on it.
He stepped forward first. "No. Just wait and you'll see. Everyone, brace yourselves."
He had witnessed this once before, mostly because Warrod wanted to show off in front of Mavis.
"Very well, let's begin. Everyone, turn to the right!" Warrod commanded.
Following his instructions, the whole group turned right.
"I'm joking."
Veins popped on Lucy's forehead. "What do I do? I'm so mad! I know he's one of the founders, but I seriously want to hit him."