A New Life in Fairy Tail

"This person is the strongest in our guild," Noah continued, addressing the crowd. "And he's also someone who is almost never here."

Hearing this, all the guild members turned in unison to look at Gildarts.

Seeing the situation, Gildarts froze. His eyes went wide, his jaw dropped, and a cold sweat instantly broke out across his face.

"EHHHHHH?!"

"You all guessed correctly," Noah said, nodding to confirm their suspicions. "That person is Gildarts."

"W-wait a minute..." Gildarts began to tremble from head to toe.

"And Cana's father," Noah announced in a loud, clear voice, "is this super-scumbag, Gildarts!"

"I can't believe Gildarts actually has a daughter, and she even found her way to the guild."

"I really didn't see that coming. But it must have been so hard for Cana."

"It really must have been, having such an irresponsible father."

"Hold on, Gildarts, you bastard! What are you doing?!"

Gildarts was now kneeling on the ground, shaking as he desperately tried to recall names.

"Whose child is she?!"

"Sarah... Naomi... Claire... Fina... Mary... Eliza..."

"No, no, no!!! The hair color is all wrong!!"

"Emma... Laila... Jean... Midori... Michelle... Stephanie..."

Hearing this, the guild members stared at Gildarts, completely dumbfounded. Just how many women had there been?!

Cana screamed at him, "Just how many women have you been with?!"

Gildarts' voice trembled as he replied to Cana, "I... I've got it! It's Sylvia! You two are exactly alike! For example... your gender (he muttered in a tiny voice)."

"I'm so mad! I can't believe this hopeless, philandering man is my father!" Cana shouted in a rage. She turned to leave. "Anyway, that's the story!"

Gildarts collapsed onto the ground, reaching out a hand dramatically. "W-wait a second!"

Tears welled up in Cana's eyes, and her voice choked with emotion as she kept walking. "I just wanted you to know! I have no intention of acknowledging you as my father!"

Suddenly, Gildarts caught up from behind and wrapped her in a hug. He whispered softly, "You're Cornelia's child. I'm sure of it."

Cana sobbed, whispering, "Let me go..."

"Why didn't you tell me when we met?"

"I didn't know how to say it... I hesitated, and I missed my chance."

"Cornelia was the only woman I ever truly loved. I was only ever married to her. She got tired of me only ever thinking about work, so she left me six years ago. Later, I heard rumors that she had passed away... but I never thought she had left behind a child..."

His voice trembling, Gildarts continued, "I'm so sorry. I saw you back then and didn't even recognize you..."

Cana gently pushed him away and turned to face him. "It's okay. It was my fault for hesitating and missing the chance."

"I can't believe my own daughter came to find me and I didn't even recognize her..."

"It was my problem, it has nothing to do with you."

"But... there's one more thing I want to say," Cana said, holding back her tears. She looked at Gildarts and spoke softly.

"It's good to see you, Dad."

Hearing those words, Gildarts' mind flashed back to the first time he had seen her, a lonely little girl standing on the road holding a puppy's leash. Tears began to stream down his face.

He pulled her into another tight hug, his voice thick with emotion. "I'll never let you be lonely again! Never again! From now on, I'll be by your side no matter what! I couldn't be there for your birth, but let me be there for you as you grow up. So please... give me the right to love you!"

Tears streamed down Cana's face once more as she quietly hugged him back.

The onlooking guild members, who had been watching the entire time, finally let out a collective sigh of relief. Some of the more sentimental members were already crying openly. After Gildarts and Cana's emotions had stabilized, Noah walked up to them.

"Congratulations. The two of you have finally found each other."

Gildarts let go of Cana, though he still held her left hand tightly in his right. He looked at Noah. "When did you know?"

Noah knew he was asking when he'd learned Cana's identity. "When I first saw Cana all alone in the guild, I went to ask if she needed help. She didn't want to say at first, but I kept asking, and she eventually told me."

Cana added from the side, "I didn't know how to bring it up back then. I kept hesitating and just... never said it."

After hearing this, Gildarts turned to Noah. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, who knows when we would have figured this out."

Noah waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. We're all members of Fairy Tail. It's only natural that we help each other."

Seeing that they were done talking, Makarov walked over. "So, Gildarts, what's the result of this S-Class Trial?"

The guild members suddenly remembered they were in the middle of an exam and started shouting.

"Yeah, yeah! What's the result? Did Noah pass?"

"Seeing how intense that fight was, he must have passed!"

"But Gildarts is so strong! He wasn't even hurt by Noah's final spell!"

Gildarts addressed Makarov. "Noah's strength is more than sufficient, and he meets all the other requirements. So, he passes."

"YEAHHH! Noah passed!"

"He passed a trial with Gildarts as the examiner?!"

"That's amazing!"

"Does this mean Noah is an S-Class wizard now?"

"Not sure yet. That's up to the Master to decide," a member said from the side.

After hearing Gildarts' verdict, Makarov thought for a moment. He stepped in front of the crowd, coughed to get their attention, and then announced:

"Since Noah has passed Gildarts' trial, I will now announce the results of this S-Class Wizard Promotion Trial. After careful consideration, the one who will become an S-Class wizard this year is—Noah!"

"WOOOOAAAHHH! Noah is an S-Class wizard!"

"Our second S-Class wizard has been born!"

"Noah passed and became S-Class on his first try!"

"He's only eight! An eight-year-old S-Class wizard! How incredible! He's going to be famous all over the country!"

"Not just the country, the whole continent will hear about this!"

Everyone was ecstatic. Only Laxus stood with a conflicted expression of both happiness and intense jealousy, his face slightly twisted.

"To celebrate Noah becoming an S-Class wizard, let's have a feast!" Makarov declared. The guild members all cheered in agreement. Together, they headed back to the campsite and joyfully began the celebration.