The Pict Magic Of Fairy Tail

Chapter 22: Returning to the Guild

The entire afternoon, the young man was absorbed in observation and contemplation, continuously using his knowledge to analyze Silver's magic.

Even as the evening banquet began and more people approached him to build connections, he responded with polite but indifferent replies, remaining deep in thought.

Perhaps noticing his preoccupied state, most people only exchanged a few words with him before courteously leaving.

Throughout the evening, Silver dedicated his attention to entertaining this seemingly extraordinary young man.

Remarkably persistent, the young man refrained from directly asking Silver about the principles behind his magic, relying solely on his observation and reasoning. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain.

It was understandable. Silver's drawing-based magic was fundamentally different from Reedus'.

While Reedus could materialize characters, his creations were essentially constructs of magical energy.

Silver's magic, however, was on another level. The characters he brought to life were real, flesh-and-blood beings, fully independent yet under his control.

This led the young man to assume the characters before him were genuine humans.

As a result, no matter how knowledgeable he was, trying to deduce the principles of this magic from the wrong premise was a futile endeavor.

On the other hand, the Colt family was highly satisfied with Silver's exclusive focus on captivating the young man.

To them, pleasing this individual was far more important than entertaining the other guests.

Upon noticing the young man's fascination with Silver's performance, the family head specifically instructed Silver to ensure the young man left completely impressed. The rest of the guests were left in Cana's capable hands.

Cana didn't disappoint her employers.

On stage, she dazzled the audience with a myriad of colorful illusions, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

Using these illusions to enhance the stories she told, she successfully enchanted the children in the audience, who reluctantly left only when the banquet ended.

In addition to their employer's compensation, they also received extra rewards.

During the banquet, guests occasionally handed notes to Cana, requesting her to display their messages of blessing in the sky with fireworks.

The only condition was that the sender's signature had to be clearly visible.

The following day, Silver and Cana boarded a train back to Magnolia.

On the train, Cana excitedly pulled out a bottle of low-alcohol wine, proposing a toast to their successful mission. "Come on, let's celebrate our success!"

"Sure," Silver agreed, though he still appeared puzzled. "By the way, I wonder who that young man was. He seemed to hold an incredibly high status."

"Who cares about that?" Cana replied nonchalantly, pouring two glasses of wine and handing one to Silver. "We got our reward; that's all that matters. There's no need to concern ourselves with anything else."

"Fair enough," Silver nodded. Observing the behavior of those at the banquet, he could tell that such people were the same no matter the world.

Half an hour passed quickly. After stepping off the train and returning to the guild, the familiar sight of home came into view once again.

Pushing open the guild's doors, Silver immediately saw Natsu and Gray brawling fiercely in the center of the guild.

The other guild members, instead of intervening, stood on either side of the battlefield, loudly cheering them on.

Judging by the uproar, it was clear they had set up a betting pool, each person rooting passionately for their chosen contender.

"Hey, what's the current odds?" Silver quickly made his way to Macao's side and asked, taking in the chaotic scene.

"Huh? You're back?" Macao, hearing someone address him, turned and saw it was Silver.

"Just got back. Who started the pool? What's the current odds?" Silver repeated his question.

"Same as always, but…" Macao's words trailed off as the guild doors swung open again, and Erza walked in.

"Oh no," Macao muttered, his expression freezing at the sight of her.

In the next moment, Erza leaped into the fray between Natsu and Gray, delivering a powerful punch to each of their heads. "How many times do I have to tell you? As guildmates, you need to get along! Even if you have disagreements, fighting is not the way to solve them."

"Damn it, Erza! I'm gonna take you down!" Natsu yelled, leaping back to his feet and charging at her with a raised fist.

"Are you insane?" Gray shouted in alarm, watching Natsu's bold move.

But before Gray could finish speaking, Natsu was sent flying at ten times the speed, crashing into the guild's wall with Erza's powerful punch.

He ended up plastered to the wall like a framed photo.

A second later, Gray had no time to react before Erza's fist appeared in front of him, sending him into the wall right next to Natsu.

"Damn you, Natsu! I won't let you get away with this!" Gray growled angrily as he struggled to pull his head out of the wall.

Once again, he had suffered Erza's wrath because of Natsu's antics.

"Ugh, it's over. Damn it, why did Erza have to come back so soon?" Macao muttered in frustration, slumping at a table as the betting pool came to an abrupt end, leaving everyone empty-handed.

"Hmm?" Hearing Macao's grumbling, Erza arched her brow, immediately shifting into her "disciplinary mode." She began lecturing the rowdy guild members. "You lot! Instead of breaking up their fight, you stood around encouraging them and—"

As Erza began calling people out one by one, the guild fell completely silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

No one dared to breathe until Erza finished her lecture, handed in her completed mission, and left the guild. Only then did the others exhale loudly in relief.

"I never thought Erza's presence could grow this intimidating. If this keeps up, life is going to get harder," Silver groaned, slumping over the table.

Nearby, Wakaba exhaled a puff of smoke from his pipe and nodded in agreement. "You're not wrong. Still, Erza and Mira have been growing stronger at an impressive rate. Who knows? They might even qualify for the S-Class trials this year."

Thinking of the S-Class wizard trials, Macao's face lit up with anticipation. Staring at Erza's distant figure through the guild's doors, he said, "If those two really become S-Class wizards, they'd be the youngest in the guild's history. It's something to look forward to, no doubt about it."