A New Life in Fairy Tail

Brandish was, as expected, extremely talented. After she began her training, she progressed rapidly in all areas, quickly absorbing the knowledge Noah taught her.

After staying at the Heartfilia estate for a few days and seeing that Brandish’s training was on the right track, Noah departed, planning to return in a week. He had originally intended to teleport straight back, but then he had another thought. It was now the year X776. Many of the young boys and girls who would achieve great things in the future were just a few years old right now. He figured he might as well see if he could ”pick up” one or two on the way back.

So, Noah began to walk back slowly. He didn’t waste his time on the road; magic circles constantly flashed around his hands as he continued to study and research the magical knowledge he had learned.

He traveled for several days, checking the villages he passed through, all of which were quiet and peaceful.

Until today. A faint, burnt smell drifted to him on the wind. Noah immediately started running forward.

Passing through a dense forest, the scene that greeted his eyes was a destroyed village. The charred ruins silently testified to the tragedy that had occurred here. The fields that should have been the lifeblood of the farmers were now just patches of scorched black earth. Countless specks of ash floated in the air. A gust of wind blew past, carrying with it a pungent smoke. The trees at the village entrance were gone, leaving only charcoal-like trunks standing there.

Noah quickly walked into the village. The ground beneath his feet was incredibly soft; every step was a step in ash. The streets were littered with broken tiles and burnt wood, and he could see the marks of explosions on the road. The villagers’ houses had been reduced to ruins, some with only a single, teetering wall left standing. Faint traces of life were still visible inside, with burnt furniture scattered everywhere. He could vaguely see blast marks on the walls; a battle had likely taken place inside the houses. Here and there, along the road and inside the ruins, he could see one or two charred bodies, a sight too gruesome to look at directly.

To check if there were any survivors, Noah’s hand flashed with a magic circle. In an instant, his detection spell enveloped the entire village. Seeing such a devastated place, Noah had estimated it had been attacked more than a day ago and held out little hope for any survivors. But suddenly, his magic gave him feedback: there was still a faint life signal on the eastern side of the village.

Overjoyed, Noah immediately teleported near the location and scanned the area repeatedly with his magic, finally pinpointing the exact spot. He arrived in front of a pile of rubble that had once been a house. He gently used his Gravity Magic to move aside the collapsed wall that was blocking the way and walked inside. The house was a mess, with broken furniture everywhere. Perhaps because the collapsed wall had blocked the entrance, the fire had not burned its way inside.

Noah ignored the mess and walked straight through the living room to an open-air courtyard. In the center of the courtyard was a well, but the bucket for drawing water was nowhere to be seen. The life signal was coming from here.

Noah rushed to the well and looked down. The water bucket was at the bottom, and inside it, a little girl with light blue hair was curled up, her eyes tightly shut and her face contorted in pain. The well was a little over a meter wide and not very deep, only a few meters. Noah activated his Gravity Magic, and the bucket floated lightly up.

He took the bucket and lifted the little girl out. Her face was pale, her hands and feet were cold, and her whole body was trembling. She was wearing only a thin set of pajamas that matched her hair color and looked to be only two or three years old.

He quickly checked her and found that she was extremely weak, feverish, dehydrated, and had not eaten for a long time. She was in a very bad state. He quickly took out a potion and fed it to her. Visibly, a bit of rosy color returned to her cheeks, and she stopped trembling. Noah then took off his own coat and wrapped her in it, then conjured a bed and laid her down on it.

His magic still active, he scanned the entire village again, and even expanded the search area, but he found no other signs of life. It seemed this little girl was the only survivor.

Just then, under the effect of the potion, the little girl had recovered somewhat. Her eyelids fluttered, and then she opened her eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes were still a bit hazy; she clearly wasn’t fully awake yet. After a moment, her gaze refocused. She found herself wrapped in a coat, lying on a bed she had never seen before.

Seeing that she was awake, Noah sat down on the edge of the bed and asked softly, ”How does your body feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

”Who are you?” Seeing him approach, the little girl shrank away, her voice tinged with fear.

”I’m Noah. I’m a wizard from Fairy Tail.” He held up his right hand to show her his guild mark. ”What’s your name?”

”My name is Yukino.”

Noah’s expression flickered. He recognized that name. She would be a future member of Sabertooth, a guild that had left a very bad impression on him. But that wasn’t important right now. What mattered was what had happened here.

”I saw that the village here was destroyed, so I came to take a look and found only you. Did something happen?”

Hearing his question, Yukino suddenly remembered what had happened before she passed out. Her mouth opened, and she began to cry loudly.

Seeing her cry, Noah was actually relieved. It was obvious something terrible had happened here, and if she, as a victim, were to keep it all bottled up, it could easily cause psychological problems. Crying it out, venting her emotions, would be much better for her.

Noah gently patted her back. When her sobs began to subside, he asked her again what had happened.

Yukino didn’t really know herself. She only remembered that people had suddenly broken in and kidnapped her older sister. Her father had fought back, and her mother had hidden her in the well, telling her not to make a sound. She had been alone in the well, hungry, cold, and sleepy. She had heard a lot of noise from outside and had fallen asleep without realizing it, until Noah had woken her up.

Noah carefully asked her about the appearance of the intruders and realized it was very likely the same dark magic cult he had fought two years ago. It seemed that after two years of recuperation, they had resurfaced.

He used his magic to scan the area several more times, even checking the wider surroundings of the village. He even carried Yukino and walked around the village a few times, but there were no other signs of life. He had no choice but to give up his search.

He said to the little girl in his arms, ”Let me take you to a safe place first.”

”Where are we going?”

”To Fairy Tail!”

~~~

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