A New Life in Fairy Tail

”But—”

Happy tried to protest, but Noah simply grabbed him, slung an arm over Natsu’s shoulder, and steered them both away. ”No buts. I’ll cover the money you lost on this rigged machine. Let’s go play something else.”

”Number 17...” Natsu whined.

Noah rolled his eyes. ”Forget about your Number 17. There are plenty of other fun things to do.”

As they walked away chatting, the casino attendant who heard Noah badmouth their machine didn’t know what to say. He just stood there with an awkward smile, watching them leave.

Natsu and Happy’s moods came and went like the wind. Before they had even taken a few steps, they had completely forgotten their frustration.

”Happy, that looks like a lot of fun!” Natsu pointed at another arcade game, his face lighting up with excitement.

”Aye!” Happy raised a paw and cheered.

”Let’s go play that!”

Without another word, Natsu sprinted toward the new game, with Happy flying right on his heels.

Noah watched them go and shook his head with an amused smile.

Glancing around, Noah happened to spot Gray sitting at the bar area, talking to a girl with curly sky-blue hair.

”Isn’t she one of the Element 4 from Phantom Lord?”

Driven by curiosity, Noah strolled over to Gray’s spot just in time to hear Juvia declare that she was ”willing to do anything.”

”What do you mean, ’willing to do anything’?” Noah said as he sat down next to Gray. ”Gray, a girl is saying something like that to you. You’d better not be forcing her into anything bad. Waiter, get me a glass of milk.”

”N-No way! That’s just what she said, I didn’t ask her to say that!” Gray panicked instantly, loudly defending himself.

”Juvia is willing to do anything!” Juvia repeated, her eyes locked onto Gray, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks.

”See? She’s laying it all out for you. You need to take responsibility,” Noah teased with a grin, accepting the glass of milk the waiter handed him.

Seeing Juvia’s intense expression and tone, Gray panicked even more. ”I am willing to— Wait, no! I didn’t make her say that!”

Gray was so flustered he nearly misspoke. He took a deep breath to steady himself and rephrased. ”She just said she’s willing to do anything to join our guild.”

Having finally clarified the situation, Gray let out a massive sigh of relief, his posture relaxing.

”Well, there’s no need for that. Our guild is legitimate, not some dark guild. We don’t force our members to ’do anything’ to join,” Noah said, turning his attention to Juvia now that Gray had calmed down.

”But with Phantom Lord... didn’t I attack your—” Juvia hesitated.

Seeing her expression, Noah knew exactly what she was worried about. ”You didn’t cause any real harm to us, so everyone in the guild won’t hold much against you. Besides, from what I know, the Master is very welcoming to young people who have lost their way and want to turn over a new leaf. So, you have a very good chance of joining us.”

”Really?” A joyful smile bloomed on Juvia’s face.

”There’s a very high chance what Noah is saying is true,” Gray chimed in. ”He’s the Master’s Assistant in our guild, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

Hearing Gray’s endorsement, Juvia looked even more thrilled. The ”Master’s Assistant” was obviously a crucial position right by the Guild Master’s side. Words coming from someone in that role carried a lot of weight.

”But the final decision is still up to Gramps. I’m just guessing, so don’t celebrate just yet,” Noah added, giving her a heads-up so she wouldn’t be completely crushed if Makarov somehow said no—though Noah was almost certain he wouldn’t.

”Mhm! Juvia will do her best!” Despite Noah’s caution, Juvia was practically vibrating with excitement.

She was already imagining herself joining Fairy Tail and blending into a guild that was so joyful and cared so much for its members.

Ever since their battle, Juvia had fallen for Gray and had been secretly observing him lately. In doing so, she had also observed Fairy Tail’s daily life. The atmosphere was entirely different from Phantom Lord; it was full of a warmth and camaraderie she had never experienced. Naturally, she yearned for it. Now, it wasn’t just about Gray—she genuinely wanted to be part of Fairy Tail.

Hearing Noah’s words gave her hope. Even with his warning to temper her expectations, she couldn’t stop fantasizing about spending time with everyone, especially Gray.

Her face grew redder and redder, and the way she looked at Gray grew increasingly intense. Gray shivered under her gaze, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

Noah couldn’t help but smile at the dynamic. ”It seems Juvia is quite fond of you, and it looks like you two have a lot to talk about. I won’t interrupt you any longer.”

Noah finished his milk and stood up.

”W-Wait a minute—” Gray panicked, trying to stand up and follow him, but Noah firmly pressed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back down.

”Stay here and keep Juvia company. Since she wants to join us, you can introduce her to the guild and tell her how things work. I’m sure she’d love to know more.”

”Juvia wants to know!” Juvia agreed instantly.

”Ah— Noah, couldn’t you introduce her?!”

”What are you talking about? I have to go find Ultear and the others. You’re the perfect person for the job right now. Look, even Juvia wants you to do it,” Noah said, pointing at Juvia.

Gray looked at her sparkling, expectant eyes and was struck speechless.

”Then it’s settled. Make sure you take good care of Juvia and tell her all about the guild,” Noah said, then turned to the water mage. ”Have fun chatting with Gray, Juvia. I’m going to look around.”

”Okay! Take care!” Juvia waved happily.

As Noah walked away, Gray looked at Juvia, stayed silent for a moment, and finally sighed. ”What do you want to know? I’ll tell you whatever I can.”

”I want to know about Gray— I mean, I want to know about Fairy Tail!” Juvia caught her slip-up and quickly corrected herself.

Gray’s hearing was perfectly fine. His face darkened slightly at her slip, but he resigned himself to his fate and started explaining. ”Our guild is...”

Having left Gray and Juvia, Noah began searching the casino for the rest of his group.

He passed several different entertainment zones but didn’t spot Ultear and the girls.

Suddenly, he heard Lucy’s voice ringing out in the distance. He turned and saw a large crowd gathered around the Texas Hold’em tables. Noah walked over, squeezed through the layers of onlookers, and reached the front of the table.

”Wow! Erza, you’re amazing!” Lucy cheered excitedly, looking at the five cards laid out in front of Erza.

Noah glanced at the table and saw that Erza’s five cards formed a Straight. None of the other players at the table could beat it, making Erza the winner of the pot.

”Hehe... I’m having incredibly good luck today,” Erza said smugly, spreading her hands over her winning cards.

”Damn it, I was so close!” Sorano, who was also playing at the table, grumbled. She looked down at her own cards—Three of a Kind with Kings. Strong, but not enough to beat Erza’s Straight.

Her face was full of competitive defiance. ”Hmph, I just missed it by a hair this round. Let’s go again.”

”Hehe... You’ll still lose no matter how many rounds we play,” Erza laughed with absolute triumph.

”Oh my, Noah, you’re here,” Mirajane said, noticing him approach. She and Ultear were standing right behind the players.

”Mhm. I came to see what you were all up to. What’s going on with them?” Noah asked, pointing at the fiercely competitive Erza and Sorano.

”Oh, them? They aren’t just playing Texas Hold’em. They have a side bet going between the two of them,” Ultear chuckled.

”What kind of bet?” Noah was curious.

”Well, you win money here if you play well, right? They’re betting on who can win the most money. The loser doesn’t just have to treat the winner to a fancy dinner; they also have to do the winner’s laundry for a whole month. That’s why they are going all out to crush each other,” Mirajane explained with an amused smile.

”I see...” Noah didn’t quite know what to say to that.

Suddenly, a concerning thought hit him. ”Wait, if they’re betting like this, aren’t they going to lose more money to the house than they win back?”

”Don’t worry about that. They’re both actually really good,” Ultear reassured him.

”Mhm. They are each other’s only real competition. The other people at the table are completely out of their league. So they’ve actually been winning money steadily this whole time, just trading chips back and forth between the two of them,” Mirajane added.

”That’s a relief.” Noah sighed, glad to know that their fierce rivalry wasn’t just emptying their pockets into the casino’s vault.

~~~

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