As expected, Noel had still underestimated Natsu's destructive power. Half of the entire port had been destroyed. How was he going to explain this to Master when he returned?
Frustrated and on the verge of yelling at Natsu, Noel looked around, only to find that Natsu was nowhere to be seen, and Lucy had vanished along with him.
"What kind of move is this? How did I end up being the only one left here?" Noel stood there, dumbfounded.
Soon, the Hargeon enforcement squad surrounded Noel, treating him like a criminal suspect.
"I really should have just run for it," Noel suddenly realized that might have been the smarter choice.
The leader was a middle-aged man, sturdy and imposing, exuding an air of authority.
"Was it you who wrecked the port like this?" the man demanded.
"Well, there were a lot of reasons. It's a long story…" Noel didn't even know where to begin. The situation was complicated, and there was no way to explain it in a few words.
"Then there's no need for explanations. You can report back at our office. I'll be sending a complaint to the Council in a few days." The middle-aged man spoke sternly.
"I can actually help with the restoration work. It won't take long," Noel quickly offered.
"You're volunteering for the restoration work? That could reduce your penalty, but we'll still need you to come back with us to take a statement," the man said.
They escorted Noel to the enforcement headquarters. Noel had countless opportunities to escape along the way, but he chose not to.
Even if it wasn't his direct doing, he hadn't stopped it either, so it was still partly his responsibility.
"Name."
"Noel Manchester."
The man paused. That name sounded familiar, like something he had seen often in the papers.
"Age."
"Seventeen."
"Guild."
"Fairy Tail."
Ah, Fairy Tail. That explained everything. It was the guild known for having powerful mages who always caused trouble.
Their reputation was widespread by now, but he had also heard there was a mage in the guild who was exceptionally skilled at cleaning up their messes.
Whenever there was massive destruction, that person would arrive and restore everything, sometimes making it even better than before, and doing it in record time.
"Tell me, what was the mission this time that ended up destroying the town?" the interrogator asked, still wanting to hear the story.
"There was a human trafficking ring on a ship, kidnapping young women. You guys should've known about it too, right?" Noel countered.
"We did investigate, but they hid themselves too well, and the investigation stalled…" the man admitted awkwardly. In truth, it was their inefficiency that had caused the delay.
"I won't pursue this matter any further then. We'll call it even. But you'll stay until the town is repaired," the man concluded.
"What about me?" Noel asked.
"You'll stay in jail for a few days, and once it's all sorted out, you'll be released," the interrogator said casually.
"The guild won't be sending anyone else. I'm enough. Because I'm the one who handles the cleanup." Noel's mouth twitched as he explained.
"Ah, is that so…" the interrogator replied, embarrassed.
"Then let's get started right away! I need a bath tomorrow morning, you know? I like to sleep in until I naturally wake up," Noel insisted firmly.
He had become quite particular about his routine, and if he didn't wake up naturally, he was in a foul mood all day.
"Well then, let's begin!"
"You know, if you hadn't dragged me here for questioning, I would've had half the repairs done by now," Noel complained.
"We have our procedures too. Please understand," the interrogator coughed, clearly embarrassed.
After leaving the enforcement office, Noel used his wind magic to soar into the sky, overlooking all of Hargeon. The destruction was severe, with nearly half the town in ruins.
The library had also been affected by the magic, but oddly enough, it appeared completely untouched.
Although Hargeon didn't have many mages, being a port city, its library contained one of the largest collections of books on the continent.
There was valuable information inside, and one of Noel's reasons for coming to Harujion was to research ancient texts in that library.
Noel slowly descended, sighing. This was going to be a huge project, and it wouldn't be completed quickly.
He decided to start with the port, as it had been the center of the battle and suffered the worst damage.
"Disassemble, reconstruct, restore."
Golden light enveloped the entire port. The wreckage began to vanish, the materials breaking down and disappearing completely.
Under Noel's control, various elements began to gather, slowly forming structures. Miraculously, the port was being restored before everyone's eyes.
Passersby who witnessed this scene couldn't believe what they were seeing. Had they imagined the destruction? The port had just been in ruins.
How was it restored so quickly? People stood there, stunned, unable to comprehend it.
Building after building was restored to its original condition, as if nothing had ever happened.
"It's a miracle," someone whispered.
Some people even fell to their knees, worshipping the scene as if a god had descended to bless them.
Noel had no idea this was happening. All he wanted was to finish quickly so he could get some rest.
But his mind wandered back to the strategy he had set up earlier. There were so many issues with it. If he hadn't let Natsu get involved, none of this would have happened.
He regretted that decision deeply. Most of the buildings were now rebuilt.
What really gave him a headache, however, was the massive crack that split Hargeon in two. It was a huge fissure, and forcibly repairing it would consume a lot of magic.
Filling it with dirt was an option, but…
"That would get me reported, wouldn't it?" Noel sighed. Whatever, when he got back, he would make sure Natsu paid the price for this mess.
He was always the one stuck with cleanup duty. At least his alchemy workshop hadn't been damaged, so following Natsu here had been the right decision.
"Restore."
The entire city seemed to shift as the giant crack slowly closed, inch by inch.
Finally, it was reduced to a mere line, and eventually, even that line vanished.
Now, Hargeon looked even better than it had before.
"That should leave them with no complaints."
After such high-intensity restoration work, Noel was exhausted. He found a nearby inn and checked in for the night.
He had chosen one close to the library, since tomorrow, he planned to visit and read through some of its ancient texts.
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