'Did Gramps pick up three more kids?'
Seeing the group of one old man and three youngsters at the entrance, Marco wasn't the least bit surprised.
Most of the children in the Fairy Tail guild had been picked up by Makarov, including Marco himself.
Today, Makarov was dressed relatively normal—a dark blue casual outfit with a yellow training suit underneath.
Leading the three children, Makarov walked into the guild while introducing Fairy Tail to them.
"This is Fairy Tail, a mage guild—a warm, big family made up of many mages."
With his hands behind his back, Makarov walked up to the bar counter and then hopped onto it, plopping himself right on top.
There was no helping it—he was simply too short.
Without sitting on the counter, he wouldn't be able to drink or eat comfortably.
"Airo, bring me a bottle of booze." Makarov called out to Airo, who had already started working.
Then, he pointed to the three stools in front of him, signaling the new children to gather around and sit by him.
"Starting to drink so early in the morning, Master? You should take care of your health."
Airo, who was tidying up the dishes, advised Makarov.
"Airo, since when did you become so naggy?"
Airo's well-meaning advice earned her a complaint from Makarov, making her shake her head with a helpless smile.
She could only place a bottle of booze next to Makarov, along with a glass and thoughtfully poured him a drink.
"You're eighty-two years old now—it's about time to start minding your health."
Marco walked over and chimed in with his own advice, though he knew it wouldn't make a difference.
"Your grandpa here is still young and healthy." Makarov retorted, continuing as he pleased.
He picked up the glass, took a sip and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
Thanks to his immense magic power, even at eighty-two, Makarov's body could handle just about anything.
Unless his magic power waned, he rarely even fell ill.
Drinking a little wasn't a big deal—though it might occasionally lead to mishaps.
Marco didn't press further.
His advice stemmed from personal concern and a sense of filial duty as a grandson.
Since alcohol didn't significantly affect Makarov's health, there was no need to insist he should quit.
"And these three kids are?" Marco turned his gaze to the three newcomers.
All three had white hair, clearly siblings.
The girl, about the same height as Erza and likely the eldest sister, wore a gloomy expression.
Her slender frame was tightly wrapped in her cloak, especially her arms, which weren't exposed at all.
Marco could sense that her right arm was emanating sinister magic power.
Beside her, the younger sister in a pink dress was adorable, giving off an innocent and sweet vibe.
As for the boy, he likely took after his father more, with rather rugged features and skin tone completely different from the two fair-skinned girls.
If not for his striking white hair, one would never guess he was related to them.
"I happened to see them outside the guild watching Natsu and the others fooling around, so I invited them in," Makarov replied while drinking.
This time, these three children weren't ones he'd picked up somewhere—they'd come to the Fairy Tail guild on their own and he'd met them right outside the entrance.
"You look like you've been through a lot. Did you run away from home? Did you come specifically to join Fairy Tail?" Marco asked the trio, wondering if Fairy Tail's reputation as an orphanage for Mages had already spread far and wide.
The three children before him were covered in dirt, clearly having been without a proper home for a long time.
Gramps had invited them into the guild partly because of this—it was obvious these kids weren't doing well.
"No, we just happened to be passing by," the girl in the cloak answered in a low voice that matched her gloomy expression.
Her entire demeanor radiated melancholy.
After saying this, the girl fell silent, closing herself off completely.
She was practically a carbon copy of how Erza had been when she first joined the guild—someone who clearly had a whole story behind her.
"We were driven out by our villagers," the younger sister and brother chimed in, much more talkative than their withdrawn older sister.
The three were the Strauss siblings: the withdrawn older sister was Mirajane, the adorable younger sister was Lisanna and the rugged-looking brother was Elfman.
The reason they'd been driven from their village and forced into this homeless, wandering life was because the eldest sister, Mirajane, had been 'possessed by a demon'.
"Possessed by a demon? I don't think that's the case," Marco said, looking surprised—not at the idea of Mirajane being possessed, but at the girl's magical talent.
A demon had appeared in their village's church and Mirajane, being reckless yet kind-hearted, had charged in to drive it out.
During the fight, she'd somehow absorbed the demon into her body, causing her arm to transform into its current state.
"Could you show me that arm?" Marco politely asked the withdrawn Mirajane.
Without answering, she reluctantly pulled her right arm out from under her cloak, her eyes filled with disgust as she looked at it.
Her entire right arm was a dark reddish color, withered and covered in numerous purple, crystal-like protrusions—so densely packed they might trigger trypophobia in some people.
"That's not demonic possession," Marco confirmed.
"It's Take Over Magic—a type of magic that allows the user to harbor a creatures power within their own body." Makarov swirled his wine glass, affirming Marco's judgment—Mirajane wasn't possessed by a demon but had taken over that demon through her magic.
During the battle with the demon, Mirajane awakened her magical talent—'Take Over Magic'.
Had she not successfully awakened 'Take Over Magic', there was no way she could have defeated the demon wreaking havoc in the village.
Magic Awakening—this was something only exceptionally gifted Mages experienced.
Ordinary Mages needed to study to channel their magic power before they could use and control magic.
But true geniuses only needed a 'Magic Awakening' to automatically master their magic.
The last person Marco had seen undergo a Magic Awakening was Erza.
According to her, she had also experienced a sudden surge of magic power, instantly mastering Requip Magic.
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