"Take me to see her." Marco spoke up, his interest in this 'Rain Woman' growing.
"...Alright, follow me." The chief hesitated but ultimately agreed.
Truthfully, while his moral compass had restrained the villagers from targeting the girl, he too hoped Marco would take her away.
Ever since the girl's parents met their tragic fate years ago, the village's rain had never ceased.
No wonder everyone had reached their limit...
Led by the chief, Marco arrived before a small hut, many villagers trailing behind to witness the outcome.
They all waited expectantly, hoping Marco would take the rain woman away and resolve their village's greatest nuisance.
Knock knock knock.
The chief knocked on the door.
After a long pause, a small figure cracked it open just slightly.
"Juvia, it's me—the chief."
At his words, the door opened a little wider.
Clearly, this girl named Juvia still held some trust in the village chief.
The door opened, revealing a timid girl standing there.
She had curly blue hair, a slender figure and skin so pale it looked she was sick, giving off a pitifully fragile impression.
"V-Village Chief..." Juvia spoke softly, her face filled with fear, especially when she saw the crowd of villagers behind him.
Their expressions were openly filled with disgust.
"Whoosh—!"
The light drizzle that had been falling suddenly turned into a downpour.
The villagers outside were instantly drenched from head to toe.
"Damn it! Did she do this on purpose?!"
"Make the rain stop, you freak!"
"This is too much! We have to drive her away!"
"We've had enough of this!"
Soaked to the bone, the villagers lost their composure, hurling insults without restraint towards her—no longer caring that she was just a child.
To them, Juvia was nothing but a monster.
And the more they cursed, the heavier the rain became.
"Shut up! All of you, go to your home! Do you enjoy getting soaked or what?!"
The village chief turned around and roared at the villagers, shooing away those who had lingered to watch the spectacle.
They had no choice but to leave—the rain was now so heavy it felt like knives cutting into their skin, forcing them to scatter in disarray.
'Interesting...'
Marco watched the scene with fascination.
It was now absolutely certain—the rain in this village was indeed influenced by this child's magic.
But her magic power wasn't particularly strong...
Marco stared at Juvia, trying to recall if any books he'd read had documented such a phenomenon.
Her condition was clearly abnormal.
"Juvia, could you ease up on the rain a little?"
After driving the villagers away, the chief turned to Juvia and sighed, making his request.
"I... I didn't mean to..." Juvia looked miserable.
She despised her own ability just as much as they did.
She didn't want this either, but she simply couldn't control it.
Yet, under the chief's soothing words, Juvia's mood did improve somewhat, and the rain outside gradually lightened as a result.
Juvia invited the chief and Marco into her home.
Marco was fine—he simply channeled his magic power to repel the rain—but the chief was nearly at his limit, drenched from top to bottom.
Once the door closed, the sound of rain softened slightly.
Marco glanced around the room.
It was bare—clearly, this child's living conditions were harsh.
"Juvia, this is Marco, a mage from the Fairy Tail Guild. Explain your situation to him in detail. He might have a way to help you... to make things normal for you."
The village chief introduced Marco.
Juvia looked at Marco.
She had noticed him earlier.
Everyone else looked at her with undisguised disgust—except for two people.
One was the chief, who had always been kind to her and the other was Marco who's standing beside him.
"R-Really? They all say I'm a monster..." Juvia whispered, her eyes filled with fragile hope.
"Of course you're not a monster." Marco shook his head with a smile.
This so-called 'Rain woman' nonsense was nothing but a baseless rumor.
"You're an exceptionally rare magic genius. All these incidents are just because you haven't learned how to control your gift yet. Once you master this power, things like this won't happen again."
Marco spoke with sincerity as he looked at Juvia, his face wearing a smile that suggested this wasn't anything particularly difficult to handle.
But in truth, Marco wasn't entirely confident either.
While magical prodigies awakening their powers weren't uncommon in Fairy Tail, he'd never seen anyone like Juvia who could influence weather.
However, although Marco himself wasn't confident about solving this problem, that didn't mean Makarov wouldn't have a solution.
When in doubt, just ask Makarov—the third guild master of Fairy Tail.
If another third-generation leader was called the 'Professor of Ninjutsu', then Makarov would be the 'Professor of Magic'.
There were few things he didn't understand.
"Magic genius?" Juvia froze.
The village chief froze too.
"So Juvia's magic is just making it rain?" The old village chief asked blankly.
To be honest, they had considered the possibility of magic before.
But Juvia couldn't do anything except make it rain uncontrollably around her.
It was hard to classify that as magic—people just saw her as a monster.
"The rain is merely an outward manifestation of her magic, proving how gifted she is. She still needs systematic training. But Juvia, do you really not know how to use your magic?"
Marco looked at Juvia with puzzlement.
Normally, once someone awakened magic, they should instinctively understand how to use it.
Unless... they rejected it from the start, like Mira.
But Mira's case was special—she was possessed by a demon from the beginning, so of course she'd resist.
What was Juvia's reason?
"Using... like this?"
Juvia frowned as her body began to transform, dissolving into flowing water until her entire form became liquid.
"Wh-what?!" The village chief jumped in fright.
A person turned into water?! Was she even human anymore?
Mages really were monsters!
"It appears to be Water Magic." Marco nodded.
Magic that directly manipulates an element can achieve similar effects—somewhat like Elementalization.
Laxus's Lightning Magic could also allow him to transform into lightning, though this technique wasn't particularly effective against other mages.
Since everyone uses magic power, you can still hit someone even if they Elementalize—unlike in another world where special methods would be required.
Magic power is the energy of life itself—how could it be so limited?
"Marco-sama... can I really return to normal?"
Looking at Marco's face, Juvia was terrified.
She feared this might all be a cruel joke, that none of it was real.
"Of course. Would you like to come with me? Join the Fairy Tail Guild. There are many children like you there—many magic geniuses. We'll teach you how to control your gift."
Marco smiled as he extended the invitation.
Any mage guild that discovered a talent like Juvia's would fight to keep her—her potential alone could likely reach S-Class in most guilds.
Having found this promising seedling first, Marco certainly wouldn't leave her behind.
She was coming back to the guild with him!
"I..." Juvia fell silent, seemingly hesitating.
"Go, Juvia. That's where you belong."
Seeing her hesitation, the old village chief spoke up softly, giving her a nudge.
In his eyes, having Juvia taken in by Fairy Tail was absolutely for the best—for both the village and for Juvia herself.
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