Even after leaving the village, Juvia's thoughts continued to churn in her mind.
The village chief's words had a profound impact on her.
Along the way, dark clouds gathered and dispersed, rain fell heavily then lightly, the weather was very unstable, clearly reflecting Juvia's complex mood.
Leaving the village, there were naturally no carriages available, so the two walked back the entire way.
They walked for several hours before encountering a caravan heading into the city and paid a small fee to hitch a ride.
Juvia's body was exhausted, but she didn't feel tired in her heart.
Instead, she felt somewhat excited.
The child stayed close to Marco the whole way, following his every step, she even follow Marco to the bathroom.
Everything in the outside world made her both curious and fearful.
"Let's go, Juvia. Time to board." Marco led Juvia onto the train back to Magnolia.
Looking at the unsettled Juvia, he had a smile on his face.
After the village chief's explanation, it seemed a hole had been torn in the dark clouds hanging over Juvia's heart.
Everything she had endured in the village was an important part of what formed those dark clouds.
Through this opening, perhaps the clouds could be completely dispersed in the future.
After the passengers were all seated, the train slowly started moving.
Juvia looked out the window, her expression showing both timidity and curiosity.
"So this is a train?"
Juvia found it fascinating that this metal box could move on its own!
Marco had said they would take the train back, but Juvia had never ridden one before, or even heard of one.
She had no choice - she had never even left the village before, and no one in the village would play with her.
This was her first time leaving the village, her first long journey, her first time entering a city, her first time riding a train - so many firsts.
She found everything in the outside world interesting and fascinating.
After entering the city, the dark clouds thinned out, with raindrops only falling occasionally, undoubtedly proving that Juvia's mood was quite good.
"That's right, this is a train. Rest well, it won't be long before we're back at the Fairy Tail guild."
Marco smiled and patted Juvia's hair, indicating the little one could take a good rest.
This child had walked the whole way on sheer willpower and was utterly exhausted.
Juvia had previously been forced to be a shut-in, so her physical condition was naturally quite poor.
Starting off with such high intensity walk was certainly difficult, and her psychological excitement couldn't keep giving her an adrenaline boost forever.
"Mm!" Juvia nodded seriously, deciding to follow Marco's advice.
Along the way, she had been very obedient, doing whatever she was told, following orders and being extremely compliant, afraid of being abandoned by Marco.
The little girl was truly tired and fell asleep in her seat shortly after.
Even while sleeping, she stayed tightly pressed against Marco.
Looking at the sleeping Juvia, Marco thought about the experiences of this mission.
The person who left the deepest impression on him this time was probably that old village chief.
Was the village chief a good person? Probably.
He had taken care of Juvia, not allowing the child to suffer too much persecution.
But there was a reason for doing so, which was that the village needed the 'Rain Woman', needed Juvia's ability as a protective barrier.
In fact, the legend of the 'Rain Woman' was vigorously promoted and spread by the village chief.
He was indeed a very clever person, making good use of Juvia, who actually couldn't use her ability to fight, to protect the village.
When bandits came, the village chief would immediately notify Juvia.
The fearful and worried Juvia would activate her ability and the bandits would immediately flee with their tails between their legs.
The village chief had figured out how to "exploit" Juvia's powers.
Looking at it this way, the village chief wasn't really a good person to Juvia either, he was just using her as well.
But the village chief didn't intend to use Juvia forever.
He had always been trying to solve the problem, always raising funds.
Those mission rewards were what he had managed to scrape together over the years, with the village chief himself contributing the lion's share by emptying his own pockets, all to solve the problem and also to liberate Juvia.
Using Juvia was just because he was out of option.
The village chief felt guilty towards Juvia, feeling that her current situation was caused by him.
This was overthinking it a bit, and showed a somewhat high moral standard, because even without the village chief's instigation, Juvia, the culprit who constantly made it rain in the village, wouldn't have had a good outcome.
Without the village chief's protection, she would definitely have been worse off.
Human nature is very complex.
If Marco were to comment, he would still be willing to give the village chief a good guy label and moreover, a smart and responsible "good person".
That haggard middle-aged man had protected everything he could protect as much as possible, and was also trying to make up for what he owed Juvia.
In the end, Marco still didn't accept the mission reward.
Consider it a moral bonus for the village chief - he admired people like the village chief.
Being able to make good use of limited abilities and resources without resorting to underhanded means was far better than playing a good hand well.
Of course, Marco didn't intend to tell Juvia about these things.
Let the past be the past.
As the village chief said, Juvia can now pursue her own happy life, and treat everything in the past as just a nightmare.
*****
The train continued on its way, arriving in Magnolia in the afternoon.
"Juvia, Juvia, we've arrived."
Marco shook Juvia, who was sleeping soundly leaning against him.
The train had reached its destination, and the girl had slept the whole way.
"Marco-sama" Juvia rubbed her eyes, looking dazed.
It wasn't until Marco led her off the train and into the bustling Magnolia station that the girl's brain finally rebooted successfully.
"Splash splash splash~"
Magnolia, which had just been sunny, was suddenly covered in dark clouds, with heavy rain pouring down, soaking many people and causing chaos.
Citizens cursed and fled, fortunately the rain had no killing power.
"Don't be nervous, Juvia." Marco smiled and comforted Juvia.
After her brain rebooted successfully, the child immediately became nervous, clearly feeling anxious about Fairy Tail.
"Mm" Juvia responded softly, but the rain outside showed no signs of stopping.
Marco felt a bit helpless, but he knew what Juvia was worried about.
It was nothing more than worrying that she wouldn't be welcomed in Fairy Tail, or even not allowed to join at all.
Juvia was very clear about how detestable her condition was.
She was very afraid, afraid that all those beautiful expectations would come to nothing, and also afraid that Marco would be affected because of her.
'It's just unfortunate that this ability was given to such a sensitive girl like Juvia.' Marco sighed inwardly.
He only hoped that the atmosphere of Fairy Tail could gradually change this girl's personality.
It seemed her childhood experiences had shaped her current sensitive personality.
Fortunately, she was still young and could still change.
"Marco! You're finally back!"
As Marco was comforting Juvia, many people noticed him and excitedly gathered around, their faces excited.
Marco wasn't surprised.
He had been gone for a week, and by now 'The Great Detective Holmes' had been successfully released.
His fame had risen to a new level compared to before.
He had already known about this while riding the train.
Along the way, many people on the train had asked him for autographs with their books.
With the boost of his fame, the already high-quality 'The Great Detective Holmes' had undoubtedly sold out really fast.
In just a few short days, it had become the best-selling book of the year, breaking a series of records.
With such a popular person coming from their city, it was natural for everyone in Magnolia to feel proud and it was normal for them to be excited to see him return.
Just as Marco had prepared himself to sign a bunch of autographs before he could leave, the words of the excited citizens who gathered around made him stunned.
"The people from Phantom Lord came to seek revenge?"
Marco blinked, his tone somewhat incredulous.
Was Jose Porla so bold?
Was he planning to go to all-out war with Fairy Tail?
This... wasn't necessary, right?
Had that guy gone mad?
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