Chapter 83: Excommunicated from the Guild!
"I want you two to start training first and not take on any requests for a while, until you have sufficient strength. For now, you don't need to pay for food or rent."
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?" Sorano asked, a little uneasy. Not doing requests meant no income, which was the same as freeloading at Noah's house. For a girl who had just gone through so many major upheavals and was now very sensitive, the thought made her uncomfortable.
"It's no trouble. Your food and rent are nothing to me. Even adding the cost of potions for your training, it's not much. What I spend on a single research project is enough to support you for a year or two. Research is so expensive. It's a good thing I have a stable source of funding now, so I don't have to work so hard doing requests to earn money (he muttered)."
"Alright, let's not talk about that. If you feel bad about it, just think of it as support from the guild. In the future, when the guild needs you, you can just help out then. Erza and the others are calling you. Get a good night's rest, and you can start training with them tomorrow."
Noah pointed to Erza, Ultear, and the others, who were waving them over. Sorano said to Noah, "Then thank you, Noah. I'll go over now."
"Thank you, Big Brother Noah!" Yukino added.
Noah stroked Yukino's head. "Go on and play with your sister over there."
Sorano then took Yukino to join the other girls. Noah, for once, didn't go off to study or do research, but instead joined Gray, Lyon, and Simon, listening to their stories about their missions.
When it was late, everyone cleaned up and went to their rooms to sleep.
The next day, Sorano and Yukino were woken up early. Noah first gave them a physical check-up, and then they began to train with Erza and the others, starting with low-intensity exercises to allow their bodies to fully recover before increasing the difficulty. After training, everyone drank the individually customized potions that Noah had prepared that morning.
Erza and the others only trained with the sisters for a few days, spending the rest of the time teaching them various basic knowledge. Once they had adapted to this life, Erza and Ultear went back to doing their own requests, leaving only Kagura to study and train with them.
Sorano was very satisfied with this life; it was infinitely better than what she had imagined before. Although the training was hard, the tangible increase in her strength made her feel secure, and the impact of her past negative experiences was gradually fading. Kagura was also very happy. She had always been the youngest in Noah's house, and now with Yukino's arrival, this even younger sister fulfilled her wish of being a big sister herself. Yukino, showered with everyone's care, began to smile again.
Seeing that they were all doing well, Noah threw his energy back into his own training and research. He no longer trained within Magnolia, instead teleporting to a deserted island in the sea to conduct his experiments. Many of his spells required testing and made a lot of noise. If he accidentally affected Magnolia, it wouldn't be good if Makarov had a heart attack from the shock. In his spare time, Noah would also take on high-paying requests, not just for the money, but more importantly, to acquire materials.
One or two months passed peacefully like this. One day, Noah had just finished a request and was returning to Magnolia in the evening. The sky was overcast with dark clouds, obscuring the last rays of the setting sun. A dampness filled the air, heralding a coming storm. The pedestrians on the street were all hurrying home to escape the imminent downpour.
Noah stood at the entrance to the guild, an inexplicable feeling of heaviness in his heart, as if something bad had happened.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning tore across the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that made Noah's heart tremble. After the thunder, however, he felt a sense of calm. As the torrential rain began to fall, he slowly pushed open the great doors.
The guild was not its usual boisterous self; it was dead silent. Everyone's eyes had been fixed, intentionally or not, on the counter. When they saw Noah walk in, they all began to gesture with their eyes for him to go over there. Seeing this, Noah knew something bad had happened while he was away.
He walked to the counter and came before Makarov, who had been staring down at something with a grim expression. Seeing someone approach, he looked up and saw it was Noah. A small smile appeared on his face. "You're back, Noah."
"Gramps, what happened?" Noah asked directly.
Makarov's smile vanished, and he sighed helplessly. "I have excommunicated Ivan from the guild."
Makarov watched Noah's face and saw not a single trace of surprise. He remembered how shocked the other guild members had been when they heard the news. "You don't have any questions?" he couldn't help but ask.
Noah thought for a moment. "How should I put this? I'm not surprised by this result. When I first met him, he gave me a bad feeling, and it's been like that for years. Because he's your son, I didn't say anything. I'm not surprised that he's been excommunicated now. But I still have to ask, why?"
"Sigh. He did something that was detrimental to the guild." Makarov let out a deep sigh, and his whole body seemed to sag. He looked utterly exhausted, a clear reminder that the old man before him was already in his eighties.
"Can you not say what it was?"
"I cannot."
"Not even an S-Class wizard of the guild can know?"
"They cannot."
"Only the Guild Master has the right to know?"
"Mhm. Only the Guild Master."
"So his actions involved a guild secret?"
"Mhm."
"And did his actions threaten the safety of the guild members?"
"He threatened the very lives of his comrades."
Noah looked around and, not seeing Ivan, guessed that he had probably fled. "Alright then. I'll keep an eye out for him. If I find him, I'll help you bring him back."
"I'll be counting on you. By the way, can you go and check on Laxus? He looked terrible after he heard the news and stormed out of the guild. I'm very worried about him." A look of concern appeared on Makarov's face. He didn't regret his decision to expel his son, but he was worried about his grandson's reaction.
"Alright. I'll go and find Laxus now. You need to take care of your own health, Gramps. Don't be too broken up about this."
"I know. I will."
"Then I'll be going."
~~~
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