Chapter 241: The Village With No People
The moment they saw the food, Natsu and Gray dove in, grabbing a chicken leg in one hand and a duck leg in the other, and began eating like animals. Lucy and Happy joined them, though they were significantly less rude about it.
Noah, Erza, and Mirajane were taken by Makarov to meet the other Guild Masters. Erza had attended these regular meetings before, but Noah had only gone once and had never returned.
Noah and Erza ate as they politely handled the introductions and small talk from the various masters. Makarov, meanwhile, was happily drinking in the corner. Noah saw how much fun he was having and didn't stop him, letting him indulge for once.
The tipsy Makarov then proceeded to wander from master to master, bragging about his guild's wizards and basking in the baptism of their envious glares. Noah watched, a little worried that one of them might finally snap and deck him.
Fortunately, everyone remained restrained.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Noah's group stayed the night at the meeting hall, which was equipped with plenty of guest rooms. Before bed, Noah found Master Bob and Master Goldmine and gave them some of his specially-made medicinal wine as a gift. They, in turn, invited him to visit their guilds, and he agreed.
After such a long day of travel and fighting, everyone was exhausted and went straight to bed.
The next morning, they all woke up early, said their goodbyes to the other masters, and left the meeting hall.
Since it was rare for so many of them to be out together, they all agreed to walk back to Magnolia instead of using Noah's teleportation magic, treating it as a sort of field trip. Makarov agreed. Noah's Thought Projection was still at the guild handling business, so there was no rush.
Happy boldly volunteered to be their guide. Everyone just went with it, and without consulting a single map, they set off.
...But...
"Oh, come on! Happy, are you lost again?!" Lucy yelled. "Why have we been walking for hours?! We're no closer to Magnolia! You're a hopeless, no-sense-of-direction cat!"
Noah looked up at their surroundings. They were in a desolate, arid canyon of sheer rock, without a single green plant in sight.
"That's so rude!" Happy retorted, his voice full of indignation. "I've never been lost before! This is the first time!"
"I don't care if it's the first time! The point is you're lost now!"
"Ara ara, getting lost is its own kind of experience," Mirajane said, trying to calm Lucy down. "No need to get so worked up."
"So how do we get out of here?" Erza asked, turning to Noah. "Do you know where we are?"
"Let me check." Noah opened his Archive and quickly pinpointed their location. "This is the entrance to the Clover Canyon. It's a natural labyrinth of rock faults formed by an ancient earthquake. Its common name is 'The Spider's Nest.' It's said that many who wander in... are never seen again."
He delivered the last line in a low, spooky voice.
"WAAAAH!" Lucy and Happy yelped, jumping in terror.
Mirajane patted Noah on the arm. "Alright, that's enough scaring them. What's the plan? Are you just going to teleport us out?"
"No," Erza declared, her eyes suddenly blazing with determination. "We will challenge this labyrinth. We will walk out on our own!"
"Yeah, sounds like fun! I'm in!" Natsu yelled.
"Seems interesting. Me too," Gray added.
"So, everyone wants to try?" Noah asked. Seeing no objections, he closed his Archive. He knew they all had plenty of food in their storage magic—Erza especially. And he himself had enough rations to feed ten people for a year. Worse comes to worst, he could just teleport them out.
They quickly agreed and split up to find a path. It wasn't long before Happy's voice echoed through the canyon.
"Natsu, get over here! Quick!"
Everyone converged on his position. Natsu ran up to Happy, who was standing at the edge of a deep ravine.
"What'd you find?"
"Look!" Happy pointed down. "It's the legendary delicacy... Wingfish! They're supposed to be the most delicious thing in the world! Delicious! Delicious! Delicious!"
Happy was drooling as he watched a school of fish with small, feathered wings... flying through the air in the canyon below.
"A legendary delicacy?" Gray asked, peering over the edge.
"Wingfish?" Erza repeated.
"They look tasty," Natsu said, his own mouth watering.
"Ara, and it's almost lunchtime," Mirajane noted with a smile. "Why don't we have these for our meal?"
"How do we get them?" Lucy asked.
Happy, with a look of utmost seriousness, pulled out a fishing rod. "We fish!"
And so, seven people and one cat sat in a perfect line on the cliff's edge, fishing.
"Dammit! They're not biting at all!" Natsu complained after a while.
"Must... try... harder..." Happy muttered, his focus absolute.
"They don't really look that tasty," Lucy said, unconvinced.
"They are!" Happy snapped. "They're a legendary delicacy!"
A few minutes later, Happy threw his rod on the ground. "I'm bored of fishing."
"Your willpower is pathetic!" Lucy yelled.
"But I can't catch any...!" Happy wailed.
"But you wanted to eat them, right? Don't give up!" Lucy encouraged.
Happy looked at her, his eyes filling with tears, and then ran away. "Lucy's being mean to me!"
"Hey! I was cheering you on!" Lucy yelled, dumbfounded.
"Ara ara, they're having fun," Mirajane giggled, watching the scene.
"They really are," Noah agreed.
"Stop talking and fish," Erza ordered, not taking her eyes off the water—er, air. "We need to catch them so we can eat."
"Ara, looks like Erza's hungry," Mira whispered.
"It's lunchtime, and this is taking too long," Noah said, seeing Erza's impatience. "I'll use another method."
He waved his hand. A current of air wrapped around several of the Wingfish, plucking them from the sky and depositing them gently at his feet.
"Then what were we sitting here fishing for all this time?!" Lucy shrieked.
Noah thought for a moment. "To... enjoy the fun of fishing?"
"No. I did not enjoy that at all," Lucy replied, deadpan.
"Let's just eat," Erza said.
Since they didn't know how to cook them, Noah prepared them every way: steamed, braised, pan-fried, and stewed. He also pulled out rice, vegetables, and other meats. Mira, Erza, and Lucy helped with the prep, while Natsu and Gray built a cooking fire.
Soon, they had a feast.
"Let's eat!"
Happy, naturally, was the first to try the fish. He put a piece of the steamed Wingfish in his mouth, chewed once, and his face contorted.
"THIS IS DISGUSTING!" he shrieked, spitting it out. "Water! Water!"
Noah handed him a cup.
"Is it really that bad?" Lucy asked. She tried a tiny piece. A second later, she was also gagging and rinsing her mouth.
Curious, the rest of them tried a piece. A moment after that, all of them were frantically chugging water. Noah, who had tried all four versions, had it the worst; he looked like he was about to be sick.
"That's foul!" Gray sputtered. "And they call that a 'legendary delicacy'?!"
"I bet," Noah said, after finally clearing his mouth of the taste, "that someone ate this, was miserable, and decided to trick other people into eating it by making up that stupid name."
"I want to find that person and punch them," Mirajane growled. Erza nodded in furious agreement.
"Alright," Noah said, disposing of the fish. "Let's eat dessert first to get the taste out of our mouths."
He passed out cakes. Erza took her strawberry cake, and a look of pure bliss crossed her face. Seeing her smile, Noah's own mood improved. Mirajane took her cake from him with a sweet smile, and his mood improved even more.
After they had eaten, their energy was restored.
"Onward! We'll definitely find the way out!" Natsu yelled, charging ahead.
They walked for a while and suddenly... a village appeared in the distance.
"A village? Here?" Noah frowned. This was strange. This whole canyon was deserted. A village shouldn't be here. This was definitely a problem.
"Yes, it's very strange," Erza said, her hand on her sword. "Everyone, be on your guard."
"Let's stick together," Noah said, taking the lead.
The moment they stepped into the village, Noah knew something was wrong. It was dead silent. A village, even a small one, shouldn't be this quiet.
"Is everyone out? Or..." Mirajane murmured.
"HEY! ANYONE HOME?!" Natsu yelled. His voice just echoed.
"Maybe they're all napping?" Gray suggested.
"Maybe they're all drunk and passed out?" Makarov added.
"This isn't Fairy Tail, you know," Lucy snapped.
Noah looked at Lucy, impressed. She was learning fast.
"Let's check the houses," Noah said. He knocked on the nearest door. "Hello? Is anyone in there?"
No answer. He pushed the door, and it swung open.
The house was empty. But on the table, there was a meal, half-eaten.
"This is not right," Erza said, her eyes narrowed.
"The food... it's like they left in the middle of eating," Mira added.
"Where did they go?" Gray asked, checking the other rooms.
"Let's split up and check the other houses," Noah commanded. "Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy, you're one team. Erza and Mira, you're another. Gramps and I will be the third."
They all nodded and split off.
"Any ideas?" Makarov asked Noah as they walked.
"A few," Noah said. "But I'm not sure. Let's investigate first."
They checked every house. Every single one was the same. Signs of life—food on tables, toys on the floor, work left undone—all frozen in a single moment, as if the owners had simply vanished.
After checking their entire section, Noah and Makarov returned to the first house they had entered.
~~~
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