About a month later, Jude sent a message saying that the pharmaceutical company had completed its preparations and was just waiting for Noah to provide the prescriptions.
It just so happened that Noah had already prepared several formulas suitable for different groups of people, and he gave them to Jude to begin production.
When Noah arrived at the Heartfilia estate, he handed over the researched prescriptions to Jude, then collected the herbs that Jude had gathered, and also helped examine their health and prescribed more suitable remedies for the family.
Layla and her team had made good progress in searching for the whereabouts of the Zodiac Keys. Several keys had been located, but the remaining keys were becoming increasingly difficult to find.
To avoid being unable to find the keys when needed, Noah specifically reminded them not only to search within the continent of Ishgar, but also to explore other continents, since the keys didn't appear exclusively on this continent.
After hearing this, Jude nodded in agreement. He indeed hadn't considered this before. He had subconsciously assumed that since his wife Layla was a Celestial Spirit Mage, the keys would only be found here, not knowing that keys would also exist on other continents.
"There's a high probability that your daughter will become a Celestial Spirit Mage in the future. So while collecting information on the Zodiac Keys, you should also purchase some Silver Keys as support for your daughter."
Noah, who was warmly invited by Layla to stay, remained at the Heartfilia house for two days before saying goodbye to their family and returning to Magnolia.
When Noah arrived home, he found that everyone in the household had gone out on commissions. Noah happened to have collected plenty of materials, so he began his own research and studies.
Soon, Noah discovered a major problem:
He was out of money!
The cost of research was indeed enormous. He had just earned a substantial amount from completing S-Class job requests, and had also obtained many medicinal materials from Jude.
But in the blink of an eye, it was almost all depleted, and Noah needed to go out and earn money again.
However, the S-Class commissions that were suitable for Noah to make money quickly had mostly been completed last time. Jude's pharmaceutical company had just begun operating and it would take time before it generated profits.
Was there any other way to obtain sufficient funds quickly?
The most profitable businesses are written about in law books, and Noah didn't want to break the law.
While he was pondering this dilemma, Ultear returned from a commission. Seeing Noah sitting on the living room sofa deep in thought, she walked over, sat beside him, and asked:
"What are you thinking about? You look so troubled."
Noah turned around and saw it was Ultear, but didn't pay much attention and turned back.
Suddenly, Noah had an inspiration. He turned back and stared intently at Ultear. Ultear blushed under his gaze.
"Why are you looking at me like that?!"
Noah placed his hands on Ultear's shoulders and laughed wildly:
"That's it! It's you, it's you! Hahahahaha!"
Ultear's face grew even redder as she asked softly:
"What do you mean, 'it's me'?"
"Hahaha! Thank you, Ultear! I love you the most!"
After saying that, Noah released Ultear's shoulders and rushed back to his room. After some commotion, Noah burst out of his room, ran past Ultear like a whirlwind, and left the house directly.
Ultear sat there blushing, muttering to herself:
"I love you the most... I love you the most..."
But after a while, Ultear came to her senses and felt that the situation just now was strange. The more she thought about it, the more wrong it seemed:
"Is he suddenly going crazy? No, I have to ask him clearly when he comes back. If that's the case, he's definitely going to be in trouble!"
Noah suddenly felt a chill when he arrived at the guild entrance. He looked around but didn't see anyone nearby. With his current physical condition, he shouldn't feel cold easily.
He shook his head, pushed the door open and walked in. He moved aside the two guild members who were arguing in the middle of the walkway, approached Makarov, and asked directly:
"Master, do you have any information about Dark Guilds? Even rumors would be fine."
"Why do you suddenly want to target Dark Guilds?" Makarov looked puzzled.
"It's time to let the light of justice shine upon the Dark Guilds!"
Noah looked at Makarov with a righteous expression. Makarov closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, letting his emotions settle before opening his eyes again.
Lately, he felt like Noah had become more... spirited, and had started acting erratically from time to time. Where had the easygoing Noah gone?
With a sigh, Makarov shared some recent intelligence about Dark Guilds with Noah. After Noah noted everything down, he ran out of the guild excitedly. Makarov observed a moment of silence for the Dark Guilds, then continued raising his glass to drink the medicinal wine Noah had prepared for him.
Noah traveled to one of the locations Makarov had mentioned, which was located in a forest.
After some searching, a castle could be seen through the swaying tree shadows in a clearing deep within the woods. This was the base of the Dark Guild "Crimson Rose."
According to Makarov's information, "Crimson Rose" had four members with S-Class wizard strength and dozens of mages of various other levels. Their overall power was extremely formidable. Most legitimate guilds were no match for them. It was also one of the powerful Dark Guilds that had emerged in recent years.
Noah cast a detection spell and discovered there were indeed four people with powerful magical energy and a group of people with considerable magical strength within the castle.
Noah's undisguised magical presence also alerted them. Figures moved about and some people began emerging to investigate the situation.
"Hey, I'm at the same level as you now, so do I need to fight you slowly?
Moreover, to prevent you from damaging my property, I can't let you run around for too long."
Noah's eyes gleamed with money symbols. He brought his hands together and a golden orb of light appeared. The air and earth around him trembled. The massive magical disturbance caused everyone in the castle to rush outside to see what was happening.
"This... such incredible magical power! I've never sensed anything like it! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!"
The Dark Guild members who had just rushed out of the castle broke into cold sweats upon seeing Noah. One shouted frantically, and more people poured out after hearing his cry.
The one with the strongest magical power rushed out quickly, with the others shouting:
"Guild Master!"
The Dark Guild leader broke into a cold sweat after seeing Noah. He could clearly sense the vast gap between their abilities, but he refused to surrender. He shouted loudly:
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Are you idiots?! Attack now! Kill him for me!!"
After saying that, he was the first to unleash his magic, and the others also released their spells, attacking Noah together.
"It's too late!"
Noah said with a smile and clasped his hands together. An enormous golden magic circle appeared in the air. It expanded and contracted, with endless light pouring forth from Noah.
"Fairy Law!"
The overwhelming light completely engulfed the surroundings, illuminating the area as bright as daylight. After several seconds, the light faded, leaving the Dark Guild members collapsed on the ground.