Laxus didn't care about his image at all.
He walked around every day with a stiff face, acting like some kind of cool tough guy, to the point where even Reedus felt that drawing a smile on him would be an insult.
"Then let's leave it at that."
Moen felt a little helpless, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't force Reedus to do something he didn't want. Artists always had their own principles.
Rather than asking Reedus to paint a smiling face on Laxus, it would be better to think of a way to help Laxus blend back into the group.
"Right, Reedus—about what I said before, asking you to draw the manga version of my novel, have you given it any thought?"
Moen didn't continue the topic of Laxus and switched to something else. In the past few days, he had already rushed out the first draft of the story. After polishing it a bit, he would be able to publish it. And he didn't just want to release the novel—he wanted to release the manga version afterward.
Following the principle of "don't let benefits spill outside the family," of course he wanted someone from the guild to draw it. The royalties would be shared fairly. It was essentially the beginning of a copyright business.
Later on, movies and other adaptations could also be considered. The Great Detective Folmos would become insanely popular in this world!
"No problem at all. I'm almost done reading the manuscript. I'm really interested in this project. Moen, you're a real genius!"
The moment Reedus heard The Great Detective Folmos mentioned, his eyes lit up. He had read Moen's manuscript seriously and thought the story was extremely good.
Of course, even if it were average, he wouldn't have turned it down. At worst, it would just take up some of his spare time to help out.
"That's great, Reedus. Thank you."
Moen smiled and reached out his hand. Reedus clapped palms with him.
"I should be the one thanking you, Moen. You're giving me such a profitable job. This book is definitely going to be a hit, and I'll benefit from it too. Who knows—maybe this book will feed me for the rest of my life."
Reedus refused the gratitude and instead thanked Moen. In his eyes, this story had enormous potential. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was—Moen really was a genius. His magic power was strong, sure, but the ability to craft a story like The Great Detective Folmos? That was even rarer.
Magic geniuses weren't rare in Fairy Tail—there were plenty among the younger generation. But someone who could write a truly interesting story? That was far more uncommon.
"I'm only standing on the shoulders of giants."
Moen smiled and shook his head without explaining. He wasn't about to say that he didn't write the original story. He was already plagiarizing from memory—there was no point pretending to be grand about it. But he wouldn't brag either. If he had any talent, it was that he actually remembered the plot surprisingly well.
Which only made him regret even more—why hadn't he watched more anime back then?
While Moen and Reedus were discussing the manga, on the other side, the kids had already gathered around Carla, asking her a million questions—mostly about how to take care of baby Happy.
"Carla, what should we feed Happy?"
"Can we give him fish?"
"Cats love fish, right?"
"Carla, what do YOU like to eat?"
Carla was getting overwhelmed by their noisy questions.
"I like drinking tea. You can feed him whatever you want. Anything humans can eat, he can eat. We're not that delicate."
Carla replied, wanting to hurry and get rid of them.
"Then let's go catch fish! We'll grill fish for Happy!"
The moment Carla answered, the kids rushed out excitedly, carrying baby Happy along with them.
"Wait a second. I think you should give him milk first. Isn't fish a bit too much for a newborn? Even magical creatures shouldn't be raised that roughly."
Moen quickly stopped them. If they raised Happy like that, he wouldn't die, probably… but he'd definitely suffer. How could a group of kids know how to take care of a baby?
"Really?"
Natsu and the others looked at each other, then all stared at Carla.
"Uh… maybe? I—I don't know!"
Carla suddenly felt awkward under their stares. She wasn't that old herself—how was she supposed to know? She had survived in the forest from birth, often sleeping outdoors. A good life only began once she met Wendy. In other words, she hadn't lived comfortably for long at all.
"Elouie! Milk, please!"
Trusting Moen, Natsu stopped rushing out for fish and instead asked Elouie for some milk to feed Happy first.
"Exceed, huh… they don't look dangerous."
At the bar counter, Makarov quietly observed Carla and baby Happy, and finally came to a conclusion. Exceed didn't seem dangerous, and their magic wasn't strong.
"Let them stay a while."
Since they weren't dangerous, Makarov naturally didn't mind.
The old man was always kind—unless someone hurt his guild's children, he treated everyone with a smile.
The kids gathered around the bar, waiting for Elouie to bring the food. As the guild's front-desk worker, Elouie handled a lot. If little Laki weren't helping her, she would be constantly overwhelmed.
"Actually, Mira-nii, Elfman, and I can all help. Even though my cooking is so-so, I can still pitch in!"
Lisanna sat on a tall stool, leaning over the counter as she watched Elouie working hard. She said she could help with chores too.
"When it comes to cooking, I guess I'm decent—but nowhere near Mira-nii's level."
Elfman replied. Strangely, despite looking like a dark-skinned athlete, imagining him as a homemaker felt completely natural. He was simply too gentle and kind by nature—his rough appearance didn't match his personality at all.
"Mira cooks? You mean THIS Mira?"
Hearing Lisanna and Elfman, Moen was stunned. He turned to look at the delinquent-looking Mira beside him. He just couldn't connect her with the idea of "great cooking."
"What?! Is that so strange?!"
Mira snorted and turned her head, but didn't deny it.
"Well, thinking about it… it makes sense. You're the big sister who had to take care of your younger siblings alone. In that case, it's normal you'd have good cooking skills."
Moen thought it over. And yes—it made perfect sense. Mira's cooking was probably forced out by life.
"That's right! Sis cooked for us all the time!"
Lisanna and Elfman agreed. Mira's cooking skills came from years of feeding them.
Later, when they got older, they also learned how to cook. After all, sometimes their sister had to go out working to earn money—they still had to eat.
Poor children matured early. A harsh truth, but true nonetheless.
In comparison, the kids who joined Fairy Tail early were the lucky ones.
At least in the guild, they didn't have to worry about survival. They only had to learn magic and take requests. Food, lodging, and daily needs were all handled by the guild.
And everyone in the guild took good care of them. They were fed snacks often, given simple chores, and raised surrounded by affection.
"If there's a chance, I'd love to taste Mira's cooking."
Moen looked at Mira. Wearing a crop top, she crossed her arms, her expression slightly hesitant.
"We'll talk about that once we save enough to move into our new home."
After thinking about it, Mira still refused. She was too busy right now—she had neither the time nor the mood to cook.
Lisanna and Elfman were still eating at the guild, but once they moved, they would cook for themselves.
Mira really wanted a home of her own—not the dorms, even though the dorms were lively.
"How much money do you need? I can lend you some."
Moen tilted his head curiously. He wasn't short on money—he barely spent anything. If someone needed help urgently, he was always willing to lend.
"We haven't calculated it yet… but it'll probably be at least ten million J?"
Mira froze. Since they hadn't saved much, she hadn't calculated the cost of building a house. But rough estimates suggested several tens of millions of J.
"If it's in the city, yes. But if it's on the outskirts, or somewhere like the East Forest where Porlyusica lives, it won't cost nearly that much."
Moen nodded and offered a new idea. Building or buying a house in the city was expensive—Magnolia wasn't some small remote town. The economy was good and so were the housing prices.
But on the outskirts or in the East Forest, building a house would cost far less. Land wasn't regulated by the Magnolia government there, so they could save at least half of the expected cost.
As for construction? They wouldn't need to hire anyone—Fairy Tail could easily form its own building crew. Builders, carpenters, designers—there were plenty of skilled people in the guild. That's the magic of a guild of mages.
"Wouldn't that trouble everyone too much…?"
Moen's explanation clearly tempted Mira. Building in the outskirts or the East Forest really was cost-effective.
Her expression wavered. More than anything, she just didn't want to inconvenience everyone. As for possible safety risks in those areas… for mages, that wasn't a problem at all.
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