After about five minutes, Phoenix carried Mavis on his back and arrived at the location of the sensed target.
"Who are you?"
A beautiful woman in her twenties looked at Phoenix and Mavis, who had suddenly appeared, with surprise. She subtly moved her feet, discreetly shielding two boys, about eight years old, behind her.
Although Phoenix and Mavis didn't look much older, this wasn't a good place to be, and anyone who suddenly appeared here certainly wasn't ordinary. Especially since the woman couldn't discern the depth of the two in front of her, which naturally made her very wary.
"Ah, don't get excited, don't get excited. I am Phoenix, Phoenix Viviamillion, and this is my partner, Mavis Viviamillion. We are Mages from Fairy Tail, just passing through on a mission."
As he spoke, Phoenix raised his left hand, revealing the Fairy Tail emblem on his back.
Since Mavis wanted to recruit them, Phoenix had no choice but to patiently explain.
"Are they really friends?" the black-haired boy asked.
"I think they're siblings!" the white-haired boy exclaimed.
"They're actually a couple, right!" the woman said.
"Did you actually figure it out? That's right, we are a couple… Pfft!!"
"Just kidding."
Mavis, with a smiling face, gently waved her hand. If one didn't look at Phoenix, who she had knocked out with a punch at her feet, her smile would have been quite adorable.
"Cough, cough~"
Suppressing her laughter, and knowing that the other party was from the Fairy Tail guild, plus Phoenix's name vaguely sounded familiar, the woman lowered her guard and introduced herself: "My name is Ur, and these two are my disciples. The white-haired one is Lyon, and the black-haired one is Gray."
As she spoke, Ur pulled Lyon and Gray out from behind her.
"Your training is really serious! Practicing like this, dressed like that, your progress must be very rapid!"
Phoenix, who had gotten up from the ground, observed the three of them closely and exclaimed. One adult and two children, stripped down to their last piece of clothing.
"Far from it! These two brats are really too stupid!"
Ur said, sounding disappointed, but a hint of joy was clearly visible in her eyes.
A person whose words don't match her true feelings… but very gentle.
Phoenix made a preliminary assessment of Ur in his mind. Suddenly, Phoenix's expression froze, and a series of images flashed through his mind.
"What do you mean, Ur? It's all because you're a bad teacher!"
The brat named Gray immediately retorted unhappily when he heard Ur criticize him like that.
"Don't compare me to Gray, I'm much better than him!"
Lyon also seemed very displeased that Ur was belittling him in front of outsiders.
Bang! Bang!
"Ouch!"
Ur unceremoniously delivered two knuckle raps, and Gray and Lyon immediately clutched their heads, wailing.
"My apologies, you must be laughing at us."
"Hmm, it's fine. Your relationship is really good."
Mavis shook her head indifferently. She had seen many instances where people showed affection through violent means. However, Ur's politeness made Mavis's heart sink. It seemed that the hope of getting them to join the guild was very slim.
"Haha, is that so?"
Ur scratched her head and chuckled foolishly, which made Mavis sigh even more helplessly.
"Have you considered joining a guild?"
Feeling the atmosphere become a bit stiff, and given that the other party wasn't very welcoming to her and Phoenix, Mavis decided to directly state her purpose.
"Sorry! For me, it's impossible. However, if these two children are willing, they can join. I won't object. Fairy Tail, from what I understand, is a very excellent guild."
Ur flatly rejected Mavis's invitation, but she didn't completely close the door. However, it wasn't much better; there's no reason to abandon one's master and join another guild, especially when they haven't even graduated yet.
"No!"
"Refuse!"
As expected, after Ur's refusal, Lyon and Gray also clearly stated their choices.
"That's truly a pity. However, Fairy Tail's doors are always open for you. If you ever have the inclination, you can come to our guild anytime."
Over a hundred years later, Mavis's first attempt to recruit someone hit a snag, just like Phoenix's first ten-year mission ended without success. She couldn't help but feel frustrated.
Feeling the increasingly gloomy atmosphere, Mavis no longer wanted to stay there. She found it very strange that Phoenix hadn't spoken for a while. She tugged at Phoenix, who seemed lost in thought, and said impatiently:
"Wake up, Fini-chan, we need to go. We still have to complete the mission."
Although the mission had already been voluntarily abandoned, Mavis wouldn't admit such an embarrassing thing in front of others.
"…"
Phoenix opened his eyes, his gaze lingering on Ur's face for a moment before finally settling on Gray.
"You're called Gray, right!"
"What is it?"
Gray was very annoyed by Phoenix's tone. Although Phoenix was only a year older than him, his tone was as old-fashioned as an elder's.
"You shouldn't have refused."
Phoenix's tone carried a hint of incomprehensible regret.
"What do you mean?" Gray frowned. Although Gray was only eight, having lost his parents, he was clearly more mature than his peers.
"I saw it… I truly saw it."
Phoenix's emerald pupils were hazy, making it impossible to see into his mind. Perhaps at that moment, Phoenix wasn't focusing on anyone.
"Saw what? What a fuss!"
"I saw… In this future, you will cause your master's death! This is the truth I saw!"
"Wh… what?"
Thump!
Gray immediately fell to the ground, his face full of disbelief. But under Phoenix's powerful aura, Gray couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.
"Please stop, Phoenix! He is my disciple!"
Ur stepped forward, and a chilling coldness separated Phoenix and Gray.
"…"
Meeting Ur's angry eyes silently, Phoenix gently shook his head, then turned around, picked Mavis up in a princess carry, and left.
Watching Phoenix and Mavis's retreating figures, Ur couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
What a remarkable child, to have reached such a level at such a young age. Truly worthy of being a Mage of the official guild, Fairy Tail—Phoenix the Undying!
Shaking her head to dispel the impact of Phoenix and the others' arrival, Ur turned around and said in a relaxed tone: "Alright, break time is over. Now, let's go for a run!"
"Ur… Ur…"
Gray looked at Ur timidly, but Ur smiled brightly.
"It's alright, Gray, don't worry about it. No matter what, you are my most beloved disciple."
"But he…"
Although Gray didn't want to believe Phoenix's words, in that instant, Gray seemed to have truly seen himself causing Ur's death.
"Gray!" Ur knelt down, meeting Gray's slightly evasive eyes, "Look at me, Gray! If you have nothing to be ashamed of, why be guilty? No matter what happens in the future, at least now… and always, you are my adorable disciple, and I will always be your master. As long as you know this, there's no need to pay attention to anything else!"
"Ur…"
Tears slowly welled up in his eyes. At that moment, Gray truly felt how blissful it was to be cared for and loved.
"Don't worry, Ur!! No matter what happens in the future, even if I have to stake my life, I will never let you get hurt!!"
"Ha~ What are you worrying about! You brat, talk to me in ten years!"
"Mmm, mmm, don't look down on me, I'll become very strong very soon!"
"Right, right, I'm looking forward to it."
"Ur!!"
"Hurry up and run, your senior brother has already run far ahead. The slowest one has to cook dinner tonight."
"Ah! Damn Lyon, wait for me!!"
...Meanwhile, on the other side, Phoenix, who was carrying Mavis, stopped after leaving the mountain range. He turned around to look behind him, sighing helplessly.
"Will she really be killed by her most beloved disciple, Fini-chan?"
Mavis reached out, gently smoothing the shadow from Phoenix's brow as she asked.
"I did see that scene, but anything more specific, I couldn't see."
Phoenix shook his head helplessly. Although images flashing through his mind had become an instinct, seeing someone's future was a first.
"I don't want her to die. Fini, can you help her?"
"How can I help?" Phoenix said with a bitter smile, "Not to mention she has no good feelings for us now, even if she could accept us and we protected her constantly, how long could we keep it up? If that event never happens, are we supposed to protect her until she dies of old age naturally?"
"Sorry, I was being willful just now."
Wrapping her arms around Phoenix's neck and snuggling into his embrace, Mavis also realized that what she had blurted out earlier had too many flaws.
"Forget it! I've given my warning. If it still can't be avoided in the end, I have nothing more to say."
Shaking his head to clear the internal struggle, Phoenix quickly found his direction and continued walking.