Clank, clank~
Listening to the regular sound of the rollers turning, Noah looked at this means of transportation called the "magic train".
The magic crystal that stores magic power is used as the energy source to drive the train. The running efficiency is not high, the speed is not very fast, and even the comfort is unsatisfactory. The wooden seats are not comfortable to sit on for a long time.
But this "magic train" is very popular because of its low ticket price and the railways connecting major cities. These two points are enough to offset all the shortcomings of the magic train.
Similar means of transportation also exist in Edlas, but due to the depletion of magic power, they ceased operating decades ago, and Noah had only seen them in books.
But what surprised Noah was that Ascalante was not Edrus. Although this world had plenty of magic power, it was not much better than Edrus in terms of magical transportation.
It's not right to stagnate like this.
Looking at Mira who was sitting next to him by the window, Noah asked all his questions.
Mira held her chin with one hand and looked out the window at the changing scenery. "Why didn't you continue research and development? Of course it wasn't profitable enough."
"I heard that the Ha'tefilia consortium that controls the railway operation has run into financial problems and has been forced to sell off the ownership of a number of sections of the railway to pay off its debts."
Noah understood. It was a very reasonable explanation. Research and development always requires a lot of money and resources to support it. Without these, it would be very difficult to move forward.
Sitting opposite Elfman, Lisanna asked innocently, "Brother Noah, you are not familiar with many things in the outside world. How do you plan to find your brother?"
"Let's take it one step at a time." Noah said with a smile.
In order to hide his identity, Noah made up a character for himself that "he had lived in the mountains with his family for a long time and came out of the mountains to find his brother."
He can't say that he is from a parallel world and came here to steal your guild's "Lumen·Starlight".
When Noah was in the valley before, he noticed that Mira and Lisanna each had a white pattern similar to the "dancing fairy" on their left thighs, and there was also a black pattern of the same shape on the left side of Elfman's neck.
Noah had seen this pattern in Edlas.
Although he is a otaku, Noah, as the second prince, reads various newspapers in the country every day. The wizard guild "Fairy Tail" always appears on the headlines of border news newspapers.
At that time, Noah was certain that Mira and the other two belonged to the "Fairy Tail" of Ascalante mentioned by Ivan.
So Noah implicitly revealed that he had nowhere to go.
Mira was as enthusiastic as Noah had expected. She invited Noah to join her guild, and Noah agreed.
As for the only truth, "looking for brother Jellal", all Noah could do was as he answered Lisanna.
There is a huge sea of people, so just take it one step at a time.
A long whistle sounded, and the magic train drove into the final destination of this journey, Magnolia, which is also the city where "Fairy Tail" is located.
Same time, different place.
In the valley where the Beast King fell, a mysterious man wearing a black robe covering his face and carrying five magic wands came here.
"Are you late…"
Seeing that there was no one around, the mysterious man took off his mask, revealing a handsome face that was 70% similar to Noah. His hair was dark blue, and there was a brown tattoo above and below his right eye.
"For the first time in more than a decade, Anima was activated in a reversed form. What did Edras send over?"
Looking at the huge corpse of the monster in the valley being eaten by weak monsters, the mysterious man slowly pulled out a magic wand from his back with a thoughtful look.
————————————————————
Magnolia, a port city belonging to the Kingdom of Fiore, has a permanent population of over 60,000, making it barely a big city on this continent.
Coming out of the station, Noah saw from afar two tall buildings standing on both sides of the city.
One is a church.
Noah couldn't see the front of the other one due to its orientation, but it looked a bit like a tavern.
Mira introduced it to Noah with great interest.
"That is the Cathedral of Cardea. This church is extremely important to most of the residents of Magnolia."
Noah raised his eyebrows. "What kind of god does that church worship to have so many believers?"
"Nothing is offered~"
Mira looked at Noah's stunned expression and smiled mysteriously, "The Carthia Cathedral is a large notification tool for us. When its rapid bells ring throughout the city, it means that someone has returned."
As for who it was, Mira just smiled and told Noah that he would know later.
Led by Mira, Noah came to another three-story building that looked like a tavern.
Looking at the red flag with white stripes flying on the top of the building, Noah knew where this was without Mira saying anything. The "flying fairy" pattern on the flag said it all.
Magic Guild "Fairy Tail"!
Even through the heavy wooden door, Noah could hear all the noisy noises in the building.
However, after distinguishing these sounds, Noah's face looked a little strange. Why did it sound like fighting and booing?
"Our guild… is a bit lively."
Mira looked at Noah's expression and felt a little embarrassed. Can't those bastards just stop for a while? What if they leave a negative impression on Noah?
Trying to keep smiling, Mira pushed open the guild door with force, "Everyone, let's go back…"
Whoosh!
Before she could finish her words, a flame passed through Mira's side.
In an instant, the angelic smile disappeared, and a devilish look appeared on Mira's face.
The first floor of the guild was arranged like a tavern. A group of guild members gathered together, fanning the flames of the two people who were "dueling" in the center of the hall, without noticing that danger was approaching behind them.
By the time they reacted, the white-haired girl's fist was already in front of them.
The crackling sound was rapid and short.
In the blink of an eye, the crowd was scattered on the ground.
In the hall, apart from Mira, the only people left were the core of the excitement, the two fighting teenagers.
A young man with cherry blossom-colored hair and a scarf, flames surging on his body.
The other black-haired boy was shirtless, with a cold air surrounding him.
The two boys named "Natsu" and "Gray" stopped wrestling as soon as they saw Mira coming.
Natsu was careless and hadn't figured out the situation yet. He greeted Mira with a smile, "Welcome home, Mira. It seems your mission went well."
Unlike the thick-skinned Natsu, Gray realized something was wrong when he saw the dead bodies of his companions lying all around him. Although Mira was usually warlike, she would not attack so many people at once.
"Mira, which blind person made you angry?"
In response to Gray's question, Mira's gloomy expression suddenly changed. She looked at Natsu and Gray with a smile on her face, and stretched out her hands to them.
"As expected of Gray, his brain is better than Natsu's."
"The blind ones… are you two bastards!!"
One on the left and one on the right, Mira slammed Natsu and Gray's heads together, and the two men rolled their eyes and lost consciousness on the spot.
Watching this scene, Noah couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
If he saw it correctly, Mira seemed to have knocked all these people unconscious, and the last two attacks were particularly powerful.
So brutal.
Is it permissible to hit a companion hard? !
For some reason, Noah suddenly remembered Ivan's description of this "Fairy Tail", a light guild with a dark side.
This guild…
It can't be a black shop…