It was a beautiful day in Magnolia.
The wizards were gathered at the guild, drinking, chatting, and enjoying a day of revelry.
In the guild hall, several children were commanding their cats in a game of "sumo wrestling."
On the second floor of the guild, Weston and several close friends gathered together, sipping coffee and chatting about recent events.
"Honestly..."
"Why are kids these days so obsessed with competing and comparing?"
"And you guys too—why give the children such high-end 'toys'?"
"Now the two of us are in a very awkward position!"
Yuri looked helpless, repeatedly shaking his head and sighing.
Of the four children in the guild, everyone except his Makarov had a "cat playmate." Erza even had two. This made him, the only father who hadn't prepared a "cat playmate" for his child, seem somewhat incompetent.
"It's just a toy; don't take it so heart!"
Warrod was pruning the flowers on the windowsill, chuckling as he comforted his good brother.
"I really could have ignored it, but who told certain people to take the lead in this 'comparison'?"
"Oh my, is Mr. Yuri talking about me?"
Irene sat at a white round wooden table, a cup of coffee by her hand and a chessboard in front of her, playing a game against Weston.
Hearing Yuri's resentful voice, she looked up and gave a light laugh: "I just thought that if other families' children have something, my Erza should have it too—and it should be more and better. I only did it for that reason; please understand the struggles of a poor mother like me."
Hearing her say this, Yuri was instantly left speechless.
But if he couldn't respond, naturally someone else could.
Weston, sitting across from Irene, couldn't help but speak up: "How are you 'pitiful'? The truly pitiful one should be me, shouldn't it?"
"I went through so much trouble to meticulously prepare two robotic cats for the kids, only for them to be overshadowed by your doll-cats in an instant. It's quite depressing!"
After all, no matter how sophisticated a robotic cat was, its IQ was at most equivalent to a ten-year-old human child, and its functions were limited.
In contrast, dolls that had undergone Irene's "Personality Enchantment" possessed IQ and flexibility almost indistinguishable from a normal adult human; they were far beyond what a mechanical creation could rival.
"What, is this a 'Who is More Pitiful' contest now?"
"We are all family; you mustn't hold a grudge against me for this!"
The smile remained fixed on Irene's face—where was there even a trace of a "pitiful mother" in her demeanor?
Rather, her every glance, every movement, and every word overflowed with a "smugness" and "arrogance" she couldn't hide.
Precht couldn't listen anymore and shifted his gaze away from his book.
"Weston, how is the matter with the 'Black Magic Cult' you mentioned earlier being handled?"
Weston's movement in the chess game paused momentarily but quickly returned to normal: "Oh, that. The Council has already sent people to investigate."
"Can it be solved by relying solely on the Council's people?"
Everyone knew that while the Council maintained order and justice in the magic world, their combat power was nothing to boast about.
Therefore, upon hearing Weston's words, Precht couldn't help but worry about how much the Council could actually achieve in this matter.
"I've also privately asked a friend to handle it. I believe there will be results soon."
"Your friend? Are they reliable?"
It wasn't that Precht felt Weston shouldn't have other friends, nor was he trying to pry into Weston's private relationships, but for such an important matter, Weston hadn't asked his old comrades in the guild to handle it and instead turned to someone outside. This was truly illogical.
Precht had always been sharp; naturally, he noticed the strangeness in this immediately.
Weston's heart skipped a beat.
If Precht learned too much, something might inevitably happen between him and Zeref.
"Just an ordinary friend. Their strength and wisdom are very reliable. I'll introduce you when there's an opportunity."
Seeing that Weston's expression remained calm, Precht didn't suspect anything further: "No need. I'm not interested in making friends. Anyway, just watch yourself and make sure it doesn't cause unnecessary casualties."
"I understand that, of course."
Weston secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then took advantage of the others not paying attention to glare at Irene.
Irene responded with another faint smile.
Not long after, Mavis and Zera also came to the second floor.
Warrod put down the work in his hands and clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention: "While everyone is here, I want to announce something to you all."
Everyone looked up, watching curiously.
"What is it?"
"Don't tell me you're getting married?"
"Uh... no."
Warrod scratched his head awkwardly: "I'm just planning to leave the guild for a while to travel abroad, and incidentally, support some desert greening efforts."
Yuri asked in confusion: "Uh... if it's just something like that, you don't need to make a special announcement, do you? Didn't you often do the same thing before?"
"The situation is a bit different this time. I plan to be away for a long time—probably two or three years—so I wanted to specifically let you all know."
By traditional definition, a "wizard" was essentially just a job, not much different from a "chef" or a "reporter." The members were still free individuals, and the magic guilds didn't even have "performance requirements" for them.
But since he was a member of the guild, traveling for two or three years was equivalent to taking a "multi-year sabbatical," so naturally, he had to report it to the Guild Master.
"Two or three years... that is indeed quite a long time."
"Did something happen? Why the sudden desire to leave?"
Warrod smiled and said: "I just want to take advantage of my youth to go out, see more of the world, and experience it! Otherwise, it'll be too late when I'm so old I can't walk anymore!"
Good grief!
There was certainly nothing wrong with that logic!
"Then... you'll still come back, right?"
"Of course. My family and friends are all here!"
The others smiled knowingly upon hearing this.
"That's fine then. Go if you want to!"
Weston approved Warrod's travel and added a reminder: "However, the Black Magic Cults have been very active outside lately. You must be careful of your own safety!"
"Don't worry. Though my magic isn't great for combat, dealing with ordinary thugs won't be a problem!"
Seeing this, the others also offered their reminders.
"Once you're out, remember to use your phone to keep in touch often!"
"No problem!"
"If you see beautiful scenery or eat good food, remember to take pictures and post them on your Moment!"
"No problem!"
"Best if you come back in a few years with a wife and kids!"
"Uh... I'll do my best with that one."
"Hahaha...!!"
Amidst everyone's blessings and reminders, Warrod packed his bags, left Magnolia, and embarked on his journey across the continent.