For the residents of Magnolia, these past few days have been eerily quiet.
Some people curiously went to Fairy Tail guild and found the doors locked with a "closed" sign hanging.
For two days straight, it was so calm that it made people a bit uneasy.
Until the morning of the third day, the boatmen on the canal saw the blonde mage lady walking along the riverbank, with a short-haired girl beside her joking around;
on the road, a coachman saw a small blue cat flying after a pink-haired boy;
in a store, the sales assistant saw a red-haired knight woman sneaking a peek at wedding dresses in a window display;
a journalist looking for news took a quick picture of the Demon Couple selecting fruit at a small stall...
All these little things around Magnolia signaled that Fairy Tail was back.
Though it had only been two days, it strangely felt like a long absence.
So the guild's tavern livened up.
"Did everyone go on a trip abroad? We thought the guild finally went bankrupt due to poor management."
"Hahaha!"
"With how they fool around, it might really end up like that someday!"
Regular patrons of the tavern joked unscrupulously.
Marcus, chatting with them, didn't feel offended, and even nodded seriously: "Actually, I think so too."
The laughter instantly grew louder.
Wendy, carrying Carla, walked into the guild, glanced around for a moment, didn't see Asuka, and looked a bit disappointed.
But thinking she might come in later, Wendy walked inside with a smile, politely greeting everyone.
"Wendy, over here!" Rhode waved and called Wendy over.
"Good morning, Brother Rhode!" Wendy started jogging, and on her third step, hit a loose floorboard.
Then...
"Ah—" Bang!
Wendy fell forward to the ground, and Carla got tossed out, hitting Rhode's chest.
"Ouch..." Wendy habitually complained as she got up, thankful that Asuka wasn't there, or her sisterly image would have been ruined.
She jogged to the front desk: "Carla, are you okay?"
Rhode placed Carla on the table, rubbing his chest: "You should be fine, though I didn't expect your head to be that hard."
Carla held her head, complaining: "I also wanted to say, your ribs are really hard."
"Impressive, Wendy, Carla," Mira teased, "Attacking Rhode is quite difficult, but you managed it just like that."
But Wendy, not feeling any pride, awkwardly said: "Sorry, Carla, Brother Rhode."
"It's nothing, just an accident," Rhode said, "Here, have some lychees and mangosteen to calm down."
Carla said, "You're calling us just for this, huh?"
"Yeah, I just bought them this morning, they're very sweet." Rhode peeled a mangosteen, split it in half, and handed it to Wendy and Carla.
Wendy disliked purely sour tastes, but liked the sweet and sour of mangosteen.
Mira poked Rhode, watching him stay silent.
Rhode blinked, quickly peeled a lychee, and popped it into his wife's mouth.
Mira smiled contently, the sweet taste shaping her brows into curves.
Makarov strolled into the guild, leaning on his cane, surprised seeing the freshly peeled mangosteen in Rhode's hand: "Why are you eating garlic this early?"
Rhode wanted to throw the shell onto the bald top of the President's head but held back. He took a breath: "President, it's about time for you to start wearing reading glasses."
Makarov surprisingly accepted his teasing, nodding with a smile: "Indeed, I'm about to retire, my magic staff can even be used as a cane."
This was the only topic Rhode didn't want to continue.
But Mira, with a smile, said: "Then, today's fruit is not for the President, to prevent high blood sugar in the elderly. Hmm... alcohol and meat should also be limited, and..."
Makarov immediately tossed his cane aside: "I'm not at that stage yet!"
Rudely grabbing a few of each, he dashed upstairs, not looking a day like a nonagenarian.
Rhode hugged Mira and kissed her cheek with a smack: "My wife's amazing!"
The couple laughed joyfully, making Wendy blush.
Carla grumbled: "You two, can't you tone it down a bit?"
Rhode said: "Sorry, I couldn't help it, but it's just a normal intimate gesture. Wendy will grow up too."
Carla wanted to say more, but ended up just sighing, it seemed normal for married couples.
Lately, she and Wendy have been spending time with Alzack and Bisca's family because of taking care of Asuka. Those two would sometimes act like this when Asuka wasn't watching.
For Wendy's sake, Carla decided to change the subject: "As a thank you for hosting, let me show you something."
Mira curiously asked: "What is it?"
Carla smiled confidently: "Transformation!"
However, the short white cat jumped off the counter, enveloped in white light as she seemed to grow larger.
When she landed and turned around, she had transformed into a girl with Wendy's height and build.
Mid-length white hair, wearing a deep blue ladies' long-sleeve jacket, light green blouse, feline paw print tie, red skirt with black leggings underneath.
Unlike an ordinary girl, Carla still had a tail swaying behind, with a pink bow tied at the tip.
Besides the human ears on her head, there were also a pair of cat ears, looking decorative but undoubtedly capable of movement.
Mira exclaimed in surprise: "Carla can transform now? Since when?"
"I just learned yesterday." Carla flicked her hair, her smile was charmingly cute, "I'm not just idling every day."
While Wendy was busy practicing Dragon Slayer Magic and developing her second magic source, Carla was diligently enhancing her magic power, practicing magic.
Progress had been slow previously, but after a short outing abroad with everyone, upon returning, she somehow mastered it instantly.
Perhaps it was because she heard the King of Gioa Kingdom shared the same last name as her mother, and there was a knight with a name opposite to Li Li's?
Carla herself wasn't sure, but those two days were truly happy, and she succeeded after trying upon returning.
Wendy joyfully embraced Carla, saying: "Since Li Li joined the guild, Carla had wanted to learn this magic."
The two girls held each other tightly, creating a beautiful scene.
It could be said that Carla was thoughtful for Wendy, even in developing her combat form, she didn't exaggerate the transformation.
"But..." Carla looked at Rhode, "what's with that expression?"
Rhode sighed: "Don't mind me, I'm just a bit sad."
"Why?" Carla was even more curious.
Although she wouldn't admit it aloud, she knew Rhode had always been pretty good to her and Wendy, and surely wouldn't be unhappy about her getting stronger.
Rhode spoke wistfully:
"When you were a kitten, I could occasionally hold you, pet your head, then watch your expression of reluctant disdain, which was amusing. But now that you can transform, it's inappropriate to do so."
So you held me for this reason! Carla clutched her forehead: "You... could be called a rascal!"
Wendy, seeing Brother Rhode unhappy, softly comforted him:
"Actually, it's okay, even though Carla can transform, her mindset hasn't changed, she'll only be shy with male cats."
Carla intervened: "Wendy, don't tell him things like that!"
Otherwise, it would seem like she wanted to be held.
Rhode waved a hand: "Never mind, we have one at home."