"Gildarts! Come fight me!"
Natsu chased after Ankh and Gildarts all the way to the outside of Gildarts' house, only to see a fast figure zooming toward him.
"Gil..."
Natsu recognized the person running toward him as Gildarts and immediately got excited.
He wanted to say his usual pre-battle lines.
But to his surprise, Gildarts completely ignored him, vanishing into the distance like a gust of wind.
"...darts?"
Natsu's outstretched hand hung awkwardly in the air before he scratched his head in confusion.
"Does Gildarts have some urgent business to take care of?"
Happy chimed in, just as confused. "It seems like it. I have never seen Gildarts in such a hurry before."
"Oh! Ankh!"
Just as the boy and the cat were trying to figure out the situation, Natsu spotted Ankh coming out of Gildarts' house, walking toward them calmly.
Natsu quickly ran to Ankh's side and asked curiously, "Ankh, what were you talking about with Gildarts? He looked like he was in a hurry."
Ankh patted Natsu's shoulder and smiled. "Just some things Gildarts needed to know. He is off to fulfill his responsibilities as a man now."
"Responsibilities?"
Natsu and Happy tilted their heads at the exact same time, their confusion growing deeper...
...
In the town of Magnolia, the busy guild was filled with noisy chatter, but a messy figure stumbled out through the main doors.
Cana carried a liquor bottle, staggering along the shadowy alleys toward home while taking heavy drinks from the bottle.
'In the blink of an eye... three years had passed...'
Cana's pretty face was flushed bright red.
Her long hair was somewhat messy and partially covered her face.
She looked completely drunk. Yet, the bright eyes looking through her dark hair proved she was fully awake.
"Ahem..."
Cana took another drink of alcohol.
Originally, she thought she had grown used to this kind of life.
But Gildarts' return had awakened the emotions she had suppressed for years through alcohol and endurance.
She tried to forget, but those feelings kept reminding her.
She, Cana, was a child who had a father!
'The reason Gildarts didn't recognize me might be because compared to Erza, Natsu, and Gray, I seem so average.'
'Yes, even if Gildarts realized he had a child, why would he think it is me—the one who has failed the S-Class exam for so many years in a row?'
Filled with distracting thoughts, Cana threw away the liquor bottle, let out a long sigh into the air, and looked up at the clear sky.
The sun was bright, and the sky was cloudless for miles, yet Cana's mood was as narrow and confined as the cramped alley she stood in.
She even felt that everything around her was mocking her.
She could have become better, but instead, she was left struggling alone in this dark corner.
"The S-Class exam... Gildarts will probably be there this time too. This... is my last chance."
Cana turned around, gazing at the tall magnificent guild building and smiled bitterly to herself.
"If I fail this time, I will probably have to leave the guild for real."
Every year during the S-Class exam, Cana would entertain thoughts of quitting the guild.
Because she had no hope of becoming S-Class, she did not want to stay in the same guild as her father.
But she could never bring herself to leave.
She was unable to part with these companions and family.
"One last time... really! Father..."
Cana gritted her teeth, turned away, and stumbled toward home.
"CANA!"
At that moment, a voice she had longed to hear day and night for years suddenly rang in Cana's ears.
Cana turn around abruptly and saw him—the tall man who had always seemed so distant—now standing right in front of her!
"Fa... Gildarts, what is it...?"
Cana smoothed her messy long hair and forced a gentle smile, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke.
Gildarts was panting.
His usually determined eyes were now filled with incredibly complex emotions.
Joy, sorrow, self-blame...
Cana did not know how she could read Gildarts' emotions so clearly, but when she met his gaze, she found herself unable to say another word.
Cana stood frozen like a speechless, flustered robot.
She only felt a warm stream trace across her slightly chilled cheeks.
"I am sorry!"
"Cana! My daughter!"
Then, Cana felt as if she had been pulled into a warm embrace, making her wonder if she was dreaming.
Gildarts tightly hugged the petite Cana, who seemed so small compared to him.
The usually strong man now wept uncontrollably, his voice drifting into Cana's ears like a warm breeze.
"I am sorry! Cana! All these years... I never recognized you..."
"I should have realized it sooner... when I first saw you at the guild's entrance, I should have known... I am sorry..."
Cana, whose mind seemed to float beyond the clouds, gradually felt warmth returning to her body.
Her lonely emotions began to revive.
Listening to Gildarts' words and feeling the warmth of her father's embrace, she finally could not hold back.
She tightly hugged her father in return.
'This was not an illusion... nor a dream!'
Cana held on tighter and tighter, tears welling up in her eyes before streaming down her cheeks.
She began to sob uncontrollably, as if releasing years of bottled-up pain.
The cries of the father and daughter echoed through the narrow alleyway.
After a long while, Cana finally lifted her head from Gildarts' embrace.
After her crying fit, Cana's makeup and face appeared even messier than before, but neither father nor daughter cared about that now.
Looking at the tear-streaked face of Gildarts, Cana finally spoke the words that should have been an ordinary greeting all along.
"I have missed you so much..."
"Dad."
...
Just then, outside the alley, the bright sunlight had quietly crept in, gently wrapping the weeping father and daughter in its warm embrace.
"Wahhh... Gildarts is actually Cana's father?!"
Natsu and Happy peeked out from the alley entrance, handkerchiefs clenched between their teeth, sobbing along with the emotional scene.
Ankh leaned against the wall, listening to the crying behind him.
He sighed helplessly before smacking Natsu's head.
"Did your brain and mouth get switched around? What are you crying for? Keep it down! Do not ruin their moment!"
Natsu and Happy immediately quieted down.
Then Natsu sniffled and leaned in curiously. "Ankh, Cana has seen Gildarts so many times before. Why didn't she just tell him earlier?"
Ankh pushed Natsu's head away and let out a heartfelt sigh.
"If everything in the world could be handled with pure logic and reason, what regrets would be left in this world?"
Ankh quietly peeked out to look at Gildarts and Cana, then continued.
"True love does not have a simple formula to solve it. Understanding love involves constant exploring, with countless changing factors that can lead people to misunderstand or misread it."
"Love itself does not have a fixed answer, but... in my heart, happiness is the only correct solution."
Seeing Natsu's earnest expression as he listened, Ankh could not help but laugh.
"Besides, their love is in a complicated state. If two people aren't enough, then let's add ourselves to the mix. We will definitely solve this difficult problem together."
A brilliant, sun-like smile spread across Natsu's face as he extended his fist.
"That's right! When we are all together, there is no problem we cannot solve!"
Ankh gently bumped his fist against Natsu's outstretched hand, his face breaking into an equally bright smile.
The blazing sun shone down like an enthusiastic and sincere elder, embracing everyone in this unremarkable little place.
The Fairy Tail guild was happy today too!
After all, from now on, that girl would never have to drunkenly stumble home alone in disappointment again.