The next day at the Fairy Tail guild, numerous members let out an earth-shaking roar at the exact same time.
"WHATTTT?! Cana is Gildarts' daughter?"
Gildarts, who had completely dropped his serious uncle image, was shamelessly trying to get closer to Cana.
He grinned as he said, "That's right! Cana is my adorable biological daughter!"
Everyone gasped in unison, sucking so much air out of the room that it felt like they were high up on a mountain.
Cana pretended to push away Gildarts' approaching face in disgust, though a faint smile played on her lips as she said.
"It is a bit complicated, but anyway, he really is my father. We could not acknowledge each other before due to certain reasons."
Even though they did not fully understand... for this bunch of thick-headed guild members, knowing it was a happy occasion was enough!
"Woooooooo!!"
Everyone raised their glasses once again, launching into another round of wild celebration.
"This guild... is always this lively every single moment." Carla did not know how many times she had sighed like this over the past few days.
Wendy was quite moved by the father-daughter reunion scene, even though she had just joined the guild and was not very familiar with either Cana or Gildarts.
Lucy was completely shocked. "No wonder Cana acted so strange when Gildarts returned that day. So that is what it was..."
Gray scratched his head, confused. "Did she?"
Ankh nodded decisively.
The people in this guild—every single one of them was thick-headed.
Cana would always act incredibly strange during every S-Class exam, so logically someone should have noticed.
But somehow, Cana managed to fool them every single time.
It was only when someone like Lucy, who actually had some brains, joined the guild that Fairy Tail gained an extra bit of awareness.
Amid the cheers and celebrations, Cana had somehow squeezed out of the crowd and come to sit at Ankh's table.
Cana raised her glass and said softly to Ankh, "Thank you, Ankh, and... sorry for troubling you all these years by making you listen to my complaints..."
Ankh smiled and shook his head.
He raised his glass to clink with hers and said, "It is nothing. A father-daughter reunion does not need my help—it was bound to happen naturally."
Cana drained her glass and sighed. "I used to always worry... what if Gildarts didn't acknowledge me..."
"Cana-chan~"
Just as Cana was getting emotional, Gildarts popped out from the crowd like a creepy old man and hugged Cana's shoulders.
His wide-open mouth was practically sprouting hearts as he pointed arrogantly at Ankh and laughed.
"HAHAHAHA! Ankh! You are so jealous I have such a cute daughter, aren't you? Nyeh nyehehehe~"
Ankh: ╭∩╮（￣▽￣）╭∩╮
Gildarts（?ω?）: "Cana-chan, call me daddy one more time~"
Cana immediately pushed away Gildarts' approaching old face in disgust while shouting.
"Get away! I am talking to Ankh!"
Watching Gildarts cling to Cana like a slug, Ankh deliberately provoked him with a smile.
"Do not worry. If he hadn't acknowledged you back then, I would have beaten Gildarts until he did."
Gildarts raised an eyebrow disdainfully. "Tch..."
Natsu excitedly jumped onto the table, waving his fists in support.
"Yeah, yeah! I would knock Gildarts flying too!"
And then... the boastful Natsu was grabbed by Gildarts.
The older man rolled him up into a ball with both hands, took a shot-put stance and launched Natsu right out of the guild doors.
Clap, clap, clap...
Gildarts dusted his hands off as he returned to his seat, grumbling unhappily.
"Who said you could get on the table and speak..."
Lucy wiped cold sweat from her forehead and couldn't help but comment, "Natsu keeps setting new records for humiliating defeats..."
Happy showed no concern, nodding seriously. "That is just Natsu for you!"
The guild hall was filled with joy and harmony, brimming with happiness and peace.
BAM!
Just then, the guild doors were suddenly and violently thrown open.
Everyone instantly fell silent.
Right now, there were very few job requests available, meaning it was a peak time for members to hang out at the guild.
The members were all gathered together, and they knew there would not be a sudden rush of work until right before the S-Class exam.
Since the reckless members were not out working, who would burst through the guild doors in such a manner?
All eyes turned to the entrance.
A tall man wearing a black robe and a face covering crashed through the door.
He stumbled several steps from his momentum before finally coming to a stop.
"Who is this?" Gray watched the newcomer warily, his hands already positioned to cast magic at any moment.
The earlier lively atmosphere vanished as almost everyone entered a state of high alert.
Only two people recognized the visitor.
Ankh stood up and called out softly, "Mystogan? What happened?"
Mystogan quickly took several steps toward Ankh before suddenly collapsing from exhaustion.
Laxus immediately appeared beside him to hold him up, while Bickslow quickly brought over a chair.
"Mystogan??"
Then, everyone fell into complete confusion.
After all, none of them had ever truly seen Mystogan's face before.
Plus, why hadn't they been put to sleep by his magic this time?
Fortunately, they were all comrades from the same guild.
Seeing Mystogan collapse from exhaustion, they immediately gathered around to help.
Ankh vaulted over the table to reach Mystogan's side.
Activating his Life God Power, he asked, "What happened? Are you injured?"
Mystogan shook his head, saying in a low voice, "Just physical exhaustion... Ankh, Anima is about to arrive."
Ankh frowned and quickly turned to ask Mirajane, "Mira? Where did the Master go?"
Mirajane thought for a moment before saying, "He probably... went to see Lady Porlyusica?"
Laxus sighed with some exasperation.
"That old man really goes there every other day."
"Go call the Master back. There is an important matter that needs his decision," Ankh told Mirajane.
Then, he looked around and began giving orders.
"Erza, organize the Mages who are at home to come to the guild. Do not let our forces be separated."
"Freed, take the Thunder God Tribe and write Magic Formulas. Create entry-only and protective formulas for Magnolia, and write a second layer of protective formulas around the guild exterior. Levy, take your Shadow Gear team to assist."
"Gray... go find Natsu and bring him back. Wendy, Carla, and Happy, go with him. Monitor the situation from the sky."
Though they still did not fully understand the reason behind Ankh's sudden commands, those he named instinctively began moving.
"Some people stay in the guild to maintain readiness! Everyone else who can help should assist. We might have a battle coming soon!"
"I don't know what is happening... but we better hurry!"
"Wendy, I will go with you."
"Dammit... just how far did Natsu fly off to?!"
The formerly relaxed and warm guild suddenly sprang into action.
Everyone noisily yet systematically divided their tasks, rushing out urgently.
Gildarts stood amidst the busy crowd.
He suddenly felt somewhat dazed, beginning to wonder if he was truly getting old.
Even Cana joined Gray's team without a word, following the others out the door.
Everyone else found their own tasks to busy themselves with.
The guild members set down their ale mugs and adjusted their focus.
'It seems that during all these years I have been away, no one has remained stagnant,' Gildarts thought to himself.
This was the ultimate form of a guild.
'These kids... had truly grown up.'
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