"I'll take you back to the guild in a bit and officially introduce you to everyone."
Upstairs, Cana had also heard the conversation between the two. After tossing her luggage into the room, she hurried back down the stairs with Erza, Mira, and Laki right behind her.
"Wait, wait. Ultear is here to join our guild? Why didn't you say something like that sooner?"
"Huh? If she wasn't one of us, why did you think she came with us to fight Phantom Lord?"
Kabe shot back irritably, leaving Cana speechless on the spot.
Not knowing how to answer, she turned to Ultear instead and asked,
"Now that I think about it, I've wanted to ask this for a while. Your name, and the Ice-Make Magic you use... what exactly is your relationship with Gray and his teacher, Ur?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ultear replied without hesitation. "I'm Ur's daughter, and Gray's senior sister."
She admitted her connection to Ur and Gray's master-disciple line quite calmly, but then added,
"Though Ice-Make Magic isn't actually the magic I'm best at.
The magic I use most often is Lost Magic, Arc of Time."
"Arc of Time? What kind of magic is that?"
Cana looked completely blank. Then she turned to Mira and Laki, only to find that the two of them were just as confused and unfamiliar with it.
Just then, Aries happened to pass by carrying a pile of clothes to wash. Hearing them, she paused and explained,
"Arc of Time is one kind of Lost Magic. It has the power to return the state of an object back and forth through time, restoring it to a past condition.
There are even rumors that a mage who truly masters Arc of Time can, at the cost of their own life, make the time of the entire world rewind.
However, this magic is ineffective against living creatures other than plants, so it cannot directly affect the human body.
Even so, Arc of Time remains an extremely powerful and very dangerous form of magic."
...
"Not bad, Aries. You really know a lot."
Kabe gave her a thumbs-up in praise, while not forgetting to take a jab at Cana and the other two.
"You're a lot better than certain people who know absolutely nothing."
Aries smiled shyly and said modestly,
"We Celestial Spirits live a very long time. What seems like a long-lost and nearly forgotten form of magic to humans is, to us spirits, simply a powerful kind of magic that has become rather rare in the present age."
At first, Cana, Mira, and Laki had all felt a little ashamed that their magical knowledge was lacking. But the moment they heard that, they instantly perked right back up.
Cana: "Exactly, exactly. Aries is a Celestial Spirit, so she doesn't count. What normal person would bother learning about Lost Magic when basically nobody even uses it?"
Mira: "Compared to modest little Aries, some people learn just a little more than others and immediately get all smug and start showing off."
Laki: "She's talking about you, Kabe. Mock the three of us again, and tonight you can forget about getting into our beds!"
"Tch. I don't talk to idiots."
Kabe completely ignored the puffed-up expressions on the three women's faces. After calling out to Ultear and Erza, he turned and left.
The three girls were so annoyed that they immediately chased after him, pelting him with a flurry of half-pouting, half-flirtatious punches and kicks.
Bickering all the way, the six of them headed together toward Fairy Tail.
...
After only half a day away, the group was surprised to find that the guild had already undergone emergency repairs. The massive hole smashed through it had been patched up, and even the main hall had been restored.
Even though the place was now covered in patches and looked uglier than before, at least it no longer leaked wind or rain, and everyone could once again drink and brag in the hall.
But once they entered the guild, they discovered something even more surprising.
The long-absent Master Makarov had returned.
Sorano and Gray were back as well.
The moment they saw that familiar little old man, for some reason, everyone felt a lot more at ease.
"Sorano, Gray, Master, you're all back."
Kabe waved happily and greeted the three of them.
"Did everything go smoothly? I saw quite a few follow-up reports on the Council's operation."
But the moment the words left his mouth, Gray suddenly charged at him with red-rimmed eyes and clenched fists.
"You bastard, Kabe! I'm going to kill you!!"
Kabe calmly stepped aside and avoided Gray's punch with effortless ease, then hooked out a foot and sent him sprawling to the floor.
Gray refused to give up. Supporting himself with both hands, he was just about to push himself back up and keep attacking.
But the moment he lifted his head, he met Ultear's complicated gaze.
"Mm... while I do look a lot like Mother, there's really no need to greet me with such a grand bow."