"What?! You're taking Hibiki away?!"
In the guild master's office of Blue Pegasus, Master Bob wore an expression of utter disbelief, finding the situation quite perplexing.
He had always wanted to recruit Marco to become a member of their Blue Pegasus guild.
Yet before he could succeed, Marco had instead poached one of the most promising young members from his ranks?!
"Ahem, you've misunderstood me, Master Bob. I've merely taken Hibiki as my student, not having him join our Fairy Tail guild. After a period of study, I'll have him return here."
Marco explained with a smile, which finally improved Bob's expression.
If he'd truly been robbed of a key member, he would have been furious.
"Study well. Even learning just ten percent of Marco's skills would be a great gain for you."
Upon learning it was only about apprenticeship and that the subject was 'Pegasus Celestial Spirit Magic,' Bob began advising Hibiki with a smile.
Studying 'Pegasus Celestial Spirit Magic' demonstrated Hibiki's dedication to Blue Pegasus - this was the mark of a truly loyal member!
"Yes, Master. I'll definitely study diligently." Hibiki nodded seriously.
Even without Master Bob's reminder, he knew what he needed to do.
Such opportunities were rare and hard to come by.
If he were lazy and didn't study properly, he'd want to beat himself up.
This New Celestial Spirit Magic could perfectly address his weaknesses.
He would never have to worry about being defeated by close-quarters combat again.
"Then I'll entrust Hibiki to you."
After exchanging a few more words, Bob said solemnly to Marco, which made Marco break out in a cold sweat.
The way Bob phrased it sounded really strange.
Indeed, Bob was the most difficult person for him to deal with.
...
Mumbling some vague responses, Marco took Hibiki and left Blue Pegasus, making a rather hasty retreat that bordered on fleeing.
Taking the Corvus Aircraft, Marco brought Hibiki Lates back to Fairy Tail.
e first settled Hibiki in a hotel, then went to find Lucy and Hisui.
Taking the two girls with him, the master and disciples went together to Fairy Tail's library, where they began searching for "reference materials" according to their book list - all materials closely related to Celestial Spirit Magic.
"The guild actually has this many books?!"
Both Hisui and Lucy were astonished.
Understandably so, as Fairy Tail's library usually saw few visitors, except for bookworms like Levy.
After all, everyone had their own specialized magic and rarely came to the library to find books for study.
"How did you know the guild had these books, Marco?" Mira asked with surprise.
She had arrived at the library earlier than Marco and his disciples, accompanied by Aero.
The two of them were organizing and cleaning the library, something Levy usually helped with too, but Levy was out on a mission and hadn't returned yet.
"My new disciple's ability told me. Hibiki Lates, remember?"
Marco replied while browsing through the shelves, chatting casually with Mira.
He wasn't at all surprised to find Mira here.
Because Aero had really started making wedding plans.
She had found a boyfriend and was genuinely planning to retire from this line of work.
Under Aero's enthusiastic invitation, Mira had ultimately chosen to take over Aero's position, bringing her younger sister Lisanna along with her.
They took turns handling guild affairs and going on missions.
Whenever someone grew bored of staying at the guild, they could head out for assignments.
The previous incident had truly left a significant impact on them.
Had it not been for what happened back then, Mira probably wouldn't have agreed to this arrangement.
"I've always said Mira might do even better than me. She's the kind of girl who'd make a wonderful wife—you should really hold onto her~"
Seeing Marco and Mira chatting, Aero came over and chimed in, winking at Marco as she clearly directed her comment at him.
"..."
Before Marco could react, Mira's face flushed red first.
She focused intently on sorting through the bookshelves, pretending to be fully absorbed in her work.
"...Wishing you an early arrival of a precious child in advance."
Instead of responding directly, Marco turned the tables and offered Aero a blessing in return.
"Thank you so much, little Marco. That's exactly what your big sister hopes for too."
Aero covered her mouth as she laughed, radiating happiness.
"She's done for—truly fallen head over heels in love."
Marco shook his head and couldn't help but chuckle.
He genuinely hoped Aero could maintain this happiness forever.
He'd met her partner—a decent man whose eyes were completely filled with Aero.
Barring any issues, the two should be able to lead a happy life together.
"How wonderful..."
Watching Aero's expression, Mira murmured softly.
What young maiden doesn't harbor romantic dreams? Others' happiness always touches the heart most deeply.
"It really is wonderful. Perhaps this is what love looks like."
Marco nodded and resumed searching through the books.
Although Hibiki had confirmed that Fairy Tail's library contained these texts, finding their specific locations was entirely up to them.
The archive housed far too many books—locating the required ones was no small task and would likely keep them busy for several days.
"..."
Mira secretly glanced at Marco, feeling somewhat disappointed.
He hadn't given a direct response to Aero's earlier comment!
"Now that I think about it, Mira, since you're taking over Aero's duties, does that mean we'll get to enjoy your cooking anytime at the guild from now on?"
Just as Mira was stealing glances at Marco, he suddenly turned and asked with a smile.
"Well, I won't necessarily be doing all the cooking... but if you want, I could make something for you."
Flustered, Mira averted her gaze and gave a flustered reply.
Her words carried a certain ambiguity, as if she held some special regard for Marco.
"That would be amazing! I've had enough of Aero's cooking long ago!"
Marco's follow-up comment made Mira laugh aloud.
She turned to look at Aero, who indeed poked her head out with clear dissatisfaction.
"Hey! Marco, you brat! Must you show such obvious favoritism? I haven't even left yet, and you're already discarding me like cold tea? No food for you today! Go find whoever's willing to cook for you!"
Aero protested in mock annoyance, though her eyes clearly sparkled with amusement as she looked between Marco and Mira.
Aero was a staunch "Mami shipper," firmly supporting Mira while worrying about her prospects.
After all, they'd all grown up together since childhood, and Mira had joined their circle later—she might not hold many advantages.
In Aero's view, Mira's greatest competitor was undoubtedly Erza.
That girl could hold proper conversations with Marco, collaborated with him on armor development, and frequently sparred with him—all things that made Aero quite anxious watching from the sidelines.
It's not that Erza was unsuitable, but Aero felt Marco would be better off finding a supportive life partner rather than another comrade to fight alongside him—he already had plenty of those, as the entire guild was filled with them.
Besides, if it came to battles, Mira was just as capable!
"See? I'll have to eat at your place later, otherwise I'll go hungry tonight."
Marco winked at Mira.
Wasn't the person willing to cook for him was right here?
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