"N-no..."
Faced with Marco's question, Erza hesitated and shook her head.
She didn't want to go, or rather, she didn't dare to go.
She didn't know how to face it—that child was Simon's sister, and Simon... was still in the Tower of Paradise, his fate unknown.
"Alright, then we won't go." Marco nodded, respecting Erza's feelings.
Though Marco was curious and wanted to learn more about Erza's past, he still had to respect her personal wishes.
"What's wrong, Erza?"
Makarov, who had just finished showing off to his old friends, came over and noticed Erza's unusual state.
He asked with concern.
"N-nothing, I'm fine."
Erza quickly shook her head, trying hard to compose herself.
Seeing Kagura Mikazuchi this time had brought all the deeply buried memories in Erza's heart rushing back.
Those memories were so vivid that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't forget even the slightest detail.
The years she had spent living in Fairy Tail felt like an incredibly illusory dream.
"Erza."
As Erza's emotions were in turmoil, Marco's voice rang out.
She looked up and saw that peer who was always as warm and bright as the sun.
"Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'm here for you, and so is Fairy Tail. You're not alone anymore." Marco spoke slowly, offering Erza his support.
He didn't want to see her revert to the withdrawn state she was in when she first arrived.
Staring at Marco, Erza was completely stunned.
She looked at him in a daze as the memories of her time living in Fairy Tail gradually became clearer, suppressing the overwhelming flood of recollections.
"Yeah!"
Looking at Marco's smiling face, Erza nodded firmly.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. Don't forget, we are... Fairy Tail."
Marco reached out and ruffled Erza's red hair.
The words usually felt a bit cheesy, but in critical moments, they could truly inspire.
For every member of their guild, Fairy Tail was the greatest source of confidence.
"That's right! No one gets to bully anyone from Fairy Tail!"
Makarov chimed in from the side, speaking from the heart.
If anyone in the guild was wronged, the old man would definitely seek them out—his motto was to protect his own.
As he spoke, Makarov glanced at Marco while silently asking what was wrong with Erza.
'Why did she suddenly become like this?'
'I don't know either.'
Marco shook his head, indicating that he didn't know what was going on either.
"Let's go, we should head back now." Marco spoke up.
He wanted to ask about the Tower of Heaven, as the system had made it sound quite exaggerated—even mentioning "saving the world."
What exactly was the Tower of Heaven up to?
Although Marco didn't want to reopen Erza's old wounds, if the situation was truly that serious, it had to be faced.
Moreover, the system had said that for Erza to resolve her inner conflicts, she had to confront all of this.
However, delving deeper into these matters was clearly not appropriate in this place, so Marco quickly urged everyone to return.
Makarov and Erza had no intention of lingering either.
The three of them quickly left the venue and returned to their rooms.
This conference was still held at the "regular meeting venue" outside of Clover and accommodations had naturally been arranged.
The current venue was considerably larger than before, thanks to Marco.
After the destruction of the venue years ago, they had spent a significant amount of money on repairs.
At this moment, many people remained in the venue.
The guild masters of smaller guilds were still networking, trying to see if they could compete for the hosting rights in the future.
The guild masters of the larger guilds, however, had mostly already left.
Kagura Mikazuchi turned her head to look toward the venue's entrance, her gaze falling on Marco and Makarov as they exited.
When she caught sight of Erza, an inexplicable sense of familiarity stirred within her.
"Who... is that?"
Kagura Mikazuchi furrowed her brows but couldn't recall no matter how hard she tried.
She wanted to take another look, to observe further, but the person had already left.
...
In Erza's room, Marco sat in a chair, staring intently at Erza, who was seated on the bed.
This made Erza feel somewhat restless.
"Marco? Is there something you need in my room?"
Erza felt unnerved by Marco's intense gaze and quickly spoke up to ask.
"Tower of Heaven..."
Marco didn't beat around the bush and directly uttered the name.
He then saw Erza's eyes widen in shock.
"W-What Tower of Heaven?!"
Erza immediately stood up from the bed.
Despite her obvious astonishment, she tried to feign ignorance.
"Stop pretending. The Tower of Heaven is part of your past, isn't it, Erza? If you don't mind, why don't you tell me about it."
Marco looked at Erza with a serious expression as he spoke.
"..."
After confirming that Marco genuinely knew something, Erza slumped back onto the bed dejectedly.
There was no point in pretending anymore.
"Marco, how did you know?"
Erza didn't address the matter of the "Tower of Heaven" directly.
Instead, she frowned and asked, unable to comprehend how Marco had found out.
"You said it yourself just now. Have you already forgotten?" Marco spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, his expression slightly surprised.
He looked like a seasoned actor, making it seem as though it were true.
"Huh?"
Erza was stunned.
She widened her eyes, trying hard to recall, but she couldn't remember saying anything of the sort.
"When?"
After a moment of daze, Erza asked with a suspicious look.
She had no recollection of it and began to suspect that Marco might be deceiving her.