Chapter 192: The Exceeds
Carla nodded, her mind still trying to process everything Noah had said.
Noah knew she needed time, so he turned to the others. "This business about Edo-Lisanna, Happy, and Carla being from another world—let's keep it between us. Don't tell the other guild members. This kind of news can stir up a lot of trouble. I'll make sure to remind Mirajane and the others as well."
Erza and the others nodded in agreement. It was definitely information that shouldn't be spread around. With the main points covered, Noah ended the discussion. The group chatted a little more about the parallel world before heading off to bed.
The next morning, everyone got up early and gathered in the living room for breakfast. Noah noticed Carla was still frowning, a heavy weight clearly on her mind. Wendy and the others were speaking to her in hushed tones, obviously trying to comfort and reassure her. Noah saw this but didn't intervene. This was something she had to work through on her own, with her friends' support.
After breakfast, they all headed to the guild.
On the way, they happened to run into Mirajane and her group of four. Noah quickly gave them the same warning—to not speak about the other world to anyone except the Master. They all promised.
They arrived at the guild to find Makarov already sitting at the counter, waiting for them. They found a private room, and Noah set up a soundproof barrier.
Makarov had them go over the details of the situation once more. After Noah finished his summary, Edo-Lisanna spoke up, her expression conflicted.
"Actually... in my world," she began, "the King issued an order a long time ago to abolish all wizard guilds. Everyone fought back, of course, but the Kingdom's Magic Warfare Unit was too strong. One by one, most of the guilds were crushed. Only a few managed to survive. Our Fairy Tail... because we refused to disband... we were branded as a Dark Guild."
After she finished, Makarov didn't react. He simply looked at Noah and the others. "What do you all think?"
"Their Fairy Tail isn't hurting anyone," Noah said first. "It sounds like the King is the one with the problem. I don't care what they're labeled."
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
Makarov smiled. "Good." Edo-Lisanna smiled, too, visibly relieved. She hadn't wanted to hide the truth, and she was genuinely happy with their reaction.
After some discussion, they came up with a plan. Edo-Lisanna would temporarily change her name to "Lisana." She would also change her hairstyle, her style of dress, and wear a little makeup. With these changes, she still looked 80-90% similar to Lisanna, but she would no longer be mistaken for her.
The cover story would be that "Lisana" was a distant relative of the Strauss siblings, who had come to stay with them. This perfectly explained the family resemblance.
Lisana officially joined the guild, and Makarov gave her the Fairy Tail stamp. The magic of the guild mark, which functioned similarly to a 'Storage' magic, was easy for her to learn, and she could already access its storage space. Makarov arranged for her to work at the guild's souvenir shop by the entrance, giving her a steady income.
Once everything was settled, Lisanna (the original one) tried to quietly grab Elfman and sneak away, only to be nabbed by Mirajane, who had been watching them the entire time.
"Don't even try it," Mira said, her voice dangerously sweet. "We're going to the training grounds to start that new plan we made last night."
"Nooo, Big Sis Mira!" Lisanna wailed. "That plan is insane! The intensity is way too high! We can't do it!"
"Yes, you can," Mirajane said, her expression perfectly serious. "I carefully considered your strength when I made it. You're fully capable of completing it."
Lisanna looked utterly hopeless. Mirajane then turned to Lisana. "You should come, too. It'll be good to work on your physical strength and fighting skills."
Since Lisana would have plenty of free time outside of her shop duties, Mirajane figured she could help her other-worldly sister get stronger, too.
"I will, Big Sis Mira," Lisana replied. "But first, I have a few questions for Noah. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up."
Mirajane nodded. She assumed it was something private about Edolas or Lisana's own situation. She didn't press, and instead dragged the despairing Lisanna and Elfman toward the training grounds, with Erza and the others following.
Once they were gone, Noah and Lisana found a quiet corner. "What's on your mind?" Noah asked.
"Now that I know Happy and Carla are from Edolas like me," Lisana began, "I have to ask... Are they 'Exceeds'? Do you know what Exceeds are?"
"Yes, I know."
"Then... can they really influence this world? Can they control it?" She quickly held up her hands, "I'm not suspicious of Happy and Carla, I swear! It's just, seeing them here, I got curious. You know... you know what the Exceeds are in our world."
Noah nodded. He did. In Edolas, the Exceeds held a god-like status. They claimed to be the rulers of humanity, a superior race living in a floating kingdom in the sky. They taught that their Queen was a god who ruled not only the humans of Edolas but also the humans of Earth Land. They spread propaganda that, to restore the fading magic, the Queen would order the "execution" of "useless" humans—and indeed, many humans had mysteriously died under this order.
Thinking of this, Noah smiled at Lisana. "Let's put it this way: most of what you were taught is wrong. The Exceeds aren't particularly strong. They don't have any special... well, that's not entirely true. Their Queen's ability is special, but her power isn't strong. You don't need to worry about them influencing this world. And Happy and Carla are no threat at all."
Lisana looked relieved, though still a bit confused. But seeing that Noah wasn't going to elaborate, she didn't press him. She had already heard from Mirajane how strong and trustworthy he was. If Noah said it was fine, then it was fine.
With her main question answered, Lisana and Noah headed toward the training grounds.
~~~
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