Chapter 194: Accepting the Request
Noah thought for a moment and decided to take the request. He then scanned the board again, grabbing a few other S-Class quests that were on the way.
He then went over to Makarov to get them registered.
Makarov took the stack of request forms, looked through them seriously, and then singled out the SS-Class one. He placed it on the counter. "You're taking this request?" he asked.
"This one has been on the board for years. Plenty of wizards have tried it, but every single one has failed. Some of them... some of them didn't come back."
"Yeah. I wasn't strong enough before, and later I was too busy. Now I've got the time, so I figured I'd take a look."
Noah paused, then continued, "Besides, forget the reward—the monster itself is a perfect match for Mira. On top of that, Erza, Ultear, and Sorano have never been on an SS-Class job. I was thinking of inviting them to come with me. I grabbed some other S-Class quests, too. Doing them all together will be good experience for them."
Makarov glanced at the request form again. It read: "Subjugate the Demon Sitri." Below that was the reward.
"A demon? It really is perfect for Mira. Are you thinking of having her use Take Over on it?"
"Yes. For Mira, the stronger the demon she absorbs, the stronger her Take Over becomes. I've also done some research—the demons she absorbs seem to have a benign, passive effect on her, slowly making her stronger over time. And... after that recent incident? This could be just what she needs to grow stronger."
Makarov held the request form and considered Noah's words. "Hmm... alright. I approve."
Ever since Noah and Gildarts had their serious fight, Makarov had no doubts about Noah's strength. He only considered it for a moment before agreeing.
"Then I'll go get Ultear and the others!"
Noah teleported to the training grounds, where he found Ultear and the others in the middle of a session. He told them about his idea to team up and complete an SS-Class request. Sorano immediately perked up.
"Heck yeah, I'm in! An SS-Class request! That sounds amazing! I've got to try it! But..." She spun around and glomped onto Yukino, who had come over with her, and started rubbing her face against her sister's. "But I'll be away from my adorable little sister for so long!" she wailed. "I'm heartbroken!"
"Sister..." Yukino said with a helpless sigh, trapped in Sorano's grip.
"An SS-Class request?" Erza asked, her expression serious. "If we go, won't we just drag you down?" Ultear nodded in agreement.
"Not at all. You're all strong. Besides, I'm confident that even if we fail, I can get everyone out of there safely."
Noah gave his guarantee with absolute confidence. Erza and Ultear studied his face for a moment, then nodded. They were in.
Mirajane, however, was hesitant. Lisanna, who was with her, saw her sister's expression and knew she was thinking about what happened with The Beast King. That time, she had teamed up with her and Elfman, and they had almost all been killed. It was only natural for her to be traumatized by it.
So she took her sister's hand. "Big Sis Mira, you have to try," she said softly. "What happened last time was an accident, it wasn't your fault. You can't let it make you afraid to team up with people. If you do... it'll make us feel like we're the ones holding you back."
After hearing Lisanna's words, Mirajane looked at her with surprise, then at Elfman. Seeing that both her brother and sister were completely serious, she knew they meant it. Feeling the warmth of her sister's hand in hers, she looked at her siblings and made up her mind. She had to take this step. She couldn't let herself become an obstacle to their growth.
"I'm in, too."
When Lisanna saw her sister agree, she cheered silently, though she kept her expression perfectly neutral. She was being genuine about wanting her sister to move forward. But she also really, really wanted her sister to go on a job. Because if Big Sis Mira was on a job... she couldn't continue their brutal training. Even though she and Elfman were getting stronger at an incredible rate, the training was just too painful. She was desperately praying for her sister to leave on a long mission so she could finally get some rest.
Noah nodded. Since all four agreed, they could proceed. "Alright, come with me. Let's go to Gramps and get the mission details."
The four nodded, and Noah teleported them all back to the guild hall.
Makarov saw the five of them return, knew they had already discussed it, and didn't say much. He just pushed the stack of request forms Noah had chosen in front of them.
Ultear and the others picked them up. On top was the SS-Class request: Subjugate the Demon Sitri.
"Subjugate a demon?" Mirajane asked, her senses immediately tingling. "Is this one of the Demons from the Book of Zeref?"
"Yes, it is indeed a Demon from the Book of Zeref," Makarov said. "It's incredibly powerful and has destroyed several towns. This request has been up for years, but no one has been able to complete it. Many have tried, all have failed, and more than a few have died. If no one completes it in the next year or so, it will officially become a Ten-Year Request."
"A Ten-Year Request... a job that hasn't been completed in a decade or more. The difficulty must be immense." Erza looked at Noah seriously. "Are you sure we won't be a burden?"
She didn't want to be the reason a comrade got hurt, especially Noah, who had saved her when she was a child. Ultear and the others also looked at him seriously. He had saved all of them at one time or another, and none of them wanted to be the reason he was put in danger.
"It's not a Ten-Year Request yet," Noah said with a reassuring smile. "Your skills are strong, and you all have plenty of combat experience. You're not a burden, you're high-level backup. I've completed several Ten-Year Requests on my own before. I'm much stronger now, so this will be even easier. Like I said, worst-case scenario, I can get us all out safely. Don't worry about it."
After hearing Noah's words, they all looked at each other and understood what the others were thinking. Since Noah was sure it was fine, they also wanted to see what a higher-difficulty request was like. And, since Noah had been completing SS-Class and Ten-Year Requests on his own for a long time, they didn't want to fall too far behind. At the very least, they needed to experience this level of challenge.
As the eldest, Ultear spoke for them. "Alright, then. We'll take this request with you."
~~~
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