Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was June, X689.
The wars in other countries on the continent gradually ended, nearly a year faster than the original timeline.
Meanwhile, after more than half a year of rest and recovery, the economy of the Fiore Kingdom gradually rebounded, ushering in the first summer under Queen Lily's reign.
Magnolia.
On this day, Fairy Tail was as lively as ever.
The warm summer sun added a touch of heat to the hearts and bodies of the Mages in the Guild, and even with drinks flowing continuously, they were still sweating profusely.
"Ah—!!"
"It's so hot!"
"Big Sister Zera, can you please control your magic power? I feel like the temperature has gone up a lot just sitting next to you————"
The speaker was a big, chubby boy with a youthful face, less than a meter tall, shirtless, and exposing his corpulent torso.
Sweating profusely, he lay on the table, sticking out his tongue to lick the special shaved ice placed on the plate in front of him, bite by bite.
"Stop nagging!"
"My magic power is completely under control; none of it is leaking out!"
"If you think I'm the reason you're hot, why don't you just sit further away!"
Zera, sitting across the long table and also eating an ice pop bite by bite, immediately rolled her eyes irritably upon hearing the chubby boy.
"Never mind then. In this weather, even walking a few steps makes you break out in a sweat."
The chubby boy drooped his eyelids, his butt not moving an inch.
Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open.
"Hey! I have an idea!"
The next moment, the chubby boy's body suddenly shrank completely, becoming the size of a thumb. He then leaped onto the special shaved ice.
"Hahahaha————!!!"
"Now I can really enjoy myself!"
The chubby boy, like a small ball of flesh, joyfully rolled around on the shaved ice.
While rolling, he scooped up the shaved ice with his hands and shoved it into his mouth, laughing and shouting, "This Shrinking Magic is too convenient!!"
This chubby boy was none other than the Giant Boy from Sun Village, Joy.
Originally, Weston had brought him to Magnolia and had him join Fairy Tail, but because his body was too large, he had to temporarily arrange for him to live in the forest west of the town.
To allow Joy to enter the Guild tavern like the other partners, Weston specifically taught him Miniature Magic.
The effect of this Miniature Magic is to allow one to freely shrink their body size, the opposite of Giant Transformation Magic.
After several months of practice, Joy finally achieved some success with this magic. He can now freely shrink his size and enter and exit the Guild tavern freely.
Not only that, Joy also began taking on various jobs from the Guild.
The majority of the jobs he took were combat-oriented.
In the Magic Guild, the opponents encountered in combat requests are usually either Magical Beasts or Bandits and robbers. While these dangers might cause trouble for normal humans and Mages, they are no problem at all for Joy.
He only needs to dispel the Miniature Magic affecting him, return to the size of the Giant Clan, and he can easily defeat the enemies.
Watching Joy happily yelp in comfort on the shaved ice, Zero Ye next to him suddenly grew envious.
"That's really clever, Joy."
"If you shrink your body, one serving of shaved ice can last a long time. That's really saving money!"
"However, showing yourself like this in front of a lady violates the etiquette of a gentleman!"
Joy, who had been gorging himself shamelessly on the mountain of shaved ice, immediately stood up straight and respectfully saluted Zero Ye upon hearing this.
"Ah———— Yes, Master!!"
Zero Ye and Joy joined Fairy Tail at the same time, which is why they became quite close.
The two also formed a team and often worked together, achieving astonishing speed and efficiency.
Furthermore, Zero Ye successfully persuaded Joy to become his apprentice, using the reason of teaching him "how to become a gentleman."
Just a few days ago, Joy even moved his small nest in the forest into Magnolia and started sharing a rental with Zero Ye.
Leaving aside how peculiar this master-apprentice duo was, the other people at the same table were also listless from the muggy weather.
Fortunately, Warrod was also sitting at this table.
This person, who looked incredibly honest and simple, had now learned to use his wits and employ clever tricks.
Using Plant Magic, he raised a patch of greenery in the Guild and created a Treant, instructing the Treant to fan back and forth with a giant leaf, instantly creating a relatively cool area within the hot tavern.
"Why is it getting hot so early this year?"
"It's only June, and it's already this hot. Who knows how hot it will be in another month or two..."
O
"It's probably due to the impact of the previous wars."
Weston was drinking the cold beverage prepared by the Server, enjoying the breeze from the Treant, while simultaneously opening the Super Ancient Document's operating interface and playing a single-player game with rapid clicks. His face was a picture of ease and comfort!
"Because of the wars? What do you mean?"
Warrod looked curious.
"The war destroyed large areas of the terrain, especially green environments like forests. That's why the climate across Ishgar is changing like this."
"And based on my estimate, this is only the change in the first year. It will get progressively worse over the next few years, likely only stabilizing completely after about ten years."
Upon hearing this, Warrod looked momentarily stunned.
"I never thought there was such a strong connection between the environment and the climate————"
"So, if we restore the greenery, will that improve the climate?"
Speaking of which, in the original timeline, the future Warrod devoted himself to Desert Greening in his old age.
Weston stopped his hand movements, turned his head, and gave him a deep look: "Theoretically, yes, but this is a massive undertaking. It would be very difficult to achieve alone!"
It wasn't that he thought this endeavor was bad; he just didn't want Warrod, at such a young age, to dedicate his entire limited life to an endless task.
If he wanted to do those things, he should at least wait until he was sixty or seventy and had enough retirement savings, right?
"I know, but if the nation and the Council also express support, and everyone works together, things should get much better, right?!"
"———— That is true."
"Mhm!"
Warrod nodded firmly, secretly making a certain decision in his heart.
As they spoke, several figures pushed open the Guild doors and rushed in.
"We're back!!"
"Quick, quick, quick———— Does anyone have a cold drink? I'm practically dying of heat!!"
The two leading the group were Precht and Yuri, who had gone out to work together.
But following behind them were several familiar figures.
"Guild Master, we have come to join you as promised!!"
"Mavis, Zera, how are you?"
"We missed you terribly!!"