Two days and two nights passed.
Starting from the Kingdom of Fiore in the west of the Ishgar continent, and traversing two countries in the central part of the continent, Hope and his two companions finally arrived at Twilight Town, a small border town closest to the Ruins Forest.
Hope walked out of the train station with his backpack and a sunflower pot in his arms.
He stretched, let out a long sigh towards the Sky, and the two-day, two-night train ride reminded him of taking green-skinned trains before he transmigrated.
Erza walked over, pulling her luggage cart.
Hope turned to look and was immediately shocked by the mountain of suitcases stacked on her cart. He couldn't help but complain, "Erza, we're just going to eliminate monsters and protect the archaeological team, not go to war. Why did you bring so much luggage?"
"Eh? Is it a lot?"
Erza looked back at her mountain of luggage. "It's not much at all. Because I only had half a day to prepare, there were still many things I didn't have time to pack."
Hope slapped his forehead. He once thought that Erza, apart from being a bit strict with people, was one of the few normal people in Fairy Tail.
But now it seems that her "abnormal" side just rarely had a chance to show itself in daily life.
Makarov the old pervert, Natsu the hothead, Gray the exhibitionist, Lucy the tsukkomi, Cana the drunkard, Mirajane the sweet-on-the-outside-dark-on-the-inside… and a large group of indescribable eccentric members.
Sure enough, I am the only normal human in this Guild.
Hope looked up at the Sky at a forty-five-degree angle, feeling a sense of lofty isolation, as if the whole world was turbid and only he was clear.
A hand clad in iron armor pinched Hope's face. Erza just used a little force and pulled the silly guy back to reality, making him grimace.
Hope covered his face, his resentful gaze making Erza feel a little embarrassed. She quickly explained, "I saw you suddenly look so serious just now, and I thought you were possessed, so I pinched you…"
With an irrefutable reason, Hope could only tilt his head and look at Old Book, who had finally caught up.
"You two, at least wait for an old man like me."
Old Book panted, sitting down on his suitcase. The two-day, two-night train ride almost shook his old bones apart.
Hope shrugged, "I said, since your Historian Guild is so rich, why don't you get one or two Mage Airships or other flying transportation, instead of suffering on a train?"
Old Book wiped the sweat from his forehead and said helplessly, "Of course we want to, but in recent decades, the crash rate of flying transportation has soared, especially in remote areas."
"The Council investigated and determined that most crashes were caused by magic attacks, suspected to be the work of Dark Guilds, but with no clues, it eventually became an unsolved case."
Hope understood. The Historian Guild, in the end, was just a group of scholars studying history, not like Blue Pegasus, where all members are Mages.
They didn't want to gamble on that small probability, so they gave up the idea of using flying transportation.
Hearing Old Book's explanation, Erza interjected, "I heard about this when I accompanied the Guild Master to meet his Councilman friend."
"Actually, for those crash incidents, the Council suspects they were caused by impact with some huge object, possibly an object the size of an island."
"But no traces of a huge object were found at the accident sites, which is why the Council blamed the Dark Guilds."
A flying object the size of an island?
Hope remained silent. Anyway, these incidents had nothing to do with him, so he simply walked and observed the environment of Twilight Town.
As its name suggested, even at the strongest midday sun, the town was enveloped in a hazy, reddish twilight.
The town had a sparse population, and everyone looked pale and listless, as if they hadn't been taking good care of themselves.
According to Old Book, every night, ghosts from the Ruins Forest would come to the town to wander, making eerie sounds but never harming anyone.
But after long-term harassment, many locals couldn't stand it and simply moved away, leaving behind only old people unwilling to leave their hometowns, or those who hadn't saved enough money to move.
Chatting as they walked, the three arrived at the only hotel in Twilight Town. The archaeological team from the Historian Guild had already checked in a few days before them.
Due to physical exhaustion, Old Book said hello to Hope and Erza after checking into his room and went to rest.
Hope and Erza quickly completed their check-in and also inquired with the hotel owner about information regarding the Ruins Forest.
"Are you the bodyguards hired by the archaeological team?"
An old man sitting behind the hotel counter looked up, his cloudy eyes scrutinizing the two young people in front of him. "Take my advice, that forest is very dangerous, not a place you should go. Young people shouldn't be too impulsive."
"Can you still call yourself young if you don't have drive?"
Hope chuckled, understanding the owner's good intentions, and explained, "We are Fairy Tail Mages. That forest might not actually be more dangerous than the two of us."
Erza nudged Hope with her elbow, glaring at him annoyedly. "You didn't have to say that last part."
Hope just chuckled. He was just stating a fact. After all, how many people in the magic world didn't know that Fairy Tail Mages were best at fighting and causing destruction?
Hearing that they were Mages from that powerful Mage Guild, the owner suddenly became energetic. "Can I entrust you with eliminating, or driving away, those wailing ghosts that come to town at night?"
"Don't worry, I have money, 500,000 J. How about it?"
Hope and Erza exchanged glances.
If it was a side quest they could complete easily, they would, of course, be more than happy.
However, ghosts are special soul bodies formed when a person's obsession in life is too deep to let go even after death. Unless their obsession is resolved, they cannot be dealt with by ordinary means.
Seeing Hope and Erza not answering, the owner thought he had offered too little, gritted his teeth, and said, "800,000 J. This is all my savings. If it's not enough, I can sell the hotel…"
"No need for that."
Erza interrupted the owner. "We can accept the request, but there's no need for payment. However, ghosts are very troublesome to deal with, and we cannot make any guarantees."
Hearing that Erza was willing to try, the owner nodded repeatedly in gratitude. He had grown up in Twilight Town and truly didn't want to see his hometown remain like this.
Now that someone was finally willing to help the town, he was very grateful to the two, regardless of success.
Looking at the owner's excited expression, Hope imperceptibly shook his head. Although Erza had agreed, in reality, neither of them had any confidence in expelling those ghosts.
Fortunately, the ghosts that appeared at night seemed to never harm anyone.
If there was no danger, it might be worth a try.
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