Chapter 7 - Understand the People Around You Clearly

The night has grown deep...

By the time they'd arrived at their destination, night had already fallen. After discussing with the middle-aged man from the council, Noah and the others decided to rest for the night and carry out their task the next day: to infuse magic into the Lake of Ceremony and activate it.

Laxus said nothing about this. He left Noah and Erza, returning to the inn that the council's middle-aged man had arranged. Erza also left without a word, and it was unclear where she had gone.

As this ragtag group was the type ‘one of a kind’, Noah had anticipated this situation and didn't mind. After leaving his luggage in his room at the inn, he left with a large number of beads for practicing magic control in this entirely unfamiliar city.

If another eleven-year-old child were here, they would certainly not dare to run around. Noah was the same. To avoid any accidents, even though he wanted to practice his magic control, he didn't stray far from the inn. He chose a small river that could be clearly seen from the inn's entrance and headed in that direction.

However, to Noah's surprise, the riverbank had already been claimed by someone else.

"Haah——Haah——!"

A young girl with red hair that could clearly be seen in the night was standing alone on the riverbank. She was wearing a simple dress, a cold armor jacket over it, and a medical eyepatch over one eye. In her hand, she held a knight's sword with a relatively short blade that matched her stature. She was solemnly swinging it around.

"Erza?"

Watching the redhead girl swinging her knight's sword tirelessly on the riverbank, Noah was taken aback. Then he fell silent, walking noiselessly to a spot on the riverbank a distance away from Erza.

"Hm?" Erza, who was continuously swinging her knight's sword, naturally noticed Noah's arrival. She was surprised to see him walking to the riverbank not far from her, picking up a bead, and throwing it into the sky.

Before Erza could react, a surge of powerful magic suddenly emanated from Noah. Like a gust of wind, it carried a hint of phosphorescence and swept towards the beads scattered into the sky. In the next instant, many of the beads began to be enveloped by magic, floating around Noah. Some fell directly to the ground, while others were propelled into the air.

Altough she didn't know what Noah was doing, but from the magic power that emerged from him, which was many times stronger than her own, Erza clearly felt it, and her heart was immediately filled with shock and surprise.

At this time, she remembered the evaluation of Noah by Makarov and Laxus in the morning.

"He doesn't know any magic, but he has a magic power so strong that even the president is shocked..." Erza slightly furrowed her brows, and the scene of Noah leaving a cheesecake for her the day before and leaving without a word emerged in her mind.

She then sheathed the knight's sword, which she had swung countless times, and walked towards Noah. And him, who was still diligently practicing his magic control, heard a dignified voice from behind him at a certain moment.

"With such a strong magic power, why don't you learn magic?"

The magic power that emerged from Noah's body paused for a moment, then slowly retreated back into his body, causing the beads floating around him to all fall to the ground, making a series of noises. He turned his head and looked back at Erza standing behind him, holding a knight's sword, with only one eye exposed and fixed on him, but without any emotion.

He shook his head and answered her question.

"I have a strong magic power, much more than normal. So, my grandfather doesn't allow me to learn magic."

"The president doesn't allow it?" Erza was startled, "Why?"

"I haven't been able to fully control it." Noah spoke in a subdued tone, "My grandfather warned that using such unstable magic power could cause a catastrophe. If the magic power goes berserk, the magic itself will too, potentially bringing great disaster to those around me!"

Listening to Noah's explanation, Erza also understood Makarov's intention.

Indeed, once Noah, with his immense magic power, learns to use magic, his strength will undoubtedly surpass that of ordinary wizards. Should his magic go berserk, it could indeed bring about an unimaginable disaster.

Erza, lost in thought, was oblivious to the fact that even without learning it, his innate magical power was potent enough to cause disaster. Yet, Makarov's power was sufficient to handle with him for now. But, if Noah were to learn magic and lose control, even the old man lacked the confidence to subdue him.

Consequently, Makarov sternly advised Noah to master control over his magical power before diving into magic. This led Noah to spend a year honing his magical control.

Despite a year of training, Noah barely managed to control his magic. It's evident how powerful his magic truly is.

"But..." Erza frowned slightly, "Your brother seems to disagree with your decision not to learn magic, doesn't he?"

"His situation is unique," Noah said with a bitter smile. "Due to certain circumstances, he is single-mindedly seeking power. So, from his perspective, my decision to forego easily attainable power must be quite frustrating, don't you think?"

"What about you?" Erza stared at Noah, "Don't you want to have powerful power?"

"Me?" He met Erza’s gaze and suddenly smiled, "If this power is used to harm people, I would rather not!"

She was slightly shocked, and her originally emotionless eyes began to fluctuate.

"Grandpa once said that the power of magic is the power of the heart and the soul. A person's magic can reveal the essence of their inner being, the very self!" Noah recited, "So, he hopes that I can use this power to protect those around me, and he also hopes that I strive towards this direction!"

After speaking, Noah reached out and touched her cold cheek under Erza's watchful gaze. He also caressed the delicate little face in front of him, her eyes obscured by the medical bandage.

"You're the same..."

"Even if one eye is covered, don't let your heart be covered. Even if only one eye is left, please use it to see clearly..."

"The people around you..."

The gentle words and the warm palm on her cheek made Erza's thoroughly frozen heart tremble heavily. By the time she came back to her senses, the person in front of her had disappeared, and the warmth on her cheek was gone.

However, a strawberry cake was placed on the ground in front of her. The sweet smell filled her nostrils, leaving her stunned and motionless for a while.

And the night continued to deepen...

...

The following day, Noah arose early, changed his clothes, donned a coat, and exited his hotel room to head down to the first floor.

The hotel's first floor resembled the guilds' bar, filled with wooden tables laden with drinks. Many early risers were already there, some who hadn't even slept, creating a lively atmosphere with their bustling chatter.

At one of these tables, Laxus sat with his feet propped up on the table. A magical device playing music nestled in his ears. Upon seeing Noah descend from the upper floor, he sneered, rose, and as he walked, he repeated the same sentence he had said when they set off the previous day.

"Let’s finish this boring task quickly!"

Right after, Erza descended from upstairs. Her gaze immediately landed on Noah and she nodded in a rare greeting gesture.

Following this, he smiled and walked towards the exit of the inn.