Chapter 4 - Quite Unpopular Commission

The next day, early in the morning...

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

Noah, who was still in his sleep, was suddenly awakened by a loud knocking at the door. Before he could respond, he heard Grey's shout.

"Hey! Noah! Are you awake?!”

As his door was being repeatedly knocked and vibrated, he couldn't help but frown.

Though Grey typically disturbed others' sleep and often called Noah by knocking rudely on the door, he noted a difference today. Grey's knocking was not only much harder, but his tone also sounded anxious.

Could something have happened?

This question just appeared in Noah's mind, and Grey's voice outside the door gave him the answer.

"Hey, man! Now is not the time to sleep! It's lively downstairs! Get up quickly!”

……

Noah, who hurriedly came down from upstairs with Gray, just arrived on the first floor, and found that the situation in the guild today was quite different from the usual.

The hustle and bustle were still the same, but the members of the guild were collectively gathered around the commission column where the task list was posted, blocking the area in front of the commission column.

"Is it that task again?"

"The client really had a hard time. This task is so unpopular..."

"Well, it's not exactly like that. Look, the reward after completing the task has increased a lot more than before, hasn't it?"

"That makes sense..."

Amidst these lively discussions at the guild bar, a distinct figure stood out. An old man, the size of a typical child, clad in a clown's attire, and leaning on a cane, was quietly enjoying his drink. His presence formed a stark contrast to the guild members.

However, looking at this short old man sitting at the bar table, Noah showed a hint of joy.

"Grandpa!"

This person is none other than the Guild Master of Fairytail —— Makarov Dreyar!

"Hm?" Makarov paused slightly in his drinking, his gaze shifting towards the direction of the staircase. Seeing Noah standing there, a peaceful expression appeared on his face, his eyes squinted from his smile, "Is that you, Noah? Have you woken up?"

"Grandpa!" Noah ran up to him, "You haven't been to the guild for several days!"

"I was just hanging out with a few friends, no need to worry!" Makarov rubbed his head, laughing heartily, "Really sorry about that!"

"Old man!" Gray also came to Noah's side, but was looking in the direction of the mission board, curiously asking, "What happened? Why does everyone seem so lively?"

"Let them have their fun!" Makarov glanced in the direction of the mission board and continued drinking his alcohol, "After all, you guys will find out soon enough!"

"Waiting for everyone in the guild to calm down might take some time..." Noah said somewhat helplessly, "So, Grandpa, you better explain first!"

"You're right..." Knowing how spirited his guild members can be, Makarov helplessly knocked on his forehead, leapt off the bar counter, and walked towards the mission board, "Enough! Everyone quiet down!"

As Makarov's voice fell, the previously noisy guild immediately became quiet. The guild members gathered around the commission column consciously parted, making a path for Makarov to pass through.

Only when he reached the front of the commission column did Makarov turn around. He faced everyone in the guild and raised his cane, pointing it to an unusually conspicuous commission posted in the middle of the column.

Noah, whose eyesight was quite good, clearly saw the words on the commission and read them out loud.

"The Lake of Ceremony?" As soon as he read it out, Noah saw Gray, who was standing next to him, showing a sudden realization and immediately asked, "What is the Lake of Ceremony?"

"You don't know?" Gray was taken aback at first, then nodded, "Right, you've only been in Fairytail for a year."

"What's going on?" Noah asked curiously, "Could it be that everyone is making such a fuss because of this Lake of Ceremony?"

"The Lake of Ceremony is a famous wishing lake!" Seeing that Noah really didn't know, Gray explained, "It is said that if you make a wish in this Lake of Ceremony, under the witness of the lake, the spirit of the lake will fulfill the wish of the person who made the wish, making dreams come true!"

"Dreams come true?" Noah immediately lost most of his interest, "You can tell at first glance that it's something unlikely, right?"

"Well, in fact, not just you, many people consider it a rumor. They've never heard of anyone making a wish there and having the lake spirit appear to fulfill it!" Gray shrugged, "But there is one person who actually made a wish by the Lake of Ceremony and it came true!"

After saying that, Gray looked at Noah, "Do you know about the Senate?"

Upon hearing this, Noah raised an eyebrow.

The so-called Senate is an organization in the Kingdom of Fiore responsible for maintaining the order of the magical world.

This organization consists of a chairman and eight councillors. Their main job is to supervise the actions of various wizard guilds, punish guilds that violate the Senate's regulations, and pursue dark guilds that harm the magic world.

In the Kingdom of Fiore, only guilds approved by the Senate can be considered regular guilds. Guilds that are recognized by the Senate must also abide by the covenants set by the Senate, otherwise they will be forcibly disbanded. They are effectively the watchdogs of all regular guilds within the Kingdom of Fiore.

"I heard that the first chairman of the Senate made the wish to establish the Senate at the Lake of Ceremony!" Gray said with a smirk, "Although the formation of the Senate was wholly due to the chairman's exceptional skills, ever since he expressed his desire to establish the Senate at the Lake of Ceremony and accomplished it, the Lake of Ceremony has since been regarded as the Senate's sacred ground."

"Coincidentally, the Lake of Ceremony is a very special lake. Once a large amount of magic power is infused into it, the lake begins to glow!" Gray turned his gaze to the thoughtful Noah, "So, at some point, there started a rumor in the Senate that if the Lake of Ceremony were not kept glowing, the original wish to establish the Senate would become invalid, and the Senate would be disbanded. Therefore, the Senate issues a commission to a famous guild every year, asking someone to go to the Lake of Ceremony and infuse magic power!"

"So, is that the commission issued by the Senate?" Noah looked at the commission posted in the center of the commission column, and asked with some confusion, "But why does everyone seem to dislike this commission?"

"Because the amount of magic power required to make the Lake of Ceremony glow is extraordinarily large, at least dozens of wizards are needed to complete this task. However, this means the compensation must be divided among dozens, resulting in a pitifully small amount for each person," Gray explained, crossing his arms, "Who'd want to take on such a poorly paid task, even if it is issued by the Senate?"

"But those bastards in the Senate demand that the guild that receives this task must complete it within a month, and this year it's our turn, Fairytail, to accept this task!" Makarov, standing in front of the task column, said with a hint of complaint in his tone, "Although I'd like to decline it, those guys would certainly take this opportunity to trip me up, so let's get this task done as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing Makarov's words, the members of the guild looked at each other in dismay.

"Completing the task..."

"Who'd want to go with such low pay?"

"Exactly..."

In the face of the guild members' whispering, Makarov was not surprised. He tapped his cane and said, "You don't need to worry about this, I've already decided!"

After uttering those words, Makarov lifted his head, and his gaze focused directly on Noah, who was standing in front of the bar.

"This task, Noah, I'll leave it to you to complete!"