"As long as you didn't use it for anything else, it's fine. You can go back now. I think Ultear is looking for you." Makarov shooed Noah away, then turned and sighed, thinking about having to deal with the people from the Council.

Noah returned home and saw Ultear sitting on the living room sofa. When she saw him come back, she pointed to the spot next to her. "Come here. I have something to ask you."

Noah walked over with a puzzled expression and sat down. Ultear looked at him seriously. "You've been out on a request these past few days?"

"No, I was out destroying dark guilds."

Ultear took a deep breath. "What did you mean before when you said 'thank you' to me?"

"Oh, that? Thank you for reminding me that I could go and subjugate dark guilds."

Ultear was baffled, her previous mood completely broken. "I don't remember saying anything at the time. How did I remind you?"

"When I saw you, I remembered your past experiences, which reminded me that things like dark guilds exist, so I went and fought them."

"I have a feeling you're lying to me," Ultear said, but her body relaxed, and the corners of her mouth curved into a slight smile. "One last question. Did you really mean it when you said you liked me the most?"

As she asked this, Ultear stared at Noah without blinking. He replied, completely confused, "That's right. I also like Erza, Kagura, Gramps, Grandma Porlyusica, and everyone in the guild the most!"

At first, a huge smile was on Ultear's face, but as he continued, her expression became more and more blank, until she could only let out a sigh. "I feel like all your other abilities have been absorbed by your magic and fighting skills."

"How can that be? My magic has only seen a little bit of success. I still have to work hard."

"That wasn't a compliment," Ultear said, exasperated. Seeing that she had no other questions and that the look in her eyes was getting a little strange, Noah quickly ran back to his room.

Ultear watched him go and let out another heavy sigh.

Having received a large amount of "aid," Noah's research was temporarily free of obstacles. Aside from training, he spent all his time at home doing research. However, Ultear would often get fed up with him being a shut-in and drag him out to do requests, with Erza joining them.

Several months passed quickly, and the year X776 arrived. Jude sent word that the pharmaceutical company had started to turn a profit and was already setting aside a portion of the profits to support Noah's research work. Magic books, materials, and medicinal ingredients were continuously being sent to him.

When he learned that Jude had collected a new batch of supplies to send over, Noah stopped him. He decided to go and receive the materials in person. He had been so engrossed in his research recently that he had only visited the Heartfilia estate once, right at the beginning. It had been a long time since then, and he figured Layla was probably starting to get angry. He had to make a trip.

Arriving at the Heartfilia estate, he first went to find Layla and saw her reading in the study. The moment she saw him, her face lit up, but she quickly put on a displeased expression. "Why haven't you come to see me in so long? Have you forgotten about your big sister?"

Noah quickly waved his hands and shook his head. "How could I forget? I've just been so engrossed in my research that I lost track of time. The moment I remembered, I rushed right over."

"I'm afraid if Jude hadn't contacted you about the new materials, you wouldn't have remembered at all, would you?"

"Hahaha, of course not!" Noah laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

Layla didn't press the issue. They had known each other for a while now, and Noah's love for magic was obvious. If he wasn't so dedicated to his studies, he wouldn't have achieved so much at such a young age.

She changed the subject. "I heard a while ago that you destroyed a lot of dark guilds. You weren't injured, were you?"

"No. Those people don't have the strength to hurt me."

"Don't get too arrogant. You know there's always someone stronger out there."

"Of course. To ensure my own safety, I always open with a Grand Magic spell from a distance. That way, they're either dead or crippled, and they won't have the ability to harm me." Noah said this with a bright smile on his face.

Layla just rolled her eyes helplessly. How many people had the ability to just casually open with a Grand Magic spell? Did he really think everyone had that much magic power? Those dark guilds didn't lose without reason.

"But still, you need to be careful and ensure your own safety."

"I will. By the way, how is the search for the Zodiac keys going?"

"About that... there's someone I'd like you to meet." Hearing his question, Layla stood up and led him out of the room.

After asking a servant, Layla led Noah towards the kitchen. There, Noah saw a green-haired woman cooking. Layla hurried up to help. "It's so rare for you to be back, Grammi. What are you doing in the kitchen?"

Grammi smiled at Layla. "Lady Layla, being back here, I just couldn't help but want to cook something for you. Please, you just watch from the side."

Layla helped her as she spoke. "Back in the day, I could still cook with you from time to time. But later, my health got worse and worse, and I couldn't come to the kitchen anymore. Now that I've recovered, and it's so rare for you to be back, let's cook a nice meal together."

"Of course, Lady Layla."

Seeing the two of them happily chatting while they cooked, having completely forgotten about him, Noah decided to leave them to it. He went to find Jude, who was handling company business. He received the new supplies Jude had prepared and also gave him several newly developed potion formulas to put into production. After getting an update on the company's operations, someone came to inform them that dinner was ready.

When they arrived in the dining room, the table was already laden with a rich array of dishes. Layla and Grammi were still bringing out more food. Noah hurried forward to help, but Layla stopped him. "Noah, can you go and call Lucy and the others down? Someone already went to get them, but they're not down yet. They must be having too much fun. Can you go and call them again? They should be playing in Lucy's room."

Noah nodded in agreement. As he approached Lucy's door, he could hear her voice.

"Look at this giant teddy bear! It's so comfortable to hug!"

"Mhm, it's so soft and comfy!"

"And this one! This one too!"

"It really is! So comfortable~"

Noah opened the door and saw Lucy and a little girl with green hair in the room, sitting on the bed, each of them hugging a stuffed animal that was bigger than they were. Their eyes were closed, and they both had an intoxicated look of pure bliss on their faces.

"Alright, Lucy. It's time to eat."

~~~

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