When the children arrived at the eastern forest outskirts, they quickly found the right direction—simply following the cheerful melody of the lyre.

From the very beginning of his musical training, Marco had chosen to practice in the eastern forest outskirts.

This location wouldn't disturb others, as Valtava hadn't yet purchased a house at the time and was still staying in a hotel.

Naturally, conducting lessons in a hotel wasn't ideal.

Now, even though Valtava had bought a house, they had grown accustomed to play here and saw no need to move back.

Amidst the outdoor scenery—lush mountains, clear waters, birds singing, and flowers blooming—playing the lyre and singing created quite the enchanting atmosphere.

Speaking of which, Jude Heartfilia's sponsored concert hall had already begun construction.

Jude was indeed very generous—he immediately entrusted this project to Fairy Tail and offered a generous sum.

Their cooperative relationship had officially been established, and Jude knew how to reciprocate kindness, making a favorable impression on everyone.

At the very least, as a business partner, Jude was highly competent and trustworthy.

The guild members had already started working diligently on the concert hall, allowing them to reap the benefits of collaborating with the Heartfilia conglomerate early on.

This job was far more lucrative than building Mira's family home—otherwise, they wouldn't have taken it.

"I may be a cowboy~ but at the bar, I only order milk~"

As they drew closer to the source of the music, the children heard a lively song.

The infectious joy made them feel like dancing along, the cheerful melody and lyre notes complementing each other perfectly.

The entire forest seemed to sway, with birds chirping in harmony.

"Why don't I drink beer~ because beer is bad for you~"

The lyrics were strange and nonsensical, but the sheer delight in the song was something everyone could feel.

"Is that Marco singing?" Erza looked shocked, clearly not expecting this.

But that familiar voice—she couldn't possibly mistake it.

"I... I think so."

Even Mirajane, the leader of the "blind faith" faction, wore an expression of disbelief.

Clearly, her faith wasn't as blind as it seemed.

"What a happy song~"

The children quickened their pace and soon arrived at the clearing by the stream, where they indeed found Marco, along with Valtava and Lila.

Marco's fingers danced swiftly across the lyre strings, producing an incredibly lively tune.

His speed and skill elevated the lyre to heights it had never reached before.

The simple instrument, with its few strings, couldn't even produce all the notes—yet under Marco's control, it truly transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Of course, the immense magical power Marco infused into the lyre couldn't be overlooked.

The final musical result was a collaboration between magic, skill, and the instrument itself.

An ordinary lyre wouldn't have been able to withstand Marco's treatment.

Without magic, many of the notes would have been impossible to produce, and technique was naturally the key that tied everything together.

"Huh? What are you all doing here?"

Noticing Erza, Mirajane, and the others approaching, Marco stopped playing and looked at them in surprise.

Valtava and Lila also turned their gazes toward the group.

These children from Fairy Tail were no strangers to them.

After all, apart from a few older ones like Marco, Erza, and Mira, most of the kids mainly operated within Magnolia, taking on requests from the city.

"Marco, what was that song just now?" Lisanna stepped forward, her face brimming with curiosity.

Her eyes sparkled with admiration—Marco had clearly mastered the lyre well.

Though she didn't know much about music, how could a melody that could sway her emotions be anything less than amazing?

"Uh, I call it The Busy Cowboy," Marco replied.

As his proficiency with the lyre grew, Marco's first thought had naturally been to recreate familiar songs from his original world.

Over this period, he had already adapted quite a few, most of them lighthearted and cheerful tunes.

Compared to mournful melodies, these lively rhythms suited his taste far better.

Of course, Marco hadn't forgotten about the BGM idea.

The day he could carry a sound system into battle wasn't far off—he just hadn't settled on his personal theme yet.

Sometimes, he even wondered if they could brainstorm together with the guild to create a song for Fairy Tail—one that could ignite everyone's fighting spirit.

"Cowboys! I know! That's a profession from the Western Continent!" Levy exclaimed excitedly.

Marco wasn't surprised.

Of course Levy would know—was there anything she didn't know?

"So... was that in the Western Continent's language just now?" Erza asked in astonishment.

She hadn't understood a word—it didn't sound like the common tongue used in Ishgar.

"No, the Western Continent mostly uses the common language too," Levy shook her head, dismissing Erza's guess.

Alvarez, the Western Continent, was unfamiliar to most of the children.

Interaction between Alvarez and Ishgar was rare, and even Levy only knew about it from books.

Among those present, Valtava was likely the only one with some understanding of that place—older, longer-lived, and naturally more experienced.

In Marco's memory, the last major conflict between Alvarez and Ishgar had been about four years ago.

The two sides had nearly gone to war, but Alvarez had ultimately restrained itself.

Back then, Marco had only been nine years old.

He'd pieced together bits from the adults' conversations—he didn't know the exact cause or details, only that war had been averted, and the Magic Council had played a crucial role.

"That was the language of the stars," Marco explained as everyone turned to him.

The group looked stunned, while Valtava and Lila—one human, one celestial spirit—had long grown numb to such revelations.

"The language of the stars?" Levy's eyes widened.

Did such a language truly exist?

Was it related to Celestial Spirit Magic?

"Does it have a corresponding writing system?"

The moment language and writing came up, Levy immediately switched into professional mode.

This was her trigger—one keyword, and she was all in.

"Of course it does. It's a truly magnificent language—naturally, it has its own script." Marco spoke with evident pride, then directly wrote the words "Cowboy Busy" on the ground.

Levy immediately crouched down, studying it intently with an expression full of awe and fascination, as if she had stumbled upon some rare treasure.

Clearly, these unique characters had completely captivated her attention.

In this world, the English language existed and was referred to as "Western script."

Levy's magic, "Solid Script," utilized this "Western script."

As for whether other characters existed, Marco wasn't entirely sure—he hadn't come across any mention of them in books.

Even if they did, they were likely an extremely rare ancient script.

After all, if even an expert like Levy had no knowledge of them, they must indeed be exceptionally uncommon.

That's why Marco had called it "the language from the stars"—if anyone asked, he'd just say it was Celestial Spirit Magic.

"Marco! Can you teach me this language?!"

Levy's eyes sparkled as she leaned in close, clasping her hands together in an adorable pleading gesture.

"Of course, if you want to learn," Marco replied with a smile, ruffling her hair as he agreed without hesitation.

"Anyone else interested?"

Marco turned to the other kids, more than happy to teach them.

It could even serve as their own secret code—a language only they understood.

"Looks way too hard," Mira muttered, eyeing the characters skeptically.

Lisanna shook her head vigorously, waving her hands in refusal.

She hated studying more than anything.

Under Mirajane's influence, the whole family had developed a strong aversion to academics.

Even Elfman, who dressed like a refined gentleman, secretly despised book learning.

"No thanks, I don't get it at all," Erza declined, shaking her head.

She'd rather spend the time honing her magic—she was aiming for S-Class Mage status soon!

Laxus's recent promotion to S-Class had lit a fire under many young mages.

It wasn't his first attempt—he'd failed a few times before succeeding.

Erza figured she could start preparing next year.

Even if she didn't make it on the first try, she'd gain valuable experience.

After asking around, only Wendy and Juvia expressed interest in learning.

As for Natsu and Gray, Marco didn't even bother asking—it'd be a miracle if those two ever wanted to study.

"I'd actually like to learn singing," Mirajane said, looking at Marco.

It was one of her few genuine interests.

"What do you think, Lila? are you willing to take on a new student?" Marco turned to the Lyra Celestial Spirit beside him.

"No, Marco. You don't need me anymore—your skills is already at my level. There's nothing left for me to teach you."

Lila waved her hand dismissively, refusing to teach Mirajane.

She had been utterly humbled by Marco's talent, now firmly convinced that he was the one truly favored by the Lyra constellation.

"Before long, I might even be learning from you instead," Lila mused, her expression wistful.

Once, she had been the finest musician and singer—yet in just two months, she'd been dethroned.

"You're exaggerating. I'm not that good," Marco replied modestly.

Marco smiled, acknowledging that Lila was indeed exaggerating a bit.

He felt his skills had nearly reached their limit, with little room left for improvement.

The main issue was that he'd already learned everything he could—Lila had been thoroughly drained of knowledge.

To progress further, he'd have to forge his own path, a challenge that would grow exponentially more difficult.

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