章 287: 287. Return to Magnolia
Some hours after leaving Raven Tail base, Ben's group arrives at Sun Village. Flare comes out of the car timidly because she feels guilty for leaving the village. But the Giants welcome her back happily.
No one blames her, they are just happy that she is fine. It makes her happy too and she finally has the courage to talk. She apologizes to them for making them worry and promises to not repeat it again.
The group stays for a night because The Giants want to hear Flare's stories. They get angry when knowing that Raven Tail was taking advantage of Flare's innocence. She was very oblivious to the outside world, so he thought what the Raven Tail guild did was normal.
In the end, the Giants agree that Flare needs to learn more about the world. So following Ben & Mira will be the right thing to do. The 2 of them are trusted by Eternal Flame and that's enough for the Giants to trust them too.
The next morning, Ben & Mira decides to leave, and Flare will follow them as planned. But before they leave, the Giants reward them for finishing the job request. They even give more for Flare's living cost in the human world.
The Giants give them a lot of gold & pieces of jewelry from the village's treasury. All the gold & pieces of jewelry are hundreds of years in age, so they will be very expensive when being sold. But they're nothing for the Giants who don't have any use of them.
Ben & Mira can take as much as they want, but they just take a moderate amount. They don't want the giants to see them as greedy people. Besides, all of these are for Flare's living cost, so it's not fully theirs.
Also, Ben doesn't need others' money, he can always make his own money. Money gained through his own sweat & blood is sweeter than money given by others freely. There's a unique sense of accomplishment if he can get what he wants through his own effort, after all.
Ben's group finally leaves Sun Village after bidding farewell to the Giants. They return to Magnolia using Light Runner even though Ben has installed a teleportation door in the village. But he wants to enjoy the trip back home and Mira wants to show Flare the route to Magnolia.
Flare is still shy and awkward with Ben & Mira, but they don't mind it. Even though her expression is quite peculiar, both of them aren't bothered by it. They've seen many kinds of people, so this is something usual for them.
On their way to Magnolia, they talk a lot to make Flare comfortable with them. Ben & Mira teach Flare some common senses too in the meanwhile. They know and understand her situation, but others won't, so they need to teach her before she interacts with people.
"Flare-chan, your magic is hair manipulation, right? Do you mind showing it to us later?" asks Mira with a friendly tone.
Flare nods shyly and wants to show it immediately. But Mira stops her because they are still inside the car.
"I mean later after we arrived in the town and go to the training ground," says Mira hastily.
Flare realizes her mistake and immediately apologizes. Mira tells her to not mind it and then they talk about Flare's Magic. Just like what they have thought, she lacks experience, and Ivan didn't teach her correctly.
Ivan taught Flare and other Raven Tail members to fight dirty. It's not that Ben is against the dirty fighting method. He is someone who believes that there's no right or wrong in the battle of survival, so dirty tricks are not wrong for him, it's also a form of strategy, after all.
However, relying on dirty tricks has its limit, and that limit is low. Knowing how to fight properly is more important than knowing how to use tricks. These petty tricks are useless in front of sheer overwhelming power.
"Alright then, Flare, aside from teaching you about society, we will train your magic too. Don't worry, you will have a lot of friends, real friends, not fake ones like those guys in Raven Tail who have ulterior motives," says Ben.
"Y-Yes, thank you," says Flare.
They keep having a friendly conversation on their way to Magnolia. Slowly, Flare starts to get used to them and talks more. She even calls Mira a big sister and Ben as a big brother because she wants to have siblings.
Flare is still 15 now, while Ben is 21 and Mira is 23. So it's true that she is their younger sister by age. She is even younger than Lisanna, but still older than Wendy if they don't count the time when Wendy & Lisanna were trapped on Tenrou Island. Even if they count it, she is still the same age as Wendy.
Some hours later, they arrive at Magnolia, and Flare is amazed by it. The current Magnolia has a very fascinating appearance. It is very bright and colorful, the exact opposite of Raven Tail base's dark & gloomy location.
Ben drives slowly after they enter the town because there are many people on the streets. The townfolks recognize Ben's car so they all wave at them. Ben & Mira open the windows to greet the townfolks.
Flare lowers her body to hide from the people's sight. She is surprised by this situation and she is too shy to show up. But she still takes a peek every once in a while to see the people of Magnolia.
"W-Why are they shouting at us?" asks Flare rather scaredly.
"Don't worry, Flare-chan, they aren't angry at us, they are just greeting us with a loud voice. Look, they are smiling, aren't they?" asks Mira.
Flare takes a better look at the people and realizes that they aren't angry. But she is still too shy to come out of her hiding. She still peeks every so often like a curious little kid though.
Sometime later, they arrive in front of the Fairy Tail building. The Mages inside are just as rowdy as usual and there is a big brawl on the side. Mira tells Flare to not worry about that as they just have a friendly match.
Everyone finally sees that Ben & Mira have returned so they all rush to the entrance. All of them ask about the 2's honeymoon but Ben says that he won't tell them anything. A honeymoon is a couple's business, after all, so it shouldn't be shared with the public.
However, Mira doesn't think the same and she starts to tell them about the places that she & Ben visited in the last few days. Ben's expression turns dark as everyone leaves him to hear Mira's story. He just sighs as he gives up on even try stopping Mira because she won't stop.
While everyone's attention is on Mira's story, Ben takes Flare to meet Makarov. The old man is waiting at the bar like usual and the waitress places 2 glasses of water as Ben & Flare get closer.
"You still look good, Master," says Ben.
"What's with that greeting? Did you hope something happen to me?" asks Makarov while raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, not. I am just worried that someone your age will hurt his back because he sits for too long," says Ben while smirking.
"Sigh, whatever. So, this is the girl that you mentioned before?" asks Makarov.
"Yeah, she was in Ivan's guild. She has agreed to leave Raven Tail and follow me. I want her to join Fairy Tail," says Ben.
"Alright, I can't refuse the 4th Guild Master's recommendation. You won't let just anyone join our guild anyway," says Makarov.
Makarov then puts a Fairy Tail mark on Flare's right shoulder. The Raven Tail mark on her right breast has been removed and replaced with the Sun Village mark. Ben had told Flare that she doesn't need to remove the village mark and she is happy with it.
"What about Ivan?" asks Makarov.
"I sent him & the whole Raven Tail to Magic Council. Sorry about it, but I couldn't just let him go. I've found a trace of Zeref's involvement in Raven Tail. It will be too dangerous to let them go," says Ben.
Makarov gets surprised to know that Zeref has a play in Raven Tail. He knows that Ben won't lie about something like this. His expression turns bitter because, in the end, Ivan is still his son.
______________________________________________________________
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