Charles felt he couldn't stay in Orario any longer.

Wiene's rebirth had been a complete success—she had even received a God's blessing.

Fels had vanished soon after hearing the news, presumably to dive into research on how to optimize the regeneration ritual and to begin discussions with the Xenos about undergoing it themselves.

What Charles hadn't expected, though, was how fast Fels would act. Within just a few days, a group of people had come knocking at his door.

They were Xenos who had completed the regeneration ritual—in other words, newly born Druids.

According to Fels, his hope was that these individuals could join various Familia as adventurers.

And on the surface, there was only one adventurer the Xenos could truly trust: Charles, the man who had protected their kin Wiene and had helped create the regeneration ritual.

Fels could have used his connections with Uranus and the Guild to get the Druids placed in Ganesha's Familia or somewhere else appropriate.

But the Druids themselves had insisted—so strongly that Fels had no choice but to comply.

Charles didn't have the capacity to take them in himself, so he had no choice but to ask his own god.

Hephaestus was overwhelmed.

The truth was, the Druids—each possessing innate advantages and at least one monster-form transformation skill—were exceptionally talented. Any Familia would be eager to recruit them.

But the Hephaestus Familia was primarily a production Familia. Taking in so many combat-type members would've been a complete mismatch.

So Hephaestus did what any good friend would do: she offloaded the "blessing" to her other god friends.

After a brief meeting with Hestia, Takemikazuchi, Miach, and Loki, the Druids were divided among them.

Of course, the decision still rested with the Druids themselves.

Takemikazuchi and Miach were fine. They didn't have much competitive drive. But Hestia and Loki, being lifelong rivals, went at it like a pair of rabid cats.

Finn, ever the brilliant captain, quickly grasped the potential of the Druids and used every tactic at his disposal to recruit them.

But to everyone's surprise, over half of the fifty-or-so Druids chose Hestia Familia. Only a handful went with Loki Familia.

This was one of the rare times Hestia had won against Loki—aside from in the bust department.

Because Druids, born from monsters, had purer hearts than humans, they weren't swayed by profit or prestige. In contrast to Finn, whose body radiated calculation and planning, they found Bell's sincerity far more appealing.

Finn eventually realized this and could only sigh at his own misstep.

Amusingly, one of the Druids—a girl reborn from a unicorn rabbit—looked almost identical to Bell, save for her gender and resulting body shape.

Charles jokingly called her Bell's long-lost sister, and she was quickly adopted as Hestia Familia's mascot.

Unfortunately, Asterius, Bell's destined rival, wasn't among the reborn. Charles had really been hoping to see the moment those two met again.

These newly reborn Druids were no pushovers either. Before their rebirth, they'd already been around Level 3, with a few exceptional individuals close to Level 5.

This sudden injection of top-tier adventurers into various Familia didn't go unnoticed. Other Familia quickly began to take an interest.

Soon, all of Orario knew about the existence of the Druids. And somehow—Charles had no idea how—his involvement with them was exposed.

From that point on, Charles couldn't walk outside without being swarmed by people digging for information—sometimes even gods themselves.

After all, Hestia Familia had gone from a small-to-medium Familia to a powerhouse with over twenty upper-class adventurers almost overnight. Who wouldn't be jealous?

That's why Charles had had enough of Orario. He decided to return to the world of Fairy Tail, taking Stella and Wiene with him.

And just like that, he left. After saying a few goodbyes, he took the two girls and departed that world.

Stella looked around at the city of Magnolia, so different in style from Orario, and exclaimed, "So this is your hometown?"

Charles shook his head. "I wouldn't call this my hometown, but… it is home."

With that, he led Stella and Wiene to the front gates of Fairy Tail.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

The doors swung open, revealing the bustling chaos within.

Everyone inside grew excited at the sight of Charles.

"Charles is back!"

"Man, that trip sure took a while!"

"Hey everyone! Charles brought back some gorgeous girls!"

…

Even Wiene, experiencing such a scene for the first time, was overwhelmed. Stella, usually outgoing, was just as stunned by the overflowing enthusiasm.

But for some reason, neither of them found it unpleasant. Instead, they felt an inexplicable desire to be part of it.

That was Fairy Tail's charm.

If Natsu and the others were around, the atmosphere would've been even more overwhelming.

Once Charles introduced the two girls to everyone, they quickly blended in.

Sitting at the bar, Charles chatted with the female wizards. Stella, watching from the side, realized it was the first time she'd seen him so completely relaxed.

No wonder Charles called this place home. Only around family could someone let their guard down like this.

It was just a shame Mirajane wasn't here—her absence left the bar missing its soul.

Temporarily filling her role as the guild's poster girl was a new member named Ginana.

She had lived as a snake for ten years under a curse, only regaining her human form thanks to Makarov.

Yes—that Ginana. The serpent who had once followed Cobra, the poison Dragon Slayer of the Oración Seis.

But she had no memories of her time as a snake. Now, she was just Fairy Tail's new barmaid.

Sliding a drink across the counter, Ginana smiled and said, "Welcome back, Acting Guild Master."

Charles waved her off. "Didn't I tell you not to call me that? I don't want to be guild master. It sounds like such a hassle."

Ginana chuckled. "But everyone already sees you that way. If it weren't for you, who knows what the guild would be like now? Everyone supports the idea of you becoming the next master."

Charles sighed and quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, where are Kagura and the others? Out on jobs?"

Ginana replied, "You know Kagura—she's off training again. Sting and Rogue took on a request. But last I heard, they'd finished the job and should be back soon."

Charles nodded. When the Sirius Team left and left a hole in the guild's strength, he had recruited four promising mages using his knowledge of future events.

Sherria was still too young and had been instructed to focus on learning her God Slayer magic. But the other three, while not yet at their peak, were already strong enough to serve as pillars of the guild.

Ginana suddenly remembered something and pulled out an envelope from behind the counter. "Good thing you're back—otherwise, we wouldn't know what to do with this!"

Charles looked at the envelope and saw the royal seal of the Kingdom of Fiore. He was just wondering what it was when the guild's front doors slammed open with a loud BANG, and two young hotheads stormed in.

"We heard Charles is back! Where is he?!"

Both were technically his underlings, but Sting was a total Natsu fanboy—and acted just like him.

Stella, thinking trouble had arrived, prepared to respond until Laki gently held her back.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. This is just how we do things at Fairy Tail."

She smiled wistfully, clearly reminiscing about the days when Natsu and the rest were still around.

Stella was still confused when Sting and Rogue spotted Charles sitting at the bar and immediately rushed him.

"Charles, we've grown a lot lately! Time to face our challenge!"

Their bodies were wreathed in white and black magic as they leaped toward him.

Charles sighed. Now he understood how Gildarts must have felt.

He didn't even bother standing. Mimicking Gildarts, he delivered a clean chop to Sting's head and, with a lift of his arm, tossed Rogue into the ceiling.

Sting, lying flat on the ground, looked up and grinned. "As expected of Charles—still too strong!"

All the old guild members smiled. The scene was so familiar. They couldn't wait to see Natsu's face when he saw this.

Just then, two small cats walked over on their hind legs.

A reddish-brown one in a vest said, "Told you, Sting. You're not ready to beat Charles yet. Seriously, you never listen."

The one in a frog outfit nodded. "Frosch agrees!"

Sting stood up and shouted, "What are you talking about, Lector?! Next time I will beat Charles!"

Lector just shrugged with a helpless expression. He clearly didn't believe a word of it.

Rogue, who had fallen from the ceiling, walked over and immediately spotted the envelope on the table.

"So, is that why you came back, Charles?"

Charles blinked. He didn't even know what it was. How could that be why he returned?

Sting noticed the envelope too and exclaimed, "So the guild's really decided to enter that… what was it? The Grand Magic Games?!"

Charles's expression shifted.

So that's what the envelope was—an invitation from the Kingdom of Fiore to participate in the Grand Magic Games.

(End of Chapter)

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