Noah finished his long lecture, then stopped, picking up his cup to take a big gulp of his drink.
He had gotten worked up. He understood that seeing family in danger could make people lose their heads. But he had never imagined an entire family would, one by one, make such absurdly reckless choices. They had practically lined up to get themselves killed, and they had co dangerously close to a total wipeout.
It was a good thing he had installed that protective magic on the guild marks. It was the only reason the worst-case scenario had been avoided. This was the real world, not a ga; there were no second chances. If you had the ability to do sothing perfectly, you had to do it perfectly.
Thinking of the protective magic reminded Noah of sothing. He looked at Mirajane and the others.
"Oh, right. Don't tell any of the other guild mbers about the protective magic on the guild marks."
"Wait, what? How co I never knew we had magic like that on our marks?" Lisanna asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
Noah shot her an exasperated look. "That's why. I didn't want you to know. If people know they have a safety net, they stop being careful. Knowing there's a final layer of protection just makes people reckless. They take more risks, and that's more likely to get them killed, not less."
He stared right at Lisanna. "Look at you! Even without knowing you had a shield, you were 'brave' enough to stand completely defenseless in front of soone who was rampaging out of their mind. How heroic! I can't even imagine what kind of 'brave' things you'd pull if you knew you had it."
Lisanna's face turned bright red. "I get it, okay!" she snapped. "I won't do it again! You can stop now!"
Noah just glanced at her before turning to Mirajane. "Mira, I hope this was a big enough lesson for you. Next ti, you won't forget to make sure the enemy is actually down, right? At the very least, confirm there's no more threat."
"Yes," Mirajane whispered, her voice quiet. "This... I'll never forget this."
Her spirits were still low. She had, after all, nearly led her own brother and sister to their deaths. They were the most important people in the world to her, which made the blow even heavier. It would take a long ti for her to recover from that.
Noah thought for a mont. He had an idea that might distract her and help her move past the guilt.
"Mira, you must have realized by now... your brother and sister are a bit weak. Taking them on an S-Class job to give them experience isn't a bad idea in itself. But their strength, awareness, and judgnt just aren't there yet. So, I have a proposal."
Noah paused, looking over at Lisanna and Elfman. The two of them seed to sense what was coming and shivered.
Noah looked back at Mirajane. "You need to ramp up their training. Strengthen every aspect of their skills and awareness. That way, whether they're on their own jobs or backing you up, you won't have to worry so much."
"Oh, and Elfman," he continued, "he managed to Take Over The Beast King, right? Then you need to help him master it. A full-body Take Over of that thing will boost his power significantly. Don't be afraid of it being difficult or of him failing. If it doesn't work once, try again. And again."
A small, dangerous smile played on Noah's lips. "I'm also happy to help. A few... 'training sessions'… with , and I'm sure Elfman will master that full-body Take Over in no ti."
"And Lisanna, too, of course. If you're weak, it just ans you haven't trained enough. More training, more strength. It's simple."
Elfman and Lisanna stared at Noah in disbelief. Then, they both whipped their heads toward Mirajane, who was clearly and seriously considering Noah's proposal.
Lisanna opened her mouth to protest, but Noah cut her off.
"Besides, Mira, you're a Take Over user, too. And you're their big sister. You're the best person to raise their skill level, and fast. You don't want a repeat of today, do you?"
That sealed it for Mirajane.
She looked at Lisanna and Elfman. When they saw the look in her eyes, they knew their fate was sealed.
"Your strength is definitely lacking," Mirajane said, her voice firm. "To make sure nothing like this ever happens again, I'm going to be training you both personally. At the very least, Elfman will master his full-body Take Over, and Lisanna, your power is going to increase. Drastically."
"Understood..." Lisanna replied weakly. She and Elfman could already picture the agonizing days that lay ahead of them.
"Right," Noah said. "I'm going to report to Gramps about the mission. You three should go see him later to give him a more detailed, private report. And rember, don't tell anyone about the protection magic. The last thing I need is our mbers trying to get themselves killed just because they think they have a safety net."
"We know," the three Strauss siblings said in unison.
Noah nodded and split off a Thought Projection, sending it to the guild hall, where it found Makarov pacing anxiously. The projection first announced to the guild that the situation was resolved and their comrades were safe. A collective sigh of relief filled the hall as everyone went back to their business.
Then, the projection pulled Makarov to a quiet corner and told him everything.
Makarov nodded gravely. The important thing was that everyone was safe. However, the arrangents for the Lisanna from Edolas, as well as the ntal well-being of the three Strauss siblings, were matters that needed to be addressed. He decided to talk with them as soon as possible.
With its task complete, the Thought Projection returned to Noah's house, where dinner preparations were already underway. A little while later, Wendy and the others returned from their shopping trip, and Erza, Sorano, and the others also ca back from their own tasks.
They all had a lively celebration, both for the Strauss siblings surviving their ordeal and to welco the Lisanna from Edolas. After a rowdy evening, Mirajane and her siblings went ho, taking Edo-Lisanna with them.
Erza and the others, their curiosity piqued, imdiately started asking Noah all about the other world, Edolas. Noah could only tell them that he knew the basics but didn't have many more details.
As everyone else excitedly discussed the implications of a parallel world, Noah noticed Carla sitting off to the side, a deeply conflicted look on her face. He walked over and crouched down, bringing himself to her eye level.
Seeing his action, everyone else fell silent and turned to watch.
Noah looked directly into Carla's eyes and said softly, "I know that you and Happy... you're from Edolas, too."
~~~
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