[Ding! Mission Triggered!]
[Mission Na: "The Roaring Train!"]
Mission Details:
Jude Heartfilia's plan benefits the nation and its people.
As the number one guild in Fiore, Fairy Tail should fully support Jude and help him overco various difficulties to complete the nationwide railway construction.
Hint: Protect Jude well.
Mission Progress:
Assist Jude Heartfilia in completing the nationwide railway construction. (Incomplete)
[Mission Reward: Random Gold Cloth.]
As the mission triggered, Marco couldn't help but widen his eyes—the reward for this mission was actually a "Random Gold Cloth"!
This was completely unexpected.
Was the difficulty of this task really that high?
Or was it that mission rewards weren't solely based on difficulty?
But upon further thought, the difficulty here was likely of a different kind—perhaps no easier than defeating a powerful enemy.
Building a complete nationwide railway network in the Kingdom of Fiore would require an imnse amount of ti, effort, manpower, and resources.
Even without any external obstacles, it wouldn't be sothing that could be completed overnight.
Moreover, the system's hint was quite interesting.
"Protect Jude well"—did this an...?
Marco narrowed his eyes.
Jude Heartfilia was indeed a key figure.
Before this, Marco had already learned that the Heartfilia family wasn't particularly large.
Aside from Jude, there was only an eleven-year-old daughter—the sole heir to the Heartfilia conglorate.
Jude was a man of deep devotion.
Though not particularly old, after his wife passed away in X777, he completely closed off his heart, showing no interest in remarrying.
As a result, the Heartfilia family wouldn't be expanding this generation, leaving that eleven-year-old girl under trendous pressure.
This also ant that if sothing were to happen to Jude, the Heartfilia conglorate would undoubtedly face turmoil, and the nationwide railway project would likely encounter setbacks—or even be completely abandoned.
After all, if soone had already t with misfortune, the successors might not have the courage to continue.
"Unless we prop up that girl as a puppet..."
At this thought, Marco shook his head.
Rather than dwelling on what hadn't happened yet, it was better to focus on how to protect Jude, the key figure.
With Jude leading the charge and handling the work, they wouldn't have to worry about the details—far easier than propping up a young girl as a puppet.
Looking at Jude, who was enthusiastically discussing the future developnt of his company, Marco had to admit he respected the man's capabilities. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel·fire·net
Moreover, after losing his wife, Jude had thrown himself entirely into his work, as if using relentless labor to numb himself.
He hardly ever went ho, practically living at the company, transforming into a complete workaholic.
"By the way, Mr. Jude, what's your daughter's na again?"
Thinking of this, Marco asked the question.
It wasn't hard to imagine that the sole heir of the Heartfilia conglorate—that eleven-year-old girl—probably wasn't living an easy life.
This wasn't about material conditions—the Hartfilia family's wealth would never let that little girl suffer physically.
But on an emotional level, how could an eleven-year-old girl possibly be happy after losing both her mother and father in quick succession?
"My daughter? Her na is Lucy. Why do you ask?"
Jude was completely baffled by Marco's sudden question.
He couldn't understand why Marco would bring up his daughter out of the blue.
However, it was then that Jude rembered—Lucy was actually a fan of Marco's.
He had just never ntioned it before.
"Marco, could I trouble you for an autograph? My daughter is a fan of yours. She's been pestering about it for a while now."
Once the thought occurred to him, Jude imdiately spoke up.
This was also a good opportunity to strengthen their bonds.
"Huh? Of course." Marco nodded in agreent, but inwardly, he wasn't as calm as he appeared.
Lucy—that was a na he recognized!
The last ti he t those companions from the future, one of them had been nad Lucy, and she had blonde hair too!
Of course, whether they were the sa person still needed further confirmation.
Just because Jude had blonde hair didn't necessarily an his daughter did. He'd have to et her in person to verify.
But that could wait.
Business ca first.
Taking a copy of The Great Detective Hols, Marco signed it, added a short blessing and handed it back to Jude.
"Thank you so much. Now I'll have sothing to show for when I get ho."
Jude accepted it with a smile and tucked it into his bag.
"Forgive if this sounds presumptuous, but Mr. Jude, Lucy is your only heir. Even for the sake of the Hartfilia Group's future, you should pay her more attention and spare so ti for her."
Marco chose his words carefully.
Whether or not she was the sa Lucy from the future, speaking up for her cost him nothing.
He just hoped it might make the girl's childhood a little easier.
"Well, it's not that I don't want to spend ti with her... I just—I don't know if you'd understand, but I honestly don't know how to interact with her..."
Marco's words left Jude looking slightly embarrassed.
Mainly because Marco himself was only thirteen or fourteen—being lectured so earnestly by soone still practically a child naturally made Jude feel awkward.
Still, he didn't brush it off or get defensive.
Instead, he explained sincerely that not knowing how to connect with his daughter was indeed one of the reasons he had been avoiding her.
Of course, even before his wife passed away, he hadn't been great at communicating with Lucy.
But back then, his wife had acted as a buffer, so the issue hadn't been obvious.
Now, it was glaringly apparent.
"Not knowing how to talk to her still isn't an excuse to keep avoiding her." Marco shook his head.
He could understand a father struggling to communicate with his daughter, but that didn't justify constantly disappearing on her.
"Sotis, words aren't necessary. Just being there is enough."
Marco finally said a bit too much, crossing the line by ddling in soone else's family affairs.
It felt like overstepping the bounds of their acquaintance.
If Jude hadn't still needed to rely on him and on Fairy Tail, he might have already shown displeasure.
For now, Jude remained silent, showing no other reaction.
It was hard to tell what he was thinking.
"Ahem, when should we set off?" Marco cleared his throat, changing the subject to business matters, which imdiately revived Jude's spirits.
"In three days!"
Jude answered earnestly, as this was now his primary concern.
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