"Is this the outside world?"
Hisui eyes were wide open as she peered out from the edge of the large basket.
Born and raised in the deep palaces of the Fiore Kingdom, this was the first ti the princess had seen the world beyond the rcurius palace.
"Isn't it fun to co out and explore?" Marco asked with a smile.
While a princess raised in the royal palace could receive excellent education, stepping out to see the complete world was equally essential.
Otherwise, she might end up just another aloof noble ruler.
"Mhm! The outside world must be much more interesting than the palace, right?" Hisui's eyes sparkled with excitent and anticipation.
This was her first ti leaving ho, her first long journey, and she would be staying outside for an extended period—it was natural for her emotions to be unstable.
"Of course, far more interesting than the palace." Marco looked at Hisui, feeling a pang of pity for the child.
To say a princess was pitiable might sound like the proverbial "let them eat cake," but growing up alone in the depths of the palace, without any friends her age, was indeed a kind of sorrow.
Even those with far less privilege than Hisui—many of them orphans who didn't even know their parents—the children of Fairy Tail undoubtedly lived much happier lives than her.
They had more complete childhoods.
That said, Hisui bore the future of the Fiore Kingdom on her shoulders.
Her childhood couldn't be solely about happiness—that would be irresponsible toward the kingdom's future.
Thus, by taking Hisui as his disciple, Marco also shouldered a responsibility—one that concerned the future of the Fiore Kingdom.
Especially since King Toma had entrusted Hisui to him and allowed her to co to Fairy Tail.
This was practically handing over her upbringing entirely to Marco, which ca with no small amount of pressure.
Still, growing up in Fairy Tail, Hisui would at least turn out well-adjusted.
With proper values, a sense of responsibility, and justice, she would hardly beco a tyrant.
That alone could be considered a success in her upbringing.
...
The crow flew swiftly, reaching Magnolia in no ti and landing by the lake behind the Fairy Tail guild hall.
Everyone in the guild was already familiar with Marco's giant crow.
At first, Hisui had been exhilarated during the flight, but before long, the wind had her huddling in disarray.
By the ti they arrived and she climbed out of the basket, her excitent had faded.
She had nearly fallen asleep curled up inside during the latter half of the journey.
"Marco! You're back!"
No sooner had Marco and Hisui landed than a group of children ca running at him.
Spotting Marco's crow, they imdiately sward around him, chattering excitedly.
Hisui's eyes widened in astonishnt at the scene—her master was surrounded by a crowd of children around her age, many of them were girls.
"Marco, how was the mission? Any trouble? My divination said there shouldn't be any major issues."
"Marco, you're finally back! I've morized the text you taught last ti. Can we learn a new one now?"
"Eh, who's this kid? Juvia hasn't seen her before."
The children chattered excitedly, concerned about Marco's situation and of course, they all noticed Hisui following behind him.
Juvia looked at Hisui curiously, her eyes carrying a hint of wariness—another pretty girl.
"No trouble. I'll teach you a new one when I have ti. This is Hisui, my apprentice and a new companion for the guild."
Marco answered questions from Cana, Levy, and Juvia in turn.
As for Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel, who were noisily arguing about who had won their recent fights, he just casually humd in response to brush them off.
"Hisui, co introduce yourself to everyone."
Marco called Hisui forward to introduce her to the group.
Almost everyone was present—only Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman were missing, as the three siblings had gone on a mission together, though not far, just within Magnolia.
"Hello everyone, I'm Hisui. Nice to et you all"
Hisui stepped forward with a smile, greeting everyone confidently without any sign of nervousness.
At the very least, King Toma's education for Hisui had been quite successful—the girl's personality and social skills were excellent.
Her natural confidence won her much goodwill, and everyone took turns introducing themselves to her.
eting so many children close to her age at once reignited Hisui's excitent.
She tried hard to rember each person's na and traits to avoid mixing them up, though her worry was unnecessary—these kids all had very distinct personalities.
"Marco, why did you say she's your apprentice?"
Natsu asked curiously, though he wasn't the only one wondering.
Everyone had noticed Marco's earlier phrasing.
"Because I officially took her as my apprentice—to learn my magic and the lyre. It's a proper arrangent, and her father agreed, letting her co with to the guild."
Marco's explanation left everyone stunned.
Though Marco was tall and didn't seem like a child, his age was still young—was he really old enough to take on an apprentice?
In the children's understanding, formal master-disciple relationships usually involved a significant age gap, with the master being much older—like Master Valtava and Marco.
That seed like a normal pairing.
Though Marco and Hisui were a few years apart, it still felt a bit odd.
No one had initially guessed their relationship was like this.
"Then, Marco, should I beco your apprentice too?"
Levy pointed at herself, asking sowhat confusedly.
She asked because she was also learning from Marco—though it was language studies.
Well, not just language.
Levy had already realized that the language Marco was teaching her was also a form of magical script.
So strictly speaking, she was learning magic from him too.
"That doesn't count. Only learning Celestial Spirit Magic qualifies as my apprentice."
Upon hearing Levy's question, Marco couldn't help but chuckle.
His so-called "master-student system" clearly only took effect in matters related to Saints.
Teaching Levy another languange wasn't influenced by the [Saint System].
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