Lucy bit her lip, not daring to look at her angry father.
She knew his argument made sense.
When you apprenticed under someone, you called them master.
Who changed titles just because of age?
"Verbal respect is superficial; true respect comes from the heart. i dont really care about hollow formalities." Marco spoke up in Lucy's defense.
If Hisui wanted to call him master, that was fine.
If Lucy preferred brother, that was fine too.
Whatever they called him, their relationship wouldn't change.
"..." Latest content publıshed on novel•fire.net
Hearing this, Jude immediately fell silent, offering no further objections.
His uncharacteristic and tactless questioning had actually been a test—he wanted to gauge Marco's true attitude.
Now it seemed Marco genuinely didn't care about titles, which set Jude's mind at ease.
He certainly didn't want his daughter to earn Marco's displeasure over something so trivial.
"When do you plan to let Lucy join Fairy Tail?" Marco asked Jude, fully aware of the man's concerns.
His firm response earlier had been meant to reassure him.
Though Jude was consumed by work, his love for Lucy ran deep.
Lucy looked at her father with hopeful eyes, wishing she could leave for Fairy Tail immediately.
"When she's older. She hasn't even turned twelve yet. It's too soon for her to leave home and live independently..."
Under the gazes of Marco, Lucy, and Mira, Jude hesitated before giving an answer that disappointed Lucy.
Still, Lucy could understand.
Her father hadn't even allowed her outside before—such a drastic change would have been stranger.
Though disappointed, this reaction felt more like her real father, making her earlier experiences feel genuine rather than some beautiful dream.
"Then come back after you turn twelve." Marco nodded.
Every family had its own difficulties.
Just because King Toma could confidently entrust his only child directly to him didn't mean Jude had to follow the king's example.
Such things couldn't be compared.
Different perspectives led to entirely different conclusions.
One could say King Toma's approach showed boldness and foresight, but it could also be interpreted as cold-heartedness—prioritizing interests over familial bonds.
Thus, there was nothing to criticize about Jude's decision to let Lucy join Fairy Tail a little later.
With his daughter about to be sent off to a "boarding school" to live independently, perhaps Jude would take more time to accompany her out of reluctance to part.
If that were truly the case, Marco would actually prefer Lucy to join Fairy Tail later.
More time with her father was something Lucy had always wished for.
With the matter settled, Marco and Mira left and returned to Magnolia, while Jude and Lucy went home.
True to form, Jude did indeed start spending more time with Lucy.
People were often —when Lucy had been at home, eagerly waiting for Jude to return, he rarely did.
But now that Lucy was about to be away for a long time, Jude became reluctant to let her go and began making more time for her at home.
And so, nearly half a year passed.
By the latter half of the year, after Lucy celebrated her twelfth birthday, she finally left home for good and officially join Fairy Tail.
During those six months, the construction of the southern railway network had been in full swing.
On the very day Lucy arrived at Fairy Tail, the final city was officially connected.
Thus, Lucy and Jude's arrival allowed Marco to complete two missions at once.
One was inviting Lucy to join Fairy Tail and the other was the long-awaited [Roaring Train]—a gold-rank mission that had taken over a year to complete.
[Ding! Mission "She Comes from the Future" completed!]
Mission progress: Invite Lucy Heartfilia to join the Fairy Tail guild. (Completed)
[Claim mission reward?]
[Ding! Mission "Roaring Train" completed!]
Mission progress: Assist Jude Heartfilia in completing the nationwide railway construction. (Completed)
[Claim mission reward?]
The completion prompts for both missions appeared simultaneously.
Marco claimed the first one first—its reward was fairly ordinary, similar to when he had invited Juvia to join the guild.
He suspected it might be because inviting these two girls into the guild posed little difficulty, unlike the slight complications when recruiting Wendy and Mystogan.
[Congratulations! Obtained random item: Pandora's Necklace!]
The system notification popped up, making Marco's eyes widen slightly.
Had he hit the jackpot? Instead of useless rare materials or fashionable trinkets?
[Pandora's Necklace: Allows the wearer to move freely anywhere in the underworld.]
Staring at the necklace's description, Marco's expression turned odd.
Would this function even work in this world?
And did this world even have an underworld? He wasn't too familiar with that.
'I'll test it out when I have time.' Marco didn't take out the necklace, instead storing it in his system space.
He would test its effects later when he had time, as there were more important matters at hand now.
First, he needed to receive Jude and Lucy, the father-daughter pair who had brought him good news.
Second, of course, was to claim the rewards from the Gold-level mission.
He was quite looking forward to obtaining his first Gold Cloth.
After having Hisui and the others take Lucy to the girls' dormitory and sending Jude to catch up with Master Valtava, Marco finally had some free time.
He carefully washed his hands and face, even lighting some incense, before solemnly claiming his mission reward.
His first Gold Cloth naturally deserved special attention.
Marco summoned the [Saint System] and directly claimed the mission reward.
A powerful surge of magic instantly erupted, with dazzling golden light so bright it nearly blinded his eyes.
"Seriously, isn't this effect a bit over the top?!"
Marco couldn't help but speak up, but he spoke too soon—the real spectacle was yet to come!
The overflowing magic energy surged outward from Marco's body in all directions.
The terrifying shockwave uprooted the surrounding trees, as if clearing everything in its path.
Watching this scene, Marco couldn't help but feel relieved that he had chosen to claim the reward in a deserted, open forest.
He had some foresight, guessing that unlocking a Gold Cloth would likely come with a grand display.
But now, it seemed his earlier assumptions had been far too conservative.
Magic energy erupted from Marco's body, shooting straight into the dark night sky like a towering pillar.
The stars above were stirred, gradually appearing in the night sky before bursting into brilliance, flickering incessantly.
The stars shimmered brightly—though it was already night, under the sudden radiance of the flickering stars, the entire world seemed as bright as day!
"Dude, seriously..." Marco blinked, staring at the scene before him.
The emergence of the Gold Cloth was practically announcing itself to the whole world, wasn't it?