"Granny Porlyusica! Help!"
Spotting the treehouse in the distance, Marco began shouting at the top of his lungs.
Creak!
The door swung open swiftly, revealing an elderly woman with pink hair and a red cloak adorned with dragon teeth.
She looked at Marco, who had cried for help.
"What happened?! Who's hurt?!" Porlyusica asked urgently, assuming from Marco's tone that something serious had occurred.
"It's Natsu! He's unconscious!"
Marco and Erza arrived at the door of the treehouse, with Erza looking somewhat anxious as she spoke.
"Come in."
Porlyusica glanced at Natsu and immediately calmed down.
She could tell the boy wasn't seriously hurt.
Frowning, Porlyusica turned her gaze to Marco, who had been shouting earlier.
The brat just grinned at her and before she could say anything else, darted into the treehouse.
Inside the treehouse, several children gathered around the sickbed, watching Natsu with concern.
"Granny Porlyusica, is Natsu okay?" Marco asked.
As the instigator, he felt he should at least show some concern.
"He's fine. This brat has a strong body" Porlyusica replied, applying magical potions and healing spells.
The bruises on Natsu's body visibly faded—though truthfully, he'd only suffered some superficial swelling from the fight.
"That's good." Marco nodded.
Just as he'd thought—there was no way Natsu could be taken down so easily.
Once the healing was done, Porlyusica looked at Marco and the others, her expression clearly impatient as she bluntly shooed them away.
"He's fine now. Take him and get out of here. Don't bother me."
This Porlyusica was a stark contrast to the one who had urgently opened the door to save someone earlier.
Her disdain was written all over her face.
"Hehehe, we're going now!" Marco laughed, scooping Natsu up from the bed and darting outside with him tucked under his arm.
Erza, Gray, Cana and the little white dog immediately followed, the group of children rushing off in a noisy whirlwind.
"Goodbye, Granny Porlyusica!" they called out as they ran.
Watching the rowdy chattering children leave, the previously disdainful Porlyusica couldn't help but smile.
Then, just as quickly, she stiffened and reverted to her usual scowl.
"I hate humans. Even children only know how to fight all day, making such a racket. So annoying," she muttered to herself before closing the treehouse door.
Marco was long accustomed to Granny Porlyusica's attitude.
Her personality was a textbook case of "tsundere"—sharp-tongued yet soft-hearted, outwardly cold but inwardly warm.
She always claimed to "hate all humans," yet whenever someone was in danger, she never hesitated to help.
Nearly everyone in Fairy Tail had been treated by her at some point.
With Natsu tucked under his arm, Marco led the group of kids all the way back to Magnolia City.
Magnolia was a city located in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Fiore, with a population of over 60,000.
It had been a city steeped in magic since ancient times and Fairy Tail was the only official Mage guild in the city.
Once inside Magnolia, the group split up instead of returning to the guild.
Erza and Cana headed to the girls' dormitory, Gray carried Natsu back to the boys' dormitory and Marco went home.
It's worth mentioning here that Erza, Cana, Gray and Natsu were all unfortunate orphans, living in dormitories provided by the guild.
Marco, though also an orphan, was fortunate enough to have a home.
He grew up in the Fairy Tail guild, adopted by the guild master Makarov Dreyar.
As the master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar's home was quite spacious—a three-story white villa with sizable front and back yards.
Pushing open the gate, Marco saw a cobblestone path leading to the villa, flanked by vibrant flowers and plants that Makarov had cultivated.
Hurrying back to the villa, Marco opened the door and immediately bumped into someone.
"Hey! Marco! Watch where you're going!"
The person clutched his chest, looking as if he'd had the wind knocked out of him.
He pointed at Marco, baring his teeth with a fierce expression.
"Laxus?! You're home? Did you finish your quest?"
Marco's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise at the sight of the person before him.
The tall figure had short blond hair, a lightning bolt mark near his left eye and wore a modern-style magical music device called a "Sound Pot"—essentially headphones that played music.
This world had many such magical tools.
Laxus Dreyar, Makarov's grandson and Marco's older brother, was sixteen now.
When Makarov had found Marco, Laxus had been by his side.
"Yeah, just wrapped up an A-class quest. Honestly, these jobs are getting too easy for me."
At Marco's question, Laxus straightened up, answering with evident pride.
He was no longer satisfied with A-class quests—they no longer proved his strength.
"Maybe you should take the S-class exam."
Hearing Laxus's words, Marco offered a suggestion.
If Laxus was tired of A-class quests, he likely wanted to challenge S-class ones.
But to take S-class quests, he first needed to become an S-class Mage by passing the exam.
"Soon. This year or next. That old man won't be able to stop me anymore!"
Laxus clenched his fist—he'd clearly been considering this for a while.
"Laxus, you should show more respect to Grandpa. Stop calling him 'old man' all the time. He's still your grandfather, the guild master and someone worthy of respect."
Marco's delighted expression faded into seriousness as he spoke earnestly.
His words visibly heated Laxus up.
Though he was the elder in the family, Marco was lecturing him like an older brother now.
"Who are you to lecture me?!"
Sparks of electricity crackled around Laxus as he shoved Marco aside and stormed out of the house.
"..."
Watching Laxus leave in a huff, Marco sighed.
The Laxus of the past—well-behaved, polite, and warm—had disappeared.