Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
After two days at Iron Furnace Ridge, Doran finished repairing Erza's equipment, and the three of them, Noah included, boarded the train back to Magnolia.
Gajeel didn't return with them—he planned to cultivate at Iron Furnace Ridge for a month and bring Noah's Blast Gauntlets back with him when he returned.
Noah was naturally happy to avoid an extra trip, so he said some encouraging words to Gajeel, patted his butt, and left.
"As expected of the latest model of Magic Train, it's incredibly stable."
On the Magic Train, Noah surveyed the brand-new carriage.
Since the Black Bird Conglomerate was brought down, the Heartfilia Konzern, having recovered, not only repurchased the railways they were forced to mortgage but also had the funds to develop new Magic Trains.
This time, Noah and his two companions were lucky enough to ride on the brand-new Magic Train, the "Starlight," which had just been put into service.
Noah suspected the train's name was personally chosen by Jude, as "Heartfilia" and "Starlight" have an inseparable connection.
Compared to the original Magic Trains, the Starlight had powerful propulsion and excellent stability, yet its consumption was the same as before.
The scenery outside the window was uninteresting, so Noah and Mira chatted idly, while Erza noticed several fierce-looking men in the same carriage.
One of them, a bald man with a scar on his face who looked very arrogant, was scolding the train attendant. "No smoking on the train? What kind of bullshit new rule is that?"
"If you dare to stop me again, I won't smoke, I'll smoke you!"
The train attendant knew his small frame couldn't afford to provoke the bald man and his companions—he couldn't fight against superior strength, so he could only apologize nervously. "I... I'm sorry..."
"Is 'I'm sorry' enough?"
The bald man was unrelenting, to the point where even his companions couldn't stand it. A man with a bun in his hair advised, "Baldy, why are you losing your temper with a commoner?"
"Kageyama, are you telling me what to do?"
The bald man had long disliked Kageyama. "Don't think that just because you can unseal the Lullaby and are highly regarded by Master Erigor, you can boss me around."
"Idiot!! Keep your voice down!!"
Kageyama and several other companions simultaneously turned cold, making the bald man realize he'd said something he shouldn't have, so he could only sullenly shut his mouth.
Little did he know, the bald man's big mouth had been heard clearly by the other three.
Guild receptionists are responsible for subscribing to newspapers and weeklies, so Mira was quite well-informed about news in the Magic World and quickly remembered where she'd heard the name Erigor.
Erigor, the current Guild Master and ace of the Dark Guild Eisenwald, codenamed "Shinigami"!
Originally, Eisenwald was one of the Legal Guilds, but unable to resist the temptation of money, they secretly accepted assassination requests forbidden by the Council.
It wasn't until their misdeeds were exposed five years ago that the then-Guild Master of Eisenwald was arrested and imprisoned, and the Guild was ordered to disband by the Council.
But Eisenwald, already having stepped into darkness for money, was now a thorough Dark Guild. Why would they obey the Council's orders? Instead, they brazenly continued to take on assassination missions.
Erigor was a Mage renowned for specializing in assassination missions. Because no target could escape his scythe, and he never failed, he earned the title "Shinigami."
After hearing the information provided by Mira, Erza immediately added in a low voice, "As far as I know, Eisenwald is now one of the subsidiary Guilds under the Oración Seis."
"Perhaps we can... Noah, stop daydreaming."
Erza nudged the person beside her.
Noah shrugged, indicating that he wasn't daydreaming. He'd just heard a very interesting piece of news and said nonchalantly, "Eisenwald or Erigor, they're all just a disorganized mob."
"The Lullaby that bald man mentioned is the truly dangerous thing. The lives it takes are more than a hundred Erigors could assassinate."
Erza and Mira hadn't heard of the Lullaby's reputation, but Noah had read about it in books.
The Lullaby was originally a Magical Tool, a flute that released offensive Magic through sound, with average power.
But later, the Lullaby fell into the hands of a Black Mage. The latter erased the Magic on the flute and transformed it into a terrifying Curse Kill Magic, capable of cursing and killing all living beings who heard its sound.
The Black Mage did something unknown—he actually gave the Lullaby life, and thus the world-ravaging Curse Kill Demon: Lullaby was born. Wherever it passed, corpses were strewn across the fields.
It wasn't until over two hundred years ago that a Devil Slayer Mage sacrificed his life to seal the Lullaby, allowing it to only retain its flute form.
Involving the legendary Black Mage, Erza became serious.
According to the bald man's words, it was a foregone conclusion that Eisenwald had obtained the Lullaby, but they hadn't yet managed to break the seal on the Magic flute.
And the man named Kageyama was the key person to break the seal.
Now was the best time to act.
However, Noah patted Erza's hand as she was about to draw her sword. "There's certainly more than one person in this world who can unseal the Lullaby. It would be better to directly destroy the Magic flute, the Lullaby."
"So Erza, don't rush. Play along with them."
Shirotsume Town Station.
After getting off the train, the members of Eisenwald hurried away from the platform, completely unaware that one man and two women had also followed them off the train, leisurely maintaining a certain distance.
Outside a luxurious mansion, Noah and his two companions stopped. They'd witnessed the members of Eisenwald enter the mansion.
"Hmph, they're quite rich, to be able to buy such a large house."
Facing Noah's teasing, Erza, however, was contemplating whether to infiltrate or charge in head-on.
Mira inquired among the local residents and learned that the mansion belonged to a lewd wealthy man named Everlue, who reportedly had an unusual aesthetic sense.