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As the biological daughter of Jiemma, Minerva's life wasn't happy—it could even be described as quite unfortunate.
Her mother died in childbirth, and her father was obsessed with the desire to be the "strongest," but knowing that he couldn't become the "strongest," Jiemma chose to place his dream on his next generation.
Jiemma's harsh training for other children was doubled or even tripled when applied to Minerva, and the same was true for punishment.
Minerva, who'd had only herself to rely on since she was a child, desperately tried to fulfill Jiemma's requests in order to gain his approval and "love," but all she received in return was a cold gaze, insults, and abuse.
Sometimes Minerva felt that her father only wanted a tool—a tool that obeyed him and didn't need to think.
Now that Jiemma was defeated, he'd soon be arrested by the Enforcement Unit and judged by the Magic Council, but after all, he was her father... Only twelve years old, Minerva was in inner pain and turmoil. She didn't know what to do next, nor did she know what kind of expression to show.
Looking at the little girl with a numb expression and dull eyes, Erza sighed.
How could a pitiful child who lacked love and was constantly being manipulated by her biological father to the point of almost being mentally twisted not be heartbreaking?
Gently hugging Minerva into her arms, Erza gently stroked the girl's back, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how to start, so she could only turn her head and wink at her companions.
However, Natsu and Gajeel weren't good with words, and Lucy wanted to help but couldn't because of her limited experience, and Mira was wise but was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Noah looked at his companions around him who, like Erza, didn't know what to say, and suddenly a sense of superiority arose spontaneously.
Damn it, my teammates are incompetent. Looks like I've gotta step up myself.
"Minerva, would you like to experience what a real home feels like?"
Noah's light words gave the dull-eyed Minerva a little bit of spirit.
Although she had a home, it was loveless, and although she had a father, he was unkind.
The word "home" was an unattainable existence for Minerva, who was under Jiemma's cold-blooded and high-pressure education.
She also wanted to wear beautiful clothes like other girls, have cute dolls, and go to the circus with her father on weekends... But Jiemma was so cold-blooded and ruthless.
Until now, Minerva didn't even know what a "home" should feel like.
Facing Noah's calm gaze, Minerva, who'd been silent for a long time, finally spoke. "Fairy Tail... what kind of guild is it?"
Before Noah could answer, Natsu and the others couldn't wait to respond, thinking, 'I know this one!'
"Kindness"—this was Lucy's impression of Fairy Tail.
"Unity"—this was what Gajeel saw in Fairy Tail when Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail.
Only Natsu was different. He crossed his arms and solemnly uttered a few words. "Everyone in the guild fights every day."
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the lounge stagnated. Not only Yukino and the other children, but even Minerva stared at Natsu's answer with wide eyes.
"Fights... Fighting?"
"That's right! It's our guild's tradition!"
Natsu waved his fist excitedly, completely unaware of the increasingly terrifying look in Erza's eyes.
"Natsu, you idiot! Don't you know how to say something nice?!"
The scarlet hair fluttered without wind, and the Fairy Queen, with an imposing aura, stood up angrily. "Answer me, Natsu! Do you want to die?!"
The fear that came from the soul and instinct made Natsu's legs weaken, and he immediately realized his problem. What if he scared away the newcomers by telling the truth... You had to know that Lucy was made to doubt her life by a group of "weirdos" in the guild when she first joined.
Looking at the angry Erza, Natsu's legs weakened, and he slid to Erza's feet on his knees. "Wait... Can you hear me out?"
"At this moment? You've gotta be kidding me."
"Prepare to die, Natsu!"
Natsu's eyes went dark, and he looked like his soul had been scared away.
It's over. Erza's angry. Getting beaten in front of the little fans—my reputation in this life is over...
Bang!
Looking at Natsu being beaten violently by Erza, and Gajeel taking the opportunity to step on him twice, Minerva somehow felt a little funny.
It was clearly a fight, but it gave people a lively feeling.
Are the people in this guild so interesting?
Although Minerva's smile disappeared quickly, it couldn't escape Noah's eyes. Children were like this—it was easy to divert their attention with interesting things.
What's more, Minerva had suddenly lost her reliance on Jiemma, and she couldn't change her mentality for a while after being manipulated for so long.
In short, she was depressed.
Unexpectedly, Erza solved this situation by beating up Natsu. To be honest, Noah felt that Natsu had a bit of comedic talent, and every move he made was fun.
Even when he was beaten, Natsu could bring people happiness...
Amidst the laughter, only Natsu's injured world was achieved, and Minerva also chose to join Fairy Tail under the persuasion of her friends.
Minerva's Magic was a space-based "Territory." This advanced Space Magic could freely manipulate space and was an extremely powerful Magic.
Silently sneaking into the Magic Council's prison and taking away Jose, who was under strict surveillance, showed the extent to which Minerva controlled "Territory."
You had to know that Minerva was currently only a twelve-year-old girl. The last person to take similar action was Ultear, who infiltrated the Tower of Heaven and bewitched Jellal.
Such a genius was almost mentally twisted. Jiemma's stupidity was really amazing.
After resting for a while, the Magic Council's Enforcement Unit arrived, this time led by the old acquaintance Doranbolt.
Watching Jose and Jiemma, who were frozen into ice sculptures, being escorted into the car, and hearing about Jiemma's actions from Noah, Doranbolt spat disdainfully. "The Council's high-level officials are really rotten to the core."
"Aren't you afraid of being overheard by those narrow-minded old fogeys when you're badmouthing your bosses like that?"
Faced with Noah's teasing, Doranbolt curled his lips. "Hmph, I wish they'd find out so they could expel me from the Council."
Because of the Jellal incident, a seat for a Magic Councilor was vacated, and now it'd been filled by Lahar, the chief of the Enforcement Unit. With Lahar's promotion, Doranbolt, the deputy chief, had become the chief.
Becoming the most powerful person in the Magic Council below the ten Councilors, Doranbolt was numb.
He was just a spy sent by Makarov to the Magic Council to collect information. Now, three years had passed, and if he didn't close the net, Doranbolt had a hunch that he might become a Magic Councilor in two years...
The Enforcement Unit didn't come fast, but left quite quickly.
The busy man Doranbolt quickly led his subordinates and escorted Jose and Jiemma away, but he tacitly didn't mention Minerva, who'd recently broken out of prison and was now about to become a junior in the guild.