Chapter 201: Welcome to the Age of Internet, Gildarts

Gildarts had swept-back orange hair and a bit of stubble on his chin. He wore a dark green cloak, its edges worn and tattered. Beneath the cloak, his injuries were obvious—his left arm and leg had been replaced by prosthetics.

Despite these wounds, Nate could clearly see that Gildarts' magic power still reached a seven-star level. If he was this powerful while injured, he must have been even stronger at his peak.

"You've heard about me, Senpai?"

As Nate's voice echoed in his mind, Gildarts grinned. "Yeah, I've heard plenty about you along the way. They called you a remarkable newcomer in Fairy Tail."

"They say you created some revolutionary Internet Magic and were named one of the Ten Mage Saints..."

"Haha, I've heard your name so much on this trip that it's starting to stick in my ears."

Nate smiled, though inwardly, he was curious about something else.

Gildarts had been on a 100-year mission to seal the Five Dragon Gods in the northern continent of Giltena, so how did he end up on Mount Zonia in the east, fighting Acnologia and losing a limb? Could he have gotten lost? After all, Mount Zonia was on the continent of Ishgar, far from his task. Only Gildarts knew the full story, though, and it was likely classified due to the mission's confidentiality rules.

"I'll be waiting to welcome you back at the guild, Senpai."

Leaving him with that message, Nate ended the telepathic link and shifted his attention to the outdoor café. While most guild members eagerly anticipated Gildarts' return, Cana looked anxious.

"Your dad's back. I just had a quick chat with him," Nate messaged her privately.

Cana jumped, then realized it was Nate's telepathic voice and muttered internally, "How did you know he's my dad?"

"Guess."

"I won't guess! It's probably some kind of mind-reading magic..."

"Have you ever tried reading your dad's fortune?"

"His fortune?"

"About all the… 'romantic mischief' he got into when he was younger."

Cana scanned the café and finally spotted Nate at a corner table. She glared and made her way over to sit across from him.

Nate shrugged, grinning. "Your dad must've been popular when he was younger—probably has the same 'woman troubles' fate as someone else you know."

Cana rolled her eyes. "Are you trying to say Gildarts has had so many women in his life that he doesn't know he has a daughter?"

"Why not just tell him who you are?"

"He's Fairy Tail's most powerful S-Class mage. I just don't feel like I'm… worthy. I wanted to at least wait until I'm S-Class too," she said, her tone a bit downcast.

Her mother had told her stories about her father when she was young. After her mother passed away, Cana joined Fairy Tail and learned her father was alive and highly respected as the guild's strongest S-Class mage. Since then, she had dreamed of Gildarts recognizing her, but it never happened. Eventually, she considered telling him herself, but she still felt she wasn't good enough. She decided to become an S-Class mage first, hoping it would give her the courage. Unfortunately, four attempts and four failures later, she still hadn't succeeded.

"I think you're overthinking it. When he gets back, why don't you just go up to him and ask if he remembers…" Nate paused with a grin, "your mom's name?"

"Her name's Cornelia," Cana said softly.

"Then just ask if he remembers Cornelia from back then."

Cana looked torn as she took another sip of her drink. Nate decided to leave it at that—after all, family matters like this were deeply personal.

"You might be right," she muttered after a while. "Gildarts is a lousy father, really…" Then, throwing him an accusatory look, she added, "Why are all you men so much trouble?"

"Hey, don't take it out on me!" Nate thought, amused. "I just gave you a little nudge, and now I'm the bad guy?"

Cana chuckled, seeming more relaxed after their chat. "Were you helping me just so you could ask me out? Well, if it's you, I'm free anytime."

After talking a bit more, she squinted at him, an amused glint in her eyes. "By the way, Nate, how far have you and Mira gotten?"

She made a gesture with her thumbs meeting, a cheeky grin spreading across her face. "Kissed yet? Or maybe more?"

"Mind your own business," Nate said, a bit exasperated.

"Oh? Not even a kiss?" she teased, barely containing her laughter.

Nate sighed, knowing this wouldn't be the end of Cana's teasing.

...

While Nate was chatting casually with Cana, Gildarts finally made it back to the guild. Every eye turned to him as he arrived. Gildarts gave his usual nonchalant wave, then turned to the waitress in the outdoor café, asking with a grin, "Excuse me, miss, if I remember correctly, there's supposed to be a mage guild here called Fairy Tail..."

"This 'is' Fairy Tail, Gildarts," the waitress replied, holding a tray with a polite smile. "I'm Mirajane—don't you remember me?"

"You… Mirajane?" Gildarts looked stunned. The Mirajane he remembered had been a bit of a punk, and the graceful young woman in front of him didn't match that image at all. Well… 'at least her hair was the same color!'

"Wow, you've grown so much!" Gildarts chuckled, trying to process it all. "Three years away, and everything's changed. Even the guild..."

"Natsu!" he called as he noticed Natsu charging toward him, his eyes blazing.

"Let's battle, Gildarts!" Natsu shouted, fists clenched and ready for a fight.

"Hah, Natsu, I see 'you' haven't changed at all," Gildarts laughed, but then his gaze dropped to the small orange creature at Natsu's feet, and he froze in disbelief. "Wait… don't tell me… does Happy turn into a dragon as he grows up?!"

He squinted, trying to make sense of it all. "Then again… he 'did' hatch from an egg. Was that a dragon egg?"

"I'm still 'Happy!'" Happy piped up, hovering mid-air with his typical deadpan expression. "That's a Charmander, Natsu's 'Pokémon'."

Gildarts was even more bewildered, glancing between the flying Happy and the small orange creature by Natsu's feet. Then, as he looked around, he realized that nearly everyone seemed to have a little companion of some sort—a bipedal turtle, a cute cricket-like creature, a hopping yellow "squirrel," and even a white "Happy" in a little skirt.

What was 'going on'?!

"Gildarts!" Natsu laughed, clearly enjoying his confusion. "It's the era of 'Pokémon' now! They're mysterious creatures Nate created!"

Everyone laughed, chiming in with their own explanations, while Mirajane covered her mouth to hide her smile, enjoying Gildarts' reaction.

At that moment, Nate stood up and approached, pulling a ring from his pocket. He extended it toward Gildarts with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Gildarts. I'm Nate," he said. "This is a first-generation Magic Net ring—for you."

He held out the ring with a grin.

"Welcome to the age of Internet!"