Chapter 12: Sweet Like a Cake

Alex naturally heard the laughter around, observing Erza's tear-streaked face, and continued, "I used to be accustomed to loneliness too, but no one can stay lonely forever."

"Try interacting with everyone. Perhaps you'll discover something different."

Erza gripped the tissue tightly, and Alex gently stroked her crimson hair, handing her all the tissues from his bag. "Quick, wipe away your tears. Your face, which was so beautiful, now looks like a painted cat."

Erza didn't resist Alex's actions for some reason. Instead, she took the tissues and vigorously wiped away the tear marks on her face. With determination, she said, "Thank you, Alex. I won't cry anymore, never again…"

Seeing this, Alex smiled softly. He knew Erza had finally understood, although she might still be unwilling to face her past. But she would surely be able to face her future.

Under the setting sun, the two smiled at each other.

"Oh, by the way, I have the best cake in the world here. Would you like to try?" Alex didn't wait for Erza's answer before handing her one of the strawberry cakes and thoughtfully opening the packaging.

"Go ahead, try it. The owner of the bakery said it's his best work ever." Alex whispered in Erza's ear, "And rumor has it, this owner used to be the kingdom's finest pastry chef."

"It used to be cakes only for the royal family. So go ahead, give it a try."

Seeing Alex's eager eyes, Erza couldn't refuse. She carefully took a fork and tentatively tasted a small piece.

Sweet... very sweet... as if it could erase the bitterness in her heart.

"How is it? Is it delicious?" Alex eagerly asked.

"Mm, it's very sweet!!"

Erza's smile at that moment was as sweet as the cake itself.

"All right, I've cheered you up. It's getting late, so I'll leave now. I hope to see a new you tomorrow, someone… willing to accept everyone." With these words, Alex stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and turned to leave.

Erza quietly watched Alex leave, whispering softly, "Thank you, Alex!"

...

At night, Alex was sleeping soundly when his Zanpakuto started emitting a strange red light. Simultaneously, in Alex's dream, everything seemed incredibly vast.

Mountains, skies, rivers like seas.

Standing on the grass beside them, Alex felt the rising temperature, which made him feel uncomfortable.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Alex found it strange. Despite being a Flame Mage, why did he feel heat?

Suddenly, a voice echoed as if it came from heaven and earth, making it impossible to discern its origin.

"Alex, do you want to become stronger?"

"Do you want to become stronger?"

Alex was puzzled, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The voice continued to echo, but never responded to Alex's words.

After a while, new words appeared, "Oh, you're not willing yet." The voice disappeared after that.

"I do want to become stronger! Hey, are you still there?" Alex shouted loudly, but the voice simply vanished without responding.

Soon after, the space began to shatter, and Alex watched in astonishment as everything before him shattered into countless cracks. The cracks spread until the entire world was filled with fractures, then with a strange sound, everything shattered.

Alex woke up abruptly in bed.

"What... what was that? Was it a dream? But why did it feel so real?" No one could answer Alex's questions.

Glancing outside, he saw that it was already dawn, with bustling noises from the crowd downstairs. Alex felt his hair was damp; touching it, he found it covered in sweat.

Shaking his head, unsure if it was from the heat or another reason, Alex got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After freshening up, he left home intending to go to the guild.

After resting for two days, it was time to get back to work. Of course, the main reason was to pay the rent. Thinking about it, Alex felt that sooner or later, he would have to buy his own house. The dormitory at Fairy Tail was just too expensive.

One hundred thousand J per month was too much. Now Alex was caught up in a cycle of making money and losing it, sometimes unable to escape.

Usually, Alex could rely on his martial arts skills to solve problems. However, if he encountered something tricky, releasing his Zanpakuto, "Ryujin Jakka," would escalate the damage to a whole new level.

Because of this, Makarov sternly forbade Alex from unleashing his Zanpakuto in the city unless absolutely necessary.

As for Alex, coming from a country where people would buy a house once they had money, this was natural. Real estate was all about waiting for the right time for its value to increase.

Thinking about it, Alex washed up and headed straight to the guild.

Upon arrival, Erza wasn't there; according to Cana, she had gone to visit Granny Porlyusica at Porlyusica's house to get her artificial eye. As for Gray, that guy had disappeared somewhere for special training.

It was said that Gray wanted to wait for Erza to return to settle their last score. Gray was indeed a tenacious little bug.

Alex walked up to the mission board and accepted a extermination task. After informing Makarov, he left the guild, embarking on his journey to earn money and buy a house.

...

Time passed slowly. Alex had spent a year in this world.

During this year, many interesting things had happened, but the most significant change was in Erza. She had shed her initial aloofness upon joining the guild and had become... well, quite enthusiastic. She took on the role of a parent figure, often preventing the frequent brawls that occurred in the guild. More importantly, she backed up her authority with formidable strength, leaving those who opposed her quaking in fear.

As for Gray, he hadn't changed his habit of stripping, which often earned him severe beatings from Erza for tarnishing the guild's image. Just the thought of it was terrifying.

And Macao had gotten married. Upon hearing the news, Alex had immediately sent a generous red envelope to Macao.

Last year's S-Class Mage Promotion Trial had been postponed because Gildarts hadn't returned. This had irritated Laxus at the time, who had vowed to challenge Alex this year to prove who was the strongest in the guild.

Many other events had occurred.

Alex's thoughts halted as he looked at the letter Makarov had sent. It had been delivered by a Letter Bird, a magical creation of this world capable of delivering messages anywhere with an address.

Alex spun his finger around the seal of the envelope, and soon a small emerald-green magic circle unfolded. Makarov's diminutive figure appeared on the magic circle.

As soon as Makarov appeared, he began shouting, "You rascal! How long are you going to stay out? Aren't you planning to come back? If it weren't for your letter, I would have thought you evaporated from the face of the earth!"

Alex reflexively leaned back as if to avoid Makarov's spit.

Makarov continued, "It's been four months since you took that mission and left. Are you on an S-Class mission? What kind of mission takes this long?"

"You keep taking extermination missions and never come back. How am I supposed to know if you're alive or dead? Anyway, now that you've seen my letter, you better come back immediately, do you hear me?!" With that, the virtual image on the letter disappeared.

"Phew..." Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

"It looks like I can't play around anymore." Alex shrugged helplessly, recalling that his last mission had been in the capital. After completing the task, he had found out it was issued by the royal family.

He had also met Princess Hisui E. Fiore as she thanked him for his help by presenting him with a tour of Fiore Kingdom, with all expenses covered by the royal family.

Alex readily accepted and began his tour of Fiore Kingdom, originally intending to return once he reached Fairy Tail.

However, Alex had inadvertently discovered that this world had Letter Birds for transmitting messages. Immediately, he had obtained one and used it to inform the guild about his situation, assuring them he was fine.

But now, after being scolded, Alex began to pack up, preparing to return.

Despite being scolded just now, Alex didn't feel annoyed. Instead, he felt a sensation he had never experienced in his previous life.

The feeling of being missed.

With a smile on his lips, Alex finished packing and left the inn.

...

Magnolia. Alex got off the train and sighed as he looked at the familiar scene before him. "As good as it is outside, there's nothing like home."

Slinging his huge backpack over his shoulder, Alex headed towards the guild.

Arriving at the entrance, he didn't bother with formalities and simply kicked the door open.

"Hello, everyone! I'm back!!" Alex laughed loudly as he walked in. However, he was met with silence instead of the usual welcoming response.

"Huh? Normally, someone would say 'welcome back' at this point. Why no reaction?" Alex squinted, seeing the guild members staring at him expressionlessly.

Their gazes were akin to those observing a dead man.

"Um... what's going on with all of you?" Alex asked cautiously.

Soon, a woman's scolding voice rang out.

"Alex, where have you been? You've been gone for nearly half a year without a word. We thought you were dead, if not for the letter you sent back last week."

Alex looked towards the source of the voice—it was Erza. Her injured eye was now indistinguishable from a normal one after Porlyusica had fitted her with an artificial eye.

But right now, Erza was staring fixedly at Alex.

Alex was about to explain, but Erza cut him off. "It doesn't matter what you say now. Go explain to the Guild Master yourself."

With that, Erza turned away, ignoring Alex.

Feeling guilty, Alex glanced around, only to see Makarov sitting expressionlessly at the bar.