As the short hand of the clock passed 0 o'clock, the whole Magnolia was filled with the sound of fireworks.
The time came to January 1, X781.
There was a lot of crackling noise outside, which was said to last until dawn, but it did not affect Noah's sound sleep in the dormitory at all.
As a salted fish, the most important thing is to adapt to the environment.
Otherwise, how can it be so bad?
Unfortunately, someone opened Noah's door at this moment, walked into his dormitory openly, sneaked into his bedroom, and reached out to the quilt covering Noah who was sleeping soundly.
It was hard for Noah not to notice such strange behavior.
How dare you snatch my quilt when I was sleeping!
How brave! Get ready for the wrath of the nerd king!
Noah opened his eyes and quickly grabbed the intruder's arm that was touching the quilt. He pulled it hard, causing the intruder to lose balance and fall onto the bed.
Then Noah rolled over and rode on the other person, clamping his arms with one hand and clenching his fist with the other hand to teach this ignorant invader a lesson.
The moonlight came in through the window, and Noah saw the appearance of the intruder.
"Huh?!!"
"E…E…Erza!!"
Her long crimson hair was piled up high, and the short black maid top revealed her abs and slim waist. Under the skirt, which was as short as it could be, was a pair of beautiful legs wrapped in white stockings.
Because of Noah's sudden attack, one of the high-heeled shoes fell off the girl's feet.
Eyes met.
A blush appeared on the girl's delicate face.
Noah also became extremely embarrassed because he was irritated by the sleep disturbance he had just had.
In the middle of the night, a beautiful girl wearing a revealing maid outfit sneaked into my room and reached out to my quilt… Could she be trying to do something bad to me?
"Eruza, I'm not a casual person."
"Of course, if you want to use force, I will have no choice but to obey you."
Erza knocked the man riding on her off the bed with one fist. She felt ashamed and angry. "Don't push your luck, you nerd with a head full of pornographic garbage."
Noah completed the task entrusted by President Reina that had been hanging in the guild for 3 years. Erza came to fulfill her promise of "being Noah's maid for one day".
It was Christmas and the end of the year, and the busyness and celebrations prevented Erza from looking for Noah right away.
After the guild and her companions finished celebrating the New Year's Eve, Erza immediately changed into a maid outfit and went to Noah's dormitory to fulfill her previous promise.
Because Erza was wearing high heels that she rarely wore, Noah was unable to hear her footsteps and mistook Erza, who had covered him with a blanket, for someone with bad intentions, which led to the misunderstanding just now.
Noah had long been accustomed to Erza's ability to easily open the door of his dormitory. In fact, after several of Erza's violent acts, the door lock had long been broken.
Forget about coming here to be a maid in the middle of the night.
However, the girl's maid outfit was so sexy that it was hard for Noah not to mistakenly think that she wanted to do something inappropriate to him.
But speaking of R18, Noah remembered that the girl in front of him was exactly 18 years old this year, "Eluza, when is your birthday? I can prepare a gift for you then."
I thought it was a friendly question, but it made Erza's expression, which had just relaxed, become a little sad. With a little disappointment, the girl said:
"I… don't have a birthday, and I've never had one."
Noah's heart tightened. Although he was originally created as a man-made man for the purpose of being a "weapon", Faust had never missed any of his birthdays.
Although Noah never experienced maternal love in the first 18 years of his life, he was still able to be described as "happy" because of the love he received from his old father.
There are many orphans among the new generation of the guild who have lost their loved ones, but they all remember their birthdays.
And Erza…
How much a child who doesn't have a birthday would envy other children.
As if realizing that her emotions were not right, Erza quickly hid the disappointment on her face with a smile.
Sitting up from the bed, Erza hooked her toes around her fallen high heels and tied them up, then she grabbed Noah's hand and forcibly dragged him out of the dormitory.
"How can you sleep at this hour? Come on, let's set off the fireworks."
Although Noah was somewhat reluctant to go out, considering Erza's mood just now, if setting off fireworks could make her happier, then going out would not be unacceptable.
What's more, there are fireworks to watch.
"You call this a firework!!"
Magnolia's designated fireworks display area.
Seeing Erza taking out a heavy equipment like a cannon, Noah's eyes darkened. He suspected that this girl didn't want to set off fireworks, but wanted to bombard Magnolia City.
But Erza pointed the barrel of the cannon towards the sky with a serious look on her face. When she lit the fuse, she realized that she had no fire. She could only look at Noah, who was hiding aside with only half of his body exposed.
"It's just a firework. Look how scared you are. Is it on fire?"
Noah was also helpless. Although she was wearing a maid outfit, Erza's tone sounded as if she was the master.
After repeatedly confirming that Erza did not intend to attack Magnolia, and before Erza could get impatient with his question, Noa put on the explosive gloves and converted them into fire attribute, then snapped his fingers at the fireworks cannon.
The spark ignited the fuse, and Erza looked excited, "Noah, cover your ears quickly."
Without Erza saying anything, Noah had already covered his ears, thinking that if anything went wrong with the fireworks and cannons, he would take Erza and run away.
There was a roar that shot straight into the sky, followed by a series of brilliant fireworks that rose and burned one after another, eventually turning into a "flying firework fairy", eclipsing all the fireworks blooming in the sky over Magnolia.
"Look, Noah! These are the fireworks that Makao and Levi carefully made. They are so beautiful."
However, no matter how brilliant the fireworks are, they will eventually fade away. The guild's specially made fireworks soon overlapped with other fireworks launched in the city and gradually went out.
Fortunately, Erza had prepared a lot. She kept taking out various fireworks from her magic space, and the shapes were no less shocking to Noah than the fireworks cannons.
Bazooka Fireworks…
Gatling Fireworks…
Wait…what's this landmine firework?
Don't click on it!
Fireworks bloomed one after another. The girl pulled the boy, her face full of excitement that only children can have. She cheered and looked very happy.
After about an hour, Erza's ammunition… no, the fireworks she prepared were finally used up.
However, the girl suggested that Noah go to the market, and Noah did not refuse.
Because it was New Year's Eve, even the whoosh of the fireworks going up to the sky could not cover up the bustling noise of the all-night market.
Although Erza in her maid outfit attracted a lot of attention, passers-by's attention was more focused on the family or friends who went out together.
Along the way, Erza bought a lot of souvenirs that looked cute, as well as various snacks and desserts.
Where has your maid's responsibility gone?
Although I only have the right to use it for one day, is it really right for me, the master, to be the coolie who carries the bag…
Noah, burdened with many bags, followed behind Erza, complaining in his heart that he had suddenly become a laborer.
Noah stopped in front of a cake stand, looked at Erza who was unaware of the situation in front of him, and took out the magic crystal to pay for his first purchase of the day.
After wandering around for another half an hour, Noah was finally allowed to return to the dormitory by the grace of the maid.
"Go to bed early, Noah."
Holding a quilt, Erza was about to sleep on the floor of the dormitory. Since she had agreed to be a maid for a day, she naturally had to stay in the "master's" house.
But Erza didn't hear Noah's response.
Are you tired from accompanying me shopping? Or did you not hear me?
Erza took off her high heels and lightly walked into Noah's bedroom.
The bedroom was dark, with only a little light coming from the moonlight streaming in through the window.
Even the lights were turned off, it seemed he was really asleep.
Just as Erza tiptoed to close the door and leave, the lights in the room suddenly came on again, and Noah jumped out from behind the door holding something.
"Surprise!"
Erza was not frightened, but looked at the cake with a candle in Noah's hand in confusion, "So this is your New Year's gift to me?"
Noah shook his head and said something that surprised Erza.
"Eruza, this is my birthday present for you."
Looking at the beautifully patterned cake, Erza was stunned.
She knew she was born in 1975, but she didn't know the exact month or date because she was an orphan and had never seen her parents. She grew up in a small village eating at other people's homes.
When she was young, Erza always envied other children who could celebrate their birthdays because they had sweet cakes to eat.
Although Erza's childhood was filled with hardships and displacement, she never forgot her childhood wishes.
After joining Fairy Tail and getting her first salary through her hard work, Erza couldn't wait to run to the cake shop and buy the birthday cake she had always dreamed of.
It was delicious though, and also very sweet.
But the taste was missing something.
Erza knew the reason, because a birthday cake without blessings would be incomplete.
From then on, Erza no longer longed for birthday cakes, no relatives, no birthdays… What reason did she have to hope for a "Happy Birthday"?
Although President Makarov and many of the guild's companions would definitely be willing to send her their blessings, Erza did not want to trouble everyone because of herself.
So even if Makarov asked her when her birthday was, Erza would act as if it didn't matter, saying that she had grown up and didn't need to celebrate a childish birthday.
There were too many guild affairs, so Makarov didn't ask any more questions.
But Erza still longed in her heart.
Looking at the small birthday cake in Noah's hand, Erza backed off, her voice stammering, "Don't… don't make fun of me… Noah, you know I didn't…"
"Then let today be your birthday."
Noah had a smile on his face and forcefully interrupted the depressed girl's speech, "Who said you can't celebrate your birthday if you don't know your date of birth? I think today is fine."
"From now on, the first day of every year will be Erza's birthday. Look, the whole of Magnolia, and even many places in this world are celebrating for you."
"Happy birthday, Erza."
This was the first time in Erza's life that she heard this blessing.
Is this what it feels like to celebrate your birthday?
But…why do I want to cry so much?
Tears were welling up in Erza's left eye. She tried hard to hold them back, but the tears still rolled down her cheek.
Noah understood the girl's feelings, but he still urged her in a gentle tone, "It's time to make a wish and blow out the candles, otherwise the candles on the cake will burn out and your wishes will not come true."
Although she knew that making a wish was a lie for children, Erza still hurriedly closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and made a wish devoutly in her heart.
I hope Fairy Tail will be happy forever.
I hope President Grandpa lives a long and healthy life.
I hope Noah is happy.
hope...