Fairy Tail: You said you were just acting, are you serious?

The front end of the tube has eyes and teeth, and a tongue sticks out, which connects to a goldfish-shaped vacuum cleaner.

【Bulging-Eyed Fish: From "Hunter x Hunter", it can extract a materialized vacuum cleaner and suck up specified non-living objects within a range according to commands. It is a one-time use item.】

Ron silently recited this in his mind.

The bulging-eyed fish sucked up everything from their hands.

call!

Before the residents could figure out what Ron had pulled out, the bulging-eyed fish's mouth produced an astonishing suction force!

In that instant, the residents found that their pitchforks, shovels, and even torches had all fallen from their hands!

Even the crucifix in the old priest's hand was affected by the suction force and flew into the air.

In less than a few seconds, all the farm tools and wooden items were swallowed up by this strange vacuum cleaner.

The burly men tried to grab the shovel, but the suction made them lose their footing and fall to the ground.

The residents' chants and curses stopped instantly.

The old priest and the residents were all terrified, their faces turning ashen, and they didn't even dare to breathe.

Mirajane, standing behind Ron, was also dumbfounded.

Chapter 48 The Residents' Apology

Ron calmly surveyed the shocked residents and priest, and shook his head.

“You haven’t seen magical artifacts before, this is one of them.”

Mirajane was dumbfounded. How could this traveler named Ron have so many things?

How powerful must a mage be to possess such magical artifacts?

The residents were shocked by the various amazing abilities the child displayed. First, he brought the story to life while telling stories, and then he even sucked the farm tools from their hands. They began to be a little afraid of the child.

The unarmed residents began to lose confidence, and their eyes all focused on the old priest, hoping that the priest who was leading them could give an answer.

The old priest also had the same shocked expression. He was just an ordinary person, except that he had stayed in the village a little longer and had seen more people than the residents.

Seeing that all the residents were looking at him, the old priest finally steeled himself and walked towards Ron.

He swallowed nervously, sweating profusely, and cautiously asked Ron.

"You... could you be the legendary mage?"

Ron nodded slightly when he saw that they had finally stopped arguing and were finally willing to communicate.

"That's right, I also dealt with the demons in the church."

"Speaking of which, I'm actually your village's savior."

Everyone present gasped when they heard Ron's statement.

The residents did not immediately believe the outsider, but instead began to gossip.

"Didn't the priest say that a demon possessed Mirajane? What's going on?"

"Yeah, isn't Mirajane still standing there?"

"Is he trying to protect her?"

Ron then heard these remarks and glared at the person who made them.

The residents trembled at Ron's glare and immediately fell silent.

The old priest paused for a moment, a look of confusion on his face.

"But I saw it with my own eyes: Mirajane was possessed by a demon."

"Saw it with your own eyes?"

How did you determine that?

Ron countered with a question to the old priest, who then took a few steps closer to Mirajane and pointed to Mirajane's right hand.

Fearful Mirajane turned to the side, and as she retreated, she grabbed her right arm with her left hand, dodging the priest's instructions.

"I saw it, her right hand was...?!"

When the old priest saw Mirajane's right hand clearly, his eyes widened in shock.

At this moment, Mirajane's right hand no longer resembled the Demon Hand at all. The small, white hand outside the sleeve left the old priest speechless and dumbfounded.

At this moment, some residents at the front also noticed Mirajane's hands, which did not appear to be possessed by a demon as the priest had said.

Ron smiled triumphantly when he saw that the old priest had stepped forward but could not prove anything.

"What happened to her right hand, or did you see wrong, Father?"

The old priest blushed instantly upon hearing Ron's words.

"Are you implying that I would joke about something like this?"

Ron looked puzzled, glancing at Mirajane's right hand before looking back at the old priest.

"Is it possible that you woke up from a coma at the time?"

It's perfectly normal for his vision to become blurry at his age, isn't it?

Upon hearing these words, the residents began to discuss the matter again, whispering among themselves and asking what was going on.

The old priest frowned, then glanced at Mirajane's hand again, confirming once more that it wasn't the devil's hand, and his face instantly turned pale.

Could it be that I really misunderstood and wronged Mirajane?

Seeing the priest caught in self-blame, Ron looked at the residents and questioned them.

"As for you, I said I dealt with the demon, so why did you question me immediately?"

"Does anyone in your village or town think they can defeat the demon?"

Upon hearing Ron's question, the residents stopped whispering and began to look at each other in dismay.

The outsider was right. There was indeed no other mage in the village who could deal with the demon. They only escaped this calamity because of Ron's help.

Ron then went on to question all the residents present.

"In a way, I was your savior, the one who got rid of the demon for you."

But after the problem was solved, instead of being grateful, you listened to the priest's nonsense and surrounded the Strauss family, who were orphans, with torches in the middle of the night.

Are you only capable of brandishing your fighting spirit against a few helpless children?

Mirajane looked up at Ron, who had spoken her mind, and felt a touch of emotion.

The fear in her eyes disappeared, and her tightly clenched left hand gradually relaxed.

Ron got emotional at this point, and without even glancing at them again, he added another sentence.

"How foolish."

The residents, who had been so aggressive, were now speechless.

They looked at Mirajane hiding behind Ron and felt a surge of shame.

Yes, what exactly are they doing?

While the demons were still at large, they acted like possessed people, bullying the three children who had lost their parents.

The old priest seemed struck by lightning; all his strength was drained, and his face looked several years older.

He recalled how Mirajane had helped him avoid the demons' first attack before they arrived, but he had wronged her because of his own confusion.

He recalled how, upon waking up, all he could think about was running away from Mirajane if he saw something wrong, and a strong sense of self-blame made him look remorseful.

"What have I done? Why did things turn out like this...?"

He approached Mirajane and began to apologize in a trembling voice.

"I'm sorry, Father is getting senile. I mistook you for a monster. I'm so sorry."

The old priest lowered his head in shame, not daring to look up at her again.

Seeing the old priest admit his mistake, the surrounding residents also lowered their heads, feeling guilty and not daring to look Mirajane in the eye.

“I’m sorry, Mirajane…”

"We made a mistake..."

Ron, seeing these belated apologies, didn't say anything, but silently retreated behind Mirajane.

Mirajane watched calmly as Ron retreated behind her before turning to the bowed residents.

Looking at the residents before her, the worry and weariness between her brows deepened.

"I heard your apology."

However, you still need to apologize to Elfman and Lisanna; it's because you prevented them from going home and getting a good night's sleep.

After saying that, Mirajane stopped looking at the residents with their heads down and looked up at the bright moon in the night sky, bathing in the pure moonlight.

"It's already late at night. Let's talk about it tomorrow in front of them."

Chapter 49 After Becoming Stronger, Going Home

The old priest was moved by these words.

"Okay! We'll definitely apologize to those two kids!"

He nodded repeatedly, thinking that the matter was over.

Upon hearing this, the residents who had been bowing their heads all breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing relief.

This means you've forgiven them, right?

Ron looked at all the residents who were relieved to have been forgiven and shook his head helplessly.

As expected, the villagers remained ignorant, completely oblivious to the fact that Mirajane had not yet offered to forgive them.

Ron turned around and said something as he approached Mirajane.

"Let's go."

Mirajane turned her head and nodded.

She took one last look at the priest and the residents, her eyes filled with disappointment and sorrow.

What disappointed them was the way the residents treated them, and what worried them was where their younger siblings would go in the future.

She ignored the residents and the old priest, turned around and followed Ron back to the inn.

The two remained silent the entire way, their only thought being to get back and experience the furnace fire.

After hiking for a while, Ron and Mirajane finally returned to the warm inn.

The fire in the hotel room was still burning brightly, and Elfman and Lisanna were still fast asleep on the bed.

Ron casually picked up a match and put it into the fire to make it burn brighter.

Mirajane walked to the bedside, and after making sure her younger siblings hadn't kicked off the blankets, she turned around to face Ron by the fireplace.

"You've healed my hand, so you know what happened to me, right?"

After dealing with everything outside, Mirajane began to question her own problems.

After adding the firewood, Ron stood up and turned back to his chair.

"That's not treatment, and you're not sick."

After Ron settled down, he continued answering Mirajane's questions.

"This change only occurred because you awakened the ability to receive magic."

That's a kind of magic that can absorb the power of living beings and make it its own. You weren't possessed; rather, you absorbed a portion of the demon's power when you awakened your magic, which is why your hand turned that way.

Mirajane paused for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.

"Receive magic?"

"Then when I cast this spell in front of the residents in the future, the same thing will happen, right?"

Ron nodded upon hearing this.