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

"Hey, is that my wallet?"

"My necklace?!"

As the lost items were emptied out, passersby gathered around and took their belongings.

As the girl in the blue coat passed by, she squeezed in as well.

"Jubia's package is indeed here...!"

When the blue-haired girl saw her perfectly intact package, her gloomy eyes finally brightened.

She carefully picked up the package, smiled, and then turned and walked happily away from the square.

Strangely enough, the drizzle lessened considerably the moment the girl turned to leave, and no more raindrops fell.

The dark clouds that had been hovering over Fosstown miraculously stopped causing thunder and gradually dispersed, revealing the bright sun.

Gray felt the sunlight falling on him and couldn't help but enjoy it.

"The sun has finally come out."

That's amazing!

Just then, an excited shout interrupted Gray's thoughts, making him somewhat irritated.

He turned around and saw a boy wearing a high-necked long-sleeved shirt and with fluffy short hair staring at Gray with bright eyes.

"Are you saying I'm amazing?"

A puzzled Gray glanced around, finding no one nearby, then pointed to himself and asked.

He pushed up his square-framed glasses and nodded excitedly.

"Your performance was absolutely amazing, it was simply art."

"Is that so? It's not that amazing...?"

Even so, Gray heard the praise and a lewd smile appeared on his face, and he unconsciously felt a surge of pride.

The bespectacled boy walked over to Leo and asked:

"Is your theater troupe still hiring?"

I admire you guys so much! If you let me join you, I'll do any odd job, as long as I can follow you.

"Haha, I can't make that decision myself. You'll have to ask our leader."

Leo gave an awkward smile, somewhat at a loss for words with this enthusiastic young man.

He and Gray both looked at Ron behind them, their eyes pleading for help.

Ron looked the boy up and down, a subtle smile appearing on his face.

"We have no intention of staying in this town, we need to leave quickly."

“I’m all alone at home, so there’s no problem for me to go back with you.”

"Sure, we're short-staffed anyway, you're hired."

Since the troupe is currently short-staffed, and they've offered themselves up, Ron has no reason not to take advantage of it.

Seeing that Ron had agreed so readily, the boy's face lit up with joy, and he began to introduce himself.

“Great! My name is Paris. What do you need me to do, Captain?”

"If you're going to do it now... wait a minute."

Just as Ron was thinking about how to arrange for him to do odd jobs, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching.

Gray and Leo looked over at the same time and saw a blond businessman in a suit approaching with several security guards.

"Sir, the wallet is really here!"

The bodyguard searched the ground for a while and finally picked up a wallet, which he handed to the merchant.

"That's right, this is my wallet."

The blond businessman smiled and asked Ron a question.

"You were the one who just caught the thief, weren't you?"

"Yes."

Ron nodded in response to the merchant's question.

"I came to this town for work, but my wallet was stolen by that guy..."

He opened his wallet, took out a photo of a blonde girl, and smiled kindly.

"More than the money in my wallet, I'm thinking about this photo of my daughter."

He then gave a grateful look and bowed to Ron and the others.

"I really want to express my gratitude to you. Please feel free to ask me for anything you want."

Ron paused for a moment after seeing the photo, and only then did he recognize the businessman.

He declined for a while, but the merchant insisted on repaying him, so Ron lowered his head and thought for a while, and then proposed a feasible plan.

"If you really want to repay us, we'd like to take the magic train to Magnolia in the Kingdom of Fiore..."

After Ron finished speaking, the merchant nodded in satisfaction.

"No problem, I'll buy your tickets to Magnolia. They'll be first-class tickets with a private compartment, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

Chapter 79: The temporary members have increased again.

At the ticket counter, the merchant had already given Ron tickets for his group of five, plus the temporary employee he had just hired, Paris.

"Oh dear, we didn't do anything about it, how can we accept this?"

Seeing the blond merchant's generosity, Gildarts couldn't help but shake his hand in gratitude.

Uru also expressed his gratitude to the merchant, feeling a little embarrassed.

“It’s nothing to me. You helped me find something important, and this is all I should do.”

The blond businessman smiled slightly, indicating that such a matter was not worth mentioning.

Ron and his group boarded the parked magic train early and found their deluxe compartment.

Ugh!

As the whistle sounded, the magic train slowly started moving. Ron and his companions leaned against the window and waved goodbye to the merchants on the platform.

"Uncle, we're leaving now, goodbye!"

Have a safe trip, and see you next time!

The blond businessman watched them leave and smiled with satisfaction.

"Young people these days are really great."

He then turned and left with his bodyguard to continue with his work.

Inside the carriage, the spacious and comfortable seats made everyone feel at ease, and they chatted comfortably.

Gray excitedly pressed his face against the car window, gazing at the scenery outside.

Just then, another train traveling in the opposite direction passed by on the adjacent tracks.

Gray, who was peering out the train window, happened to see a blue-haired girl quietly peering out the window of the opposite train.

In the instant the bright train passed each other, their eyes met inadvertently on the speeding glass.

"Ok?"

Gray was stunned for a moment, and before he could even see the other person's face clearly, the train suddenly accelerated, and the passing carriages quickly disappeared into the distance.

Gray glanced at the departing trains, then looked away at Leo's call and started playing around with him.

"Senior Gray and Senior Leo, your performance was so amazing, could you teach me some of those techniques?"

Just then, Paris, wearing square-framed glasses, approached them and asked them questions enthusiastically.

Upon hearing the words "senior," Gray and Leo couldn't help but feel a deep sense of respect.

"Although our goal is still to become powerful mages, since you've asked, we're not unwilling to teach you something."

Gray and Leo laughed smugly, then patted Paris on the shoulder.

"Before we leave the troupe, we will share all our experiences with you, juniors!"

Upon hearing this, Paris's eyes shone with admiration, and he nodded excitedly.

"I will remember your experience well and grow quickly, seniors!"

"Ok!"

Looking at his two overly smug apprentices, Wulu couldn't help but smile helplessly.

With your subpar acting skills, what can you possibly teach?

Gray and his group of boys of similar age quickly started playing around and mingling together, filling the private room with a joyful atmosphere.

"Haha, it's definitely better to be young, so carefree."

Gildarts watched the three of them fooling around and couldn't help but sigh.

"Uncle, you seem carefree too, there's nothing to envy."

Ron kept complaining about Gildarts, which made Gildarts want to grab the foul-mouthed Ron.

Ron reacted quickly, standing up, opening the sliding door to the private room, and closing it again.

He then turned and left, intending to go to the connecting area between the carriages for some fresh air.

However, he froze the moment he reached the corner of the corridor.

A gaunt figure stood anxiously at the junction of the corridor, nervously avoiding Ron's gaze.

Ron frowned and walked towards the figure.

"Didn't you go to turn yourself in? Why are you on the train?"

Standing there was the same thief from before. When he heard Ron recognize him, he instinctively shuddered and looked at Ron awkwardly.

He lowered his head and pondered for a while, then took a deep breath, revealing a determined look in his eyes as he looked at Ron.

"I... I came here because there's something I want to tell you..."

"What is it?"

Seeing the thief's appearance, Ron decided to listen to him finish speaking before asking him some questions.

"It is related to..."

Whoosh!

The door to the private room behind Ron was suddenly pulled open, and the three playful Grays popped their heads out.

“Ron, I’m telling you, Paris…”

"Hey?! What are you doing here, you thief?!"

Gray paused for a moment when he came out smiling, then frowned and assumed the starting stance for Ice Shape magic, wary of the thief.

Leo frowned and said:

"Why are you following me here like a ghost?"

Could it be that they're planning to seek revenge on us on this train?

"No, no!"

The thief was startled and quickly waved his hands in an attempt to explain.

"Calm down, let's hear his explanation first."

Ron then spoke with Gray and the others, then crossed his arms and looked at the thief, waiting for his explanation.

He glanced at the four people present, and everyone's eyes were fixed on him, making them swallow hard.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. After a long period of anxiety, he finally steeled himself and began to speak:

"When I first found the guards, they said that since it was my first offense, they didn't keep me in prison and pardoned me."