"Thud!"
Natsu fell face-first onto the ground and suddenly waking up.
Then he immediately scrambled up in a flurry, wiping his drool.
"Alright, let's end here and go home."
Marco was amused by him, shaking his head helplessly.
Then he chose to let Natsu off.
He couldn't do otherwise anyway - this guy had been meditating for less than two minutes before falling fast asleep.
"Great!"
Hearing Marco say "end", Natsu immediately woke up.
He jumped up at once, then quickly darted out.
Where was his drowsiness from before?
"This guy..."
Marco couldn't help but laugh.
It was indeed too difficult to make this guy sit quietly for a while.
Natsu was really used to being wild in the outdoors.
"Natsu is very lively."
Levy covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes full of amusement.
Natsu was really one of the few who could make Marco so helpless.
"Let's go Levy. Do you want me to walk you back?"
Marco tidied up the study room, then asked Levy who had been helping on the side.
"No need Marco. I can go back by myself. The dormitory isn't far, don't worry. After all, I'm a mage too."
Levy's face turned slightly red as she waved her hands repeatedly.
Then after saying goodbye to Marco, she quickly scurried away on her short legs as if escaping.
Marco didn't insist on escorting her either, because the Fairy Tail guild's girls' dormitory wasn't far from the guild hall.
It was on the hillside just a few houses away, even closer than Marco's home, less than a 10-minute walk.
The boys' dormitory was a bit farther, but there was no need to worry about Natsu.
He was a tough guy who could survive in the wild at such a young age.
And with his strength, even if several adult mages surrounded him, they would only end up being beaten down.
The dormitory provided by the Fairy Tail guild wasn't free.
It was even expensive, costing 100,000 Jewels a month.
Renting a decent house outside would only cost about 70,000 Jewels.
However, the guild's dormitory was indeed luxurious enough, with quality definitely matching the price.
And it was much more convenient than renting a house yourself.
Out of humanitarian concern, the guild's dormitory was free before mages had the initial ability to make a living.
After all, you can't expect a 5 or 6-year-old orphan to come up with 100,000 Jewels every month.
This amount wasn't small for most people, only mages could easily afford it.
Now Natsu, Gray, Erza and the others, even Cana, Levy, Jet, Troy and the rest, had all mastered magic and could take on some requests.
When they grow a bit more, they'll have to pay their own rent.
This is the price of growing up, as carefree days gradually fade away.
****
Leaving the study room, Marco locked the door.
It was almost 10 pm now, and there was no one left in the guild.
The hall was already pitch black.
If there was nothing going on, no one would stay in the guild at night.
Makarov would also lock the door and go home.
Because of his diligent training, Marco sometimes forgot the time when meditating.
He left the guild very late every night, so he voluntarily took over the task of locking the door, including coming very early in the morning to open it.
This also reduced some of Grandpa Makarov's workload.
After making a round in the guild to make sure no one was left, Marco was also ready to leave.
"The last to leave the guild again. Today was another hardworking day."
Tossing and catching the keys in his hand, Marco had a smile on his face as he talk to himself.
"Marco."
Suddenly, a voice sounded in the pitch-black guild hall.
Marco's footsteps paused, and his body tensed up.
But after recognizing whose voice it was, he relaxed again.
With a somewhat helpless expression on his face, he looked towards a table in the corner.
Sure enough, a small figure was sitting there, looking just like a child, not much taller than Levy.
"Jiji, scaring people like that can be fatal."
That small figure was the third master of the Fairy Tail guild, one of the legendary "Ten Wizard Saints", Marco and Laxus's grandfather, Makarov Dreyar.
"Hahaha, did I scare you? I'm really sorry."
Makarov jumped down from the chair, laughing as he came to Marco.
He wore a circus clown hat with two horns on his head and his aged face bore a kindly smile.
He didn't look imposing at all, just like a mischievous old neighbor grandpa.
"You deliberately suppressed your magic, of course I'd be scared!"
Marco was indeed startled for a moment, because he had just checked the entire guild and confirmed there was no one left.
Then Makarov suddenly pulled this stunt, clearly intentionally waiting here to give him a scare.
With Makarov's strength, it was too easy to avoid being detected by Marco.
He just sat in the corner and it was like he was invisible!
Marco had made a round and didn't notice him at all.
"Haha, don't get mad Marco. Come on, let's go home!"
Makarov had a smug expression of a successful prank on his face.
He really was a mischievous old man, without any airs of a powerful person.
He usually sat at the children's table and could really play with the kids.
An old child, that's exactly what he was.
"Alright, let's go home."
Marco wasn't really angry, he was used to it.
Besides, Makarov's personality was actually quite likable.
He was a guild master who could be friends with everyone in the guild and people were always happy to confide in him about any problems.
His powerful strength and reputation that was widely known across the continent also made everyone feel awe and respect for him deep down, without looking down on him because of his small stature or personality.
This mode of interaction, this way of leading the guild, was far superior to those guild masters who relied on putting on airs of authority to lead their guilds.
It could be said that Makarov was the soul of the current "Fairy Tail".
He was definitely an excellent guild master.
Makarov probably had quite a few shortcomings too, but for Marco who aspired to take over the guild one day, there were many admirable qualities in Makarov that he could learn from.
He had always regarded Makarov as his goal to strive towards.
*****
The grandfather and grandson walked out of the guild hall chatting and laughing.
Marco locked the door, officially declaring "Fairy Tail" closed for the day.
"Did you argue with Laxus again?"
Walking on the road, Makarov asked, his expression no longer jovial but showing rare concern.
"We didn't argue, I just tried to persuade him again."
Looking at the small light ball bobbing in front of him, Marco answered simply.
This small light ball was Makarov's magic - Makarov was proficient in various types of magic.