Simulation: Starting from Under One Person

As for the magical beast used to deliver the message...

It's not necessarily faster than a magical four-wheeled vehicle or a magical ship.

It's understandable not to send a magical beast to deliver the message, but...

Getting lost was something Erza hadn't anticipated.

This caused her to arrive at Karna Island a little later than scheduled...

"Let me see your guild crest, and throw in the notification letter as well."

"Harpy." Erza tossed the letter to Harpy, telling him to take it upstairs.

Then, the group revealed their guild emblem.

The two glanced at the guild emblem, opened the letter, and then looked at the notification letter that the commission had been accepted.

"Is it true?"

"do not know……"

The two looked at each other for a moment, both seeing a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.

"What should we do? Go find the village chief?"

The other villager didn't reply, but instead looked at Fang Rui and shouted, "Why doesn't he show his guild emblem?!"

"Me?" After a moment of hesitation, Fang Rui shouted, "I'm not a Fairy Tail mage, I'm a ferryman who brings mages to Galna Island."

"Nonsense, I've never seen a boatman dressed as well as you!"

The villagers' rebuttal was met with nods of agreement from Erza and the others; it was reasonable, well-founded, and convincing.

"Why are you nodding..."

In a casual remark, Fang Rui retorted, "Who says boatmen have to be poor?!"

“What he said makes a lot of sense!” another villager agreed.

The villager who asked the question: "…………" You're my companion!

After a moment of silence, the village gate slowly moved upwards.

Immediately afterwards, a voice came out: "Please come in, we'll go call the village chief."

The group entered the village, where the houses were simple and had a somewhat exotic feel.

The villagers who gathered were covered in cloth robes, with only their eyes showing.

An unusual atmosphere permeated the village, and Natsu and the others, affected by it, became serious.

"You've finally arrived, mages..."

At the front of the crowd was someone who seemed to be the village chief. He held up a cane with a crescent moon at one end and spoke in a deep voice.

"Let's not waste any more time, let me show you this..."

You could tell from the village chief's attitude that he was in a hurry and had no intention of being polite at all. He directly lifted his loose robe.

Amidst the rustling sound of clothes fluttering in the wind, the villagers of Galna Island revealed their true forms.

Overall, it has a human-like appearance, but some body parts are non-human.

It might be a hideous arm, a hideous leg, or a hideous wing...

Limbs resembling those of a demon.

"Hmm..." Erza remained calm, seemingly deep in thought.

"really……"

Based on the information Fang Rui had mentioned earlier, Gray had some guesses, and now he needed to find a way to verify them...

"Gulp..." Lucy swallowed, somewhat startled.

Fang Rui's gaze swept across the crowd, scrutinizing one villager after another... as if they were somehow connected.

And Natsu...

"Your sideburns are amazing!!"

His attention had already wandered from the very beginning, and his dumbfounded expression left everyone else speechless.

“No, the point is here…” Village Chief Moka raised his right paw and said, “Surprised? Whew…”

"All the creatures on this island, including the face-dogs and birds, are afflicted by this curse, phew..."

"Does that include fish too?!" Happy suddenly interjected.

The village chief's emotions were momentarily thrown off balance by the question. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, "Yes, that includes."

The fish living in the lake near the village are indeed partly demonic limbs.

"Oh~" Happy said, somewhat disappointed.

"Where is the basis for this curse? Could it be some kind of illness?"

Gray grasped the crux of the problem and then asked questions.

"We've seen more than a dozen doctors, and they all said there's no such disease," the village chief replied truthfully.

Fang Rui's expression, however, was somewhat subtle...

Didn't those doctors notice that these villagers' health was abnormal?

Or perhaps you know, but don't have the courage to say it?

However, the various guilds haven't received any requests for "defeating demons," indicating that the doctors haven't reported it...

Or perhaps it's true that a demon's body is no different from that of an ordinary human.

Well, no matter how you look at it, there should be a difference.

Could it be that... when disguised as a human, the demon's body is identical to a human's?

but……

It could also be...

Fang Rui looked up and saw a thin purple film floating above the island.

Perhaps it was made of magic, for it floated silently in the air, without moving.

"The influence of the Moon Drops' magic—if it can distort a demon's memories, there's no reason it couldn't affect a few doctors..."

After all, with so many patients and such strange symptoms, it will take time to examine and study them...

Over time, the magic of the Moon Drops began to influence others...

Wait a minute, the magic of the Moon Drops seems to be...

It doesn't work on people!!!

Thinking of this, Fang Rui's thoughts paused, and then he swept a series of random thoughts into the trash heap.

Stop daydreaming and listen to Erza and the others talking with the villagers.

By this time, enough basic information had been collected, and the villagers, bathed in the purple moonlight, had transformed into the appearance of demons.

Since it was getting late, Erza and the others did not immediately explore Galna Island, but instead stayed in the house arranged by the village chief.

While resting, let's organize the information and discuss the tasks.

"Share your thoughts."

Erza sat on a wooden chair, asking Natsu and the others questions.

His tone didn't sound like he was asking for opinions, but rather like he was testing someone...

Chapter 306 The Deal with Zeref

Since Natsu, Gray, and Lucy were allowed to participate in S-class missions by the guild master, there must be a reason for it, and Erza believes it is appropriate to test them.

"view?"

Gray thought for a moment before replying, "In my opinion, the people in this village are very strange, especially considering that Fang Rui said there are demons living on this island..."

"I suspect the people in this village might be demons, but their memories have become disordered for some reason. Or perhaps the demons living on the island have cast a curse on the villagers..."

"Other possibilities exist, and they need to be verified one by one."

“Well said.” Erza nodded, agreeing with Gray’s words.

"Natsu, Lucy, what do you think?"

“Emmm…” Natsu didn’t say anything; he hadn’t thought that much about it at all.

“I think…” Lucy hesitated for a moment, “the villagers might be demons.”

"Before landing on the island, the moon was its normal color, but after entering the island's territory, the moon turned purple. I think... it must be a problem with the island."

"For example, what's in the sky..."

"Lucy, you have a very keen eye for your surroundings," Erza praised.

"Hehe..." Lucy scratched her head, not mentioning that she observed the moon in the night sky because she was bored after being lost at sea for too long.

Erza then turned her gaze back to Natsu, hoping he could offer some insights.

Unfortunately, Natsu didn't say anything.

At the end of this assessment, Naz received the lowest score.

Thinking this, Erza said, "You can verify your guesses tomorrow and see whose guess is correct."

"Oh! Is it a competition? I'm sure I won't lose!" Natsu said confidently.

'...The last person who has the right to say that is you, Natsu!'

Lucy silently grumbled to herself, then asked, "And what about you, Erza?"

“I’ll stay with Fang Rui for now. There are definitely some problems with this island, and it’s not good to let him wander around on his own,” Erza said.

“But…” Lucy pointed out the window, just as Fang Rui emerged from one house and disappeared into another, his tone subtle, “He’s wandering around…”

After a moment of silence, Erza suddenly stood up: "You all rest first! I need to talk to Fang Rui."