Fairy Tail: Saint Seiya Magic Unleashed

Chapter 33: The Orion Bronze Cloth

[Buzz!]

A familiar scene unfolded—brilliant light flared, and a new Bronze Cloth emerged from the glow, first in the form of a constellation.

A helmet.

Two arms.

A torso—shaped like a human figure.

In its right hand, the figure held a weapon; in its left, a shield.

"Which constellation is this...? I don't recognize it."

Moen frowned in confusion.

That wasn't unusual. There were so many different Cloths, so many versions, it was impossible to remember them all—except for the really iconic or flashy ones.

As the light faded, the full armor appeared.

It was mostly white, trimmed with purple, forming a human figure brandishing a weapon and shield.

[Congratulations! Orion Bronze Cloth unlocked!]

A notification from the Saint Seiya System popped up, revealing the name of the new Cloth.

"Orion? Isn't that supposed to be a Silver Cloth? And pretty powerful, too..."

Moen recalled something from a distant memory.

He was fairly sure Orion appeared as a Silver Saint in one of the anime movies.

So why was it showing up here as Bronze?

"Must be a special version..."

Although puzzled, Moen accepted it quickly.

He wasn't a hardcore Saint Seiya encyclopedia—missing a few versions was normal.

Like his first Saint Cloth, the Pegasus Bronze Cloth—he could barely remember the differences between its various iterations.

Since he was still supporting Jellal at the moment, it wasn't the time to suddenly don a new Cloth.

So Moen simply stored it into his System Inventory, planning to test it later.

"Alright, let's go get Wendy and bring her back to the guild."

Still holding onto Jellal, Moen's tone was light and cheerful.

Once they picked up Wendy from Robinlu, he'd be able to complete his quest and earn the Cloth Repair Manual—what a win.

"Right, we need to hurry and find Wendy!"

Jellal echoed, but then paused, giving Moen a surprised look.

"Wait... Moen, you know where Wendy is?"

"Of course. I already met her."

Moen grinned and began recounting his meeting with Grandpa Robinlu, keeping the details honest and even praising the old man's cautious approach.

Listening nearby, Grandpa Makarov nodded along approvingly.

Back then, he hadn't overheard their exact conversation, but now he was clearly satisfied with how it played out.

"That's a relief,"

Jellal exhaled deeply. No need to panic, then.

"..."

Moen narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Wait a second... Jellal, don't tell me—you don't actually know Robinlu, do you?"

The moment he asked, Moen caught the flicker of awkwardness on Jellal's face.

Bingo.

"I mean... I didn't have a choice, alright?"

"Anima was far too dangerous. I wasn't confident I could handle it, so of course I couldn't bring Wendy along."

Jellal's tone was apologetic, but resolute.

"I had to entrust her to someone reliable... Luckily, I chose well. That old man turned out to be a good person."

Jellal gave a helpless smile. He had done what he could under the circumstances.

Although Jellal had known there were risks, he was certain it was still safer for Wendy to stay behind than to follow him into danger.

"Fair enough,"

Moen nodded.

"Honestly, if Grandpa Makarov and I hadn't shown up, I'm not sure you would've held on."

After Jellal had recovered a bit of strength, the trio—one old, two young—made their way slowly back toward Robinlu's crumbling village.

By the time they arrived, the sky was blanketed in stars.

Night had fallen, and the village lay in near-total darkness.

"You actually found him, huh…"

In the gloom, Robinlu stood hunched alone at the village entrance, his voice tinged with surprise.

"Of course I did! And not only that—I've already recruited Jellal into the guild.

So, old man, I'd say the ball's in your court now, huh?"

Moen strode up with a grin, throwing a playful jab at the elderly man.

It was obvious this old fellow carried his own story—there was no way someone of his strength would be living alone in a forgotten village like this without reason.

"Heh. Looks like you got lucky, kid."

Robinlu chuckled, shaking his head with a helpless smile.

"Where's Wendy?"

Moen glanced around, but didn't see any sign of her.

"She's already asleep,"

Robinlu answered gently.

"The little one waited as long as she could for you to come back, but in the end she dozed off."

As he mentioned Wendy, the old man's face softened.

They hadn't spent much time together, but it was clear the girl had already left a mark on his heart.

"Thank you for taking care of Wendy, sir."

Jellal stepped forward and bowed deeply, his gratitude sincere.

He was thankful—deeply thankful—that the old man had turned out to be as kind-hearted as he'd hoped when he made that desperate decision.

"No need to thank me,"

Robinlu smiled.

"It's hard to say no to a child who's that genuinely sincere."

His words made Jellal a little embarrassed—maybe back then, in his panic, he really had looked desperate and sincere.

"Why don't you stay the night? You all look like you've been through a lot."

Robinlu's eyes lingered on Jellal's clearly exhausted face.

Moen and Makarov still looked fine, but Jellal was visibly running on fumes.

"That sounds good. In that case, we'll take you up on the offer."

Makarov replied on behalf of the others.

As he looked at Robinlu, his gaze sharpened slightly.

This old guy… he's not just some reclusive villager.

Even Makarov had to admit the man was deep and unreadable.

The sheer magical force and ability to control those sentient memory spirits? That had taken him by surprise.

"Come in, then,"

Robinlu nodded, the smile still on his face.

"It's been a long time since I hosted anyone, but I cleaned the place up a bit today.

Not much, but it'll do for a night."

Of course, by "cleaned up," he meant that he had the memory spirits do the work—he merely supervised.

Robinlu led them to a small house, and the three of them—Moen, Jellal, and Makarov—settled into separate beds.

The place looked like an old dormitory, clearly used for hosting people at one point.

Moen didn't bother trying on the Orion Bronze Cloth that night.

He lay down, closed his eyes, and quickly drifted into sleep.

The night passed peacefully.

Until, as always, the sun rose again.