Without wasting any time, Layla went to discuss something with Makarov.
"Old man, hook me up with a position, won't you?" Layla was massaging Makarov's shoulders and pounding his legs as she spoke.
"Mmm, not bad, very comfortable." Makarov closed his eyes and began to enjoy it.
"Old man, please, I'm doing this for everyone's sake too," Layla said, standing in front of Makarov and pleading with him once more.
"All right, all right, I'll set something up for you. Don't rush, let me get a few things ready." Unable to bear Layla's eager and longing gaze, Makarov gave in and told her he would prepare it right away.
"Awesome, thank you, old man!"
Just like that, right next to the request board, Makarov moved a table and a chair into place. Layla kept the same smile frozen on her face, blinking a couple of times before stretching out a finger, her mouth opening as if to say something, but no words came out.
"There." Makarov looked over with satisfaction, turned his head, and said to Layla, "How's that?"
"Huh?" Layla was left speechless.
"What, not satisfied? I've got it!" Noticing Layla's rigid expression and posture, and sensing her dissatisfaction, Makarov busied himself for a moment longer. He hastily made an "Information Bureau" sign and placed it beside the table. Then, giving Layla a thumbs-up, he asked, "How's that? Much better now, right?"
"Master, stop teasing Layla." Macao burst into laughter, unable to close his mouth as he looked at Layla's petrified expression.
"Yeah, exactly, the kid's completely turned to stone," Wakaba chimed in.
"All right, kid, come with me." Finally turning serious, Makarov called out to Layla and walked over toward the room beside the request board.
Realizing that the old man had just been playing a trick on her, Layla felt a bit helpless—such an old kid, still joking around with someone her age—and then trotted along behind him.
Makarov gently pushed open the somewhat weathered wooden door, and a faint scent of wood washed over them. The interior furnishings were simple and practical, free of excessive and flashy decorations, yet exuding a unique warmth.
Stepping into the room, an antique bookshelf stood against the wall, neatly stocked with various books and reference materials. Next to the bookshelf was a minimalist desk holding a desk lamp and some tools, with chairs placed on either side.
"You can put whatever you need in this room from now on."
"Old man, what was this room used for before?"
"Just a simple study. Later on, not many people used it, so it ended up vacant."
"Thanks, old man."
"Pretty decent, right? Oh, and by the way, whenever you teleport in the future, teleport straight into this room. Don't wander around randomly and startle me again." Accepting Layla's thanks with a smile, Makarov remembered the teleportation incident and gave her a firm warning.
"Got it, I understand."
"Right, I'm heading out then."
After tidying up the study and putting away her personal belongings, Layla was ready.
Following a round of publicity, members of the guild began heading out on their respective quests. While some jobs were simple enough that they had no need to consult Layla for information, whenever monster subjugations or bandit raids came up, Layla would use Super Archive Magic to search for intelligence.
Thus the day passed. On the way back, Layla remembered what Mavis had told her before leaving—that she would be waiting for her at home.
"I'm back!"
"Thanks for your hard work, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner." Hearing Layla's voice from the kitchen, Mavis told her to wash up and prepare to eat.
"Okay." Being very obedient, Layla went to the bathroom to wash her hands, then headed to the kitchen to carry the dishes out to the living room table.
On her way back from the guild earlier, Mavis had stopped by a shop to buy some ingredients and returned home, taking in the changes in the city of Magnolia along the way.
She had then gone looking for a place to rent and happened to run into the landlady. When Mavis asked if there were any vacant rooms nearby, the landlady mentioned that the very next door was open, so Mavis promptly bought the adjacent house.
During dinner, Layla told Mavis about what had happened at the guild today. Mavis listened attentively, and once Layla finished speaking, she mentioned that she had already found a place of her own right next door.
After dinner, the two of them washed the dishes, and Layla helped Mavis move her luggage next door. After saying their goodbyes, she returned to her own house, as she still had things to attend to.
Before leaving, however, Layla asked Mavis a question.
"First Master, when is Grandpa coming back?"
"Well, he told me it would take at least a week, and up to a month."
"And what are you two planning to do once he's back?"
"We agreed to go out and have some fun."
"Go have fun? What about me, then?"
"Weren't you the one who joined the guild? You need to train hard, become an amazing Mage, and do your best."
"Huh? I..."
Back in her room, Layla slumped over her desk and began writing something down, though she seemed to hit a few bottlenecks. Her expression wasn't looking too good. Feeling helpless, she crossed out several sections and tried to replan, but nothing satisfied her. Ultimately, she reached a conclusion: she needed to take care of a certain matter first before proceeding with the rest.
With a wave of her hand, a green magic circle materialized, encrypting and sealing the journal in front of her.
Lying on her bed, Layla's mind kept churning. *(I still need to boost my strength first; otherwise, it'll be too hard to execute most of my plans. No choice, I have to learn this spell first, or things are going to get troublesome.)*
Sitting back up, Layla used Super Archive Magic to search for materials and began her studies.
Because she had spent the daytime at the guild, her progress was a bit slow. After a few days of this, once Layla finally mastered that spell, she headed off to the Eastern Forest to train.
During this period, she ran into Laxus a few times. Ever since her previous visit to Porlyusica, Laxus's condition had stabilized, prompting the elderly woman to bluntly inform them that Laxus no longer needed to visit her—all the while muttering her usual complaints about how much she hated humans.
Consequently, Laxus spent his subsequent days training in the Eastern Forest. At the same time, concerned for his safety, old man Makarov made him train diligently and stated that he would only be allowed to take on quests after his abilities had been properly reviewed.
However, watching Laxus put himself through grueling physical training—well, it made sense; if your body was in bad shape, you'd want to build up your physical fitness first. Over the past few days, Laxus had rarely used his Dragon Slayer Magic.
Taking various factors into consideration, Layla always steered clear of the spots where Laxus trained so she could focus on studying Aavsh.
First and foremost, Layla had to memorize the script used to write Aavsh. She had to commit the exact meanings to memory; otherwise, a single mistake during the casting process would render the rules completely invalid.
Constantly reciting the characters, Layla found the process quite grueling since she had never seen Aavsh script before, making it crucial to remember every single definition precisely.
Out on the grass, she continuously practiced writing rules, frequently forgetting minor details or making writing errors that instantly ruined the spell.
All in all, she spent entire days alternating between memorization and failed writing attempts—though, of course, she did have her successes.
She set up a barrier; although it was only a simple age-restriction ward, it turned out pretty well. She could use Natsu to test it out later.