Returns without a "return" command

C programming language, compiled with gcc, terminal bash in WSL

I have written a recursive function, to find the lowest number in an array, which works just fine.

/*01*/    int minimo(int array[], int n)
/*02*/    {
/*03*/      static int min = 0;
/*04*/    
/*05*/      if (n == N)
/*06*/      {
/*07*/          return array[n-1];
/*08*/      }
/*09*/      else
/*10*/      {
/*11*/          min = minimo(array, n+1);
/*12*/          if(array[n]<min){
/*13*/              min = array[n];
/*14*/          }
/*15*/      }
/*16*/    }

The only problem is that it shouldn't work, because it doesn't return "min" to the caller...

int main()
{
    //Var
    int array[N] = {10, 2, 5, 1, 7};
    printf("Min: %d\n", minimo(array, 0));
}

My concern is actually a problem, but not on my machine onto which the function works just fine as it is; it is a problem on my friends' laptops and IDEs, I tried copying to XCode on a friend's Macbook and it wouldn't work if the line "return min;" wasn't added at the end of the function.

Between line 15-16 I have to add return min;

/*15*/      }
            return min;
/*16*/    }

My questions for you are the following:

1. How can a function return a variable automatically?
2. Is it possible that it does return the only variable that I created (static int min)?
3. Or is it a "problem" related to the static attribute that the variable has?
4. Does it have anything to do with the nature of the function (recursive)?

This is my first post, please be kind if I'm breaking any forum rule.