We reached the building of the famous guild fairly quickly.
I didn’t remember the route from the station, though.
Hmm.
I wonder why.
The body on my shoulder had begun showing signs of life in the form of twitching, swearing, and attempts to escape its improvised perch.
I didn’t object.
I’d already obtained the Dragon Slayer’s DNA, as well as that of the dragon itself.
The scarf really was tasty.
I hadn’t experimented with it yet, but even from a physical standpoint, there were a couple of interesting details.
I had a feeling Magnolia’s food shops were about to experience a serious raid.
But for now, back to Natsu.
The guy had regained consciousness and was already burning with the desire to charge into the guild.
“Thank you so much for helping us,” Lucy smiled.
“This is us.”
“Oh, Fairy Tail?
I’ve heard of it.
I was actually thinking about joining myself, but I’m not a particularly strong mage, and I couldn’t find any information anywhere about how to join.”
I shrugged.
My words were primarily aimed at the pink-haired fellow, and he heard me.
“What’s there to think about?
You have to do it!
Want to join?
Then come on!”
“Besides, Natsu didn’t get sick while he was on your shoulder, so that means you’re not transportation.
You’re a friend!” Happy added.
Cat logic.
So logical.
“Happy’s right.
Come join us!” the Dragon Slayer continued.
Maybe it wasn’t just cat logic.
“Er…
all right.”
Yeah.
I’d thought this would be much harder, but apparently I’d underestimated the Fairies’ complete lack of seriousness.
Then Natsu simply slammed into the door with all his strength.
How it didn’t tear itself out of the wall, I couldn’t understand.
Maybe the local builders already knew the guild members well enough to construct truly indestructible doors.
Or maybe we just got lucky.
With a wild cry somewhere between a roar and a declaration of “You weren’t expecting me, but here I am!”, he stormed into the guild hall.
Happy flew in after him.
Lucy and I exchanged glances.
I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
She swallowed nervously, then stepped forward.
I could only give a silent snort.
Apparently, Lucy was more concerned with the prospect of finally joining than with Natsu’s behavior.
And so we entered the local branch of the madhouse.
Hmm.
It was actually quite nice.
The hall resembled a clean, cozy tavern.
It was bright and spacious, with mages sitting around tables and drinking various beverages.
Nobody paid the slightest attention to Natsu’s noisy arrival.
Either they simply didn’t care, or they were used to it.
Probably both.
Someone merely greeted him.
Someone else shifted slightly, as if choosing a better position from which to attack, while another person casually surveyed everyone around him.
All right.
Something was about to happen.
I casually moved closer to the wall and exit, taking Lucy with me.
The girl was about to object to my behavior, but she never got the chance.
A body flew past the exact spot where she’d been standing.
Hmm.
That was probably the guy with rabbit teeth who had been arguing with Natsu.
And considering the Dragon Slayer’s mood after a full day of train travel, which was not exactly pleasant, their discussion quickly turned into a fistfight.
The others had clearly been waiting for that.
They immediately started settling their own differences, and it was obvious they were hitting each other seriously, but without any real desire to injure or cripple anyone.
It reminded me of an old joke about Stirlitz.
Two men were arguing about whether he was Stirlitz or not.
One insisted he was.
The other insisted he wasn’t because wherever Stirlitz went, a fight always broke out.
Their arguments ended quickly.
The fight began.
Chairs flew past.
Mugs whistled overhead.
And at the edge of the entire mess stood Lucy, clearly having the time of her life.
Yeah.
She would definitely fit in here.
I even caught myself wanting to join the fun, but I couldn’t yet.
I was still an outsider, and if I joined the fight there was a chance the entire guild would try to beat me into the floor.
I wasn’t interested in that.
Meanwhile, the brawl kept escalating.
A guy around nineteen years old, wearing nothing but boxer shorts, deliberately made his way toward Natsu.
Yep.
Gray had joined the party.
The surrounding guild members completely ignored the presence of outsiders and continued enjoying themselves.
The flying boxer shorts confirmed that Fullbuster’s behavior was proceeding as usual.
Lucy, watching the fight, blushed slightly.
Then a bear of a man tried to join the fight.
A muscular giant was shouting something about men and talking things out.
It started intriguingly, but unfortunately Elfman fell victim to a clever combination by Gray and Natsu and went flying into the nearest wall.
The two understood each other almost without looking and worked together with impressive professionalism.
Why did Erza constantly try to make them reconcile?
They got along perfectly well.
And their constant rivalry made things more interesting.
After eliminating the threat, they happily went back to beating each other’s faces in.
“Hey, are you two new here?”
A dazzlingly beautiful woman made her way over to us.
Milk-white hair.
Bright blue eyes.
Fair skin that looked like it would be pleasant to touch.
A red dress reaching almost to the floor, doing a very good job of emphasizing her figure.
Mirajane, obviously.
She wore her hair loose, apart from her bangs, which were amusingly pulled into a little tuft to keep them out of her eyes.
I wasn’t the only one staring at her.
Lucy was staring too.
Well, me staring was understandable.
But the blonde?
Interesting.
I wondered what thoughts were wandering around in that charming head of hers.
It seemed the anime had censored a few details about Miss Heartfilia’s personality.
“Yep,” I answered, while Lucy was still somewhere in the clouds.
“It’s certainly lively around here, but shouldn’t we stop them before the building collapses?”
“Don’t worry.
They do this all the time.
Nothing serious will happen.
Let the boys have some fun before Erza gets back, and besides, it’s just…”
Mirajane suddenly stopped and stared at me with wide eyes.
Lucy snapped out of her trance too.
As for me?
I hadn’t done anything.
I had merely caught Elfman as he flew toward the beautiful woman.
With one hand.
I’d also moved very quickly and placed myself between him and her.
What’s so special about that?
Fine.
Maybe I wanted to show off a little in front of the ladies.
“…silly,” Mira finished, smiling gratefully.
“MAN!” the giant hanging from my arm growled approvingly.
“Give me a hand, will you?”
I nodded knowingly and sent him flying back into the fight.
He crashed into the group of combatants, shouting happily.
I barely had time to catch my breath before I had to do the same thing with Gray, who came flying toward Lucy.
Completely naked Gray.
Ugh.
Disgusting.
Couldn’t someone respectable have flown over?
No.
Mirajane quickly realized the fun had gotten a little too intense and suggested that we wait it out behind the bar.
Perfect timing.
I noticed Loke approaching my girls.
Yes.
Already my girls.
Nobody was taking them from me.
I disliked that slick bastard immediately.
Besides, he already had his own harem.
Hands off.
Behind the bar it was quiet and peaceful.
Somehow I ended up sitting between Lucy and Mira.
All in all, I was doing quite well.
“Phew.
Looks like we survived,” the blonde sighed.
“I haven’t met Erza yet, but I already respect her.
If she can keep this madhouse under control, she deserves it.”
“At least we’re never bored.”
“That much is true.”
I smirked lightly as I watched the brawl.
“By the way…”
I looked toward the girl.
“We never actually introduced ourselves.
I’m Sephiroth.
Just Sephiroth.”
“Mirajane Strauss.
But you can call me Mira.”
“Lucy Heartfilia.”
“Well, now we’re acquainted.”
“Yep.
If you have any questions or problems, come to me.
I’m almost always in the guild and I fill in for the Master when he’s absent.”
“Thanks.
We’ll keep that in mind.”
I looked toward the fight.
“Oh, looks like they’ve gone quiet.”
Then I felt it.
“What an interesting sensation…”
There was something strange in the air.
A pressure.
Something unmistakably dangerous.
And its source was getting closer.
The door creaked open.
A giant appeared in the doorway, and Elfman suddenly looked small by comparison.
He stood nearly eight meters tall, wrapped in power, fury, and a desire to kill.
So this was what “ki” probably felt like.
Very interesting.
“Looks like the Master is back,” Mira said with a smile.
She smiled often.
A very positive person, despite everything.
“THAT is the Master?”
Lucy clearly had imagined something different.
Meanwhile, the fighters quieted down.
Only Natsu couldn’t seem to calm himself.
Was it because of the dragon who raised him, who might have radiated an even stronger presence?
Or was he simply an idiot with no survival instinct?
Probably the second.
They dealt with him rather radically.
Someone simply stepped on him and kept walking without paying him much attention.
And this was an A-rank mage!
Yeah.
If the distance from D to A was enormous, the distance from A to S was enormous beyond that.
And the distance from S to “God-Equal” was an abyss.
I could almost physically feel the Power flowing through the guild Master.
Yeah.
I definitely wasn’t ready to fight someone at that level.
He’d crush me, fold me into a little ball, and lock me in a sealed safe without caring about my durability, speed, or strength.
Of course, nobody said I had to fight him head-on.
I still liked to think I was somewhat more intellectually developed than Natsu.
The monster finally noticed the new faces.
“NEWCOMERS?!”
The monstrous voice shook the room.
Lucy hurried behind my back.
“Exactly.”
I looked at the Master with interest, but without the slightest trace of fear.
“Then welcome!”
Almost instantly, the enormous monster transformed into a tiny old man wearing a ridiculous hat.
The sort of old man people described as “barely a meter tall, even standing on a stool.”
The grandfather quickly proved that he could jump considerably higher than that.
He leaped from the ground toward the second-floor railing, and although he fell slightly short, it was still impressive.
Then came a true theater of the absurd.
Master Makarov spent roughly forty minutes going over the guild’s behavior and certain members individually.
Natsu’s exploits received their proper share of attention.
Makarov waved an impressive stack of complaints from the city authorities and occasionally glanced toward Mira, who pressed her lips together unhappily, or toward the girls present.
Instead of the clearly profane language he might have used, he settled for almost affectionate terms like “brats,” “idiots,” and “irresponsible fools.”
Another twenty minutes passed before the listeners were thoroughly absorbed by the old man’s oratory.
Eventually, he wrapped things up by telling the Council exactly what they could do with their complaints.
He simply burned the papers in his hands without any magic circles or protective gloves.
Then he launched into an inspiring speech about magic, mages, and their ambitions.
And honestly, the Master was good.
He managed to raise the spirits of the depressed guild members in just a few words while also giving the newcomers a brief explanation of the guild’s spirit.
The old man was definitely impressive.
The whole thing smelled suspiciously like a performance, but I’d be generous and applaud silently.
The improvisation had been excellent.
Makarov couldn’t have known about the newcomers in advance, nor could he have predicted the fight.
So the man had adapted instantly.
Although, considering the fight…
Yeah.
After deciding that his official duties had been completed, namely beating some sense into everyone, the Master sat down at the bar beside Mira and started drinking beer.
Mira then placed magical guild marks on Lucy and me, officially welcoming us into the guild.
Canon hadn’t lied about this either.
The blonde received her mark on the back of her hand.
I offered my forearm.
Hmm.
Why did I feel like I already had some kind of tattoo there?
The colors were exactly what I expected.
Pink for the girl.
As for me, I had to be different again.
My tattoo came out two-colored, red and black.
Yeah.
But there were also details that canon hadn’t shown, although that wasn’t surprising.
For example, Mira had us fill out a small questionnaire.
Who we were.
Where we came from.
What magic we used.
Our current rank.
When I mentioned Requip, Mira quietly muttered something along the lines of, “Now we’ll finally be able to find out whether Erza’s hamster-like tendencies are an innate trait or whether her magic has something to do with it.”
The questionnaire also asked whether we had a place to live and what our food and drink preferences were if we wanted to eat at the guild.
I also introduced myself to the other mages.
I learned their names and exchanged a few words with several of them.
Basically, I was trying to integrate myself into the group.
After talking to Gray more extensively, my first impression of him softened somewhat.
He was actually a very serious, thoughtful, responsible person.
He also knew how to joke.
If only he didn’t have that constant urge to strip naked.
Still, we seemed to get along.
Lucy stayed close to me, while Natsu deserved a formal reprimand.
He had brought the girl into the guild and then simply abandoned her.
There she was already standing at the request board, choosing a job.
No.
A guy that irresponsible wasn’t going to get any help from me.