— — — — — —
Mystogan stepped into the town, lifting his head to watch Kazuma and Laxus still fighting in the sky.
"Not relying on magic power. Not using magical tools. Just raw physical strength, and it's already this terrifying…"
Mystogan was genuinely surprised. In a world saturated with magic, very few mages devoted themselves so completely to training their bodies.
After all, improving magic power was far quicker, and it boosted combat strength far more efficiently than honing flesh and bone.
"Looks like there's no chance for me to step in."
He glanced at the guild members battling throughout the town, then quietly turned and left. He wasn't suited for lively, crowded places like this.
...
On the other side, after beating on Laxus for a long time, Kazuma finally stopped.
"Had enough, Laxus? How do you feel now? Still want to keep going?"
Kazuma looked down at Laxus lying on the ground and spoke calmly.
"No more. I give up."
Laxus stared up at the sky. He now clearly understood the gap between himself and Kazuma.
At the same time, all the anger and resentment he had bottled up had been beaten out of him. Once his head cooled off, he simply didn't want to fight anymore.
"Then get up when you can," Kazuma said. "Go back to the guild and see the old man. You two probably have a lot to talk about."
With that, Kazuma stopped paying him any attention. Whether Laxus went or not was his own decision.
Laxus lay there, gazing at the sky, memories of his childhood surfacing. Back then, he had adored his grandfather.
But as he grew older, whenever people inside or outside the guild talked about him, they only ever said, "Makarov's grandson."
Never Laxus.
That kind of atmosphere crushed him.
And when Makarov expelled his son, Laxus's father, from the guild, the conflict finally exploded into something irreparable.
"…Hah!"
Thinking of this, Laxus decided to go and have a proper talk with his grandfather. Gritting his teeth, he forced his already overloaded body to move.
He had no idea how many bones were broken. Every second, his muscles screamed in pain.
Each breath felt like countless blades slicing through his lungs. The agony inside and out would have knocked most people unconscious on the spot.
But Laxus didn't fall.
He dragged himself upright and began walking toward the Fairy Tail guild, one step at a time.
"Laxus."
Fried looked at Laxus but didn't step in to help, only standing silently at his side.
Evergreen and Bickslow soon arrived as well. They didn't interfere either, simply watching Laxus move forward in silence.
This was the greatest respect they could show his will.
As Laxus advanced, Fairy Tail's members gathered around. No one tried to stop him. They stood on both sides of the road, quietly watching, watching his injuries, watching him grit his teeth and keep going.
"Don't fall down, Laxus! Keep going! Go to the guild and beat up Kazuma! Go, you can do it."
Natsu still had no idea what was really going on. Seeing Laxus march forward, he assumed Laxus was heading for another round and shouted encouragement.
"Aye… should we help him up or something?" Happy hovered in the air, looking at Laxus's battered body. It had to hurt like hell.
"Idiot, Happy," Gray said. "This is one of those times where you just watch quietly. A real mage doesn't need pity."
"A real man has to be strong!" Elfman added.
Everyone chimed in with a few words, while Laxus continued walking his own path.
"So this is what the road looks like…"
Walking down the middle of the crowd, Laxus suddenly realized he had never really looked at this street, even though he had walked it countless times.
Only after getting beaten down by Kazuma did he finally slow his pace enough to truly see it.
So this was what the guild was like.
It wasn't quite what he had imagined. But maybe it wasn't so bad either.
Step by step, Laxus reached the guild hall. Inside, he saw Kazuma already seated, casually drinking something.
"The master is resting upstairs," Erza said.
"I see."
Laxus nodded and continued upward. When he reached the door, he stood there for a long time, frozen in place.
"Is that Laxus outside? Come in." Makarov's voice came from inside the room.
Laxus opened the door and walked in. Mira and Porlyusica, who had been caring for Makarov, left shortly after. The room was left with only grandfather and grandson.
---
Down on the first floor, Porlyusica prepared to leave.
"Makarov's condition is under control," Porlyusica said. "But it's an old problem. It can't be cured, only managed with medication from now on."
"And tell him to stop getting so worked up. Keep it up, and one day he'll drop dead from anger."
She glanced at the crowd outside, frowned, and turned to head back to her forest.
"Porlyusica, I'll have someone escort you back," Kazuma said, summoning his shadow soldiers.
"No need," Porlyusica replied flatly. "Your magic makes me uncomfortable. I'll walk back myself."
"And next time something happens, send the patient to me. I don't like coming out or dealing with people. Humans are annoying."
Porlyusica might treat human illnesses, but she wasn't fond of interacting with humans at all.
She preferred living alone in the forest, surrounded by nature.
"Ah… alright. Next time something happens, I'll definitely send them to you," Kazuma said with a smile, looking at the stubborn old woman.
"Hm?"
Porlyusica frowned, sensing something slightly off about what he just said. After thinking it over, though, she couldn't pinpoint any real problem.
She turned to leave, but just as she reached the door, she suddenly remembered something she had nearly forgotten.
"Oh, right. Someone asked me to pass a message on to you."
"The Black Dragon of Apocalypse will hunt down everything connected to dragons. When the Dragon King Festival begins, whether willingly or by force, everyone must take up arms and fight the Black Dragon."
"Otherwise, the only ending is destruction."
Porlyusica was human, but she was also the Edolas counterpart to the Sky Dragon Grandeeney. Because of that, the two could communicate mentally.
When she had spoken with Igneel before, Grandeeney had said she couldn't directly interfere with human affairs. But she could contact another version of herself. And let that version interfere instead.
"The Black Dragon, huh… I get it," Kazuma said. "I'll think of something. Still, Porlyusica, are you sure you don't want me to arrange someone to send you back?"
He looked her over. She seemed healthy enough, but the distance was long. Could she really handle it?
"I live in the forest, but I'm not a savage," Porlyusica said flatly. "I know what a carriage is."
"I'll hire one to take me part of the way, then walk the rest myself."
With that, she turned and left.
...
And in the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.
Fairy Tail gathered to announce the winners of yesterday's Miss Fairy Tail contest and the Battle Game.
There was no surprise when Erza took first place in the Miss Fairy Tail competition. Her popularity was simply overwhelming.
If Mira hadn't gone out of her way to joke around and turn herself into Happy, she might have had a shot at first place too. That bit of chaos cost her the win.
Worth mentioning was that most of Erza's supporters were girls. Compared to a princess, Erza was more like a knight.
That bold, heroic presence appealed to girls even more than it did to guys.
"Ahem… I'm honored to receive this—"
Erza stepped onto the stage, ready to give her speech, but she was interrupted before she could even get started.
"Erza, hurry up and get down! We want to see the top ten of the Battle Game!"
Someone shouted from the crowd.
BOOM!
Erza, fuming, punched Natsu straight in the face. This idiot stirring things up was seriously infuriating.
Natsu took the hit, and Erza's speech came to an abrupt end. After that, Kazuma walked onto the stage.
"Next, we announce the first place of the my game," Kazuma said.
"Wait, shouldn't you start from the bottom and work your way up?" someone protested.
"I'll announce it however I feel like," Kazuma shot back. "If you've got a problem, keep it to yourself."
Everyone collapsed in exaggerated despair. So unreasonable.
"First place goes to Mystogan!"
After saying that, Kazuma looked toward the corner where Mystogan was hiding. "What are you doing standing over there? Come up here."
"I… I think I'll pass," Mystogan said.
Feeling everyone's gaze converge on him, his first instinct was to flee. He really wasn't built for this kind of lively scene.
"It's already over. What are you being socially awkward about now? Get over here."
Kazuma grabbed Mystogan and dragged him onto the stage, then started explaining how he won.
"Mystogan joined the Game late. But with his incredible ability to avoid people, he managed to dodge everyone all the way to first place."
"Let's give him a round of applause."
Yes, Mystogan didn't win because he was overwhelmingly strong.
He won because he was socially anxious and kept avoiding people.
He avoided and avoided, and somehow ended up in first place.
"So embarrassing…"
Mystogan lowered his head and pulled his cloak down even further. The three million prize money felt scorching hot in his hands.
Clap clap clap clap!
"If I'd known hiding was an option, I would've done it too. What a waste."
"So you could just hide?"
"I thought this was about who beat the most people!"
The crowd wasn't mocking him. They were heartbroken.
Why hadn't they thought of hiding?
All that prize money, gone.
Next, Kazuma announced the rest of the top ten. In the final slot was Happy.
Thanks to his ability to fly and his naturally low presence, he somehow squeezed into tenth place. Even at tenth, he still earned five hundred thousand.
Amid all the noise and celebration, Makarov and Laxus walked out together.
"Ahem. Everyone," Makarov said as he stepped onto the stage. "I have something very important to announce."
He looked out at the guild. What he was about to say was serious, and everyone needed to hear it.
.
.
.