Chapter 126: A Hair's Breadth Away
Mira was very surprised and taken aback, for reasons similar to what Ren thought. After all, Ren was still a newcomer who had only joined the Fairy Tail Guild for a year.
Such an important position as Guild Master should be filled by someone with more seniority.
In her mind, and in the minds of most of the guild, there were only two people most likely to inherit the position of Guild Master.
One was Gildarts. He had been in the Fairy Tail Guild since he was a child, was the strongest Mage in Fairy Tail, and everyone in the Guild trusted him implicitly. He was the "ace" and the father figure.
The other was Laxus. Laxus was the Guild Master's grandson, and a grandson inheriting his grandfather's position made sense anywhere.
She didn't expect the Guild Master to actually want to pass on the position of Guild Master to Ren.
She was very familiar with Ren. She had watched him join, seen his quiet strength, his surprising maturity, and his fierce loyalty during the Phantom Lord attack. She knew, perhaps better than anyone, that Ren was indeed an excellent candidate. He was calm, ludicrously powerful, and genuinely cared for the guild members. But she still felt that the Guild Master's decision was somewhat... hasty.
Ren nodded helplessly, mistaking her thoughtful silence for agreement. "Yeah! So, do you think I can be happy?"
Mira couldn't help but find Ren's pained, genuinely horrified expression a little amusing. "What? Are you so unwilling to be Guild Master?"
"Of course I am! Being Guild Master is such a hassle!" Ren threw his hands up, going on a tirade. "Not only do I have to deal with all sorts of things every day, but I also have to go to the Magic Council and get scolded by those old Council Members! I'd have to write self-criticisms! Can you imagine me writing a self-criticism?"
He started pacing, ticking things off on his fingers. "I'd have to mediate conflicts between guild members and members of other guilds. I'd have to mediate conflicts between our own guild members—that's a full-time job! I'd have to attend regular meetings and listen to a bunch of old farts bragging about how 'orderly' their guilds are while glaring at me! And the paperwork! Mira, think of the paperwork! Natsu's destruction reports alone would be a nightmare!"
"Haha~~!!"
Listening to Ren's frantic, detailed list, Mira couldn't help but burst out laughing. Everything Ren said was true; the Guild Master had indeed always been doing exactly those things.
"If you don't want to," Mira said, her smile teasing, "Laxus really wants to be Guild Master."
"Laxus?" Ren scoffed. "That guy's head is full of 'strongest, strongest.' The strongest isn't something you say, it's something you prove through fighting. What's so great about showing off and bullying your own guild members? If he's so capable, he should go fight one of the Ishgar Four Heavenly Kings."
"Haha!" Mira giggled again at his accurate assessment.
"Oh, right," Ren said, his voice lowering slightly. "Don't tell anyone that the Guild Master wants to pass the position to me. I'm afraid Laxus might not be able to handle the stimulation and come looking for trouble."
Mira blinked, tilting her head. "Are you still afraid of Laxus?"
She knew that Ren sometimes seemed cautious, but he was actually a fearless person, braver than anyone else in the guild. He dared to take on S-Class Quests as soon as he joined. She had never seen anyone as bold as Ren.
"It's not that I'm afraid of Laxus," Ren clarified, shaking his head. "It's that I'm afraid of trouble. If Laxus knew this news, he would definitely cause a huge ruckus at the guild. The old guild was just destroyed, and the new guild isn't even finished yet. I don't want to see the new guild destroyed again."
He sighed, "Besides, Laxus is the Guild Master's grandson after all. If I really beat him up badly, it wouldn't be easy to explain to the Guild Master."
Mira smiled at that. That was the Ren she knew. He wasn't afraid of the fight; he was worried about the consequences for the family. Indeed, given Laxus's personality, he was very likely to do something destructive.
"So, in the end? Did you agree?" she asked softly.
Ren nodded, looking defeated. "The old man didn't give me a chance to refuse! I could only agree, but luckily, the timeline can be pushed back. Two years. The old man said he'd stay on for another two years, and then my seniority would barely be enough."
"Two years?" Mira murmured. "After two years, the Master will be ninety. It really will be time for him to retire."
Retirement is retirement, but he can still be in the guild, just like her. She had effectively retired from being an active S-Class Mage and now handled logistics and cared for the guild. After the Guild Master retires, without the heavy workload, his life would be a bit easier.
"Forget it!" Ren said, shaking his head as if to clear the thought. "I won't think about it so much. If I have to be Guild Master in two years, then I will. If I don't want to, I'll just pass the Guild Master position to Erza and continue being an S-Class Mage."
Mira couldn't help but find Ren's words very amusing. Some people, like Laxus, fought and schemed to be Guild Master. But Ren... he might as well have written 'I don't want to be Guild Master' on his face.
A short while later, Mira also arrived home. When Elfman was around, Ren would always say goodnight at her door and go home first. When it was just him and Mira, he usually dropped Mira off first, then went home himself.
However, this time, as they stood on her doorstep under the soft glow of a street lamp, both of them were a little reluctant to part. Their gazes, as they met, were filled with the strong, sweet scent of love.
"How about..." Ren started, his voice a bit hesitant. "You come to my place for a bit longer... to talk?"
"This..." Mira's eyes flickered down. "It's so late, wouldn't that be... inappropriate..."
"Let's go," Ren said, his voice a little softer, more confident. "I'm actually... a little hungry. I could make us something."
Mira looked up at him through her lashes. That was a terrible excuse, and they both knew it. She smiled.
"This... alright!"
Ren took Mira's hand, his heart giving a small leap as she laced her fingers through his. He walked with her back down the path, towards his own house. Ren could feel Mira's palm sweating slightly; he was actually a little nervous too.
Although he had liked Mira for a long time, their relationship hadn't reached that point, so he naturally wouldn't consider those things. Their interactions were more like best friends who held hands sometimes.
But now, they were interacting as lovers. The feeling was naturally different. The air was charged with something new.
As soon as they entered his room, the feeling intensified. The click of the door shutting seemed deafeningly loud in the small, quiet space.
Ren wrapped one arm around Mira's slender waist, pulling her gently away from the door. He placed his other hand on the wall, pinning Mira against it.
A classic Kabe-don.
Ren looked at Mira with burning eyes; only a blind person wouldn't understand that look. Mira was extremely shy under Ren's direct, intense gaze. Her breath hitched, and her own eyes flickered down to his lips before she simply closed them, her long white eyelashes fanned out against her blushing cheeks.
"Mira... I..."
This alluring, trusting posture made Ren's heart pound uncontrollably in his chest. He could smell the faint scent of strawberries from her hair. He leaned in, his own eyes closing...
Suddenly!
BANG---!!
Ren's door was flung open with such force that it slammed into the interior wall, rattling a picture frame.
"It's bad! Ren! Loki, he—!"
Gray burst into the room in a full-blown panic, but seeing their posture—Ren pinning Mira to the wall, both of them frozen with their eyes wide—he immediately realized that his timing seemed... a bit off.
Ren showed a pained, agonized expression. 'Damn it! Why?! Why does someone always get in the way every time I try to do something?!'
He was so close! Just a hair's breadth away!
'And these guys entering my house! Aren't they being way too casual?!' He thought he should hang a sign on the door next time. A very large, very threatening sign.
Mira, seeing Ren's pained expression, couldn't help but find it a little amusing. But she also felt a slight, secret sense of relief in her heart. She quickly pushed Ren back, her face a deep crimson, as she wasn't truly ready for that yet.
Mira asked Gray, her voice a little shaky but regaining its composure. "Gray, what happened to Loki?"
She knew something must have happened for Gray to be so flustered.
"Loki..." Gray panted, running a hand through his hair. "Loki left Fairy Tail!!"
"What?!"
"What's going on?!"
Ren and Mira, their romantic moment completely shattered, both sobered up. Loki was a partner they were quite familiar with. Why would he suddenly leave Fairy Tail?
"I don't know!" Gray said. "Everyone's gone looking for him now. That guy... he's been acting very strange lately."
As Loki's close friend, Gray had noticed Loki acting strangely, seeming depressed and distant. But he didn't know what was wrong, so he had ignored it, figuring Loki was just in a mood. He didn't expect to return to the dorm today and find a note from Loki simply saying, 'I'm leaving.'
Mira suddenly remembered something, her hand on her chin. "This afternoon... a group of women claiming to be Loki's girlfriends also came to the guild. They were all crying. They said that Loki broke up with all of them last night. It's really strange for someone as flirtatious as Loki to break up with everyone at once."
Mira also understood Loki's personality. Loki was a playboy, that was true, but he was very good to each of his girlfriends. He never treated them badly.
Most importantly, Loki left the guild without a word. That was what was so wrong. Even if he had to leave for something, he would at least explain the reason to everyone in the guild, right?
Ren, who had been listening to all this, crossed his arms. The pieces were clicking into place. A playboy who avoids Celestial Spirit Mages. Breaking up with all his girlfriends. Fading away. Leaving the guild...
"Loki, huh..." Ren said, his voice calm. "I roughly know where he is..."
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