"Everyone, we're back!" Zorn and Laxus pushed open the Guild doors, and the noisy Guild Members immediately quieted down, looking at the two dusty figures, then erupted in deafening cheers.
Zorn and Laxus were also infected by the cheers, joining in the conversations.
"Laxus, let's have a match!" Seeing Laxus return, Natsu wanted to redeem himself. For the past six months, he had strictly followed his training plan, and even the Master had acknowledged his strength.
"Oh, not bad, kid." Laxus sensed that Natsu's strength had indeed increased over the past five months. It seemed he had truly trained diligently during that time. "Alright, I'll agree to it and see what Natsu's level is."
"Na, Natsu, maybe not. Haven't you heard that Laxus learned a very powerful magic?" Happy, hovering nearby, trembled as he tried to persuade the impulsive Natsu. He didn't want Natsu to be electrocuted into oblivion.
"No way! I must make Laxus acknowledge my strength!" Natsu clenched his fists, his aura fierce and full of fighting spirit as he looked at Laxus.
"Yosh, then come with me outside the Guild!" Laxus turned, signaling Natsu to follow. Some Guild Members also wanted to watch the excitement, so they noisily followed them out to witness the two's duel.
Happy was also carried by Lisanna, following the crowd out the door.
"Natsu is truly a fiery young man!"
"Who isn't, hahaha!"
Wakaba and Macao didn't follow them out. They stayed in the Guild, drinking cup after cup, lamenting about Natsu.
Zorn looked around, not finding the Master or Cana. He turned to Erza, who was still choosing a mission from the mission board. He noticed that ever since he and Laxus returned, Erza had been by the mission board, stroking her chin and seriously selecting a mission.
"Erza, where's Master? I haven't seen him." Zorn walked over to the mission board and asked.
"He went to a Council meeting, regarding you and Laxus. Oh, right, and this. The Master asked me to give this to you. Take a look." Erza casually pulled a piece of paper from her waist, expressionlessly handed it to Zorn, then turned back to seriously look at the mission request board.
"What is this? Let me see… this…" Zorn looked at what was written on the paper in his hand and instantly turned to stone, falling straight to the ground, his soul floating out of his mouth.
"Hey, hey, Zorn, are you okay? What did you see?" Macao and Wakaba looked at the paper floating on the ground and couldn't help but laugh bitterly. It was a densely packed bill, with many zeros added to the total amount. No wonder Zorn reacted that way.
"So this is the training bill for the past six months, and the compensation bill?" Zorn sat on a chair, propping his head with one hand, unable to face reality, asking Erza for confirmation.
"Yes, that's why Mira, Gray, and some other Guild Members are out on missions now. Now that you're back, I also need to go out and work hard." Erza clenched her hands, her eyes full of fighting spirit. After registering her mission at the bar, she excitedly ran out to execute the mission.
"Haha, that was truly spectacular!"
"But Natsu was still defeated in one move, hahaha!"
"Laxus is really strong!"
The Guild Members, having watched the excitement, returned to the Guild, discussing the spectacular moments of Laxus and Natsu's duel. Laxus also carried the unconscious Natsu into the Guild, casually tossing him onto the ground, and was surprised to see Zorn looking utterly lifeless.
"Hey, is Natsu okay?" Happy poked Natsu's head, asking curiously. Lisanna also looked at Natsu with a worried expression, occasionally poking Natsu with her hand just like Happy.
"Yo, what's up? This is…" Laxus stepped over a chair and sat down, looking at the paper that clearly caused Zorn's unusual reaction, equally shocked by the amount. The money they earned from this mission, after deducting what was spent on training, was only about half, far from enough to pay this bill.
"Yosh, I can't be decadent! I need to quickly do a few more S-rank missions and earn the money back!" Zorn stood up abruptly, snatched the bill from Laxus's hand, ran upstairs, checked the amount while looking at the mission board, selected a few missions, and quickly registered them.
Then he pulled Laxus and set off for the mission. "Let's go, Laxus, time waits for no one, let's go!"
"Hey, hey, aren't you going to rest?" Macao ran out of the Guild, chasing after the two and asking.
"No, old man, please tell the Master when he gets back that Laxus and I will return very quickly." Zorn's words echoed in the air. The two had already transformed into lightning and light, disappearing into the sky. They didn't plan to take a boat or any other transportation. They would complete it as fast as possible, settling the bill early before the year ended.
"That kid, yosh, I can't give up either!"
"Wakaba, we've rested enough. Let's go on a mission quickly, we can't lose to the young ones!" Macao turned and entered the Guild, teaming up with old man Wakaba to go on a mission.
At the Council, the meeting was in progress…
"Bang!"
"Makarov, we've received so many complaints about the damage caused by your Guild Members during missions. Take a good look." A Council Member threw a stack of complaint letters in front of Makarov, speaking indignantly.
"Well, well, if these were caused by our Guild's Magicians, we've already chosen to compensate." Makarov looked at the stack, plus what had already been tallied in the Guild, and his heart tightened, but he still pretended to be calm, drinking tea expressionlessly as he replied.
"Yes, and their Guild's most recent S-rank mission was also done very well, wasn't it? They resolved the long-standing lightning storms in Mount Razer, which can be considered as merits offsetting faults." A Magician who had a good relationship with Makarov also spoke up in his favor.
"Moreover, this meeting is also to discuss the agenda for the Ten Wizard Saints selection." Another neutral Council Member also reminded him.
"Hmph, I naturally know that. Their mission also destroyed a surrounding mountain range, so it can only offset that. The previous complaints still stand." Council Member Og, who had thrown the list to Makarov, also emphasized the offset issue.
"You… you good-for-nothing Og!"
"Alright, let's put this matter aside for now. Let's discuss the Ten Wizard Saints selection first." The Chairman directly knocked on the table, stopping the pointless argument, and brought the meeting agenda back to its original topic.
"..." The meeting continued its discussion.
"Good, then it's settled. Inform all the Masters, Makarov, this matter is entrusted to you. Meeting adjourned." After the Chairman finalized it, he adjourned the meeting, and Makarov and Yajima walked out of the meeting headquarters together.
"Then that's it, Makarov, I'm leaving first." Yajima said, nodded to Makarov, and dispelled his thought-body magic.
"Makarov!" A roar came from the Council hall. Makarov heard it, turned to look at the angry Og, and without speaking, he smiled and dispelled his thought-body magic.
"Damn it…"
To be continued~