"Huh?! Me?!"
Kaien looked stunned. "I completed my mission perfectly! The client gave glowing reviews! Even I'm on the list? You must be mistaken, Master!"
"You did complete the mission perfectly. Not only did you rescue the villagers, you also wiped out the Black Magic Order. But your methods were too extreme! Every single one of them ended up injured or crippled! We spent a fortune treating them—and several were so traumatized they had to be locked in the mental ward!"
"Not my problem. They deserved it."
Kaien always picked up bits of the personalities of whoever he transformed into. If he took on Ulquiorra, he became extremely calm. As Yoriichi, he was righteous. As Ace, he got reckless. And as Toji Fushiguro, he turned violent.
As far as he was concerned, members of the Black Magic Order deserved to die more than anyone else in the Fairy Tail world.
Makarov sighed. He knew Kaien hadn't done anything wrong—it was just those uptight Council members nitpicking again. "Then there was the time you sailed a ship straight into Harujion Port… and followed that up by punching a cliff face into rubble, scaring the daylights out of the town."
"…"
No excuses. He did that.
"Next—Natsu. You took out the Devon Bandit Clan, sure… but destroyed seven homes. You knocked over the historic clock tower in Julie Village, burned down half the church in Frigia, wrecked parts of Rubis City, and caused the collapse of the observation station in the Narina Canyon. Oh, and let's not forget—blew up half of Harujion Port."
Lucy was frozen in shock. He… did all that?!
"And Alzack, Levy, Krov, Lidas, Warren, Bisca…"
Everyone whose name was called instinctively bowed their heads.
Just as Lucy thought the Master was about to tear into them all—
Makarov clapped the file shut. "Alright! That concludes this month's report!"
"And I'll say it again—let those Council bastards eat sh*t!"
He lit the file ablaze with a flick of magic.
"Don't worry about those blowhards at the top. Don't be afraid of the Council either! Walk the path you believe in! That's what it means to be a Fairy Tail mage!"
"OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!"
The suffocating pressure in the guild instantly vanished. Cheers erupted all around. Everyone's face lit up with wide, relieved smiles.
The Master was always like this—even when they made a mess, he forgave them in the end.
Lucy felt the atmosphere sink in. A smile crept onto her face. The nervousness she had from entering a new guild melted away. Sure, this guild was a little crazy—but it was also… amazing.
"Now clean this place up! What if a guest sees this mess?!"
"Yes, sir!!"
The guild members got to work—broken chairs and tables tossed into the basement, usable furniture brought back out and rearranged.
Soon, the guild buzzed with life again. People gathered around tables, chatting and drinking, laughter echoing everywhere. It was hard to believe these same people had just been bashing each other's skulls in.
Kaien ordered some food and sat at a packed table. Natsu, Happy, Gray, Elfman, and Loke were all there too.
"So Natsu's going by 'Salamander' now? Out there in the world?" Loke asked.
"Aye!" Happy chirped.
Elfman's face was full of envy. "That title sounds so cool!"
'Salamander' definitely sounded more badass than his 'Beast Arm'.
"Tch. Big deal. I'll get an even cooler title someday!"
Gray's mood soured. Seeing Natsu with a title irritated him. Why didn't he have one? Something like Ice Emperor, maybe.
"Panty Thief?" Natsu casually threw out.
Gray flinched like he'd been shot. "You bastard! Wanna fight?!"
"Bring it on! Who's scared?!"
Natsu rolled up his sleeves, ready to go.
"Alright. That's enough for today. If you want to fight—do it tomorrow."
Kaien's voice cut in, making both of them snort and sit down again.
Kaien had only been in Fairy Tail for half a year, but his reputation was already solid. His authority came from two things: his overwhelming power—and who he was as a person.
He treated everyone in the guild equally. He never looked down on anyone just because they were weak. He got along with everyone and never put on airs.
He also helped out whenever someone was in trouble. That made him extremely popular.
Of course, just like in school, people naturally formed closer cliques.
Kaien's circle included Mirajane, Erza, Elfman, Natsu, Gray, and others. Slightly less close were people like Levy's trio, Laki, Marcus, and Warren.
Right then, Lucy finished the official sign-up process with Mirajane's help.
"Kaien, Natsu, look! The Fairy Tail emblem!"
Lucy proudly held up the back of her right hand, showing off her pink Fairy Tail emblem with glee. So far, Kaien and Natsu were the ones she knew best here.
Natsu blinked and said, "That's awesome, Louise!"
"It's Lucy!!"
Lucy shouted in exasperation. It hadn't even been a few minutes, and Natsu had already messed up her name.
Kaien smiled. "Congrats, Lucy. From today on, you're one of us."
"Thanks."
Just then, a young voice called out.
"Has my dad come back yet?"
Kaien turned toward the voice. Standing in front of Makarov was a little boy, maybe around five years old—Romeo, Macao's son.
Macao's wife had left him due to his long working hours. Since then, he'd been raising Romeo alone.
To make ends meet, Macao kept working nonstop. Whenever he had a job, he left Romeo at the guild, where everyone helped look after him.
"Don't make a fuss, Romeo," Makarov said gently. "You're the son of a mage. You should trust your father and wait for him to come home."
"But… he said he'd be back in three days… It's been a week now, and he's still not home…"
Makarov sighed. "Macao's off working in the Hakobe Mountains."
"That's not even far from here!! Go help me bring him back! I'm really worried!!"
"Stop it! Your father is a Fairy Tail mage! This guild doesn't raise mages who need others to clean up their messes! Go home and drink your milk!!"
"YOU'RE MEAN!!"
Romeo jumped up and punched Makarov in the face—then ran out crying.
WHAM!
Natsu slammed a hand on the table, got up, grabbed his things, and left silently.
"Natsu!"
Happy immediately chased after him.