Since Ankh brought the three siblings into the guild, the atmosphere at Fairy Tail had become even more lively.
There's no need to elaborate on Lisanna's personality—she was quite delightful and clever, and everyone in the guild adored her.
Although Elfman was somewhat shy, he was sincere and hardworking, quickly blending in with straightforward people like Natsu and playing together.
Mirajane goes without saying—not long after joining the guild, she had already challenged most of the members to fights...
She was practically a feisty troublemaker, until she met her natural rival—Erza.
It was as if the two had been at odds in a past life.
The carefree Mirajane and the commanding Erza clashed repeatedly, their relationship growing as incompatible as fire and water.
On this day, Ankh, who had been training at home without work for a long time, grew restless from the prolonged stillness and finally decided to visit the guild to find something to do.
Upon arriving at the guild, Ankh happened to see Mirajane looking bored and slumped over her seat.
The moment Mirajane spotted Ankh, her eyes lit up and she eagerly asked him.
"Where in our guild... is the place to pick up jobs?"
Ankh's mouth twitched as he asked in disbelief, "After all this time, you still don't know?"
Mirajane shook her head with a cute, confident expression.
Ankh sighed helplessly and led Mirajane to the guild hall—next to the prominent bar counter—where a large, spacious request board stood.
He couldn't help but sound a bit unsure as he said, "Is the request board... really that well-hidden?"
Mirajane tapped her head in surprise and exclaimed.
"So these are really a quests! I always thought they were newspapers or something!"
...
' I'm Speechless.'
Ankh held his forehead and sighed.
"Even though you're strong, Lisanna and Elfman are still young. You need to be more diligent."
She was a prime example of someone with family responsibilities.
Most others in the guild only had to worry about themselves, but Mirajane carried such a heavy financial burden.
Thinking this, Ankh guided Mirajane to the request bulletin board and explained.
"Our guild has a considerable number of requests. You can pick the ones that suit you."
Mirajane stared in amazement at the panel densely covered with requests, peeling off one after another and carefully examining them.
Having been in the guild for a long time, Ankh had a rough idea of the rewards for these requests and patiently explained to Mirajane:
"General guild tasks are roughly divided into three categories, with rewards ranging from low to high."
Mirajane held a stack of request forms, sitting upright on a stool, her big eyes fixed intently on him.
"The lowest tier involves using Magic to handle miscellaneous tasks, like working at a restaurant or concert hall. Although the pay is low, doing a few of these can cover daily expenses."
"Mid-level requests involve asking Mages to take on dangerous tasks, such as gathering herbs in high-risk areas or exploring unknown territories. These are our main source of income."
"High-level requests carry the risk of death, often involving subjugating Dark Guilds, defeating monsters, or resolving conflicts. The pay is much higher."
Ankh pulled out a Magic pen from somewhere and wrote a series of glowing blue characters in the air.
After a pause, he continued.
"Beyond these, there are S-Class missions, ten-year missions, and the highest-level hundred-year missions. Don't even think about those for now—their difficulty is terrifying."
Ankh pointed at the mid-level quests with his pen and said.
"I recommend you take on these types of tasks. With some training, your strength should suffice."
Hearing this, Mirajane quickly pulled out a few suitable requests from the thick stack.
Seeing the rewards listed, she said contentedly, "This is enough. I'll take these."
Ankh held his forehead, feeling a headache coming on, and said.
"What I meant was, you need to fully master Satan Soulbefore taking on any tasks."
Mirajane arrogantly curled her lips, grinning with a defiant expression like a walking meme and declared loudly to him.
"No training progresses faster than actual combat!"
'That annoyingly smug expression of hers... i really want to punch her in the face...'
Ankh furrowed his brow tightly, watching Mirajane with slight concern as unpleasant thoughts crossed his mind.
It was normal to be proud and arrogant—both Erza and Ankh were like that—but Mirajane was different...
In the original storyline, Mirajane, who had just become an S-Class Mage, brought along her younger siblings who weren't actually strong enough, leading to the subsequent tragedy.
Although there were many contributing factors to this outcome, Mirajane's overconfidence was a significant part of it.
If she was going to take her family on a mission, she needed to be cautious and careful.
Being this careless just wouldn't do...
Watching Mirajane bouncing around excitedly like a husky, Ankh pressed a hand down on her white-haired head and speak sternly to her.
"Be serious. This isn't a game."
With her head held down, Mirajane could no longer jump around.
She pouted sulkily and said, "I think it's fine..."
Ankh had a sudden idea.
Since Mirajane couldn't handle it alone for now, why not have her team up with someone?
Among their generation, who was both willing to team up and capable of taking on missions...
Erza? In the future, she and Mirajane would both be the strongest women in Fairy Tail, and neither was the type to back down.
There would definitely be friction.
Natsu and Gray were still too inexperienced...
Ankh looked helplessly at Mirajane and said, "Forget it... Mira, you can team up with me since its your first time doing a quest."
Hearing such an intimate address coming from him, Mirajane's heart fluttered for a moment before she quickly turned her face away and agreed.
"Okay!"
Ankh lounged lazily in his seat while Mirajane beside him squinted at a stack of quest forms, reading out the details one by one.
Their conversation echoed continuously through the guild.
"Hiring skilled Mages to escort a merchant caravan passing through Mount Hakobe."
"The escort pay is low, and it's thankless work. Not taking it."
"Looking for an expert proficient in Transparency Magic to investigate what my wife is doing with Mike at the neighbor's house late at night."
"Anyone would know what they're doing! Not taking it!"
"In the forest on the outskirts of Magnolia, requesting Mages to hunt and retrieve a giant elephant's penis to make a miracle drug. The produced drug will be shared equally."
"...Not taking it."
Ankh shot up from his chair, snatched the quest forms from Mirajane's hands and scold her.
"What kind of terrible tasks are you picking? Either catching cheaters or making fake medicine!"
Mirajane pouted, looking somewhat guilty as she said.
"I thought these tasks would be fun..."
Ankh's usually aloof demeanor nearly shattered from frustration. He clutched his chest and skimmed through the requests in his hand.
Good grief, one had to admit—Mirajane's eye for tasks was downright sharp.
Among the tasks she picked, thirty percent were about catching affairs, fifty percent involved collecting bizarre animal organs and another ten percent were Ankh's worst nightmare—magazine photoshoot requests...
'What a fantastic teammate—not a single task she picked was worth taking seriously.'
Ankh's face darkened as he flipped through one form after another.
Mirajane hid guiltily to the side, not daring to speak.
Amid this tense atmosphere, Ankh's hand suddenly stopped flipping.
His expression wavered as he stared intently at one particular quest form.