### Chapter 17: The Shy Laxus
Immediately, Makarov was rendered speechless by the retort, only able to stare wide-eyed at Jiro.
Erza took the only two harvests of the day from Jiro's hand at this time, placed them in front of Makarov, and reported:
"Master, we only encountered two Vulcans today. The mission will have to continue."
Makarov disapproved, as this situation had been anticipated beforehand.
"It's normal. This is basically the only troublesome point of this mission. Just keep working hard tomorrow.
By the way, Jiro, these are your fellow kin, right? You really have a ruthless hand, brat."
Makarov dangled a Vulcan tail in front of Jiro and teased with a smirk.
"Who are you calling a wild monkey, you Mediterranean old man!
Believe it or not, I'll turn into a Giant Ape right now and turn you into a completely bald freak!"
"Idiot brat, who are you calling a damn baldy with no hair!
How many times have I said it, this old man's hairline is just a little higher than others!"
"Hah? Whose hairline goes from the forehead all the way to the back of the head? Was your head gnawed on by a Vulcan like a bird's egg?"
"Smelly brat, you're really becoming more and more lawless. This old man will let you see the dignity of a Guild Master."
"Come on then, damn old man. Watch me burn off your last two tufts of hair with one wave."
...
Looking at Jiro who started spraying insults passionately with the Master as soon as he returned, the three little ones looked at each other and all smiled helplessly.
This kind of scene had happened countless times within a month, and the three of them were almost used to it.
Everyone in the guild, seeing the two arguing again, also joined in to fan the flames, watching the fun without thinking it was a big deal.
They hoped the two wouldn't just use their mouths but actually have a real fight.
But what no one noticed was a yellow-haired teenager with a spiky hairstyle wearing spiked punk-style headphones standing expressionlessly outside the guild door, staring straight at Jiro who was cursing with Makarov.
Suddenly, he spoke up and interrupted the two who were cursing each other.
"Hey, old man, and that brat with the monkey tail.
I'm back."
Hearing this voice, Jiro and Makarov were both stunned for a moment, then turned their heads to look at the person who spoke.
After seeing the person clearly, Makarov's face turned from angry to happy, and he greeted happily:
"You're back, Laxus. Did the mission go smoothly?"
"Well, it was okay."
Responding perfunctorily, under everyone's gaze, Laxus walked with one hand in his pocket and the other hand holding his backpack behind his back.
He walked unhurriedly in front of Jiro, staring straight at him.
Jiro had seen Laxus before, but the two had never spoken a word before.
Seeing Laxus staring so nakedly, Jiro frowned immediately and said in an unkind tone:
"Something the matter?"
Laxus didn't speak, just stared at Jiro with full oppression, as if he would attack at any time.
The others also noticed the low pressure between the two, and lowered their voices one after another until it fell into silence.
Regarding Laxus, this guy with an awkward personality in the original work, although Jiro didn't know where he provoked the other party, he wasn't afraid of this guy at all.
If he dared to attack him, even if he got injured, he would teach this guy a good lesson.
Just when everyone felt something was wrong with Laxus, and even Makarov couldn't help but speak up.
They saw Laxus suddenly look away and say somewhat embarrassedly:
"So your tail is real. I thought it was just a decoration."
"Thud!" *N
"After all that, it turns out you were asking this!"
Everyone was thunderstruck and complained loudly in frustration.
Jiro was even more caught off guard by the sudden twist, falling headfirst off the chair.
Immediately, he turned over and jumped up, holding the chair and saying annoyedly:
"Nonsense, of course it's real! who would attach a tail for decoration!
Besides, where should the tail be attached! The a*us?!"
As the words fell, Makarov punched him on the head.
"Idiot, what is your brain filled with!"
After lecturing Jiro, Makarov also lectured his grandson helplessly.
"I say, Laxus, you clearly inherited my handsome face from when I was young, can't you smile more?
Do you know how scary it looked when you walked over without saying a word just now? Even this old man was startled."
Aside, the three little ones, Erza, Cana, and Gray, nodded in agreement.
They were also frightened quite a bit by Laxus with a straight face just now.
Laxus was stunned. He didn't expect his momentary curiosity to cause such a misunderstanding among everyone in the guild.
Immediately feeling that he couldn't save face, his cheeks became hot and he turned his head to leave.
"Wait." Jiro, rubbing his head, climbed up speechlessly and stopped Laxus.
"Really, next time if you have something you're curious about, just ask directly.
At such a young age, why pretend to be an adult?"
Saying this, he waved to Ivy, "Sister Ivy, get me and this yellow-haired idiot something to eat. Put the meal cost on the baldy over there."
"Who's an idiot/baldy, you pretentious brat." *2
The grandfather and grandson spoke up to complain together. The extremely synchronized words made both of them look at each other in surprise.
Makarov, who hadn't seen Laxus lose his composure like this for a long time, suppressed his laughter and coughed lightly.
"Well, anyway, let's eat before you go, Laxus."
After speaking, without waiting for Laxus to react, he raised his wine glass high and shouted:
"To celebrate Jiro's first mission execution, and Laxus's safe return, let us toast!"
"Cheers——!!" *N
Jiro, Erza, and the other three also raised the juice served by Sister Ivy in time and shouted along.
Watching the scene of everyone raising their glasses for him, Laxus, who was touched in his heart, whispered one word.
*Boring.*
After finishing speaking, he put his backpack on the ground, sat down in front of the bar, took the drink, and drank it in small sips.
...
For the next few days, Jiro and Erza were busy with the mission of subjugating Vulcans.
Finally, on the sixth day, the two reached the mission requirements and could return to the guild to report completion.