Another Request by Name

The next morning, Eleven didn't dwell on the crazy woman anymore and went straight back to the guild.

The guild was bustling as usual today. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Erik sitting there being scolded by Erza.

Erik was naturally impatient, but Kinana was holding his arm and pressing him down, preventing him from lashing out. Listening to Erza's incessant chatter, his face turned as red as an eggplant, a striking contrast to the dazzling Fairy Tail mark on his face.

(╬￣俣)

On the other side, Erza's expression wasn't much better.

Normally, Nazgre and the others would obediently kneel on the ground to receive her instruction. Eric, on the other hand, just sat there like a king! Is that appropriate?

Erza grew angrier and angrier, and finally couldn't hold back any longer and punched Erik on the head.

Erik was furious!

If Kinana hadn't been holding him back so tightly, he definitely would have jumped up and fought Erza to the death.

"What's going on? Why are they fighting?"

Eleven was naturally delighted to witness such a lively spectacle, and at the same time, he secretly inquired about the cause of the matter with those around him.

"I heard that Erik beat up his client, and they came to complain, that's why Erza was so angry." The uncle next to him was chewing melon seeds, his eyes were shining, and he was obviously a person who didn't take things too seriously.

"That's it?" Eleven, somewhat disappointed.

I thought it was something serious. It's just beating up the client, who hasn't done that before? Erza, really, you're making such a big deal out of nothing.

"Alright, alright, calm down, it's not a big deal, what's the big deal?" Eleven ran out to act as a peacemaker, placing his hands on Erza and Erik's shoulders to separate the two who were glaring at each other.

"What do you mean it's not a big deal?" Erza immediately objected to Eleven, loudly retorting, "This concerns the guild's reputation! They've already complained to the guild; what are the other clients supposed to think of us?"

Eleven looked at Erza speechlessly.

This girl becomes all sanctimonious when it comes to lecturing others. While she says all that, she's actually beaten up just as many clients Eleven and Natsu.

Hmph! How dare you yell at me!

Shameless!

Eleven felt a little annoyed, but what Erza said made a lot of sense, so he couldn't really refute it. He could only turn his attention to Erik and try to find someone else to mediate.

"Erik, why did you hit him?"

"Hmph! I just don't like him."

"Has the mission been completed yet?"

"No!"

"Tsk tsk tsk," Eleven, sounding somewhat disappointed. He then lectured, "How could you say that? If you're going to beat up the client, you should do it after you've completed the mission and received the payment! Otherwise, even if the mission fails, it'll damage your reputation, and more importantly, you'll have gone out and made nothing—that's a huge loss!"

Erik glanced at Eleven, who had said those words, with some surprise, then nodded in deep agreement.

Just as Eleven was about to flash a knowing smile, he was punched hard in the back of the head, followed by Erza's roar.

"Eleven, don't cause trouble here! Get out of the way!"

"Oh"

Eleven clutched his head, somewhat bewildered, and retreated to the side.

Ouch!

Erza's punch made his brain splatter, and he was completely dazed.

Why is this girl becoming more and more violent? I remember she was quite obedient when she was little!

Is it menopause?

Possibly!

Mira, that girl, is the same age as her, and she's getting increasingly irritable. Oh, and so is Cana; she's even starting to show signs of alcoholism!

Women are such a hassle!

Erza's scolding was truly endless; the farce continued until Erza had thoroughly berated everyone present who was watching the spectacle before it finally ended.

Erza, satisfied, patted her behind and scurried away, leaving a bunch of grown men sitting there sulking, the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

Eleven sighed again, "Menopausal women are truly terrifying!"

Although Kinana was sitting right next to Erik, she was a delicate girl and Erza let her off the hook. Compared to the deathly silence around her, she seemed to be in a relatively normal state.

To liven things up, Kinana ran to the front desk, pulled out a task sheet, waved it in her hand, and shouted in a voice that everyone in the guild could hear.

"Mr. Eleven, I have a task assigned to you!"

Designated quests are rare in guilds, especially quests that specifically target S-rank mages, making them even more precious. Kinana felt that this would definitely divert everyone's attention.

However, to Kinana's surprise, the guild did not return to its usual bustling state after this assigned task; instead, it became even quieter. Some of the older members of the guild even frowned deeply and looked at Eleven.

Eleven, who had been sitting there in a daze with a blank expression, suddenly became serious, walked quickly to Kinana's side, took the task sheet, and frowned as he looked at it.

Kinana was immediately taken aback by the scene and asked timidly, "Um, did I do something wrong?"

"No, it has nothing to do with you." Eleven looked up and forced a smile at Kinana.

At this moment, Cana and Gray, the two veteran kids, also gathered around Eleven, peering at the request form. Even Erza, who had just angered everyone, returned, her expression serious and focused.

Natsu, Happy, Levy, Lisanna, and the other kids who joined later were completely bewildered, not knowing what was going on. Mira, though also unclear about the situation, still squeezed forward and peeked in; she didn't like the feeling that Eleven and the others were keeping secrets from her.

Four years ago, Eleven received a special mission, but it turned out to be a conspiracy against Eleven. Laxus and Erza nearly died.

Afterwards, the guild leader mobilized the entire guild's resources to investigate for a full six months, but to no avail. This incident remained Memory of everyone in the guild.

Now, four years later, Eleven has received a new assigned mission. Although it's possible this is a normal assigned mission, it still makes people a little uneasy.

"The Cait Shelter? Never heard of it. What kind of place is this?" Eleven frowned and pointed at the mission sheet.

"It seems to be a mage guild that was just registered last year," Kinana said, quickly flipping through the client's information as she answered Eleven's question.

"A legitimate mage guild registered with the Magic Council?"

"Yes."

"This is too suspicious!" Erza stared at the quest sheet, analyzing it seriously. "This quest doesn't clearly state what we're supposed to do at all. It seems like it's just inviting Eleven to visit that Cait Shelter. This is very unusual."

"That's right, and the fact that he refers to Eleven as 'Lord Eleven' throughout the entire text is very suspicious." Gray also stroked his chin, trying to analyze the situation.

"Lord Eleven?"

Eleven suddenly remembered the eccentric woman he'd encountered yesterday at the Heartfilia Family cemetery; she'd addressed him as "Lord Eleven." Could this mission be somehow connected to her?

"Where's the old man? I haven't seen him for days. Where did he go?" Eleven suddenly looked up and asked about Makarov's whereabouts.

Although the old man was usually quite unserious, he was the pillar of support for Eleven and her friends. When in doubt, they would turn to him Eleven; this was a habit for almost all of them.

"Um, that guild leader got into a fight with Phantom Lord Leader Jose of the Phantom Lord at the Magic Council's regular meeting, and now he's been put in confinement by the Magic Council," Kinana said somewhat embarrassedly, revealing Makarov's embarrassing incident.

!!∑(Дノ)ノ: "The guild leader has been arrested by the Magic Council?"

Damn it! That old geezer! How can he be so old and still cause us so much trouble!