Mira's Request

After the assessment, Laxus successfully advanced to S-rank. The first thing to do upon returning to the guild was, of course, to throw a banquet! The guild had gained another new S-rank mage; what a memorable occasion!

However, apart from Eleven and Makarov, the few people who returned from the assessment venue didn't seem very happy. Even Laxus, the protagonist who successfully advanced, looked depressed and was squatting on the second floor of the guild, fiddling with something.

The battle between Laxus and Eleven was not actually decided. Although Laxus became an S-class mage as he wished, he didn't feel very satisfied and felt a bit bored.

The second floor wasn't as nice as he'd imagined. It was narrow and cramped with nothing to see, especially since it reeked of that bastard Eleven, as if constantly reminding him that Eleven had gotten to this second floor before him, which made Laxus extremely annoyed.

Erza, Mira, and Cana were in even worse spirits. After witnessing the battle between Eleven and Laxus, all three of them felt ashamed and inferior. They weren't exactly dejected, but they certainly had no desire to attend the banquet.

Elfman was actually in a good mood. He didn't really like fighting anyway, and besides, he was knocked unconscious by Laxus right away and didn't remember anything, so he wasn't frustrated. However, since Mira was in a gloomy mood, Elfman, as her younger brother, didn't dare to be too cheerful and could only keep her company as she contemplated life.

Winter has passed and spring has arrived; the new year is fast approaching, and we have entered the year x780.

The guild was unusually noisy that year, with many things being broken every day, giving the guild leader a huge headache. The two main culprits were Natsu and Gray, who were the most unruly and reckless, like huskies that had broken free of their leashes.

Elaine initially wanted to intervene, but he felt a bit guilty because he had also contributed a lot to the house-demolition work and didn't know how to teach Nazgray a lesson. As a fellow scoundrel, Elaine understood all too well how difficult it was to control one's strength when fighting!

At times like these, Eleven and Makarov would unconsciously begin to miss Erza. They used to find Erza's nagging annoying, but now that she's gone, they realize how great she was.

"Alas, people only learn to cherish things after they've lost them!" Makarov said in a low, melancholic voice, after taking a sip of wine.

"Waaaaah, Eleven, come and duel with me!"

Bang!!

Eleven swung a bench at Natsu, who had ambushed him, sending him flying. Then he sidled up to Makarov, looking equally distressed. "Sigh, now I understand just how capable Erza really is! Grandpa, where on earth has that girl gone off to train? I'll go find her! I'm afraid in a few days, Natsu really will tear the guild apart!"

Seeing Natsu standing arrogantly on the table in the center of the guild, breathing fire, Eleven was instantly enraged. He swung a Telekinetic Hammer at Natsu, smashing him into the floor before finally venting his anger.

Makarov glanced sideways at Eleven, who had once again nonchalantly vandalized a table and a large section of the floor in the guild, silently took a sip of his drink, and remained silent...

Makarov hadn't anticipated the current chaotic state of the guild. Ever since Erza went off to train, these guys had turned into a runaway husky, as if they wanted to let loose until Erza returned.

The thought that his guild members weren't afraid of him, their leader, but instead feared a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl filled Makarov with mixed feelings. He figured this lousy guild might as well just disband...

"Well"

Makarov took a sip of his old wine, looking at the mess in the guild hall with a forlorn expression.

Seeing that the old man was ignoring him, Eleven stopped bothering anyone and leaned against the bar, looking at the messy guild, lost in memories.

Two months ago, not long after the S-rank assessment ended, Erza hurriedly asked Makarov for a long leave of absence, planning to go somewhere to train and gain experience.

The battle between Eleven and Laxus greatly stimulated Erza. With her strong competitive spirit, she naturally couldn't remain indifferent, so going out to train was in line with her personality.

Not only Erza, Mira has also become Spartan since yesterday. She's not only strict with herself, but also with her younger siblings, training them every day by blowing her whistle, much to the dismay of Elfman and Lisanna.

Even Cana, who had always been quite laid-back, got motivated and actually dragged Eleven into combat training. However, it wasn't long before Eleven started to dislike Cana, feeling that his training wasn't as good as Eleven 'Erza.

So, after gulping down a bottle of strong liquor, Cana left the guild grumbling and went to find Erza.

Eleven was still a little confused, wondering what had gotten into these girls. They were all acting like they were on steroids, were they going through menopause?

"Eleven, are you free right now?"

Suddenly, a sharp shout pulled Eleven back to reality. Looking up, he saw Mira standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, staring at him with her big, blinking eyes.

"Oh, Mira, what's up?" Eleven smiled at Mira and asked.

"Hmm, you seem to have a lot of free time. Come and do me a favor!" Mira tilted her head back arrogantly, looking all haughty.

Eleven:_

You're the one who's got nothing to do! Your whole family is!

I'm... well... okay, I am very free, but you can't just say I'm very free like that. It makes me sound like I'm not doing anything productive, which is so embarrassing!

"Hmph! No time, I'm very busy!" Eleven snorted pettily, unwilling to admit that he was neglecting his duties.

"You're just spacing out, what are you busy with?"

"You don't understand, I'm discussing important guild matters with the guild leader, I'm not spacing out!"

"No, I wasn't actually saying anything to Eleven." Makarov calmly took a sip of his drink, promptly distancing himself from the situation.

Eleven:(_)???

Damn it! You old geezer, you actually betrayed me!

Am I not the Eleven you love most?

Mira:(_) stares

Eleven: (′`) Uh...

"Wow, Mira... Mira -chan, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I can walk by myself, please, please don't pull my ear!"

The next second, Eleven was dragged out of the guild by Mira, howling in pain. Seeing Eleven's miserable state, Makarov took a sip of beer, savoring its sweet taste.