There Were Always Some Baffling Things

Eleven watched Erza browse one weapon shop and armor shop after another. Only then did she head for the government building, where their client was supposed to be.

Eleven was actually quite dissatisfied with the way Erza handled jobs. He had always held to the principle that wasting time was a grave taboo for a mage on the job.

So when he saw that Erza had not gone straight to the client but had gone shopping first, even if it was for equipment, Eleven grew terribly restless. He secretly resolved that, given the chance, he would train Erza properly and make her correct this bad habit.

"Boss, that's the brat I was telling you about! He's still there!"

Just then, another commotion came from behind Eleven. He turned around and saw that the young thug who had fled earlier had come charging back with a whole crowd of people.

Every one of them looked bizarre, with outlandish hairstyles or rings and chains hanging all over them. They made quite a sight walking together.

The only one who looked relatively normal was their leader, a muscular man two meters tall. He was a baldy, his big head completely smooth. Among all those oddballs, he was actually easy on the eyes.

The baldy walked up to Eleven and looked down at him. Eleven wasn't even as tall as the man's belt, and the position made him very uncomfortable, so he strained to tilt his head up and look above rather than straight ahead.

"Brat, were you the one who bullied my man?" the muscular baldy demanded in a rough voice, his height making him an imposing presence.

Eleven glanced at the ragged young thug beside him, then looked up at the burly man. "He was the one who went manic first. I just helped him calm down."

The man was a little baffled by Eleven's answer, but he couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. It was just something to say for the occasion, so it didn't matter what was said.

"Enough talk! You dared to trespass on my turf. You're courting death! Haven't you heard of my illustrious name, Mighty King Jack?"

The giant began to transform as he spouted his melodramatic lines. His muscles swelled to an exaggerated size, and his T-shirt, already stretched tight over them, tore apart, leaving him in rags as well.

Once he had transformed, the giant struck a few bodybuilding poses for Eleven. Then, amid the cheers of his underlings, he roared and charged at him.

Eleven frowned. Watching Erza had already left him somewhat irritated, and now a bunch of lunatics had come to make trouble for him. Wasn't it just that he had no money to hire them? Did they really have to bully him like this?

However good-tempered Eleven was, he couldn't be bothered to explain himself now. A dark light spilled from his eyes, and his whole body floated into the air.

"Little miss, are you really going to be all right? Jack may not be a particularly powerful mage, but he's a vicious villain with several murders to his name. I'm afraid you..."

The mayor looked worriedly at the little red-haired girl before him. Although he had posted the job himself, he hadn't expected such a petite mage to turn up. At the thought of Jack's massive frame, he couldn't help shuddering.

"Leave it to me." Erza's expression remained cool, but she bowed politely to the mayor before turning and walking out without hesitation.

The mayor stood by the window, muttering worriedly to himself, "Fairy Tail really does act recklessly, sending such a young girl here."

Eleven sat upright on a throne cobbled together from all manner of scrap metal. Below it, quite a few bruised and battered thugs knelt in orderly rows.

Though the thugs were black and blue, their bizarre hairstyles and accessories were gone, and they actually looked much more normal.

The tallest of them, the baldy, no longer had such a round head. Yet he seemed to be in good spirits, listening to Eleven's teachings with a broad smile.

Eleven himself was confused about how things had ended up this way. He had only beaten up the thugs who had been making such a fuss, then intended to give them a good lecture. After that, somehow, perhaps because his words were so wise and incisive, the situation had inexplicably turned into a scene that looked like he was preaching.

"All right, that's all I have to say. The main point is, when you want to protect other people in the future, don't be so violent, and it's best not to do it for money. After all, it's the thought that counts!" Eleven uncrossed his legs and brought his speech to a close.

"But, boss, we weren't planning to..." A thug whose hair no longer stood up wildly timidly raised his hand, wanting to express his opinion.

"Shut your mouth! How dare you question the boss's views?"

Before Eleven could speak, the burly baldy leaped up in a rage and slapped the thug across the face, leaving him unable to speak again for a while.

"Jack! What are you doing?" Eleven could not tolerate the baldy's violence and immediately shouted at him.

The baldy, who had just been so overbearing, immediately put on a fawning smile and said, "Boss, look, he was just about to question you, so I..."

Eleven cut Jack off before he could finish. "So you hit him? Does using violence against a companion make you happy? You didn't remember a single word I said! Is this how you treat your comrades?"

Jack was so frightened by Eleven's words that his face turned ashen. He hurriedly kowtowed and admitted his mistake.

Just now, those strange blue eyes and that bizarre, unmatched power had left Jack with incalculable psychological trauma. In particular, the indescribable pressure when the boss was angry had left him unable to breathe.

Eleven was actually quite puzzled himself. Weren't these guys a little too cowardly? He really hadn't done anything excessive!

Eleven already knew these fellows definitely weren't good people, but he had nothing else to do, and educating others was quite interesting.

Hmm... Have I forgotten something?

Oh well, never mind. If I've forgotten it, it can't be important!

(*￣︶￣)

"Boss! Bad news, someone... Ah!..."

Rumble!!

Just as Eleven was considering how to educate Jack, an explosive crash came from outside the door, and an underling who had been standing lookout was blasted inside.

"Oh no! How did I let this happen when I wasn't paying attention..."

Eleven was thrown into a panic. A sweep of his Spiritual Power was enough to tell him who was outside, but he hadn't expected her to catch him during a moment of inattention. What was he supposed to do now?

As the door was broken down, a little red-haired girl walked in carrying two swords, her sharp gaze sweeping over the room.

"Who are you? How dare you barge into my territory? You're courting death!"

Jack had just been worried about getting scolded by Eleven, but to his surprise, someone had suddenly barged in. He immediately sprang up, more excited than anyone, and roared as he lunged at Erza.

"Slash!"

Erza didn't hesitate either. She slashed with both swords, her petite body passing Jack's massive form.

"H-how is this possible?" Jack's eyes widened as he felt the two bone-deep wounds on his chest in disbelief. Blood gushed out. He had lost before he'd even had time to transform.

Finally, Jack turned his horrified gaze toward Eleven and said in a trembling voice, "Boss, avenge me!"

Eleven: (°Д°)???