Gildarts Returns

"Looks like I can't get out of it this time," Yuri said, amused. "All right, I accept."

"See you at the exam." Now that Yuri had agreed, a faint smile finally appeared on Laxus's face. With those words, he turned and left without another fuss.

Finding Yuri was the only reason he had come here today.

"What a... hassle. Looks like being too charming isn't always a good thing." Yuri shook his head with a wry smile. One exam was enough trouble, and now he had to deal with another one.

Laxus Dreyar's name alone made it easy to see that he had some connection to the master, Makarov.

And that was indeed the case. He was the grandson of Makarov, one of the Ten Wizard Saints.

By all rights, that should have been something to be proud of, but Laxus himself didn't seem to think so.

Perhaps he was gradually entering his rebellious phase. Lately, Laxus had been taking on missions nonstop, trying to prove himself.

He had also been spending less and less time with the other guild members. Yuri was practically the only one he could still talk to.

The reasons the two got along were simple. For one thing, of everyone their age in the guild, they were closest in age, and their strength was fairly similar too.

For another, they both liked listening to music, and each wore headphones around his neck.

Laxus had always thought Yuri was strong, so he wanted to fight him.

But Yuri had kept avoiding him because it was too much trouble. After all, once they fought, there would be a second time.

On top of that, Yuri had rarely returned to the guild over the past few years, so they had mostly missed each other.

That was why Laxus had now caught him at the door and challenged him, and at the S-Class Mage promotion exam, no less.

The S-Class Mage promotion exam was the most important exam in any mage's life.

As a dividing line in the world of magic, it could be said that those below S-Class and those at S-Class or above belonged to two completely different worlds.

Every S-Class Mage was their guild's ace. A guild with even one or two could generally be considered first-rate.

That also indirectly demonstrated how difficult the S-Class Exam was.

It was worth mentioning that Fairy Tail's S-Class Exam was much harder than the ordinary S-Class Exams held elsewhere. Otherwise, Gildarts wouldn't have been its only S-Class Mage all these years.

The exam's contents also changed every year, so cheating was almost impossible.

Besides strength, the S-Class Exam also had standards for the number and quality of missions completed. Anyone who failed to meet them could not take the exam.

Over the past few months, after retrieving the Red Queen, Yuri had also taken on a number of missions here and there.

Though he could hardly be called diligent, he had just barely met the basic requirements.

During that time, he had only one partner from beginning to end: Griffon.

Erza and Mirajane had been interested in teaming up with him, but he had turned them down on the grounds that he was preparing for the S-Class Exam...

While he was at it, Yuri had also brought the two of them together.

Though they "couldn't stand the sight of each other," that was also proof that they acknowledged each other. Besides, there was no one else their age in the guild who could team up with them, so the two girls had joined forces for the time being.

As for how long the makeshift team would last before falling apart, Yuri didn't know.

That was none of his business.

At this critical moment everyone was looking forward to, an "earthquake" suddenly swept through the guild.

"Attention, Magnolia will soon switch to Gildarts Mode. All citizens, please proceed to your designated positions as soon as possible. Attention..."

As the broadcast bird's voice spread throughout the city, Magnolia began to shake violently.

Gears clattered and clicked, and the city separated into several sections.

The houses began to move, until a straight road was left down the middle.

It led directly from the town entrance to the Fairy Tail guild.

"Th-this is way too much!" The newer members, who had only just learned from everyone what kind of person Gildarts was, were shaken.

"You'll get used to it."

Yuri watched the figure approaching from the distance and raised a hand in greeting. "Yo, Gildarts, long time no see."

"Oh! It's Yuri. It really has been a long time. I didn't expect you to have grown so tall." Gildarts, a scruffy-looking man with orange hair and a broad, tattered cloak, called back.

Though Yuri usually didn't come back very often, he still returned about twice a year.

Gildarts was even more extreme: it had been over a year since his last visit to the guild.

And because they always missed each other, they hadn't seen each other in nearly three years. After all, Yuri had been traveling since X775.

"Some unfamiliar faces here. Looks like the guild and everyone in it have changed quite a bit." Gildarts looked over the crowd gathered around him.

Besides Mirajane and her two younger siblings, who had joined a few months ago, some new members, both older and younger, had also joined during this time.

Every guild member had now come to the entrance and gathered around Fairy Tail's strongest mage.

That alone showed how popular Gildarts was in the guild.

But before he could spend much time catching up with everyone, the master called him over to ask how his mission had gone.

When everyone heard that he had completed it perfectly as usual, they all laughed as if it were only natural. Before long, they dispersed.

Only one girl's gaze never left him, and she looked as though she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What, want a drink?" Seeing Cana staring longingly at the bar, Yuri rubbed her head and asked gently.

"Yuri..." For some reason, Cana felt a little aggrieved, but she quickly pursed her lips. "I'm not falling for that. You're just trying to find another excuse to lecture me."

Yuri didn't look at her. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on Gildarts, who was sitting at the bar. "It's fine. Just for today, you have my permission."

Cana's attention immediately shifted. "Really?!" she asked in disbelief.

She usually hung around with Macao and Wakaba, and had long wanted to find out what the stuff tasted like.

But Yuri had always refused to let her drink because she was under fifteen... even though he himself had started drinking at ten.

Who would have thought Yuri would suddenly be so generous today?

"Really, but only one glass." Yuri passed her his glass, full of alcohol, then folded his arms.

Gildarts rarely returned to the guild. Though a year had passed and it was about time he came back, he had chosen this particular moment, making it hard not to suspect it had something to do with the S-Class Exam.

In that case, Yuri naturally had to prepare a proper reunion surprise for the older man who was so rarely home.

"Well, Yuri, you used to say we were encouraging a minor to drink, but look at you doing the same thing!"

"Yeah, exactly! We're confiscating this bottle as evidence. You'd better have a good long think about what you've done!"

Macao and Wakaba suddenly sprang out from who knew where. While Yuri wasn't paying attention, they snatched up the bottle he had left beside him and took off running.

"Bastards, you two, stop right there!"