A Named Request

Year X782.

More than a year has passed since Erza and Mirajane became S-Class Mages, making them the youngest 15-year-old S-Class Mages besides Yuri.

Although the two did not defeat Yuri in the final S-Class Exam, Yuri still kept his bet and practiced swordsmanship with Erza, and occasionally completed missions with Mirajane.

However, not long after, Mirajane insisted on joining the practice session, and so the daily practice inexplicably turned into a three-person session.

Erza also unknowingly joined the two-person team to complete the mission, forming a three-person squad.

Gradually, the trio of Yuri, Erza, and Mirajane solidified their status as the strongest team in Fairy Tail.

After all, all three of them are S-Class Mages.

Unsurprisingly, Yuri and his group took on many S-Class Missions during this period, and all of them were completed successfully.

Every mission was filled with the two girls arguing from beginning to end... This left Yuri somewhat helpless.

In addition, they would occasionally take Lisanna and Elfman, or Natsu and Gray, as well as Cana and others, on missions.

This can also be seen as a learning experience for the younger generation.

In the past two years, many new members have joined the guild one after another. Among them, the most impressive one is a guy named Mystogan.

This person was very strange; he was completely wrapped in a thick black robe, and even his face was covered with a veil, leaving only his eyes visible.

Every time she comes to the guild to accept a quest, she also uses hypnotic magic to put everyone to sleep.

Of those who are usually in the guild, only Yuri and Makarov are unaffected.

Yuri had also asked Makarov why he had agreed to let such a mysterious and enigmatic guy join the guild.

Makarov gave him a strange look, the implication being: How dare you criticize others?

However, Makarov still gave Yuri a definite explanation.

"Although this child kept his identity a secret, I could still see the kindness in his eyes."

"Just like most people in the guild."

"He carries the burden of a painful past, and without proper guidance, he could easily go astray."

"This is something I don't want to see."

As Makarov spoke, he stared intently at Yuri, seemingly implying something...

Yuri smiled knowingly, said nothing, simply left the old man a bottle of his favorite wine, and then left.

Makarov was indeed as he said, never caring whether the guild members were dull or not, nor about their backgrounds or past.

He treated everyone in the guild like his own children, focusing solely on providing them with the right guidance and hoping they could walk the right path.

For him, that was enough...

Of course, besides Mystogan, there are other new members who have joined.

For example, there's Freed Sting who uses spellcasting; Evergreen who uses petrification magic; and Bickslow uses star chart magic.

These three were brought back by Laxus and seem to be Laxus's admirers. For this reason, the three even formed Laxus royal guard called the Thunder God Tribe Clan.

Yuri was initially happy that Laxus had finally found teammates.

But gradually, he discovered that the guy named Freed seemed to have more than just simple admiration for Laxus.

Why would Yuri think that way?

Because every time Yuri and Laxus were talking together, the latter always looked at him with a strange "hostility."

Yuri often saw that look in Mirajane's eyes, but not in his.

Sigh, in short, I hope Laxus doesn't "go down the wrong path"...

Fairy Tail

The guild was as noisy as ever.

Some were fighting, others were drinking contests.

Yuri sat alone at the bar, uninterested in these pointless squabbles.

Since teaming up with the two girls, he has been going on missions almost ten times more frequently than before.

Although the rewards for his missions were ten times higher than before, it was still disappointing that he couldn't save any money.

Most of it was spent on consumption... such as rent, alcohol, pizza, and strawberry sundaes.

Of course, you should also collect some rare forging materials, and then bring a big bag of cherries to visit the old goat, who loves to eat them.

Perhaps some people are just not born to save money.

Despite having already become S-Class Mage, Yuri still faces the risk of being evicted by his landlord this month.

"How so?!"

Yuri looked up at the ceiling and sighed deeply. Suddenly, Makarov, dressed as a clown, appeared beside him.

"Kid, I have a letter for you."

"A letter?" Yuri was puzzled at first, then quickly realized, "Oh, I understand!"

"It must be because we've done a good job with our recent tasks that someone wrote us a thank-you letter."

Yuri rubbed his hands together and asked, "Grandpa, is there a bonus?"

"Thanks?" Makarov glared at Yuri, annoyed. "You should be grateful they didn't send a complaint letter!"

"Look at the messes the three of you have made! Yesterday you destroyed half the port, today you drilled a hole in the mountains..."

"Because of the three of you, I've been summoned for Magic Council almost as many times in the past year as I have in the previous three years!"

As he spoke, Makarov started jumping up and down again.

"Hey, Grandpa, calm down. It's not entirely our fault, is it?" Yuri scratched his head, chuckling, "If all else fails, we'll just bring our own wine next time!"

"Smack!"

Makarov jumped up and slapped Yuri on the head, roaring, "Is this a question of drinking wine or tea?!"

Do you even know how long the self-criticism I have to write every time I go there?!

Oh, it was a problem with the self-criticism letter...

Yuri was speechless. He opened the envelope in his hand, and sure enough, it wasn't the thank-you note he had expected...

Although the vision didn't come true, at least it wasn't a complaint letter.

The letter contained a specific request, specifically asking Yuri Gray to carry out the task.

The objective of the mission is to defeat an S-Class magical beast known as the Beast King.

Furthermore, because it is a commissioned task, the reward is quite generous, almost three times that of S-Class Mission of the same level!

Yuri's eyes lit up instantly; it was exactly what he wanted!

He immediately called Erza and Mirajane, and the three of them went together.

He also brought Elfman and Lisanna along, so they could see what S-Class Mission was like.

Makarov sat at the bar, watching the group's backs as they chatted and laughed, and shook his head with a sigh.

Although these little guys are always causing him trouble, he can see that the guild's children are gradually opening their hearts.

He, as the chairman, was happier than anyone else.