Drunk

September.

Seven months have passed since the end of the Southern War.

"Another barrel of wine! Another barrel of wine!"

In the bustling guild tavern, a brown-haired girl sat casually at a simple table, her pretty face slightly flushed, and shouted loudly at the counter.

Soon, two more barrels of wine were delivered to her.

"Hey! Cana! That's not how you drink alcohol! You're only twelve! How can a twelve-year-old brat drink so much alcohol?!" Macao reminded her sternly.

Although people in this country can drink alcohol at fifteen, Cana is only twelve, and at only twelve, she drinks more than these older men who have been drinking for over ten years. And she's just a girl...

Cana hugged the large barrel of wine, gulped it down, then wiped her mouth, let out a drunken burp, and laughed, "It's okay, it's okay! It's only seven barrels!"

Macao and Wakaba exchanged a glance, their lips twitching slightly. Only seven buckets... that's all...

In the original story, Cana didn't start drinking until she was thirteen, but in this story, it's a year earlier.

The reason, as it turns out, is the two people around the corner.

"Erza, tell me... is that guy stupid, dumb, or just plain dumb..." Mira took a sip of her drink, her little face flushed, then she rested her head on the table, muttering to herself.

Beside her, Erza also took a sip of wine, then coughed violently. She was even more drunk than Mira: "I... I don't know... how... how has he been lately..."

"Still the same old routine, all he does is do missions and learn... learn Ninjutsu. But Feiyin seems to have said... hiccup... he's hit a bottleneck in his training..." Mira put down her glass and waved her hand, "No, no... I... I really can't drink anymore..."

After saying that, she suddenly bent over and began to vomit violently.

Erza also put down her glass, leaned on the counter, and yelled, "Then go find him..."

Mira looked up, glared at her, and pouted, "I... I don't have any pride..."

Erza also bent down and vomited. After she finished, she raised her head and waved her hand, "I can't take it anymore... I'll never drink with you again... I'd rather fight you... than drink anymore..."

They were all slumped on the table, drunk, seemingly fast asleep.

Macao and Wakaba looked away, seemingly realizing that Cana's situation was relatively good compared to theirs.

It was these two who started it all that led Cana to begin drinking, although... she has already surpassed them in skill.

"Squeak~"

The guild's doors were opened, moonlight streamed in, and a cool breeze slightly quieted the guild's lively atmosphere. A black figure stepped slowly into the guild.

He walked straight to the counter, placed a service request form on it, and smiled at Makarov, who was sitting behind the counter, saying, "Chairman."

Makarov sobered up a bit, opened his eyes, and smiled, "It's Chiba. What's up? Back from a mission?"

"Hmm." Chiba ordered a glass of fruit wine and took a small sip.

The old man didn't even glance at the mission sheet before putting it away, then slurred drunkenly, "Chiba, your strength is already enough to participate in the S-Class Exam. Although you've missed this year's chance, next year..."

"Never mind, President..." Chiba smiled slightly, "My magic cultivation is still far from S-Class... Besides, S-Class missions..."

His eyes dimmed slightly. "I'm afraid I'm not up to the task."

"Sigh..." Makarov sighed, "That wasn't your fault. It was beyond the S-Class level. In war, even an S-Class Mage is helpless..."

"Then strive to become Ten Wizard Saints..." Chiba smiled slightly.

He stood up and said, "And... thank you, Chairman."

Makarov watched his departing figure and sighed again.

He knew what Chiba meant by saying thank you.

After that extremely brutal war ended, the Magic Council members came to Fairy Tail and took Makarov away.

They said that Chiba murdered a squad leader of the Magic Council in front of everyone at the Magic Council, and used this as a reason to demand that Makarov disband Fairy Tail and hand over Chiba. Some council members even agreed with this.

Makarov knew that the Magic Council members had long disliked Fairy Tail, but he wasn't one to give in easily. While stubbornly stalling those bastards, he also stirred up public opinion and gathered information about the situation, finally resolving the matter.

Your Magic Council not only failed to eradicate the Balam Alliance, but you also want to capture the hero who slew the Shadow Skull King? Sorry... don't even think about it!

The disbandment of the Shadow Skull gave many people hope for victory, and Chiba was the one who orchestrated it all. Although not everyone in the country knew him, many people in southern Fiore were almost fanatical about him.

Because Chiba killed almost all of the three kings in the south.

Thus, after learning that the squad leader Chiba had killed was actually a traitor, the attempt by the fanatics in the south to forcibly disband Fairy Tail and arrest Chiba ultimately failed.

Furthermore... given the experience of the appearance of that pitch-black giant that shocked countless people, a very small number of people even associated Chiba with the earlier appearance of the snow-white dragon.

It seems... Chiba has become an omnipotent being in the eyes of those fanatics.

Just as Chiba was about to leave the guild, he suddenly stopped and walked towards the two girls who were lying on the table, seemingly fast asleep.

Mira was still clutching the wine jar tightly when Chiba walked up to her, frowned, pried open her small hands, and pulled the wine jar out.

"Who... ah..." Mira regained some consciousness, raised her head, but still kept her eyes closed, and mumbled.

"Ah... what?" Erza was standing nearby, seemed to have noticed the movement and slowly opened her eyes.

A black figure appeared in her eyes, and then she watched as the black figure bent down and picked up the girl beside her.

She instantly became alert, stood up unsteadily, and cried out, "Change... Requip!"

She had switched from ordinary armor to the Heaven's Wheel Armor, and held a sword in her hand. Her eyes weren't even fully open, and she mumbled incoherently, "You... you mustn't touch Mira, or... or later... Chiba will come and beat you up."

Chiba was speechless. Just how much had they drunk? He had never seen Erza like this before.

"Erza, wake up, it's Chiba," he said.

"Hmm?" Erza opened her eyes slightly and finally saw the boy's appearance clearly.

She plopped down on the stool, then leaned back down, waving her little hand generously. "Then... then take her away, don't let her... never... come to drink with me again..."