Mest

Chiba guessed correctly; Laxus was indeed after him.

At this stage, Laxus hadn't yet reached adolescence. Although he craved power, it wasn't as intense as when the original story first came out. At most, he was a competitive big boy with communication difficulties.

"Want to have a little sparring session sometime?" Laxus asked.

Chiba quickly waved his hand, saying, "No, no, no, you're an S-Class Mage now, and I'm just a nobody. What's the point of sparring..."

Laxus was speechless, then said seriously, "I will let you make a move."

Chiba jumped back in fright, as if he had bumped into something, but still looked wary. "Don't try to ambush me when I'm not looking!"

"Which blind bastard bumped into me?!"

A boy's voice came from behind Chiba.

Chiba quickly turned around, about to apologize, but was stunned by the appearance of the man sitting on the ground.

On the wooden floor sat a boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old. He had short black hair and was wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt and black trousers.

"Really..." The boy patted his bottom and sat up, then his gaze lingered on Chiba was staring blankly.

"You brat..." He stormed up to Chiba and said angrily, "Was it you who bumped into me just now?"

"Uh... yes, yes!"

Chiba quickly realized what was happening and actually nodded hurriedly.

Laxus: "..."

Laxus left. He was never good at communicating with people, and initiating a conversation with Chiba was already his limit.

"You actually said that? You brat, you want to fight, don't you?! Huh?" The boy looked indignant.

"Ahem... Mest, you can't beat this kid," Makarov kindly reminded him, sitting at the counter.

The boy's face stiffened, then he said with some annoyance, "Enough talk, old man! I want to duel this brat!"

"Ah... I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, it was my fault!" Chiba apologized sincerely.

He was genuinely startled when he first saw this person, because he felt like he'd seen him somewhere before. Then, after thinking about it carefully, he realized, "Isn't this Mest?!"

Mest, also Doranbolt, was originally Fairy Tail mage. Later, at the request of Guild Master Makarov, she erased the Memories of those around her and herself, and joined the Magic Council to steal information about the Western Continent.

Makarov told him that he didn't need to erase his Memories, but Mest, being meticulous, insisted on erasing Memory. This led to him infiltrating his own guild during the Tenrou Island campaign, hoping to find something on Fairy Tail and report it to the Magic Council.

Mest was arguably the most dedicated spy in history, comparable to Gajeel from Mission: Impossible. Chiba felt it would be a shame not to award them.

It's clearly not time for Makarov to arrange for Mest to infiltrate the Magic Council yet.

Mest knows two kinds of magic. The first is Memory magic, which allows her to manipulate the Memories of others. The second is Teleportation magic, which allows her to move instantly using magic.

However, his teleportation requires a lot of magic power; if the distance is too long, it will consume a large amount of magic power.

Mester is clearly a low-key guy these days, not as active as Natsu, Gray, Elsa, and Mira. He usually just sits in a corner watching them make a ruckus.

Chiba ordered two drinks and handed one to him as an apology. Mest wasn't petty, and the two of them sat down and started chatting.

Then Chiba discovered that this guy was completely different from the character in the original work. This... is definitely a repressed pervert!

A man who's secretly passionate!

For example, he liked to sit in the corner because he felt that from that spot he could see all the girls in the guild. He especially enjoyed watching Mira and Erza fight; to be precise, he loved watching girls fight the most.

"I said..." Chiba took a sip of his drink and smiled, "What kind of magic do you have?"

Mest paused, then her eyes flickered slightly before she replied, "Teleportation, that's my magic."

"Oh? Spatial teleportation?" Chiba looked surprised.

"Hmm." Mest.

Chiba probably knew that he hadn't revealed his other magic; it was likely that Makarov had told him not to disclose his magic.

It seems the old man is already considering placing him in the Magic Council...

Chiba smiled kindly, "I've been researching space-based Ninjutsu lately, but I haven't made any progress. Mest, could you help me out?"

"Me?" Mest pointed to herself, then rubbed her hands together and said, "Buy me a drink."

"Damn!" Chiba grinned.

The two of them slipped out of the guild arm in arm, and bought a large bucket of fruit wine before leaving.

Mira, having just finished arguing with Erza, stared at their retreating figures with a gloomy expression, feeling like a million curses were stampeding through her mind.

He really stopped contacting girls, and he didn't even take Seele with him when he left, but...

But why did you start looking for men...?

Could it be...? A strange thought suddenly popped into her head.

No way?!

Mira sensed a deep crisis.

"Your technique is quite interesting; it seems much more complex than my Teleportation magic." Mest clicked her tongue in amazement after reading the Flying Thunder God scroll.

Chiba looked at the Flying Thunder God with exhaustion and said irritably, "Don't even mention it. I've been learning this technique for months and haven't made any progress. What spatial node? What do I need to get from here to here? My god."

Mest patted his shoulder and chuckled, "Although I'm not a ninja, this technique of yours is quite difficult for me as well. However... spatial techniques are much more comprehensible when experienced firsthand than when learned from books. I can use Teleportation magic to let you experience space."

Then, the two of them vanished in an instant.

The next moment, they appeared in front of a park bench, startling a young couple sitting on it.

"How is it?" Mest asked.

Chiba let out a soft breath and said, "I think I'm starting to feel it."

"Then let's do it a few more times." Mest led him through the space.

So they spent the whole morning traversing the entire Magnolia space until Mest ran out of magic. Only then did they stop, drink, and chat.

After dozens of spatial traversals, Chiba finally made progress in mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique.

After saying goodbye to Mest, Chiba returned home and began training his body.

The Magic Divine Crystal granted him immense magical power and greatly enhanced his physique. He has already completed the second level of the Heru Body Tempering Method and has also begun training in the Thirty-Six Flame Forms.

In the following days, he spent almost Tenten with Mest, studying space.

Thus, in the eyes of the Fairy Tail, another pair of best buddies were born.

It wasn't until one day when Haiweier came to see him again that he remembered about learning swordsmanship.

He arrived at the foot of the waterfall. Nuolin was wearing a loose-fitting kimono with a long sword hanging at her waist.

"You like space travel?" Nuolin asked.

Chiba hesitated slightly, but nodded nonetheless.

It wouldn't be wrong to say he likes it; he really likes the Flying Thunder God Ninjutsu.

"I'll teach you how to cut through space," Nuolin said very seriously.

Chiba: "???"