Living Together

As he spoke, the lightning around his body surged even more fiercely. Seeing this, Chiba's gaze sharpened, and the lava in his hand shone even brighter.

"Stop!"

At that moment, an aged voice rang out from all around.

Laxus showed no sign of stopping, and the lightning became even more ferocious.

However, in the next instant, a vast and overwhelming magical pressure enveloped the entire guild hall. Everyone was forced to hold their breath, and even some of those with weaker magical power turned pale.

However, most of this oppressive force was directed at Laxus, whose expression changed slightly before he gradually withdrew his lightning.

Chiba immediately removed his Lava Armor, but his expression was quite grim.

Because in this seemingly evenly matched duel, only he and Laxus knew that he had been almost completely defeated!

This guy... probably has the strength of a peak A-Class, and might not be much weaker than some S-Class Mages.

Having read the original work, Chiba had no doubt about Laxus's strength; this guy was powerful from beginning to end. Even in battles where the opponents were roughly monster-level, it was either because he was fighting while ill.

"You're quite good." Ignoring President Makarov's sharp gaze, Laxus seemed to be making a comment about Chiba.

"Thank you for the compliment," Chiba said indifferently.

Anyone who is inexplicably mocked and forced into a fight will not be happy.

"Hey old man, the guild should recruit more capable people in the future. This one today is pretty good. As for those good-for-nothings, you can tell them all to get lost." Laxus put his hands in his pockets and walked inside on his own.

"Guilds are not determined by strength, Laxus," Makarov said in a deep voice.

"Forget it, old man." Laxus took two quest tokens from his quest log and walked towards the door. As he passed Chiba, he suddenly smiled and said, "Name."

"Chiba," he said calmly.

"My name is Laxus, nothing more than Laxus. I'll remember your name."

The boy walked out of the guild and strode away.

"Damn it!" After Laxus left, Natsu angrily slammed his fist on the table.

"Natsu, don't worry about it too much. Laxus just wants to protect this guild from being bullied. After all, we're all homeless kids," Erza said, seeing Natsu's indignant expression.

Natsu turned his head away haughtily, seemingly not wanting to acknowledge Erza.

"Natsu ~ What do you mean by this?" Erza's little face was a bit gloomy.

"Uh... no... it doesn't mean anything!" Hearing Erza change her tone, Natsu shuddered and broke out in a cold sweat.

"This guy just doesn't want to talk to you," Gray said coldly from the side.

"Who are you calling a bastard?"

"I'm talking to you! You idiot!"

The guild, which had been quieted down by Laxus, was suddenly brought back to life and bustle by Natsu and Gray.

Mira somehow obtained the mark, and since almost all guild mages displayed their guild crests, Chiba didn't want the hassle of wearing clothes, so she had a white Fairy crest engraved on the back of her right hand.

"Speaking of which... are you going to stay in the guild dormitory?" Mira asked, seemingly remembering that Chiba currently had nowhere to stay.

Chiba pondered for a moment. It seemed that the Fairy Tail guild dormitory required payment, and currently, besides the one million or so yen he'd gotten from selling wolf pelts... um? One million or so?

He checked his pockets and found he didn't have a single banknote...

He suddenly remembered that when he was captured by the Frog in the Pond, those guys seemed to have even taken his money.

My money...

Seeing the boy beside her whose expression kept changing, Mira asked tentatively, "What's wrong?"

Chiba looked like he was about to cry, "I... I have all my money, those bastards from the Frog in the Pond have plundered it!"

Mira blinked, then suddenly chuckled, waved her hand, and said, "Alright, alright, have you forgotten? You left over a million with me back then. Here you go."

Chiba muttered, "Giving me money is like you're keeping me as a mistress."

Mira blushed, glared at him, and said, "What? So I'm going to keep you as my sugar daddy? Anyone who dares to gossip will get a beating!"

Chiba thought for a moment. If he lived in the guild dormitory, he would have to travel a long way to the forest for daily training. It would be better to stay in the forest outside the town. After all, he knew Wood Release techniques.

But...

Chiba glanced at the girl's face. She seemed indifferent, but the light in her eyes seemed to tell him, "If you don't agree, I'll chop you up."

So he decided to stay outside.

He told Mira he could build houses, but she didn't seem to be interested in that at all. She just gave a haughty snort and walked into the guild.

I sighed. A woman's heart is truly unfathomable.

He stepped out of the guild.

"Hey! Wait... wait for me!"

Behind me, I heard a familiar boy's voice.

Chiba stopped in his tracks and turned to look.

A boy with pink hair wearing a white checkered scarf ran towards her with all his might, his face beaming with a cheerful smile, waving at Chiba.

A moment later, Natsu ran over, panting with his hands on his knees. After a while, he looked up and smiled brightly, "You're Chiba, right? My name is Natsu, nice to meet you!"

Chiba extended her hand and shook his. The latter said, "I heard you don't want to live in the guild dormitory. Perfect timing! I live in a small house outside town. Let's stay together!"

Chiba was slightly surprised. Natsu was only eleven or twelve years old... well... his mental age, yet he dared to live alone in the forest outside the town?

"Sure, let's go together." Surprised as I was, since he'd suggested it first, there was no need to refuse.

"Hey-hey!"

Natsu chuckled, then jumped in front of Chiba, excitedly saying, "Chiba, you were amazing when you fought Laxus! You turned into lava! If Grandpa hadn't stopped you, it would have been a fantastic and exciting battle! I... I really dislike Laxus, even though Gray and Erza do too. But Laxus always looks down on me, hmph! One day I'll beat him to a pulp!"

Natsu is like a chatterbox; once he starts talking, he can't stop.

Chiba listened with a smile as Natsu kept talking, because he felt an unprecedented burst of vitality in Natsu.

Damn it, I'm only a few years older than him, how come I'm being treated like an old man on his deathbed?