The Same Size?

Laxus's harsh words were like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating only brief ripples, but Fairy Tail is, after all, the Fairy Tail that can embrace everything.

After a brief period of quiet, the construction site quickly returned to its usual bustling state.

Yoshi!

Natsu, suddenly filled with renewed energy, hoisted over a dozen heavy logs onto his back in one go, shouting as he did so, his brow beaded with sweat.

"I'm going to surpass Jiang Bai when it comes to moving timber!"

"Hmph! You idiot Fire Dragon!"

Gray, standing not far away, sneered. The pile of wood on his body was like a small mountain, one more piece than Natsu's.

"Open your eyes wide and look carefully, I already have one more than you!"

"What?! You exhibitionist, don't you dare run away!"

"Ha, let's see if you can catch up with me!"

Watching the two childish brats start their pointless squabble again, Lucy stared in disbelief. "What's going on? Why is Gray starting to act stupid with Natsu too?"

"Ai!"

Happy flew onto her shoulder, looking like he knew everything.

"They must have been spurred on by Jiang Bai's title of 'Ten Wizard Saints,' and want to prove themselves in this way."

No, that's not it.

Mirajane walked over with a plate of chilled juice, smiling as she revealed the truth.

"Actually, Jiang Bai just secretly told them that extreme weight training like this can effectively improve physical fitness and also help enhance magic power."

"So they took it seriously; they thought it was a deliberate attempt to make them do more work."

Lucy: "... So, they're two complete idiots?"

No sooner had they finished speaking than a red figure sped past them.

Erza carried more wood by herself than Natsu and Gray combined, and she even had the energy to turn around and say to the two still arguing, "You two are still a long way off!"

Lucy: "..."

Even Erza...

Okay, she takes back what she just said, "Idiot, add another one."

As evening fell, Fairy Tail lit a bonfire at the entrance of their still-unfinished guild and began their annual feast.

Makarov held his wine glass, looking at the group of boys who never seemed to stop causing trouble, his eyes filled with affection.

His thoughts drifted back to what his old friend Yajima had said to him in the corridor a few days earlier when he was leaving the Magic Council.

Yajima advised him that it was time to consider retiring and enjoying life.

Retire?

Makarov sighed as he looked at the scene before him.

He had considered it, but on the one hand, he truly cherished and enjoyed the time he spent with these children; on the other hand, there was the issue of the guild's successor.

Those who are qualified to succeed the next president all have some problems, more or less.

Laxus goes without saying; as long as that kid doesn't truly treat his guildmates as family, he'll never hand the guild over to him.

Mystogan, that child is full of secrets. He's always away from home, and he never even shows his true face in the guild.

A president who cannot show his face in public is absolutely unacceptable.

Gildarts?

Don't even bother with that guy. He's like the wind, he can't stop. He's either doing a 100-Year Quest or on his way to do 100-Year Quest. You can't see him even once a year.

As for Mirajane and Erza, although they are excellent enough and deeply trusted by everyone, in terms of strength alone, they are not enough to keep the entire guild in check, let alone cope with future crises.

After much thought, it seems that Jiang Bai is the most suitable candidate.

But the thought of making Jiang Bai the president made Makarov shudder.

If something like the Phantom Lord Encounter happened, given Jiang Bai's protective and averse-to-trouble nature, he would definitely lead the entire guild to storm their door and wipe them out completely.

If those old men on the Magic Council are too blind to listen and insist on interfering, he might actually "humanely eliminate" the entire Magic Council.

Makarov quickly shook his head, banishing the terrible thought from his mind, and took a large gulp of wine.

"Never mind, I'm still in good health. I should be able to hold on for another ten years or so without any problem."

As time went by, with everyone's efforts, the new guild gradually took shape.

However, it will take quite some time before it is completely completed.

Because the compensation money extorted from the Phantom Lord had all been used to purchase the best building materials, the manual construction work had to be done by the guild members who hadn't gone on the quest.

Jiang Bai, of course, took on the leisurely position of "Chief Supervisor".

What? You're saying anyone's complaining about Jiang Bai being lazy?

You should go check out the huge bump on Natsu's head that's been swollen for three days and hasn't gone down before asking this question.

In the past few days, Lucy and Levy's relationship has progressed rapidly, and they have quickly become inseparable best friends.

After all, one was a novelist aspiring to become a great writer, and the other was a mage who used Letter Magic; the two had so much in common.

At that moment, the two girls were sitting on a pile of wood, resting and gossiping secretly.

"Um... Levy- chan,"

Lucy lowered her voice and asked curiously,

"Jiang Bai, Erza, and Miss Mira, have they always had that kind of relationship?"

"Um!"

Levy and responded in a very soft voice.

"It's true! And it's no secret in our guild!"

"Wow... so what do they usually do...?"

"You two are quite curious, aren't you?"

A cheerful voice rang out behind them without warning.

"Ooh!"

Lucy and Levy two startled rabbits.

Upon recognizing Jiang Bai, Levy patted her chest and complained angrily, "Brother Jiang Bai! You're so mean! How could you walk so quietly? You scared me to death!"

"Who told you two little girls to talk bad about me behind my back?"

Jiang Bai crossed his arms and looked at them with amusement.

"Why gossip so much? You're so young, why aren't you learning good things?"

"I'm not a little girl!"

Levy her chest and retorted loudly.

"I'm an adult now! I'm the same age as Lucy!"

"The same size?"

Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow and said, feigning confusion,

"They're different, aren't they?"

His gaze swept meaningfully over Lucy's impressive curves, then fell on Levy's flat chest, before he shook his head meaningfully.

Although he didn't say anything, his eyes and his actions were more lethal than any words.

Levy's face flushed red instantly, from her cheeks all the way to the roots of her neck. She was so angry that she was trembling all over, but she couldn't say a word.

Just then, a chattering sound suddenly came from outside the guild, breaking the awkward yet amusing atmosphere.

"Excuse me, is Loke there?"

Where is Lord Loke? Isn't he at the guild?

"We need to find Loke! Where is he?"