A New Era and a Lazy Prodigy

Makarov's emphatic declaration was like a boulder thrown into a still lake, sending waves through the entire guild hall.

"Hey, hey, Master, that's a little hurtful." Macao held his glass, an exaggerated look of grievance on his face. "We're pillars of the guild too, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, we've worked hard too!" Wakaba chimed in, prompting the older members around them to join in the good-natured teasing.

Jiang Bai held his juice and watched the bunch of clowns, a lazy smile curling his lips.

"It's all right, Uncle Macao, Uncle Wakaba."

His voice was quiet, but it carried a convincing strength. "We'll carry your efforts along with ours. One day, Fairy Tail will be the strongest guild on the continent of Fiore."

The arrival of a new era, however, often came with even more chaos.

Natsu's arrival was like tossing a spark that would never go out into a powder keg.

Ever since the pink-haired boy learned that Jiang Bai was widely acknowledged as the guild's "strongest newcomer," he had been completely fired up.

"Where's Jiang Bai?! Come out and fight me! I'm definitely going to beat you this time!"

With a booming shout, Natsu kicked the guild doors open yet again.

Like a little beast with too much energy, the boy charged in, his obsidian eyes searching for his target.

"Too noisy."

At the bar, Jiang Bai lay sprawled over the table, half his face buried in the crook of his arm. He looked half asleep, too lazy even to lift an eyelid.

Since his twelfth birthday, it was as though some kind of restraint on his body had come undone, and his magic power had begun to surge at a furious rate.

That should have been wonderful news, but the side effects were torturous.

The explosive growth of his magic power placed an enormous burden on his still-developing body and mind, leaving him listless every day, as if he had a terrible cold he could never sleep off.

"Erza," Jiang Bai mumbled weakly, "go take care of it."

Erza, who had been sitting quietly beside him, silently peeling an apple, immediately put down the fruit knife.

She stood, her long scarlet hair tracing a sharp arc through the air.

"All right! Jiang Bai, I'll come for you after I beat Erza! Take this, Fire Dragon's—"

Natsu excitedly took his stance and opened his mouth wide, flames already gathering in his throat.

But before he could shout "Roar," a red blur appeared before him like a ghost.

Unlike the gentleness she showed when sparring with Jiang Bai, Erza's gaze was sharp now, and she wasted no time.

She did not even use Requip Magic. With one simple, direct chop, she struck Natsu precisely on the back of the neck.

"Ugh..."

Natsu's roar caught in his throat. His eyes rolled back, and he promptly lost consciousness, his body crumpling limply to the floor.

The world was finally quiet.

Jiang Bai knew how inhumanly tough Natsu was and did not worry about him in the slightest. He simply shifted lazily into a more comfortable position.

Every misfortune had its blessing. Thanks to this sudden "strange illness," Jiang Bai received Erza's attentive care.

"Erza, I want an apple," Jiang Bai said, rubbing his cheek against the table like an affectionate cat.

"Okay."

Without the slightest hesitation, Erza picked up the apple she had just peeled, cut it into little pieces with the knife, then speared one with a fork and carefully brought it to Jiang Bai's mouth.

"Ahh—"

"Damn it! Isn't that brat Jiang Bai a little too happy?!"

"I want Erza to feed me apple too!"

The guild's bachelors let out a chorus of jealous wails, glaring enviously at the boy and girl by the bar, who were oblivious to everyone around them.

Just then, an overpowering aura of lightning swept in like a storm.

Laxus had completed his mission and walked in from outside, radiating menace.

His gaze swept straight past everyone. Even the powerful and beautiful Erza did not catch his attention.

From beginning to end, his eyes were fixed solely on Jiang Bai, who was lying on the table and being fed by Erza.

At the sight, Laxus frowned deeply, a flash of irritation at Jiang Bai's lack of ambition passing through his eyes.

"Hey! Jiang Bai, if you keep slacking off like this, I'm definitely going to surpass you."

Hearing that familiar voice, Jiang Bai finally deigned to lift his head. He looked at him with sleepy eyes, an infuriating smile tugging at his lips.

"Heh! I'll give you time to surpass me, until you can no longer see my back in the distance."

Arrogant!

Everyone else in the guild thought Laxus would fly into a rage on the spot.

To their surprise, the blond boy merely snorted, his expression unusually calm.

Because it was true.

Ever since Jiang Bai's magic power had begun to surge, the already fragile balance of strength between them had tipped completely in his favor.

During their last sparring match in the back mountains, Laxus had given it his all, even unleashing the Lightning Dragon's secret art, Lightning Dragon's Halberd, yet Jiang Bai had still easily crushed him.

A total defeat.

Years of fighting Jiang Bai had made it clear to Laxus that those words were not meant as scorn. He was simply stating a cold fact.

But Laxus was not one to give up easily, either.

"Hmph! You're only stronger than me for now." Laxus suppressed the unwillingness in his heart. "I asked the old man about the S-Class Exam a couple of days ago."

"The S-Class Exam?!"

"That's Jiang Bai for you. He's only twelve, and he's already strong enough to take the S-Class Exam?"

"All these years, and we might as well have been dogs!"

The discussion around him made a vein bulge on Laxus's forehead. "Damn it! Let me finish!"

Once everyone had quieted down, he continued, "Considering you're only twelve, the old man decided that even though you're mature, he'll wait until you're fourteen before agreeing to let you take the exam."

"Mm, got it."

Jiang Bai was neither surprised nor disappointed.

He could feel Makarov's concern. It was only another two years, and that was no big deal.

"You didn't come just to tell me that, did you?" Jiang Bai eyed him sidelong. "You're sixteen this year, so you can already take the exam. Did you come all this way to show off in front of me? You can't be that bored, can you?"

"No!" Laxus denied it flatly, an unprecedented fighting spirit burning in his sharp eyes. "I'll wait two years for you. I don't care about fame. At the S-Class Exam two years from now, I'll defeat you fair and square!"

With that, Laxus turned and left without another word.

Jiang Bai watched him go and chuckled softly. He believed Laxus. That proud, solitary fellow had always cared about the guild's glory, not his own empty fame.

Another year passed like that.

At thirteen, Jiang Bai had grown completely accustomed to the vast ocean of magic power within him, and the mental pressure gradually faded.

He found that he no longer seemed to need to fuss over controlling every last bit of magic power as precisely as before.

When your power was enough to overwhelm everything, any intricate technique seemed somewhat unnecessary.

Jiang Bai leaned back in his chair, feeling the ceaseless torrent of magic power coursing through him, an unprecedented sense of strength filling every part of his body.

The pursuit of perfect control over his magic power seemed... not quite so important anymore?