Erza the Discipline Committee Member

The chaotic initiation ceremony finally came to an end.

Makarov looked at the little brats before him, destined to turn everything upside down in the future, and felt both gratified and a headache coming on.

He called Mirajane and her two siblings over, preparing to take them to the guild's underground library to look for ancient books on Take Over Magic.

"You three, come with me."

Just then, Laxus, who had been silent all this time, walked straight up to Jiang Bai with his three "followers."

The other members in the guild hall found their attention drawn to them.

Everyone knew that these two strongest newcomers in the guild were rivals, but also kindred spirits in a certain sense.

Laxus stopped, his golden eyes reflecting Jiang Bai's lazy face, an undisguised fighting spirit burning in his gaze.

He wasted no words, speaking only a few cold ones.

"One year left."

With that, he led Freed and the other two through the crowd and up to the guild's second floor without looking back.

All he left behind was a challenge that baffled the onlookers but was perfectly clear to Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai curled his lip and said nothing.

As Makarov, Mirajane, Laxus, and the others left one after another, the space in front of the once-crowded bar suddenly became much emptier.

In the end, only two incongruous figures remained there.

Natsu and Gray.

The two stood where they were, staring at each other, and the atmosphere grew a little awkward.

In the end, Natsu, who was never one to sit still, broke the silence first.

He tilted his head and looked Gray up and down as if inspecting a piece of merchandise, then asked curiously, "Hey, your name's Gray, right? What kind of magic do you use?"

Gray, who had only recently witnessed his master Ur's sacrifice, was wrapped in an icy aura that warned strangers to keep their distance.

With both hands in his pockets, he couldn't even be bothered to raise his eyes. His voice was as cold as a Siberian wind.

"Ice-Make Magic."

"Oh, so it's ice!"

Natsu nodded in realization, then grinned—a smile that seemed very friendly to him, but made Gray want nothing more than to punch him.

"My dragon flames would melt ice in no time, but that's okay!"

Natsu thumped his chest and declared boldly, "From now on, I'll protect you here in the guild!"

Protect me?

Melt it?

Gray's eyebrows shot up, and anger flared in his heart.

Who's he looking down on?

More importantly, he dared to look down on the ice magic his master had given her life to teach him!

"What did you say, slant-eyes?"

Gray snapped his head up, two flames of anger burning in his black eyes as he glared at Natsu.

"My ice can definitely freeze your fire!"

"Slant-eyes?" Natsu froze for a moment, then got angry too. He pointed at Gray's eyes and fired back without backing down, "What are you talking about, droopy-eyes?!"

"Wanna fight?!" Flames had already sprung up around Natsu's fists.

"You think I'm scared?!" A bone-chilling cold also rose from Gray's body.

Seeing the two newcomers about to fight less than three minutes after meeting, the guild members watching eagerly crowded around, cheering them on from all sides.

Jiang Bai shook his head helplessly at the familiar scene.

Just then, Makarov, who had settled Mirajane and her siblings in the library, came down the stairs.

Jiang Bai picked up a glass of juice and tipped his chin toward the old man.

"Old man, shouldn't you do something about those two? If they keep fighting, we'll have to replace the bar again."

Makarov followed his gaze and saw that Natsu and Gray had already seized each other by the collar. Foreheads pressed together, they looked ready to start fighting any moment.

Yet there was no sign of concern on Makarov's face. Instead, he smiled with a hint of relief.

"It's fine. Let them be."

He walked over to the bar, poured himself a beer, and spoke unhurriedly.

"When I brought Gray back, the boy had grown quiet and withdrawn because someone important to him had sacrificed herself. He wouldn't talk to anyone. He's doing much better now."

Makarov took a sip of beer and watched the two figures wrestling with each other, a wise light gleaming in his eyes.

"I didn't expect Natsu, that battle idiot, to start arguing with Gray so quickly."

"Maybe he really can bring Gray out of the shadow of his past."

With a "battle of ice and fire" seemingly about to erupt, the guild members watching the spectacle grew excited at once.

Macao even jumped onto a table and raised his arm like a seasoned bookmaker, calling out:

"Bets are open! Come place your bets! On one side, we have the fire-breathing pink-haired kid, and on the other, the cool-looking black-haired newcomer! Who's going to win, Natsu or the new guy, Gray?"

"I'm betting on Natsu!"

"I'm betting on the newcomer. He looks calmer!"

The atmosphere immediately heated up, and the fighting spirit of the two at the center of it all climbed to its peak.

"Fire Dragon's—" Natsu's cheeks had puffed up like a toad's, and fire flickered in his throat.

"Ice-Make..." Gray crossed his hands, and cold air rapidly took shape in his palms.

At that critical moment—

Creak—

The guild's weathered doors were slowly pushed open from outside once again.

A girl in armor with a head of dazzling scarlet hair walked in, dragging a huge suitcase behind her.

It was Erza Scarlet, just back from a mission.

The mission had been an escort request, and the journey was long, so it had taken a little more time.

As soon as she entered, she saw two little brats in the middle of the guild hall, preparing to unleash magic as if no one else were around, while a large crowd of adults surrounded them, cheering and placing bets.

Erza's brows knitted together at once.

The next second, she vanished from where she stood.

"Roar!"

"Lance!"

Natsu and Gray shouted the names of their moves almost simultaneously.

But before the flames could burst out or the ice spears could take shape, a red afterimage slipped between them like a ghost.

Bang! Bang!

Two dull thuds rang out as two enormous fists landed squarely on the boys' foreheads.

Natsu and Gray's magic was instantly interrupted. Stars filled their vision, two large bumps visibly swelled on their heads, and they both rolled their eyes back and promptly collapsed to the floor.

Erza withdrew her fists, planted her hands on her hips, and addressed everyone in an unquestionably authoritative voice:

"No fighting in the guild!"

The hall, which had been so noisy just moments before, fell silent.

Everyone quietly took back their bets and pretended nothing had happened.

Only Macao, the boldest of them all, hid behind the crowd and muttered, "But... Erza, you hit them too..."

Unfortunately, the guild's head of discipline automatically switched on her selective hearing.

Erza's sharp gaze swept across the hall, and she began calling people out one by one.

"Hey, Uncle Wakaba! How many times have I told you to smoke less in the guild? The smell is so strong—what if you set a bad example for Jiang Bai?!"

Wakaba, his pipe in his mouth, shuddered and hurriedly put it out.

After scolding several of the guild's old hands one by one and establishing her unshakable position as head of discipline, Erza finally nodded in satisfaction.

Her imposing aura vanished in an instant. She turned and walked over to Jiang Bai and Makarov with a light step.

She first bowed slightly to Makarov. "Master, I'm back."

Then she eagerly turned to Jiang Bai, who was lounging against the bar. Her beautiful eyes instantly filled with anticipation and a demand, uniquely Erza's, that she didn't want refused. (Basically, your girlfriend was calling you.)

"Jiang Bai, come shopping with me!"

"I want to eat strawberry cake from that new shop!"

Before Jiang Bai could say anything—

Thump, thump, thump—

A rapid patter of footsteps came from the basement stairs.

Mirajane came running out of the library, her face full of excitement. She held her right hand high; her once-fearsome demon arm had now returned to the fair, slender form of a young girl's.

"Jiang Bai, look! I've learned basic Take Over Magic! I can control the changes to my arm whenever I want now!"

She ran excitedly to the bar, wanting to share her joy with Jiang Bai.

But the next second, her gaze locked onto the scarlet-haired girl in armor beside him.

What a beautiful girl.

What a powerful aura.

The smile on Mirajane's face faltered slightly.

She didn't know why, but the moment she saw this girl, a strange, intense sense of rivalry shot through her like an electric current.

She wanted to test herself against her.

The thought came without any reason, yet it was perfectly clear.