X782
Time flew by. Ever since Zorn had earned the title of one of the Ten Wizard Saints, requests had poured into the guild from all over, greatly boosting its overall reputation and making it the number one guild in the entire kingdom.
This made President Jose of Phantom Lord even more jealous and resentful. But Fairy Tail was far stronger overall than his Phantom Lord. Zorn's strength had also made him wary the last time, and with all the rules and restrictions, he could only rage impotently.
"Damn it, Fairy Tail, just you wait. One day, I'll make you pay back everything I've suffered."
Lisanna, Elfman, Natsu, Gray, and the others had grown at a breakneck pace over the past two years, as though they had been pumped full of hormones. Every one of them had gone from looking like a child to being youthful and good-looking.
Zorn had also gone from a teenager to a more mature young man. Over the past two years, he had visited libraries throughout the Kingdom of Fiore and systematically studied the magical knowledge of the Fairy Tail world, hoping to develop even more powerful magic.
His efforts had not been in vain. Zorn had made a little progress, which let him breathe a sigh of relief, and he had returned to Fairy Tail with Cana.
For more than a week after returning, Zorn had been waiting by the second-floor request board for that S-Class Mission—the Beast King subjugation. But as though it were deliberately working against him, it still had not arrived.
Even so, he remained on edge, afraid that if he let his guard down, Mirajane would take the Beast King request and bring Lisanna and Elfman along to carry it out.
As for why he did not warn Mirajane against taking the Beast King request or forbid her from doing so, her current personality was simply too fiery and unwilling to back down. If he told her, she might secretly take it behind his back.
Early that morning, Zorn was lying on the second-floor sofa as usual, while Laxus was picking out a suitable S-Class Mission from the request board, intending to bring the Thunder God Tribe along.
That was right. The members of the Thunder God Tribe had joined Fairy Tail one after another the previous year. After witnessing Laxus's valor and strength on a mission, they had become his fervent fans and followers.
They had followed Laxus on missions ever since. This time, he wanted to bring them along to try an S-Class Mission and broaden their horizons.
But Freed's feelings toward Laxus had piqued Zorn's interest in gossip. Wherever Laxus was, Freed was right behind him, and he made no effort to hide the fervor in his eyes.
Haha, that was getting a little off track. Back to the subject.
Tap, tap, tap~
"Ah, ha~ I'm so sleepy."
As footsteps sounded, the guild members suddenly began to doze off. The footsteps drew closer, and just as a figure wrapped from head to toe, with several magic staffs on his back, stepped into the guild, every member had fallen asleep on the floor.
Erza and Mirajane could hold out for a while longer, but they had only just caught sight of the figure before they, too, collapsed.
"Hey, long time no see, Mystogan." The master greeted the man with only his eyes showing.
"Long time no see, Master. I'll take these requests."
Mystogan quickly picked out a few requests, showed them to the master, and prepared to leave.
"Mystogan, your Sleep Magic really is powerful. You should have a spot in this year's S-Class Exam."
Zorn leaned over the second-floor railing, without a trace of sleepiness in his eyes, and happily greeted Mystogan.
"Hey, long time no see."
Laxus also greeted Mystogan, standing against a second-floor pillar with his arms folded. Just as Zorn had said, such precise control over magic power, formidable Physical Arts, and powerful magic did indeed qualify Mystogan to take the S-Class Exam.
Mystogan merely turned and nodded in acknowledgment before walking straight out. As his figure disappeared down the distant street, the people in the guild slowly began to wake up.
"Mm-hmm, he's as distinctive as ever." Zorn nodded in praise.
"Just a little more, but I still couldn't hold out. Damn it."
Erza stood up and clenched her fists, staring intently outside the guild.
Zorn could not help thinking that the last thing Mystogan wanted was for Erza to see him. The magic cast on Erza was also the strongest, so even Mirajane, who was close to her, had been affected.
"Erza, how about you serve as Mystogan's examiner for this year's S-Class Exam? One-on-one."
Zorn made the suggestion with a smile, though he was mischievously hoping that something interesting would happen when the time came.
"All right, then I'll have to get properly prepared."
Erza charged out of the guild, full of fighting spirit and rubbing her fists, heading to the library to ask Levy to help her look for ways to counter Sleep Magic.
"I'm heading out on a mission too. Keep an eye on the guild."
After taking down his chosen S-Class Mission sheet, Laxus went downstairs, called over the three members of the Thunder God Tribe, and left with them to carry out the mission, leaving Zorn staring blankly from the second floor.
Why hadn't he gone to find Cana? Cana had of course gone on a mission. She had said she wanted to be independent and could no longer rely on Zorn. Zorn had fully supported her, and after checking the request, he had confirmed that it posed no great danger.
He had also prepared several Defensive Magic cards and teleportation magic cards for Cana before finally feeling reassured.
Then Zorn had been so reluctant to part that he had acted like a little wife, and Cana had spent a good while comforting him. It was truly hard to tell which one was the domineering boss and which was the delicate little wife.
That afternoon, sunlight streamed through the guild's entrance and fell on Zorn's face as he slept with his head on the bar.
A figure blocked the light in front of Zorn and poked his cheek. He opened his slightly bleary eyes and finally saw who it was.
"Lisanna, you're back. Did the mission go smoothly?" Zorn rubbed his eyes and asked softly.
"It did. With Natsu there, we completed the mission successfully."
"It's just... there's one little thing I need your help with, Brother Zorn."
Lisanna sat down beside him, looking a little embarrassed.
"Oh, what is it?"
"This is the compensation bill. Even after putting the reward from this mission toward it, we're still quite a bit short."
Lisanna handed Zorn the bill, her cheeks flushed and her hands braced against the chair, looking a little embarrassed.
"Where's that brat Natsu?"
Zorn's blood pressure rose. The compensation bill in his hand was crushed to pieces as he sprang to his feet. He sensed Natsu's location and was just about to use magic to teleport over and give him a proper lesson.
"Brother Zorn, it wasn't Natsu's fault. I didn't control my strength properly."
"..."
"Cana taught you super strength?"
"Mm-hmm. It wasn't hard."
"Ahem, very good. Not bad."
"To be continued~"