The Stench of Scumbag Hits You in the Face

"Servants too? Are they nobles?"

"So beautiful..."

"Macao, be careful your wife doesn't see you..."

"You're so annoying! And Wakaba, where exactly are your eyes looking right now?"

"You'd better explain yourself!"

The group entered the guild, quickly drawing the attention of the members who were drinking and chatting inside. After briefly sizing them up, the members went back to drinking and shooting the breeze.

"Well then, what brings you all to our guild?"

After Ywen and the others approached the bar, Gildarts set down his glass and stood up. He leaned forward, looking down at them as he asked.

For a moment, his imposing aura blazed forth...

"So this is Fairy Tail's strongest mage?"

Ywen looked at Gildarts and nodded lightly. He could sense that the magic power within Gildarts was unfathomably deep, even greater than his own. No wonder Gildarts had escaped alive from Acnologia and could trade blows with Magic King August for a short while.

"Hahaha! Gildarts, don't tell me this is some romantic debt you left outside, and now they've come looking for you with your child?"

"Look, that brat has the same hair color as you! Both brownish-red..."

"Hahaha, this is going to be good..."

Just as Gildarts watched Ywen and the others with a serious expression, laughter suddenly rang out from the guild hall.

"You're too damn noisy! Nobody would mistake you for mutes if you kept your mouths shut!" Gildarts first roared at the hecklers, then looked at Ywen guiltily. After roughly confirming that Ywen's hair color resembled his own, Gildarts's body began to tremble slightly. He lowered his head, brought his mouth close to Ywen's ear, and asked in a lowered voice, "K-kid! Your, your, your mother... is she Maria or Sophia? N-no, that's not right. C-could she be..."

In an instant, the once-imposing Gildarts broke character and turned into a greasy middle-aged man.

"Uncle, you really have an illegitimate child out there..."

"And judging by this, there's more than one?"

The corner of Ywen's eye twitched slightly.

"Gildarts, handle your own family problems yourself! Don't drag the guild into it..."

The little old man sitting at the bar—Makarov, Fairy Tail's third Guild Master—studied Ywen for a while, then turned around and closed his eyes.

He looked as though he believed that what he couldn't see couldn't disturb his peace of mind...

"No, Guild Master, listen to my explanation!" Gildarts immediately turned toward Makarov and shouted, looking as though he wanted to clear things up.

Unfortunately, Makarov did not turn back to look at him. It seemed Makarov had already reached his conclusion.

Seeing that Makarov was ignoring him, Gildarts could only helplessly turn back toward Ywen and ask again, "So, who exactly is your mother? I-I can't remember very clearly, heh..."

"..."

Ywen said nothing. He only felt the stench of scumbag hitting him in the face.

"Ywen is my child..."

Just as Gildarts was growing nervous, Aileen, who had not moved until now, spoke.

"Hmm?!" Gildarts sized Aileen up from head to toe. Stroking his chin, he examined her carefully from every angle before finally sighing in relief. "Whew~ Good thing I don't know her!"

"Don't worry! This kid isn't my illegitimate son!"

Gildarts flashed a relaxed smile at his guildmates and gave them a thumbs-up.

"Though Ywen isn't my biological child..."

Then Gildarts heard Aileen continue.

"Ah..."

Gildarts, who had been about to pick up a beer from the table to calm his nerves, instantly stiffened. Beer trickled down his chin.

"That's so disgusting, Gildarts!"

The guild members, who had been watching Gildarts teasingly and waiting to enjoy the show, all voiced their disgust together.

"So whose child are you, then? Maria? No, that's not right. Maria has green eyes, Sophia's are blue... Could you be Sophie's child?!"

Gildarts wiped the beer from his chin and rubbed his beard as he repeatedly looked Ywen up and down. Yet even after racking his brains, he still could not remember whose child Ywen was.

"Sigh, I didn't come looking for you. I came to join Fairy Tail..."

Ywen looked speechlessly at this powerful yet scummy uncle.

"Join Fairy Tail? Kid, you want to become a mage of Fairy Tail?"

After hearing Ywen's purpose, Makarov, who had been hiding to the side watching the show, gave a light jump from the bar and landed in front of Ywen. With his hands behind his back, he asked.

"Yes."

Ywen nodded, looking down at Fairy Tail's Guild Master, who was even shorter than him. However, Ywen did not look down on the small Makarov because of that. Though Makarov was no longer at his peak, he was still in his prime. His immense magic power and masterful magic firmly placed him among the top ranks of the Saint Ten, second only to so-called inhuman beings like Warrod.

Besides, judging solely by Makarov's character, Ywen would never look down on the small old man before him.

"Very well! Then hold out your hand!"

As he spoke, Makarov smilingly took out Fairy Tail's guild stamp.

"Hmm?!"

Ywen froze for a moment, then did as he was told and held out his hand.

"Smack~" Makarov stamped the Fairy Tail guild mark onto the back of Ywen's left hand. At the same time, Makarov looked at Ywen with a kind gaze, as though he were looking at his own child. "Welcome to Fairy Tail! From today onward, we are comrades and family!"

"That simple?!"

Ywen stared blankly at the mark on the back of his hand. Yet both the system's notification in his mind that the advanced mission had been completed and Makarov's welcome told him that he had successfully become a member of the Mage Guild Fairy Tail.

"One doesn't need a reason to become comrades and family." Makarov smiled and nodded, then looked at Erza and the others as he asked gently, "Who else wants to join Fairy Tail? Grandpa will stamp the guild mark for you. You can choose any color and location you like~"

Makarov's smiling expression made him look exactly like an old fox who had discovered some promising youngsters. In truth, he dearly wanted Ywen and the others to join Fairy Tail~

Besides, with Makarov's years of experience, he could tell that neither Ywen nor Erza was a bad child.

Perhaps Ywen was somewhat more calculating, but compared with Makarov, whose life experience far surpassed Ywen's, he was still far too young.

"Me! I want to join too!"

Erza raised her little hand. Seeing Ywen join, she wanted to join as well.

"Good! From today onward, you're also a member of Fairy Tail."

With Erza's request and Makarov's stamp, Erza officially became a member of Fairy Tail as well.

"Um..."

After stamping the guild marks for both Ywen and Erza, Makarov looked toward Aileen.

Makarov's gaze toward Aileen was grave. Honestly, she was the only person before him whom he could not see through at all. Clearly, he could not sense any magic power flowing within her body, yet every cell in his body was on alert, as though the woman before him were some terrifying monster.

The level of terror she inspired surpassed the sum of every terrifying thing Makarov had seen in his life!

Makarov trusted his instincts. He knew Aileen was definitely not as simple as she appeared.

"All right~"

Seeing that Ywen and Erza had both become members of Fairy Tail, Aileen joined Fairy Tail alongside them. She also stamped the mark onto the back of her hand. The color she chose was a gorgeous crimson, the same as her long scarlet hair.

Ywen sighed in relief when he saw the Fairy Tail mark on the back of Aileen's hand. When he had received his own mark, his keen senses had caught a faint trace of something. It seemed an invisible, mysterious thread connected everyone bearing Fairy Tail's emblem. The deeper the Bonds, the clearer the feeling became. Ywen could clearly feel the deep Bonds between himself, Aileen, and Erza. At the same time, he could feel Makarov's profound and equal love for every member of the guild.

Sure enough, this guild mark is Fairy Tail's true foundation. It's a Super Magic that surpasses Fairy Tail's three great spells!

Ywen sighed inwardly as he silently wondered just how outrageous it would be if a mage on Aileen's level received the boost from Fairy Tail's Bonds.

Ywen stopped after only thinking about it briefly. It was simply too difficult to imagine...

As for Illya, Ian, and Eden, they also joined Fairy Tail at Aileen's instruction. When Makarov stamped Fairy Tail's marks on the three of them, he sensed that something was slightly off. However, Makarov did not say anything. Everyone in the guild had their own secrets. As long as they did not harm their family, it did not matter!

"Kids, let's celebrate! In just one day, six newcomers have joined us! Let's drink to our hearts' content!"

As he spoke, Makarov raised the wine glass in his hand. Even if he said nothing, the guild members would still drink to their hearts' content, because this bunch had never stopped drinking in the first place.

"Oh, right. You pay for your own drinks!"

After saying that, Makarov added the last line with a sly grin.

"Tch..."

After hearing him, Fairy Tail's members all made sounds of disdain.

"Yeah!!"

But in the end, everyone still cooperated with Makarov, raising their glasses and taking huge gulps.

After enough alcohol went down their throats, everyone stopped paying attention to Ywen and the others. Those who drank kept drinking heartily, those looking for jobs continued searching for missions that suited them, and those who fought started fighting again as soon as Makarov finished speaking.

The entire guild became a chaotic mess once more.

But that was Fairy Tail!

The contract was signed~ But the contract materials still haven't arrived, probably because of the National Day holiday~ This chapter is three thousand words~ Thank you all for your support these past days, and while I'm at it, please send some recommendations, bookmarks, and investments my way~ Thanks~