Erza's Invitation to Team Up

Everyone flew into a rage.

They would rather fix things than be run in circles by Ifrit!

Everyone charged at Ifrit, with Natsu leading the way!

But then—

His feet slipped.

"Huh?"

Natsu looked utterly bewildered before smashing face-first into the floor.

Thud, thud—one body after another hit the ground.

Everyone collapsed in a heap, unable even to crawl back up.

"Why is it so slippery?"

Looking down, they finally noticed the yellow oil covering the floor. They were slipping in it and could not stand at all.

"You've really angered me, Ifrit!" Gray said through gritted teeth.

He clenched his right fist against his left palm, unleashing an eruption of freezing magic power!

"Miss Mirajane, one strawberry-flavored Sparkling Water, please." With his back to everyone, Ifrit did not care that Gray was gathering magic.

"Certainly."

Mirajane handed Ifrit a Sparkling Water.

"Hey, hey, hey, watch out!" Seeing this, Lucy was so frightened that she sprang to her feet, ready to run.

Rumble—

At that moment, terrifying Ice-Make Magic erupted!

A massive, razor-sharp pillar of ice violently punched through the guild's side wall.

"Huh?" Lucy looked completely stunned.

He missed?

Even if he missed, how could he have missed by ninety degrees?!

"Hahaha! Look at what a mess you are! Serves you right!" Gray pointed at the damaged wall and laughed smugly.

Gray.

Everyone stopped fooling around and lowered their heads, terrified of getting caught in the crossfire.

"GRAY!!!" Guild Master Makarov's giant hand clenched into a fist and came crashing down from the second floor.

Boom!

Gray was hammered straight into the floor.

"Hahaha, Gray really is an idiot!" Natsu laughed at his misfortune.

Before Makarov could withdraw his fist, another punch came down. Natsu fell silent as well.

"Ahem." Ifrit set down the money, rose with his Sparkling Water in hand, and nervously headed for the exit.

Suddenly, an enormous shadow appeared before him.

Boom!

"..."

More than ten seconds later.

Ifrit suddenly appeared at the entrance with his drink in hand. This time, however, he did not dare act smug. Without stopping or looking back, he kept his head down, hailed a carriage as inconspicuously as possible, and left.

He owned a property in town.

It was on the street, with a second floor and a small courtyard behind it.

The first floor was a shop.

"Valier Family Magic Item Shop."

It sold magic props and prank items made by Ifrit himself, simple enough for even children to use.

Business was actually quite good, but Ifrit often kept the shop closed for one reason or another.

He had worked himself to death in his previous life. In this one, he wanted to live a little more freely.

Once home.

He took a bath and ate a meal.

Then he lay in the courtyard, basking in the sun.

The diary on the table read:

Day n: Work was tiring. Spent the entire afternoon sunbathing.

Day n+1: After breakfast, it was noon. After lunch, it was dinner. After dinner, I went to find Natsu, but he was not home. Did he go on a job? But his suitcase was still at home.

Day n+2: Watched Marble Tournament matches all day. Didn't win once.

Day n+3: Fished all day. Didn't catch a single fish.

Day n+5: Yesterday, Cana and I had a drinking contest. I drank soda while she drank alcohol, and magic was not allowed for cheating. But maybe I had not slept well the night before, because I somehow fell asleep and lost the contest. Gray mocked me, saying I got drunk just from smelling alcohol, then slept for an entire day and night. Heh, how could that be? I had never drunk alcohol before, but I should at least be able to handle a pound or two. It did not look like much, but Father told me never to touch alcohol. I was only keeping my promise.

Day n+6: Performed magic tricks for children on the street. Another tactless adult smugly exposed the trick. If his observation skills were so great, why did he not notice the road beneath his feet? He fell three times in a row. Heh.

Day n+8: Did Mystogan return? Why did I sleep in the guild for another whole day? When I woke up, I was on the sofa in the Guild Master's office. He told me to stay away from Cana. Why? Ah, my head hurts so much. It has hurt all day. Do I have a cold?

Day n+9: Opened the shop all day. Business was too good. Tiring. Don't want to open tomorrow. I'll find a job to do instead.

After resting for several days in a row.

Ifrit decided it was time to work.

He did not really lack money. After all, completing jobs did not require him to destroy too many facilities, so he did not have to use the reward money he had just received to pay compensation every time.

Still, people needed a balance between work and rest.

As usual, he took a carriage back to the guild entrance.

When he got out and looked inside, he saw a red-haired girl in armor standing beside a huge horn, reprimanding everyone.

Natsu and Gray, normally bitter fire-and-ice rivals, were now like frightened chicks, clutching each other's shoulders and trembling all over.

The newcomer Lucy looked completely baffled.

Erza was back.

Ifrit turned and left.

"Ifrit!"

Erza suddenly turned around. "I can already smell that rotten stench on you!"

Ifrit stopped. "I was not going back to the guild. I was just passing by. I have something to do at home first. Also, there is no rotten smell on me. I bathed properly and even scented my clothes."

Erza said, "And did you wash that rotten heart of yours?"

The moment she finished speaking, she spun around and punched the air, producing a crisp impact.

Ifrit suddenly appeared there. Holding his cane defensively, he staggered back several steps until his waist slammed into the counter.

"That hurt." Ifrit rubbed his waist.

"She hit him?!" Lucy stared in shock.

She had already learned about Ifrit's magic from Mirajane and could not help marveling at how terrifying it was!

In her eyes, Ifrit had always seemed completely at ease and had never suffered a setback. Even the Guild Master had never managed to hurt him!

Yet this beautiful girl had actually sent him flying!

"Of course," Mirajane said. "Erza is an S-Class mage, the strongest female wizard in the guild!"

"So strong!" Lucy could not help saying.

"Ifrit, since you're here," Erza said, "I was planning to look for you anyway. Come do a job with me."

"And." She looked at Natsu and Gray. "You two are coming too."

"Huh?" Mirajane exclaimed in surprise. "It's already surprising enough that Erza wants to team up with Ifrit. She's even bringing Natsu and Gray? What kind of terrifying job is this?"

"But."

"Erza, Ifrit, Natsu, and Gray—wouldn't that be Fairy Tail's strongest team?"

"Yeah." Lucy nodded in agreement.

"No, you're mistaken." Ifrit waved a hand. "My strength is not enough for me to take part in a job for the strongest team."

"Newcomer, let me tell you something." Erza spoke to Lucy. "Ifrit's magic does not activate while he is asleep."

A threat!

A completely blatant threat!

From a seat near the door, Ifrit immediately stood up and said, "Beautiful Miss Erza, it would be my honor to team up with you!"

Everyone froze.

The Ifrit by the counter had already vanished.

"..."

No one dared look at Erza. In the guild's pin-drop silence, Natsu suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Hahahaha! Even Erza got played!"

Natsu.

Lucy had already turned away, unable to bear watching.

"Natsu, have you grown at all lately?"

"Of course I have, Erza, I—"

Thump!

The huge impact cut Natsu off mid-sentence.

Lucy turned to look. Natsu was lying in Erza's arms, sleeping soundly.

"Youth is wonderful. He can fall asleep the moment he hits the ground." Ifrit left those words behind as his figure faded away. His real body had already run far away.