Ifrit's Fishing Documentary I

Ifrit's Fishing Documentary I

Infighting between legitimate guilds was not permitted.

But after Fairy Tail thoroughly defeated Phantom Lord, the people at the Magic Council had nothing to say.

Guild Master Makarov went to recount the course of events.

It was nothing serious, merely going through the motions.

Not long afterward, the Magic Council investigated and tried many Council members, as well as several members of the council assembly. They issued an apology statement and sternly condemned the Phantom Lord guild.

They then formed an investigation team to review Phantom Lord's mages one by one, primarily judging them according to the regulations of the magic world and the laws of the Fiore Kingdom.

After the investigation, Juvia was among the first batch to be released. Makarov then invited her and brought her back to Magnolia.

After all those procedures, coupled with Guild Master Jose's death, the once-glorious Phantom Lord quietly disbanded.

Once Phantom Lord's matters had been dealt with, it was time to rebuild the guild.

At Ifrit's strong insistence, the Council accepted and approved it—Fairy Tail could receive financial compensation from Phantom Lord.

That money was used to rebuild the guild.

Ifrit had some free time and began developing "Tyr 7.0."

And with time on his hands, his fingers started itching.

So he picked up his fishing gear bag and set off.

In the forest, backed by the mountains.

Natsu's home was here.

Though it did not look as fancy as the houses in town, its stone pillars, red bricks, white walls, and surrounding greenery made it small and cozy.

"Natsu, Happy, come compete with me in fishing!"

"..."

No one answered.

"???"

What was going on?

Ifrit was puzzled. Whenever he looked for Natsu lately, Natsu was never around.

He arrived outside the guild's new site.

A temporary guild hall had been set up with tents. Everyone gathered here and accepted jobs.

"Where's Natsu?" he asked Mirajane.

"Huh?" Mirajane thought for a moment before saying, "If Natsu isn't home, then he should be at Lucy's place."

"That guy!" Ifrit gritted his teeth and said furiously, "He forgot his friends the moment he saw a pretty girl!"

"Don't you dare disturb them!" Mirajane grabbed Ifrit and gave him a stern warning.

"Got it. Then where's Gray?" Ifrit nodded helplessly.

"I don't know. Gray hasn't come by for several days. Oh, Ifrit! Let me tell you—" Mirajane suddenly looked incredibly excited. She pulled Ifrit closer and gossiped, "Did you know? It seems like a girl is pursuing Gray!"

"Ah, I know. Juvia," Ifrit said.

"That girl from Phantom Lord, right?" Mirajane said excitedly. "Did something happen during that battle?"

"Thank you for your patronage—10,000J." Ifrit immediately held out a hand. A card lay in his palm as he smiled like a shady merchant and coaxed, "I recorded everything that happened that day! In consideration of Miss Mirajane's gentleness and kindness, for just ten thousand jewels, you can buy the complete set of limited-edition material!"

"You..." Mirajane's smile froze. She was still smiling, but the corner of her eye twitched slightly. In an instant, her mood had gone from delighted to awful.

"Eight thousand! I can't go any lower!" Ifrit looked as though it pained him terribly, as if he were taking a huge loss.

"..." Mirajane tightened her grip on the wineglass she had been polishing.

"Six thousand! Any lower would be too much!" Ifrit said.

Crack.

The glass in Mirajane's hand shattered. She smiled so hard her eyes narrowed into slits, and she said with a "smile," "Mr. Ifrit, acting like that will not make you popular with girls."

"..." Ifrit stared at Mirajane's palm. As she kneaded it, the shards of glass gradually turned into glass dust.

Crunch, crunch. The sound made everyone's teeth ache.

The noisy guild gradually fell silent at some point, and everyone looked over.

Ifrit looked left and right. Then his eyes suddenly lit up. He slapped the card onto the table, and when he lifted his hand, it had become a stack of photographs.

Then he immediately turned around and waved.

"Ah, Laxus, let's go fishing!"

"Tch." Laxus leaned back in his chair with his feet on the table, his body wrapped in bandages. Hearing Ifrit's words, he grinned and said, "Fishing doesn't interest me. How about we go have some fun at a nightclub?"

"You bastard!!!" Cold sweat broke out on Ifrit's forehead.

He hurriedly stretched.

"Ah—I still prefer fishing. See you!"

With that, he darted outside.

"Idiot." Cana shook her head and lifted her barrel of liquor to chug from it.

By the river.

Carrying bags of all sizes, Ifrit arrived at his usual spot.

On the way here, he had bought some snacks, including potato chips and beef jerky.

He had also bought several books—new magazines as well as novels.

With meticulous movements, he laid out the various expensive pieces of equipment one by one.

Ifrit was fully prepared!

While waiting for a fish to bite, he could have something to eat and read for a while.

This was a state of "serendipitous gain." Ifrit had once used this state to defeat Erza in a fishing competition.

Crunch, crunch.

He ate, drank, and read.

One hour passed.

Two hours passed.

Three hours passed.

Ifrit stood up.

To use the restroom.

Omilas—this place seemed pretty cool.

He had just seen it in a magazine. It said the place had beautiful scenery and welcomed tourists to visit.

Why not take a trip there?

After thinking for three seconds.

Fine, he would go take a look.

After taking care of business, he planned out his route as he walked back to the river.

"???"

"Where's my fishing rod?!!!"

Ifrit walked home in a daze.

Not only had he failed to catch a fish, he had even lost his fishing rod.

"..."

"Ifrit." Laxus called out to him.

Ifrit turned to look. That little blond punk had one hand in his pocket and the other dragging a suitcase, his face full of arrogance.

"Stop loafing around and hurry up and finish my weapon." After saying that, Laxus dragged his suitcase away.

"..." Ifrit watched his retreating figure and shook his head.

There were so many strong people in the guild—Natsu, another Dragon Slayer Mage, and Erza, another S-Class mage—so why did Laxus always pick on him?

Since coming to the guild, he had never bullied Laxus, right?

Ifrit adjusted his glasses and thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head.

Aside from playing a few small pranks—

Like helping Lisanna draw a little turtle on sleeping Laxus's face. Other than harmless pranks like that, he had never done anything excessive.

It was nowhere near as bad as secretly cutting a hole in Natsu's fish basket.

That had only been to win, after all. Though he still had not won.

In short.

He had no grudge against Laxus. It could not be because of something as trivial as him snapping Laxus's headphone cord, could it?

Laxus was so petty!

The sun slanted toward the horizon.

Golden sunlight filled the courtyard.

A large wooden tub stood in the yard, lined with several layers of grapes.

The white-haired beauty wore athletic shorts as she carefully washed her feet.

She slightly lifted her long, slender leg. Several glistening droplets slid from her delicate ankle, rolling unobstructed over the snowy, smooth top of her foot before gathering at her small, tender toes.

Sparkling and trembling.

They quietly dripped onto the plump, sweet grapes.

The white-haired beauty stepped into the wooden tub and crushed the grapes beneath her feet, her movements light and elegant, like a cheerful fairy dancing.

"Is Miss Mirajane home?" a voice called from outside.

"Ifrit?" Mirajane hurriedly jumped out of the tub. Barefoot, she ran across the lawn to the front gate.

Ifrit's gaze was involuntarily drawn to those exquisite, adorable little feet.

Seemingly noticing his unusual gaze, her toes shyly curled back.

Ifrit raised his head and looked at Mirajane.

"What is it, Ifrit?" Mirajane asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm planning to go traveling for a while," Ifrit said. "Before I leave, I came to let you know."

"That's not all, is it?" Mirajane tilted her head slightly.

"Um... that thing you promised..." Ifrit smiled ingratiatingly.

"Don't worry. Since I promised you, I'll definitely keep my word," Mirajane said with a smile.

"Then thank you." Ifrit took off his hat, gave her a slight bow, and offered a gentlemanly salute. "Praise your gentleness and kindness."

"Have a pleasant journey, Ifrit," Mirajane said with a smile.

"I'll take your blessing to heart." Ifrit straightened up. "Then I won't disturb you any longer."