"Move."
Laxus stared at the person in front of him, his tone downright rude.
If they'd come across a small doorway, Noah might have stepped aside out of politeness. But both of the guild's large doors were wide open, with enough room for four or five people to walk through side by side.
If Laxus had shown even a little courtesy, Noah might've moved. But with that unbearably arrogant look in his eyes... Noah was getting irritated too, and stood his ground, thoroughly annoyed.
"You're in my way. Move."
"Heh."
Laxus let out an angry laugh. "Noah, don't think I won't come after you just because you're still useful to me."
"What do you mean, 'useful to you'? I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've spoken." Noah didn't understand what Laxus meant, but he could tell the other man was in a bad mood.
Well, what good mood could anyone be in after arguing with their grandson and parting on bad terms?
Makarov had been so angry he'd even pulled rank as guild master. Noah didn't know what Laxus had said or done to make the usually patient and kind old man so furious.
The two stood locked in a standoff at the entrance, the atmosphere growing colder by the second.
"Noah, you're back!"
"Welcome home, Noah!"
A lively, pink-haired boy and an adorable blue cat spotted Noah from far away. They ran toward him, greeting him enthusiastically.
When Natsu reached the entrance, he noticed the yellow-haired bolt of lightning inside. "Laxus, you're here today too? Come on, accept my challenge!"
Perhaps unable to stand Natsu's enthusiasm, Laxus ignored him. He only gave Noah a cold glance before leaving the guild without a word.
Natsu was already used to Laxus acting that way. Though Laxus had once again refused his challenge, Natsu believed he'd accept it someday.
Besides, one guy had left, but there was still another one here.
"Noah, fight me."
"I refuse."
Noah's answer was firm.
It wasn't that he didn't want to humor Natsu. It was just that Natsu was a battle maniac who always wanted to take on any powerful mage he met.
Even if he lost, he might challenge them again the very next day. Gray's nickname for him, "one-track mind," suited Natsu perfectly.
Picking Happy up along the way, Noah headed for Makarov at the bar, petting the cat as he went.
"Guild Master, I'm here to report my commission."
Though Noah had completed the commission and collected the reward, he still had to report it to the guild for its records and pay the guild's share.
The bulk of the funds needed to keep a magic guild running came from taking a cut of commission rewards. Fairy Tail was no exception.
For each commission completed by a member, Fairy Tail took one percent of the reward to cover the guild's operating costs.
For example, Noah's reward for this job had been three million, plus an additional two and a half million. The guild's cut came to just fifty-five thousand.
Based on what Noah had learned about Fairy Tail over the past three months, that percentage wasn't nearly enough to cover compensation for the damage guild members caused during missions.
And that didn't even include the salaries for guild positions.
So Noah suspected Makarov was using his pension to make up the shortfall. Otherwise, the guild must have had some other, secret source of income.
Makarov took the commission slip from Noah. He'd been fuming over his grandson just moments ago, but his face immediately lit up.
He'd turned a three-million commission into five and a half million. This kid was pretty good.
Of course, Makarov didn't know Noah still had two million he hadn't reported. That was the operation money Rena had provided, not part of the commission reward.
"So that's why you've been missing for the past couple of days. You weren't slacking off in your dorm—you were out on a job."
In high spirits, Makarov teased Noah a little. As guild master, how could he not know that the guild's combat instructor was a world-class slacker?
Noah gave him a helpless look. "I don't want to work either. If Erza hadn't come looking for me, she'd have chopped me up if I'd dared refuse."
"Aye! Noah, you seem really scared of Erza!" Happy was enjoying Noah's massage so much that his whole body seemed to be melting.
Makarov chuckled. "He's not scared. Noah's just lazy, and someone as strict and assertive as Erza makes him uncomfortable."
Noah couldn't be bothered to argue. He only yawned, planning to check the port for any discounted potato chips.
[Ding~]
[You have received a new Otherworld Commission. Please check it.]
Well, he'd just finished working, and now another job was coming in?
Noah looked around. There weren't many people in the guild, so he found an inconspicuous corner and sat down, conjuring the magic in his hands.
[Otherworld Prayer Commission]
[Hero of the Marines Monkey D. Garp has been troubled lately over how to raise his two grandsons. He hopes to receive some excellent parenting advice.]
[Reward: Independently master a power from another world: "Armament Haki"]
[Deadline: Before Ace meets Sabo]
After reading the details, Noah furrowed his brow. Like the one about "putting together the Millennium Puzzle," this one had a strange time limit.
There was something wrong with this magic!
How was he supposed to know when that "Ace" would meet "Sabo"?!
Still, the reward was tempting: "Armament Haki," a power from the world where the Hero of the Marines, Garp, lived.
It sounded pretty cool.
But asking a homebody like Noah for advice on raising children was just too much.
Fortunately, Fairy Tail currently had two father figures.
He glanced at Macao, who was playing horsey with his four-year-old son, but decided to ask Makarov, who had more experience.
"Parenting advice? Why are you asking about that?"
Makarov gave Noah a stern look, eyeing him suspiciously. "You wouldn't happen to be..."
"Guild Master! Don't get the wrong idea!"
Noah hurriedly cut the old man off, explaining that he was still single. He was only asking because he wanted to give some parenting advice to a soldier friend.
Soldiers hardly ever got to see their families, let alone raise their children.
Makarov nodded, then sighed to himself. When it came to raising his own descendants, he couldn't exactly call himself a success...
A son who'd tried to steal a forbidden item from the guild.
A rebellious grandson who wanted to make the guild stronger but resorted to extreme methods.
In that case, he might as well sum up his failures and offer the Marine some advice.
Makarov spoke, and Noah took notes in his notebook.
First and most important, teach children right from wrong as early as possible.
Next, be firm but fair when raising them. It was fine to punish them when they did something wrong, but don't be too harsh. The punishment only needed to teach them a lesson.
Above all, don't let unsavory people get near them, lest they fill the children's heads with evil ideas. Young children's thinking was easiest to warp at that age.
You could send them to preschool.
After returning to his dorm, Noah copied Makarov's parenting advice into another notebook and kept it, in case it came in handy someday.
He slipped the notebook into the pure-white glow of the Prayer magic and waited quietly. Based on past experience, it would only take a few minutes for the reward to arrive.
Sure enough, the "Ding~" soon rang out in his mind.
[Otherworld Commission completed]
[Reward: Independently master "Armament Haki"]
[Client's comment: Zephyr's a real pushover. Sengoku and I only had to beat each other up for a day before he agreed to set up a preschool for my two grandsons at the Marine Headquarters Training Camp.
As for Sengoku, that old fool seems to have noticed Ace's identity. But he didn't expose it on the spot, so it should be fine.]
Noah's mouth fell open. What had he just read?!
They'd sent two little kids to military school?!!
What kind of person did that?!
Those two called "Zephyr" and "Sengoku" were obviously taking out their anger on your grandsons!
Still, this Hero of the Marines sounded surprisingly tough.
At this point, all Noah could do was wish him luck.
Before you continue