"Hey, kid, your name's Erza, right? Come on, let's get your guild mark stamped!"
He looked so eager, as if he were afraid Erza might change her mind and run off the next second.
Erza was a little overwhelmed by this sudden enthusiasm.
She looked at Lu Chongwei.
Lu Chongwei smiled and nodded, giving her an encouraging look.
Erza took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"I want it... on my left shoulder."
Her voice still trembled a little, but there was a firm resolve in it.
"And I want it in red."
"No problem! Red it is! Red is festive!"
Without another word, Makarov picked up the stamp and slapped it onto Erza's left shoulder.
The bright-red emblem stood out against her fair skin.
After stamping her, Makarov jumped straight onto the bar.
"Everyone! Quiet down!"
He waved his arms and shouted.
The din in the hall fell silent at once.
"Starting today, Erza is one of our family! Anyone who dares bully her will answer to me!"
"Wooooo!!!"
The guild erupted in cheers.
Everyone raised their glasses and smiled warmly at Erza.
That wholehearted acceptance finally let the tension that had kept Erza on edge melt away.
Just then,
a scruffy-looking middle-aged man with a pipe in his mouth sidled up to Lu Chongwei.
It was Wakaba.
He nudged Lu Chongwei in the side with his elbow and gave him a sly, knowing grin.
"Hey, Lu Chongwei, that girl's quite a looker."
Wakaba blew out a ring of smoke, looking thoroughly nosy.
"Don't tell me you picked up a little girlfriend while you were out?"
Lu Chongwei rolled his eyes and replied irritably,
"Don't make things up. I found her at sea. She had nowhere to go, so I brought her back."
"Oooh..."
Wakaba drew out the sound, wearing an expression that said, "I get it. I totally get it."
"So you found her, huh... Tsk, young people these days sure have their tricks."
He patted Lu Chongwei on the shoulder again and said earnestly,
"Don't worry, this old man knows how to keep his mouth shut. I won't go spreading it around. The whole 'raise her into your ideal woman' thing—I get it."
Lu Chongwei watched Wakaba's lecherous expression, a vein throbbing in his forehead.
What kind of garbage was this old man thinking about?
"What the hell do you know?"
Lu Chongwei gave Wakaba a humorless smile.
"Uncle Wakaba, looks like you want to spar with me?"
Wakaba took one look at Lu Chongwei's "kind" expression and shuddered.
As if!
That kid had even burned Gildarts. His own old bones wouldn't survive the beating.
"Ahem... I just remembered I left the gas on at home! I'm off!"
Wakaba made himself scarce, slipping into the crowd and vanishing in a flash.
Lu Chongwei shook his head helplessly.
He glanced over at Erza, who was surrounded by Mirajane and Cana, both fussing over her. Once he was sure she was beginning to fit in, he prepared to head home and rest.
That trip out to sea had really worn him out.
He had just reached the door when—
Creak—
The guild doors swung open.
A fierce aura swept through the room, bringing Lu Chongwei to a halt.
A tall, blond young man walked in.
He wore a leather coat with a fur collar and a pair of magic headphones around his ears. A lightning-shaped scar ran across his right eye, and his gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, carrying an air of unrestrained arrogance.
Laxus.
Makarov's grandson, and one of the strongest members of the guild's younger generation.
Laxus spotted Lu Chongwei and paused briefly.
Their eyes met, and the atmosphere immediately grew tense.
The two had clashed once before. Back then, Lu Chongwei had suppressed Laxus with his powerful physical abilities and the power of Ikkaku's Shikai, and Laxus had never gotten over it.
"Hmph."
Laxus snorted and walked straight over to Lu Chongwei.
He looked down at him, a provocative smile on his face.
"I hear you've been pretty active lately, Lu Chongwei."
Laxus took off his headphones and hung them around his neck.
"But don't get too full of yourself. I've taken plenty of S-Class-level jobs lately. I'm not the same person I was before."
He poked Lu Chongwei in the chest with a finger.
"The S-Class Mage Promotion Trial is coming up at the end of the year. When it does, I'll show you who's really the strongest."
Lu Chongwei brushed his hand aside, his expression calm.
"I'll be waiting."
Laxus narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over the guild members horsing around nearby, a look of disdain flashing in his eyes.
"Also, here's some advice."
He lowered his voice, his tone laced with arrogance.
"Stop hanging around with these weaklings all day. Spend enough time with the weak, and you'll grow weak too."
"In this guild, only the strong deserve to survive."
Lu Chongwei frowned slightly.
That guy's rotten belief that strength was everything still hadn't changed.
"Laxus, we're all partners. There's no such thing as strong or weak among us."
Lu Chongwei spoke evenly.
"Partners?"
Laxus sounded as if he'd just heard a joke.
"That's just an excuse the weak make. The strongest can only come from among us. The rest... are nothing but dead weight."
With that, he paid Lu Chongwei no more attention and headed for the mission board on the second floor.
He casually tore down the bounty mission with the highest reward and greatest difficulty, didn't even look at it, then leaped down from the second floor and strode out of the guild.
Through it all, he didn't even greet his grandfather, Makarov.
Lu Chongwei watched him go and sighed helplessly.
That wasn't the mindset of a strong man.
It was the attitude of a rebellious teenager desperate to prove himself to his parents.
"He wants to be acknowledged, but he goes about it in such a roundabout way..."
Lu Chongwei shook his head.
Laxus's words had been harsh, but his determination to grow stronger wasn't unpleasant.
After leaving the guild,
Lu Chongwei passed a cake shop.
The rich, sweet aroma wafted out, tempting his appetite.
"Hey, Lu Chongwei! We just baked fresh strawberry cake. Want to try some?"
The shop owner called out to him warmly.
Lu Chongwei's eyes lit up.
"I'll take two slices!"
He sat down in the shop and took a spoonful of cake.
The fluffy cream and sweet-tart strawberries melted on his tongue, and the happiness they brought swept away all his exhaustion.
"Not bad."
Lu Chongwei narrowed his eyes, looking thoroughly satisfied.
"Now this is the life."
The next morning,
Lu Chongwei came to the guild as usual.
"Morning, Lu Chongwei."
Cana sat at a table, fiddling with her tarot cards as she greeted him.
"Morning."
Lu Chongwei went to the bar and ordered a glass of warm milk.
He looked around, his gaze settling on a table in the corner.
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