"To welcome one person, they actually remodeled an entire town? Even the king wouldn't get treatment like this, would he?"
Lu Chongwei pointed at the moving houses, his tone carrying both amusement and disbelief.
Gildarts sighed. The helpless look on his face deepened, and he slumped like a deflated ball.
"Cut it out, kid."
Gildarts grimaced and spread his hands, putting on the air of a victim.
"This isn't some kind of welcoming ceremony. It's all because of that damn 'Gildarts Mode'!"
"Gildarts Mode?"
Lu Chongwei repeated the phrase, one eyebrow lifting slightly. The name sounded both imposing and oddly strange.
Gildarts looked aggrieved, as if he'd suffered some terrible injustice.
"Yeah! It's because I used to get a little... uh, a little distracted while walking."
As he spoke, Gildarts' voice grew noticeably quieter, and his eyes began to wander toward a nearby telephone pole.
"Distracted?"
Lu Chongwei latched onto the key word. He sized up the man before him, known as the strongest Mage in Fairy Tail, and found it hard to connect "getting distracted" with "remodeling a town."
"They did this to the city just because you got distracted?"
Gildarts waved his hand in irritation, as if swatting away some annoying fly.
"Those guys said that when I get distracted, I unconsciously use Crush Magic and turn everything in my way into rubble!"
His tone was full of grievance, as if he were the poor, mistreated wife in the situation.
"So whenever I come back, the whole town switches to this straight-to-the-guild setup, because they're afraid I'll demolish someone's house. Now the residents see me as some great demon king who destroys towns!"
Lu Chongwei's mouth twitched as he listened. Looking at Gildarts' indignant expression, he already believed about eighty percent of it.
That explained everything.
Why this man, despite looking so amiable, got treated like royalty.
"Even coming home turns into this huge spectacle. Everyone's watching me. It's really embarrassing!"
Gildarts covered his face with both hands and groaned. Through the gaps between his fingers, Lu Chongwei could still see his flushed old face.
Lu Chongwei crossed his arms and regarded him skeptically, clearly unwilling to let the subject go so easily.
"When you say you got 'a little' distracted, how much damage did you actually cause?"
Lu Chongwei asked bluntly, his gaze sharp.
Gildarts stiffened. He lowered his hands and glanced around, mumbling vaguely.
"Not that much... Maybe... probably..."
"Give me a number."
Lu Chongwei pressed him. He knew exactly how guys like this operated: unless you grilled them, you'd never get the truth.
Seeing there was no way out, Gildarts steeled himself and started counting on his fingers.
"Ahem. One time, I probably destroyed twenty-one houses."
Lu Chongwei's eyes widened.
"Twenty-one?!"
Gildarts quickly waved his hands, trying to explain.
"That was an accident! A complete accident! Another time was less—only eighteen."
He said it so casually, as if they were eighteen toy blocks and not the homes of eighteen families.
Lu Chongwei felt his breath catch for a moment.
"What about the other times?"
Gildarts scratched the stubble on his chin, looking as if he were trying hard to remember.
"The time before that was something like twenty-four... As for earlier ones, well, I'm getting old. I can't remember clearly."
Lu Chongwei was utterly speechless.
He looked at the innocent expression on the older man's face and felt the vein in his forehead throb.
Dozens of houses!
Did this guy walk around with his eyes closed, driving a bulldozer?
"Now I finally understand why the residents made that decision."
Lu Chongwei took a deep breath, his tone utterly sincere.
"If I were the mayor, I wouldn't just remodel the town. I'd hang a 'Dangerous' sign around your neck."
Gildarts' mouth twitched. He was about to protest, but Lu Chongwei continued.
"You're not a Mage. You're a human bulldozer. Even a demolition crew couldn't work as fast as you."
At the teasing remark, Gildarts' embarrassment suddenly vanished, and his eyes lit up as if he'd found a lifeline.
"Hey! You think I'm impressive too, don't you?"
Gildarts puffed out his chest and brushed at the bangs he didn't have, his face brimming with pride.
"Sure, I've destroyed a few houses, but that just goes to show how powerful my magic is! And let me tell you, women love this kind of wild, destructive charm!"
Looking at the older man, who'd gone from ashamed to conceited in an instant, Lu Chongwei felt a wave of contempt.
What was this guy's face made of?
A moment ago, he'd been complaining about being treated like a demon king. Now he was bragging about his appeal to women?
"Sure, sure. You're the greatest. Every woman in town is falling for you. Happy now?"
Lu Chongwei rolled his eyes and humored him, quickening his pace as he walked. He just wanted to get away from this embarrassing guy.
The two continued along the absurdly wide road.
Before long, a magnificent building came into view.
It was a three-story structure with a distinct European style. Metal studs adorned its massive wooden doors, giving them a rustic, solid appearance.
A huge flag fluttered atop the roof in the wind.
It bore a peculiar design, something like a leaping fairy with a flamboyant tail.
"We're here. This is our guild—Fairy Tail."
Gildarts stopped and looked up at the flag. The frivolous expression left his eyes, replaced by deep affection and pride.
Lu Chongwei stopped too. He looked over the building, which seemed more like a tavern than a Mage guild, and finally fixed his gaze on the emblem.
"Fairy Tail?"
Lu Chongwei murmured the name, knitting his brows slightly.
"The name sounds... pretty strange."
He spoke frankly. After all, in a world full of magic and dragons, naming a fighting guild after a body part of a fairy-tale creature seemed out of place no matter how you looked at it.
Gildarts wasn't offended. Instead, as if he'd expected Lu Chongwei's reaction, he smiled meaningfully.
He turned around, putting the sun behind him, and his tall figure cast a shadow across the ground.
"Strange? Maybe."
Gildarts' voice grew low and resonant, like a bard recounting an ancient legend.
"Do you know, Lu Chongwei? Whether fairies exist in this world is still a mystery."
Lu Chongwei paused, surprised that Gildarts had suddenly brought this up.
"If no one knows whether fairies exist, then whether they have tails is an even greater mystery."
Gildarts raised a hand and pointed to the fluttering flag, his eyes shining with something called "dreams."
"Because it's unknown, it's full of endless possibilities."
His voice echoed along the empty street, carrying a power that struck straight to the heart.
Before you continue