Looking for Macao, a Strange Girl

"Ding."

A pink guild mark appeared on Lucy's right hand.

"All right, now you're a member of Fairy Tail too."

Lucy couldn't wait to share her joy with Natsu, but a voice interrupted her.

"Wait, there's this too."

With his hair a complete mess from sleeping, Qian Guang handed Lucy a worn-out package containing various potions and a compendium of herbs.

Mira smiled at Qian Guang, but that smile looked somewhat dangerous no matter how one looked at it.

"Oh my, you're here, Qian Guang. Your hair is all messed up from sleeping. That won't do."

Mira grabbed Qian Guang's fated head. Crack. Qian Guang fell asleep again, though no one knew how long he would be out this time.

Mira placed his head against her chest and gently tidied his hair.

Lucy stared at the murder scene in terror, clutching the tattered package as she hurried away. She had better go ask Natsu instead.

Did Mirajane have a grudge against Qian Guang? That was way too brutal. She had never expected gentle-looking Sister Mira to be like this.

"Natsu! Look, I finally got my Fairy Tail mark!"

"Oh, congratulations, Louis."

"Idiot, my name is Lucy!"

Natsu was searching the notice board for a job that suited him.

"Let's find a job with a high reward, aye."

"Oh, this one. Wiping out bandits pays 160,000 J."

Seeing Natsu's excited expression, Lucy hated to interrupt him, but she still asked, "Hey, Natsu, what is this?"

As she spoke, she took out the worn-out package Qian Guang had given her.

"Oh, those are potions. It says antidote, HP recovery, and MP recovery. Pretty much everyone in the guild has them."

"Eh! These are potions made by Fairy Tail's healer!"

"Then what's this book?"

"Aye! Qian Guang wants you to gather the herbs in the book as payment."

"Ah, that's fine. I'll keep an eye out for them." Lucy was delighted. She had experienced the guild's warmth the moment she joined.

Only Happy beside her looked rather uncomfortable. "Aye, if you don't finish gathering those herbs within a month, you'll have to drink something really scary."

Natsu seemed to recall something, and the request sheet he had just been holding fell to the floor.

Seeing the man and cat's reactions, Lucy felt that things were not quite what she had imagined. She opened the book and took a look. Good grief, she couldn't recognize a single one.

If it had not included illustrations, she would have thought it was a handwriting practice book. Was "Vaccaria" seriously the name of a herb?

Actually, even if they failed, he would not randomly make them drink new medicine. It was just that the previous medicine happened to be suited to Natsu, so Qian Guang casually made up an excuse.

Unexpectedly, a month later, everyone found the materials they wanted, so he never explained it.

At that moment,

A little boy walked up to the guild master. "My dad still hasn't come back."

The guild master set down his glass. "You're being awfully noisy, Romeo."

"Since you're a wizard's son, you should trust your father and wait obediently for him to return."

"But! He clearly said he'd be back in three days. It's already been a week."

"I remember he went to Mount Hakobe for work."

"But it's not far at all! Please, go find him!"

The little boy was unconvinced. It was clear how worried he was about his father, Macao.

Qian Guang also woke up from his unconsciousness, poured himself a drink to clear his head, and looked toward the old man who said one thing but meant another.

"Your father is a wizard! There aren't any wizards in this guild who can't even handle their own problems!"

"I think you should go home and drink your milk!"

Mirajane stood behind Qian Guang with a worried expression, placing a hand on his shoulder as if asking him to persuade the guild master.

Qian Guang patted her hand and shook his head.

The old man had said those words with a heavy heart. He wanted to warn everyone in the guild to think about their own safety, and he was also protecting Macao's pride.

The little brat did not understand at all and punched the guild master right in the face. "Idiot!"

Then he ran out the door.

"The guild master is so strict," Lucy remarked.

"Don't let what he says fool you. He's more worried than anyone," Mirajane explained with her back to Lucy, as if she had remembered something.

Bang!

Natsu punched the notice board, denting it, then turned and left.

"Guild Master, is this really all right?"

"The path one chooses is not for others to decide. Let him go."

Lucy stared blankly at Natsu's retreating back. "What's wrong with that guy?"

"Well, maybe he remembered his own father. Natsu's situation is quite similar to Romeo's."

Qian Guang took a sip of wine and said with a headache, "Why did the topic suddenly get so heavy?"

"To be honest, every Fairy Tail wizard carries something."

"Pain, hidden hardships, or responsibility."

"Could I ask you to keep an eye on Natsu? I'm not comfortable with him going alone. Also, this is medicine for frostbite."

Lucy blankly accepted the potion, lowering her head as she pondered Qian Guang's words.

"Well, Lucy's actually a pretty nice person."

Qian Guang wolfed down several people's worth of food in front of him. This was Mirajane's loving homemade lunch.

"She really is a good girl, but couldn't you have gone with them?" Mirajane shot a glare at this especially destructive pig. He was lazy and ate too much.

"What does that matter? You should trust Natsu's strength. Lucy only went to make sure he doesn't get careless, and besides, I think Lucy might have wanted to go herself."

"Besides, my darling is right here. How could I run around everywhere?"

Qian Guang pulled Mirajane into his arms. Fortunately, there were not many people around at noon, or Mira would have been embarrassed to death.

The guild master automatically blocked out those two. Otherwise, it would not be good for either himself or Mira. Of course, that shameless pig would not be affected in the slightest.

Mira struggled to get up, but when she failed to resist, she simply let him hold her.

There were only two people living at home now, but because of work, they both stayed at the guild until late.

They also slept in separate beds. Although a certain someone often shamelessly climbed into her bed, she had never let him succeed.

So they could only be affectionate at the guild. Besides, they were not the only couple here; the others were even worse.

"Um, excuse me, is Qian Guang Meredith here?"

At that moment, a sweet and pleasant voice timidly came from the guild entrance.

A slender figure with long orange hair stood there, her elf-like eyes lively as they looked around. She wore a scale-patterned dress, with armor wrapping around her waist and extending up to the slight swell of her chest.

Her straight legs were wrapped in black stockings, and beneath her delicate collarbones was a mark resembling an M. If she had been in a school in his previous life, she would have been an undeniable campus beauty.

When she spotted Qian Guang at the bar, she rushed toward him like a swallow returning to its nest, completely disregarding the fact that he was holding someone.

"Brother Qian Guang!"

Mira said nothing as she watched the beautiful figure pounce over. She merely stood up with a smile, her movements gentle yet firm.

She looked at Qian Guang with a half-smile, her eyes filled with danger.

Qian Guang gently held the girl aloft with wind, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He felt that his days were numbered.

And also, miss! We don't know each other! Who are you? Why are you trying to get me killed?!