Taking Root in Fairy Tail

Magic Council

Smack! A councilman viciously slammed the newspaper in his hand onto the table.

"Those Fairy Tail lot again! Just to capture a handful of petty traffickers, they destroyed half the harbor! The complaint letters against them are already piled as high as a mountain!"

"Councilman Org, calm down first. Isn't this sort of thing happening every day? Though they have caused trouble, the number of Dark Guilds they've destroyed over the years is countless. Their merits and faults balance each other out."

"Councilman Yajima, I know you're close with Fairy Tail's guild master. Of course you'd speak up for them."

Yajima was completely unaffected by Org's words. "Am I wrong? The Dark Guilds that Ye alone has wiped out over the years probably outnumber what our Magic Council has dealt with."

Yajima's words sent Org's blood pressure soaring. "You...! You...!"

Crawford Seam tapped the table. "All right, all right, stop arguing, you two. Now isn't the time for a fight. Let's deal with this issue first, or it'll damage our image among the people."

Suddenly, a beautiful female councilwoman turned to the young, handsome councilman beside her. "So this is War God Ye, the one known as the strongest creature on land. What do you think of him? Could you handle him?"

The handsome councilman said to the beautiful councilwoman, "You seem pretty eager to see me fight him."

The councilwoman smiled slightly. "I'm just curious which of you is stronger."

"Wow, so this is Fairy Tail? It's amazing!" Lucy said excitedly as she stared at the gates before her.

Natsu and Ye exchanged a look, as if asking, You kick it, or I kick it?

Ye nodded at Natsu, who immediately understood and went up to deliver a kick!

"We're back!"

Bucktooth Bro saw Natsu return and said, "Yo, Natsu, you're back! You guys really did something spectacular this time, huh? In Hargeon..."

Natsu angrily kicked Bucktooth Bro flying. "Bastard, the information you gave me was completely fake!"

Bucktooth Bro got to his feet, furious. "How was I supposed to know it was fake? I only heard there was information about the Fire Dragon, so I kindly told you!"

Natsu snapped, "What did you say?!"

"You wanna fight, bastard?!"

In an instant, Fairy Tail descended into a brawl. Lucy stared blankly at the scene before her. Once she came back to herself, she sighed in admiration. "Amazing! So I really made it to Fairy Tail!"

Ye looked at Lucy and smiled. "Come on, don't just stand there. Let's find Mira and have her stamp your guild emblem."

When Lucy heard Mira's name, her eyes filled with admiration. "Mirajane?! I've seen her in magazines!"

"Let's go!"

Lucy asked worriedly, "But is it really okay to just leave them like that?"

Ye said slowly, "It's fine. This is an everyday occurrence. Someone will stop them."

Ye brought Lucy to the bar where Mira was.

"I'm back! Did you miss me?" Ye gazed at Mira affectionately.

Mira smiled. "Oh my, you finally decided to come back? You were gone for a whole month, and you brought back a pretty girl too. Are you finally coming clean with me?"

Ye wore a heartbroken expression and dropped to one knee before Mira. "Oh, woe is me! How could you doubt my feelings for you? Do you know how agonizing this past month has been? There were ugly monsters everywhere. I nearly got styes just from looking at them."

For a moment, Mira truly could not think of a way to respond to Ye like this. "All right, stop fooling around. It wouldn't look good in front of the newcomer."

Lucy said in surprise, "It's fine, you can keep going. Don't mind me." So Ye and Mira are a couple. But those words are so mushy. I should stay farther away from Ye in the future.

Suddenly, Gray came flying over completely naked and looked at Lucy. "Miss, if you don't mind, could I borrow your underwear?"

Lucy was instantly startled. When she came to her senses, she grabbed a stool and sent Gray flying. "Of course not!"

Leo swept Lucy into his arms. "How can crude men like you treat a girl this way?"

Before he could finish, Elfman punched him flying. "A real man uses his fists!" As soon as he said that, Natsu casually knocked him flying as well. Elfman crashed into Mirajane, flattening her beneath him until her soul nearly left her body.

Seeing Mira pinned to the ground and looking like she was about to die, Ye's face darkened as a terrifying aura radiated from him.

"You bastards dare hurt my Mira? Die!" Ye swung his fist, and a powerful blast of wind instantly erupted, sending everyone in the guild flying.

Lucy stared at the scene in utter disbelief.

Suddenly, Lucy noticed that the surroundings had darkened. She sensed something enormous behind her. "You brat, didn't I tell you not to fight inside the guild?!"

"Yo, Guild Master, you're here? It's only been a month, and you've grown so tall."

Hearing Ye's teasing, veins bulged on Makarov's forehead. "You brat!!"

He immediately punched Ye flying, then turned an unfriendly gaze toward Lucy. "You're the newcomer~"

Lucy was so frightened that she stammered, "Y-yes! Yes, I am!"

Makarov instantly dispelled his magic and slowly shrank before Lucy.

Lucy watched the giant turn into a tiny old man and exclaimed in surprise, "So small! The guild master is this small?"

Makarov said kindly, "Nice to meet you!"

Mira appeared beside Lucy and explained, "That's right. He's Fairy Tail's guild master, Mr. Makarov."

After greeting her, Makarov instantly leaped toward the second floor. Unfortunately, he misjudged the force and smacked his head against the railing.

Seeing this, everyone fell silent, except Ye, who mocked him. "Pfft, how lame!"

Makarov steadied himself and could not be bothered to pay Ye any attention. He said angrily, "You lot caused trouble again! See these documents in my hand? They're all complaints about you!"

"First, Gray. Someone complained that you ran around naked and stole other people's clothes."

Gray said slowly, "I can't exactly go without clothes, can I?"

Elfman remarked, "Then don't take them off in the first place."

"And Cana, you drank at the client's place and put it on the Magic Council's tab."

Cana said indignantly, "Tch! So they found out?"

"And Elfman, you beat up a client."

"The most infuriating one is Ye! You destroyed half the harbor just to capture traffickers!"

Ye protested, "Natsu was clearly the one who did that. How did it become my fault?"

"You lot get me chewed out by the Magic Council every single day!"

Watching the angry guild master, Lucy looked at everyone with some concern.

Then Makarov's tone suddenly changed. He used magic to burn the complaint letters and said seriously, "Let the Magic Council eat shit!"

"Listen up! The power that surpasses persistence comes entirely from unwavering belief. Magic is not some miraculous power. It is a power manifested when the flow within our bodies merges with the flow of nature. It is forged through spiritual strength and concentration—no! Only by pouring your entire soul into it can magic take form. If you keep worrying about the opinions of those lofty fools, you will never improve your magic. Don't fear those Magic Council bastards. Move forward on the path you believe in! That is what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard!"

Oh!!!! Oh!!!! Yeah!!!!...

Lucy looked at the scene before her and thought, Mom, I think I've joined an amazing guild!

After Makarov's lesson, the guild returned to its usual peace. Lucy finally had her own Fairy Tail emblem stamped on her, and she happily ran over to Natsu to share the news. "Natsu, look! It's my emblem!"

Natsu said indifferently, "Is that so~ Congratulations, Louise!"

Lucy angrily bared her sharp teeth. "It's Lucy!!"

Just as Natsu was looking at the request board to pick a job, a child's voice came from the bar, asking Makarov a question.

"Hasn't my dad come back yet? He said three days, but it's been almost a week."

Makarov looked at the child before him. "You're awfully noisy, Romeo. Since you're a wizard's child, you should trust your father and wait obediently for him to come home."

Romeo angrily punched Makarov, then ran out crying. Seeing this, Natsu angrily punched the request board before leaving with Happy.

Watching what had happened, Ye said, "Lucy, go after Natsu!"

Lucy was confused. "Why me?"

Ye picked at his ear. "Consider it your first job after joining the guild. It'll also help you get familiar with the process."

Lucy was left speechless by his words, so she ran after Natsu.

At dusk, Natsu and Lucy supported Macao as they came to Romeo. Looking at the warm scene of father and son reunited, Lucy felt an unusual sense of envy.

Lucy had finally put down roots in Fairy Tail as well. She rented a house for 70,000 J a month and began her days of struggling to pay rent.