Fairy Tail

Guided by the town's signposts, Hughes and Mira's group of three soon stopped in front of a building that looked very much like a tavern.

A guild sign engraved with "Fairy Tail" hung in the most conspicuous spot on the building. Three flags spread out above it, and the middle one bore the image of a dancing fairy, glittering in the sunlight.

Standing outside the guild, Hughes could hear the piercing clamor inside with the slightest twitch of his ears. He took a sniff, and the strong smell of alcohol filled his nose and mouth.

"Fairy Tail really lives up to its name!"

The corners of Hughes's mouth rose as he sighed for no particular reason. An atmosphere this lively really was hard to dislike.

Under the gazes of Mira and the other two, Hughes gave the door a gentle push and strode in with his head held high. From now on, this would be where his dragon rose.

Smack!

A flip-flop came flying from some indiscernible direction, passed through Hughes's elementalized body, and landed squarely on Mira's forehead.

Mira's body visibly stiffened...

As for Hughes, he had known he was entering the Fairy Tail guild, so how could he possibly have come unprepared? At that moment, he was looking around with shining eyes.

The interior was laid out like a bar. In front of the counter, a female mage Hughes didn't recognize was busy carrying drinks on her palms and handing them out to those who needed them.

Every now and then, she also had to make time to deal with an old man in a clown hat who was even shorter than Lisanna.

At a row of tables in the middle, a well-behaved little girl with long brown hair and a form-fitting sundress paid no attention to the clamor around her. She excitedly laid several tarot cards on the table and studied them closely.

A moment later, the excitement on her face turned to confusion and dejection, and she looked helplessly at the large white dog by her feet.

Hughes looked at her with interest. He knew the girl: Cana Alberona, the protagonist of an otherworldly version of "Where Are We Going, Dad?" She had finally found her biological father, Gildarts, but didn't know how to tell him who she was.

Later, she became a drunkard and dressed extremely boldly and revealingly, making her one of the fanservice girls.

Behind Cana, Macao, his short blue hair standing upright, and Wakaba, sporting a pompadour, quietly set down their glasses.

With their arms around each other's shoulders, they huddled together furtively and secretly exchanged two risqué photo books.

"Wakaba, this one's huge!"

"Macao, the one in yours is really perky too!"

Hughes, who had overheard them, had conspicuous black lines on his forehead... Were these two already this sleazy at this point?

Hughes's attention soon left the two photo books, however, and turned to the middle of the room.

There, two little boys had their foreheads pressed together, glaring at each other and trading insults. Neither seemed to care that spit was flying onto the other's face.

Natsu, with short cherry-colored hair and a checked scarf wrapped around his neck, gathered flames around his fists.

"You pervy droopy-eyed bastard, you wanna fight?"

Even more extreme than the bare-chested Hughes, Gray had blue-black hair sticking up like a hedgehog's spines and wasn't wearing a stitch. Oblivious to everyone around him, he waved his stick about as cold air surged from his body.

"You slant-eyed bastard, who's afraid of you?!"

The two were on the verge of coming to blows. The onlookers egged them on, constantly hurling provocative remarks that practically called them cowards if they didn't fight.

"Natsu, get him! How can the Fire Dragon King's flames lose to ice?!"

"Gray, your master Ur was the strongest mage on the northern continent!"

Behind them, a crowd of people flocked to the betting pool Macao had set up...

"Gray's an Ice-Make mage. How could ice possibly lose to fire? Ten thousand J on Gray to win!"

"Natsu's a kid raised by a dragon, and he uses Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. There's no way he'll lose. Bet on him to win, you bastards!... Put me down for ten thousand J on Gray!"

Everyone: ???

"Why are you all looking at me? There aren't any dragons in this world. You actually believe what a kid says?! That's right, Macao, I'm betting on Gray to win!"

"Wait, why can't we bet on both? That way, even if we lose, we won't lose anything!"

"You idiots, look closely! Macao's odds are all one to one, and he takes a cut. How could you possibly make a profit?!"

"Bastard Macao, you even tricked me, Wakaba!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! You can't just take your bets back!"

"Too much trouble? Then forget it!" Someone flipped over Macao's betting table. Hughes had watched closely-it was Wakaba who had secretly done it.

"You bastards, are you looking for a fight?!" Macao roared, rolling up his sleeves.

The packed crowd suddenly erupted into a brawl, and even Natsu and Gray, who should have been the main attraction, were dragged into it.

Mira and her two siblings, standing at the entrance, edged back toward the guild doors. Three pairs of blue eyes turned to Hughes in unison. Could this really be a legitimate guild?

Hughes scratched his head. This famous scene was unfolding right before his eyes, and he couldn't explain it!

Smack!

All of a sudden, another flip-flop flew out of the crowd and landed on a slice of strawberry cake.

A scarlet-haired girl in armor, with a knight's sword hanging at her waist, stared in astonishment. The hand holding her fork froze.

She had been craving this new strawberry cake for a long time. She had only just brought it back from the counter and hadn't even had a chance to eat it.

"You bastards!!"

Clang!

The sound of a sword being drawn, the angry shout, and the imposing aura radiating from Erza brought the rowdy crowd to an abrupt, solemn silence.

"Gray, your clothes!"

"Huh? Since when?!"

Gray looked down at his naked body and covered his private parts in a panic. He remembered getting dressed before leaving home. Could someone have stolen his clothes on the way to the guild?

In an unnoticed corner, a few pieces of clothing silently wept...

"And you, Macao, Wakaba! As guild veterans, you should be setting a good example!!"

Though she was only a girl, a few short sentences from her had put an end to all the chaos.

"Mira, she's amazing!"

Lisanna and Elfman looked at Erza with admiration, but Mira didn't respond.

She had disliked the scarlet-haired girl from the moment she first saw her... Now she disliked her even more. She didn't like Lisanna and Elfman admiring a girl about her own age.

The white-haired girl, who had only just come out of her shell, felt jealousy rise within her as her true nature gradually returned.

She raised her head and glanced at Hughes, then suddenly froze. The past came back to her, and her eyes widened. She grabbed Lisanna and Elfman.

"Lisanna, Elfman, run! Hughes is having another attack!!"

The three ran in a panic to the counter... They stood behind the little old man, who was drunk and bleary-eyed, keeping him in front of them as a shield.

At the guild entrance, Hughes, whom no one was paying attention to, clutched his head with both hands. His eyes bulged and his face contorted, as though he meant to wrench his skull open.

The system was flashing missions through his mind at a frantic pace, stimulating his brain into excessive activity. Pain suddenly struck his head.

[Ding! Host detected entering pirate crew territory. Missions "Pirate Journey" and "Join a Pirate Crew" have been activated.]

[Pirate Journey: The darkness of the world unfolds before your eyes. The incompetence and corruption of various organizations appear time and again, and the world is already beyond saving. Having witnessed all manner of ugliness, you resolutely set out to sea and become a free pirate.

Note: This mission is an epic mission chain. Rewards are issued according to achievements gained at each stage. The host's current map is East Blue. The first sub-mission, "Defeat the Lord of the Coast," has been unlocked.]

[Join a Pirate Crew: Join any pirate crew.]

[Mission reward: Haki System unlocked.]

With his head buzzing, Hughes couldn't spare the attention to examine them closely. Veins stood out on his face, and his contorted expression grew increasingly frightening.

"Trash. They're all trash. They should all be destroyed."

His body abruptly stopped trembling. Hughes lowered his hands from his head and slowly looked up, a wild, arrogant expression on his face.