Going Home

The ocean is vast and boundless, with no reference points whatsoever. Let alone discerning directions, even if you sent Liu Zoro, he would still drift off course from his initial destination as he swam.

Hughes flew through the air, gazing around and occasionally correcting the course of Laxus, who was swimming wildly in the sea.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take Laxus flying: firstly, the idea of two grown men being in such close proximity made Hughes uneasy; he always felt unsafe.

It's not just girls who need to protect themselves when they're out; boys need to protect themselves even more, as there are quite a few transvestites in the Fairy Tail world.

Secondly, Laxus felt it was beneath his dignity; he preferred to swim back himself rather than have Hughes fly him.

Hughes wholeheartedly agreed with Laxus's idea. To save him time and effort, Hughes even went out of his way to find some driftwood so that Laxus could paddle on it.

But who knew that this guy would collapse as soon as he got onto the driftwood, and even almost pollute the ocean? Hughes simply kicked Laxus off the boat and made him keep swimming.

Thus, the scene has evolved into this: Hughes is the scout flying in the sky, while Laxus is the burden swimming in the sea.

With the sun high in the sky, Hughes, flying overhead, rubbed his empty stomach. If he remembered correctly, he hadn't eaten anything for almost a day.

"Swim faster, Laxus, I'm starving!"

Laxus retorted as he swam, "Gurgle... gurgle, you bastard, how can you blame me? I'm hungry too!"

"But you have seawater to drink, I have nothing."

Laxus:... Is this something a human being could say?

"There's plenty of wind up there. If you're hungry, just breathe in some wind and don't bother me."

Hughes: (··?)

If I understand correctly, Laxus is saying he's acting crazy??

Hughes slowed his flight slightly, then flicked his finger, and the flame at his fingertip landed on Laxus, who was diving headfirst.

As everyone saw, it was Laxus who insulted him first; this was a reactive counterattack!

A moment later, Laxus stopped swimming, raised his chin, and said, "Hughes, can you smell something awful?"

"Oh, you mean that? I just threw a fire behind you, and your clothes are on fire now!" Hughes paused as he told the truth, then gave Laxus a thumbs-up.

"You're amazing, you didn't even feel the fire burning behind you," Hughes said admiringly.

At first, he thought there was something wrong with his flames, but it turned out the kid was just too caught up in swimming and was slow to react.

Laxus:(╯°Д°)╯┻━┻

He ripped off his clothes and saw flames burning on them. Enraged, Laxus threw the clothes at Hughes.

I don't accept old or damaged clothes here.

Hughes twisted his body in mid-air to dodge, then activated the Tekkai to disperse the lightning that was following closely behind his clothes.

"Even lightning won't be accepted."

"Laxus, you can put unwanted items in..."

Hughes stopped mid-sentence; he hadn't received any advertising fees and dared not speak carelessly.

Seeing that his attacks were ineffective against Hughes, a furious Laxus jumped out of the sea, stretched out his arms, and tried to pull Hughes into the water.

With quick reflexes, Hughes launched himself into the air with a powerful double kick, dodging Laxus's sudden attack. He then grinned smugly, inflicting both physical and psychological damage on Laxus.

Returning empty-handed, Laxus, having caught nothing, plunged into the sea with a splash, creating a large spray that would only earn him 0 points from Hughes.

"You just wait!" Laxus said threateningly, his obsession with learning flight magic running deep within him.

Upon returning, he sought out Ooji Sauce to learn flying magic.

Amidst the noise, time flew by, and the outline of the land slowly came into Hughes's view.

The night was pitch black. Laxus and Hughes finally set foot on land. They often went out to wander around... no, Laxus, who was on a mission, recognized the place at a glance and was about to speak.

"Oh, we're back in Hargeon!" Hughes pointed to a sign not far away that read "Hargeon Grand Restaurant."

Laxus's lips twitched visibly twice.

Pretending not to notice, Hughes patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go, eat first, then we'll go back to Magnolia. I remember there's an overnight bus from Hargeon to Magnolia, so we should be back at the guild around tomorrow morning."

Laxus nodded in agreement; it was a good arrangement, and he was also hungry.

Inside the Hargeon Grand Restaurant, the two ate until their bellies were round, their large appetites even attracting a large crowd of onlookers.

To be precise, they were looking at Hughes, who seemed like a demon reincarnated.

In the crowd, a beautiful young woman squatted down and said coquettishly to the middle-aged man beside her, who could rival Makarov in strength, "Honey, look at that black-haired guy, he has such a good appetite!"

With his exceptional hearing, Hughes silently acknowledged that since his physical abilities improved, his appetite had indeed grown significantly, and his food intake was increasing daily.

This is a good thing. Whether it's a mage or someone with a strong physique like Hughes, having a large appetite is always a good thing, as it allows the body to maintain a constant supply of energy.

This energy can help people accelerate their cultivation progress, speed up their recovery process, and so on.

Upon hearing this, the short, middle-aged man looked up and estimated the stack of empty plates beside Hughes's feet, which was much taller than him. "Wife, that's not a good appetite, that's a glutton no one can afford to feed!"

Hughes was immediately furious and wanted to retort, saying he'd admit he was a good-for-nothing, but to call him a good-for-nothing that no one could afford to feed was a slap in the face to our Bro La!

Hughes could tolerate being slapped in the face, but slapping Bro La in the face was something he couldn't tolerate at all.

Why, you ask?

Because Laxus paid for this meal.

"Eat, don't worry about them, we have to catch the train soon!" Laxus had already finished eating, stopped Hughes and said.

They then asked the waiter to bring Hughes another table of food.

He, Laxus, has plenty of money!

Hughes chuckled and sat back down. His earlier actions were simply to provide emotional value to Laxus, making him feel that the money was well spent and that he would treat him to meals more often in the future.

Right now, eating is the most important thing.

One person, two tables, three chefs, a group of people...

Hughes worked at the Hargeon Grand Restaurant for an hour before being stopped by the owner.

If the boss hadn't been kneeling on the ground, clinging to his legs and begging him to stop eating, Hughes felt he could have eaten until Laxus felt the pinch.

Finally, to thank Hughes for not overeating at their restaurant, the owner gave them a 20% discount.

But Laxus waved his hand dismissively, pretentiously insisting on paying the full amount; he, Laxus, was not short of money.

Hughes immediately asked the boss if he could receive the 20% discount in cash.

The boss gave Hughes a look that said he was an idiot.

"Pah, what a terrible restaurant, I'm never coming here again."

If someone else is treating, just pretend they never said that!