Chapter 23: Weekly Sorcerer
Chapter 23: Weekly Sorcerer
"Thank you," Rod said to Mira, grateful for her kindness. "Now I understand why Laki said no one has ever seen Mystogan's true face."
Mira still seemed a bit worried and continued, "Yeah, he's always so mysterious. He must have his reasons."
"Huh, even Erza fell for it?" Rod noticed the entire guild was in disarray. "Does that mean Mystogan is much stronger than Erza?"
"Not necessarily," Mira replied. "If it came to a direct fight, Erza would have ways to defend against that kind of sleep magic. It's hard to determine without a serious battle."
"I see," Rod nodded.
Mira... though she claims not to be good at fighting, she always seems to know exactly what to say about it.
Is it because she knows her comrades so well? Or because she's seen so many fights?
In the guild, many people were talking about Mystogan. Some didn't care and went about their business. Others were proud to have such a powerful mage in their ranks, looking at him with admiration. A few were irritated and muttered about giving him a good beating someday.
This is how the members of Fairy Tail interact: they freely express their personalities and accept others' quirks. If they can't accept, they settle their differences with a fight. And after the fight, they're still family.
As Mira said, you can express your likes and dislikes directly.
"Alright, now I hate Mystogan. I'll have to beat him up seven ways from Sunday," Rod declared.
This kind of talk fits the guild's style, but it might be a bit of a challenge to actually do it.
"About that... you'll need to work hard," Mira chuckled. "And the phrase 'seven ways from Sunday'..."
"Is that wrong?" Rod quickly responded. "My magic is definitely for group battles. When I beat him up, it won't just be seven ways from Sunday."
Mira gave him an exasperated look.
...
"Alright! Mystogan has his reasons, and he'll explain them to you later. Now..."
Makarov silenced the guild's complaints and subtly glanced at Rod.
Seeing Mira talking to him, the guild master relaxed a bit and then glared at Gray. "Gray!"
"Yes!" Gray instinctively stood up straight.
"Your actions got me lectured by the council again!"
"I-I'm sorry!" Gray averted his eyes, looking guilty.
At that moment, Natsu returned to the guild, fuming after failing to catch Mystogan. But when he saw Gray's expression, he burst into laughter, the flames in his throat almost visible:
"Hahaha! Gray, you got scolded again!"
"Tch..." Gray gritted his teeth. "That Natsu..."
Being scolded by the guild master was bad enough, but being mocked by Natsu was even worse.
"You too, Natsu!" Makarov then turned to Natsu, "Why did a simple wild boar hunt end up burning down several acres of crops? You even dried up the rice paddies!"
Natsu and Gray stood side by side, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Damn it! The damage you caused is almost as bad as the boar's!"
The guild master raged at them for several minutes, using magic to enlarge his head and bellow into their ears with a mouth big enough to swallow two people.
Natsu and Gray were almost blown away by the force of his voice.
Despite the long scolding, Makarov didn't say a word about them changing their bad habits or give them any real punishment.
Master Makarov vented his anger and then returned to his desk to continue writing his apology letter.
Natsu had already compensated the farmer for the destroyed fields, so that wasn’t a concern.
Gray’s sincere apology to the client was commendable, though his promise to “never do it again” could be taken with a grain of salt.
Next time, it would be best not to assign Gray to any more escort missions involving ladies.
Makarov caught a glimpse of a handsome guy chatting with two beautiful women on the stairs—Loki couldn’t be assigned to such missions either.
That guy had made a move on a female artist from a talent agency, leading to a formal complaint.
Makarov sighed, “None of them ever give me a moment’s peace…”
But seeing how noisy, energetic, and lively the kids were, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy.
It was a happy kind of trouble.
Mira timely brought up some tea and snacks, which slightly lifted Makarov’s spirits.
He pushed his luck, “It would be better if you could replace the tea with alcohol.”
“No way, Master,” Mira placed her hands on her hips, “You drank a lot yesterday. No more drinking today. You should take care of yourself!”
“Right…” Makarov replied, listlessly.
He himself was also a source of trouble.
...
“Of course we have the magazine.”
During the afternoon break, Laki, in response to Rod’s question, rummaged through the counter and pulled out a book.
“This is Weekly ‘Soshara,’ the most popular wizard magazine right now. This issue is a few weeks old, and I forgot to bring it back.”
Rod took it and looked at the cover, which featured three wizards. One of them was Mr. Shiba, who had installed a language pack for him.
The other two had their own unique styles, but the poses they struck together reminded him of Team Rocket.
“Are they all from Blue Pegasus?” Rod asked.
Laki nodded, “Yes, this issue’s focus is on Blue Pegasus, a guild known for its handsome members.”
Rod suspected Laki had left it there because she wanted to look at the handsome men and had simply forgotten to take it back.
Flipping through the magazine, the first page was a photo spread of Shiba, followed by information about his age, magic, preferences, and relationship status.
The next pages featured two other members of the same guild and team, in a similar format.
“Iv of Holy Night,” “Shiba of Hundred Nights,” and “Ren of Empty Night” formed Blue Pegasus’s flagship team, Tri Men’s.
In the interview section, they mentioned having a powerful wizard as their captain and mentor.
All three praised him as a very manly wizard, a figure they admired and looked up to as a big brother and teacher.
That man was known as the strongest wizard of Blue Pegasus, Yuka Wandalerei.
Unfortunately, Mr. Yuka learned that the magazine had limited space, so he generously gave the spotlight to his three teammates, a touching gesture.
“He’s a good guy,” Rod continued flipping through the pages.
The next page was a clear advertisement, promoting a product called ‘Magic Mosquito Repellent’—a spray that kept mosquitoes at bay.
From the ad, it seemed to be much more effective than incense or other repellents.
The advertiser had even paid extra for special effects.
Since Rod spent enough time on the ad page, the magazine glowed and projected a 3D image in the air, demonstrating the repellent’s usage.
With professional narration and high-quality ad copy, even the poor Rod was tempted to buy a bottle.
The timeline shows that it’s about eleven and a half months before Lucy joins the guild and the main story begins.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
