Chapter 91: Erza's Little Troubles
Chapter 91: Erza's Little Troubles
"Ouch!"
Rod, who was contemplating his next training plan, suddenly heard Natsu's scream of pain.
"Why is Gramps hitting so hard today!"
Next, it was Happy's voice: "Natsu feels pain? That's a lie, right? But the Master just used fire magic!"
"Be more obedient if you're afraid of pain!"
Makarov scolded Natsu a few times, then watched as the red light around him slowly faded, lost in thought.
A flame that could make Natsu feel pain must not be an ordinary one.
Feeling a bit guilty, Rod returned to the guildhall and sat on a stool at the bar.
Seeing that Mira wasn't busy, he asked, "Natsu got hit again, what for this time?"
"Because he fought with Nab and almost burned the job board." Mira looked at the bump on Natsu's head and found it increasingly amusing.
Rod's guilt vanished by 99.99% at the thought of the job board getting burned. Natsu had been acting a bit more irritable lately, ever since the "Investigate the Volcano Monster" mission. He had been expecting a clue about the fire dragon, Igneel, but instead found a fire lizard living in the volcano.
Although they completed the mission successfully without causing much trouble, Natsu still felt frustrated. Since then, he and Happy hadn't taken on any new missions for ten days.
Rod had a bit of a hand in that, making sure Natsu's expenses for eating and drinking weren't too high these past few days.
Mira thought for a moment and asked, "What was that magic the Master used?"
"How do you know I know?"
"The Master knows fire magic, but it's the most basic kind. The one he used just now was completely different."
"True to form, Mira." There was no reason to hide it, so Rod explained, "That was a special ability of the wild monster I summoned today."
Mira feigned anger, "Now you call me Mira, but why didn't you call me to watch when you were testing the new magic?"
"Because it's a new monster. Although all the monsters I've summoned so far follow my commands, there's a chance a new one might go berserk."
Rod didn't plan to involve Mira when summoning or receiving new monsters. Unless she could return to her S-Class level, he didn't want to risk her getting hurt if something went wrong.
He felt a bit guilty about always bothering the Master.
Maybe he should treat the Master to a drink... but Mira had recently restricted the Master's drinking, so that was out of the question.
Rod, the ungrateful one.
"The phrase 'follow commands' sounds strange when you use it like that." Mira thought for a moment but couldn't immediately think of a better word.
She chuckled, "You've almost made me forget how to speak."
Rod patted his chest, "No problem, I'll teach you the common language, it's my duty."
" Spare me." Mira laughed, "Why don't you learn from Levy instead?"
"Must you always drag me into your flirting?" Levy put down a few glasses she had just collected and made a prayer-like gesture, looking somewhat entranced as she said, "Ah~ This is what they mean when they say love is like a tornado. When it comes roaring in, it sometimes affects those who merely admire it!"
"Levy~" Mira was used to Levy's 'nonsense' and didn't even blush.
Rod remained composed, silently wishing she would talk more.
"By the way, Mira, what's wrong with Erza today? She looks pretty down." Levy pointed to a corner of the guild.
Rod was puzzled, "Erza is in the guild?"
If Erza were here, how could Natsu dare to act so recklessly, and even require the Guild Master to step in to calm things down? Rod looked curiously in the direction Laki was pointing.
Erza’s head was bowed, her eyes seemingly fixed on the table. Her scarlet hair cascaded down both sides of her face, and her entire body was motionless, devoid of any vitality. She exuded an aura of decay, and staring at her for a few seconds made it feel as though she had faded and turned gray.
Mirajane spoke with a hint of sympathy, “Erza encountered an unexpected incident during her mission.”
Laki’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You can’t be serious! This is Erza we’re talking about! The Erza!”
“Even Erza has her weaknesses,” Mirajane said, her sympathy seeming to wane as she couldn’t help but chuckle.
Then, she added hesitantly, “But maybe it’s not a good idea to spread this around?”
Rod, noticing her expression, knew she was dying to share the story. In such situations, all it takes is a promise of secrecy.
Sure enough, Laki, always eager for gossip, immediately grabbed Mirajane’s hand. “It’s not like it will hurt anyone if we just tell us. I promise I won’t say a word!”
She glanced at Rod.
Rod, who generally avoided such gossip, said with a straight face, “I promise too.”
As long as you keep it to yourself, it’s not really gossip.
The three of them huddled together and began to whisper.
“What?!” Laki nearly screamed, but managed to lower her voice. “Erza was confessed to?”
Rod, concerned about Erza’s well-being, asked, “What about the person? Is he still alive?”
Laki replied, “Shouldn’t you be asking who it was?”
“The person...” Mirajane drew out the words, savoring the suspense, “is Mr. One-Night from Blue Pegasus.”
“Ah~ The Blue Pegasus heartthrob...” Laki’s envious tone cut off abruptly as she asked in alarm, “One-Night?”
Mirajane nodded. “Yes, after completing her mission, Erza was resting at an inn on her way back when she met Mr. One-Night. He seems to have seen Erza accompanying the Guild Master to a routine meeting and fell in love at first sight.”
“Ah... Poor Erza.”
Laki didn’t know much about One-Night, but as one of Blue Pegasus’s top mages, she had seen his photos. He was unforgettable.
Rod felt the same. One-Night was the kind of person you couldn’t forget after seeing him once.
While it was unfair to judge someone solely by their appearance, the information Rod had gathered left a strong impression of One-Night’s looks, which was hard to ignore.
“Mr. One-Night only confessed and said some sweet things, nothing too over the line. And he’s not a bad person, so Erza didn’t know what to do.”
Mirajane’s tone was a mix of sympathy and a bit of schadenfreude. “Being pursued by someone strange can be really frustrating. Erza had no choice but to run back and has been sitting there, lost in thought, not even bothering to repair her damaged armor from the battle.”
Rod reflected on himself, deciding he wasn’t exactly the type of ‘strange person’ Erza had to deal with. He then began to feel sympathy for her.
Come to think of it, Loki was nearly beaten to a pulp when he pursued Erza, while One-Night’s confession only managed to disgust her without any serious consequences...
Clearly, Loki deserved it, and One-Night was genuinely a good person.
(End of Chapter)
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