Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Chapter 210

"Fairy Tail’s been everywhere lately. At this rate, aren’t they going to become the strongest Mage guild in all of Ishgar?"

"Pretty much. The useless Magic Council makes a complete mess of things, and then a Mage guild has to clean it up for them. Honestly, that Council’s doomed sooner or later."

"Any of you know a way to get me into Fairy Tail? I don’t even need to become an official member. I’d be happy just working for them. I heard their employee benefits are insane! How much of that is actually true?"

"Oh, it’s absolutely ridiculous! Full insurance, retirement benefits, employee discounts on Fairy Tail products, all kinds of internal perks... I even heard they cover schooling for employees’ kids. You don’t have to worry about raising a family or getting old. Get hired by Fairy Tail and you’re basically set for life."

"Good luck. Ordinary people are practically fighting each other for Fairy Tail jobs these days. Apparently it’s much easier if you’re already a Mage, though. You only need ten recommendations from existing members. Maybe you should figure out how to become one."

"If I could become a Mage, would I still be sitting here drinking and talking shit with you?!"

Inside a certain tavern, a group of drunkards were enthusiastically discussing Fairy Tail’s recent rise.

Mages were among the most admired professions in the world and never lacked public attention.

Naturally, a guild being discussed as a possible candidate for the strongest Mage guild drew even more interest.

Just then, the tavern doors swung open and a large group dressed in matching uniforms entered together.

The pressure they carried with them was enough to quiet the room almost immediately.

"Hey, look over there. Don’t tell me those guys are Fairy Tail’s Thunder God Tribe?"

"The Thunder God Tribe?"

"Yeah. They’re supposed to be one of Fairy Tail’s elite teams. Really strong, almost a hundred-percent job completion rate, pretty famous too."

"Oh? How do they compare to the Fairy Queen?"

"Uh... not sure. Probably weaker than the Fairy Queen, right? She supposedly defeated one of the Ten Wizard Saints by herself..."

Laxus had paid virtually no attention to the ordinary people gossiping around him.

Then, just as he was about to sit down, he heard someone say he was weaker than Erza.

His brows immediately drew together.

One particularly sharp-eared follower reacted even faster, pointing toward the speaker and barking in an exaggerated rolling accent,

"Oi! You bastard! What kind of crap are you talking about?! Our boss is the strongest Mage in Fairy Tail!"

"Harry. Shut up."

Laxus sat down.

He wasn’t petty enough to start a fight with a bunch of ordinary civilians over barroom gossip.

Unfortunately, the "ordinary civilians" weren’t particularly intimidated.

"What? The Thunder God Tribe has a boss? Never heard of him. Everybody knows how strong the Fairy Queen is, but I’ve never heard anything about you lot taking down a Wizard Saint."

"You little—! Looking for a fight, asshole?!"

"That’s enough, Lorne. Sit down."

With Laxus suppressing his people by sheer force of personality, the conflict seemed destined to die before it even began.

Then somebody in the tavern suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Oh! The Thunder God Tribe! Now I remember. Their leader is supposed to be Master Makarov’s grandson, right? Guess he’s just riding family connections—"

Thunder exploded through the tavern.

A moment later, the entire room had become remarkably quiet.

The members of the Thunder God Tribe immediately shut their mouths and pretended nothing had happened, while Laxus’s closest companions gathered around his table and resumed talking as though the interruption had never occurred.

Freed smiled faintly.

"We haven’t been back to the guild for a while. Erza’s reputation has really grown."

Evergreen pushed up her glasses with an irritated huff.

"Hmph. She only got the title first because she became famous earlier. Just wait. Sooner or later, I’m taking Fairy Queen away from her."

She lifted her chin.

"I’m the real Fairy Queen."

Laxus took a drink and narrowed his eyes.

"Erza shouldn’t actually be that strong."

The last time he had seen her, she still hadn’t quite reached the level of a Wizard Saint.

"I’d bet that brat Marshall had something to do with it."

Bickslow stretched out his tongue and laughed.

"You really pay a lot of attention to that kid, Laxus. Is Marshall honestly as strong as you keep saying? He never looks like much."

Freed shook his head.

"Don’t underestimate Marshall. His Script Magic is already comparable to mine, and that isn’t even his main discipline. His specialty is Light Magic. He doesn’t fight seriously very often, but his actual combat ability is extremely high."

"The biggest problem is that he isn’t even finished growing yet."

Laxus drained the rest of his ale and let out a long breath.

"Other than Gildarts, Marshall is the only person in the guild I consider a real rival."

He grimaced.

"I hate admitting it, but that little bastard is more talented than I am."

Then his expression darkened with regret.

"Too bad he refuses to work with me. If he did, the two of us could kick that old geezer out and take over the guild."

Laxus’s feelings on the subject were complicated.

Having grown up beneath Makarov’s enormous shadow, there was one title he hated more than almost anything else: the grandson of Fairy Tail’s Master.

Whenever people called him that, Laxus felt as though none of his accomplishments belonged to him.

He wanted to surpass Makarov.

Not merely as his grandson, but as a Mage.

He wanted to prove that Makarov wasn’t always right.

Originally, his plan had been straightforward.

He would develop his own team, gather enough strength, then challenge the old man directly.

Once he won, he would become Fairy Tail’s Fourth Master as the undeniable victor.

But lately... that plan had started looking increasingly impossible.

Laxus simply couldn’t see a path to victory anymore.

If Marshall sided with Makarov, then Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe had virtually no chance of taking control of the guild.

Marshall’s existence was impossible to ignore, and somehow that fact had forced even Laxus to start thinking rationally.

He had actually reached the point of asking other people for advice.

"Any of you got an idea for making Marshall turn against the old man?"

"Uh..."

The others exchanged awkward looks.

None of them had ever seriously considered something like that.

Still, if Laxus wanted an answer, they would give it their best shot.

Freed, Laxus’s most devoted admirer, genuinely began thinking.

"That’s difficult. Unless Master expelled all of Marshall’s little girlfriends from the guild?"

"Can you suggest something remotely realistic?"

"Then maybe have Master kick out everyone who doesn’t take jobs?"

Laxus stared at him.

"...My objective isn’t to drive Marshall out too."

Freed fell silent for a moment.

"Then what exactly do you want, Laxus?"

"..."

Laxus didn’t answer.

What did he want?

Marshall’s very existence was almost like a bug in the system, casually disproving everything Laxus had believed for years.

Laxus had always thought weak people were dead weight.

A guild full of weak members would never get anywhere.

Then Marshall had come along, screwed around however he pleased, and somehow dragged Fairy Tail to the verge of becoming the strongest guild on the entire continent.

Laxus had always believed that a mature Mage should focus on completing jobs efficiently.

Build a flawless completion record, earn a reputation, and prove your worth through results.

Marshall, meanwhile, was so lazy he barely accepted jobs at all.

And yet somehow everyone still trusted him.

Even Erza, who Laxus still considered only half-qualified compared with the truly elite, had now become more famous than he was.

Laxus was running out of ideas.

Raw strength was the only thing he had ever been unquestionably proud of.

Aside from completing difficult jobs better than almost anyone, he couldn’t think of another field where he could decisively beat Marshall.

If things continued like this, his reputation would fall behind Erza’s first.

Then Mirajane’s.

And after that?

Was he supposed to lose to Cana too?!

If he didn’t figure out how to make a name for himself soon, then by the time that little bastard Marshall finished growing up, Laxus might spend the rest of his life known as nothing more than Makarov’s grandson.

Absolutely not!

He refused to accept such a miserable future.

"I want..."

Laxus finally raised his head.

"I want to prove that I’m the strongest Mage in Fairy Tail."

The Thunder God Tribe exchanged another round of looks.

Then one of them slowly spoke.

"If that’s all you want... there actually might be a way."