I failed.
Four simple words stirred up a storm among the now-quieted guild members. From Natsu and Gray to everyone else, disbelief painted every face.
Though they were incredibly unwilling to admit it, they had to acknowledge that Chase's S-Class mage title was earned through real combat—no exaggeration, no padding.
And a man like that couldn't even complete a so-called Ten-Year Quest?!
"Is that so? Even you couldn't do it..."
Makarov, as chairman, was equally surprised. His brow furrowed slightly. "What exactly happened?"
In his estimation, given Chase's strength, while he might not achieve a flawless speedrun, completing the request shouldn't have been particularly difficult—just a matter of investing more time.
That was precisely why he'd sent Chase out: to handle the job while also keeping him from lingering around the guild, causing trouble day after day.
Hearing this, Chase sighed softly and plopped himself onto the bar counter.
"Following normal procedures, it would've been fine. But luck wasn't on my side. Right at the finish line, I ran into a crimson-red dragon."
As if recounting something perfectly ordinary, his tone remained quite calm, without much rise or fall.
But these words hit Fairy Tail guild like a nuclear bomb, triggering wave after wave of exclamations.
"A crimson-red dragon? Hey, hey, Chase, if I'm understanding this right, you mean that kind of legendary terrifying creature, not just some title?!"
"Dragons really exist?! Just how strong would a monster like that be?!"
"Wait—so you're saying you managed to escape from a dragon's attack?!"
...
The crowd surged forward excitedly, surrounding Chase in a tight circle, all chattering at once.
As for rookie Lucy, she stood frozen in place, both hands covering her mouth, stunned by this explosive news.
"EVERYONE SHUT UP! Chase, that dragon you encountered—was it Igneel?!!"
Natsu shoved everyone aside, rushing excitedly up to Chase, his eyes blazing with intense light.
Chase glanced casually at Natsu. That sharp gaze seemed capable of piercing through the very nature of magic itself, reaching all the way to the Fire Dragon King Igneel lurking within Natsu.
"That monster breathes fire too, but unfortunately, its name isn't Igneel."
Hearing this, Natsu's face instantly fell—then immediately reignited with passion and excitement.
"Hey! You all heard that, right? Dragons really do exist! I really WAS raised by the Fire Dragon King Igneel!"
Though his guildmates were willing to believe him, after years of "dad-hunting" with no results, they'd long lost interest in the Igneel he always talked about.
But Chase bringing back news about dragons was undoubtedly a shot of adrenaline, strengthening his resolve to find his old man!
"So Chase, did you really fight that dragon? Were you injured?" Mirajane asked, her face full of concern.
Recalling that life-and-death battle, Chase's face filled with emotion—and a trace of dejection.
"Strictly speaking, it wasn't even a fight. That monster's power was absurdly overwhelming. Just one fiery dragon breath, and the monster army I summoned was completely wiped out."
"I was absolutely no match. I barely survived thanks to one magic card, escaping its dragon claws by the skin of my teeth."
As he spoke, Chase suddenly shifted gears. Looking seriously at Mirajane, he added, "But I was indeed injured. My fragile heart got quite a scare. I'll need a date with a pretty young lady to heal properly."
"Is that so..."
Realizing he wasn't physically hurt, Mirajane secretly relaxed. Then she raised a pale finger, pointing toward Lucy, who was in the corner like some lackey. "What a coincidence. Lucy here is a top-tier beauty—both face and figure."
"Huh?!!"
Innocent Lucy, caught in the crossfire, instantly exploded, both eyes going wide.
As a newcomer with zero presence, even I can get caught in the crossfire like this?!
Mira-nee, you're just selling me out like that?!
"Lucy, huh? A bit airheaded, sure, but as a date candidate... I suppose she's barely acceptable." Chase nodded as if considering it seriously.
Lucy's eye twitched. Inner monologue: "A bit airheaded"?! If you can't talk properly, just shut the hell up!
"Barely acceptable, huh..."
Mirajane straightened up slightly, hands folded gracefully over her wine-red dress.
The smile at the corner of her mouth grew a few degrees sweeter and brighter, yet somehow radiated an inexplicably dangerous aura.
"Ah ha, hahaha... come to think of it, now that I'm back at the guild, my heart doesn't feel traumatized at all anymore."
Chase immediately backed down, scratching his head with a nervous laugh.
Lucy's eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze darting between the two. The irritation from being innocently offended evaporated instantly, replaced by an intense desire for gossip.
They have a thing?
I definitely need to ask Natsu and Happy about this later!
"Enough. What matters is you're safe."
Makarov's eyes dropped slightly as he put on a casual expression, waving dismissively at Chase. "But Chase, I need you to report the details of this mission."
"Come upstairs to the second floor."
Even though Ten-Year Quests carried extremely high danger levels, failure meant breaking trust with the client, damaging Fairy Tail's reputation. Subsequent compensation and reviews were unavoidable.
But he couldn't care less about such trivial matters. What concerned him more was the mysterious fire dragon Chase mentioned.
Creatures like that existed only in legends—even he had never seen one with his own eyes. Naturally, this sparked some curiosity and concern.
Before Chase could respond, a figure rushed forward, making a beeline for the stairs to the second floor.
Natsu was simply too desperate to learn more about dragons—so much so that he completely forgot the guild rule forbidding non-S-Class mages from going upstairs!
THUD!
Sure enough, as soon as he ran off, a shadow loomed over him—a giant fist descended from above, slamming him flat to the ground.
"Natsu! You're not qualified to come up here yet!" Makarov scolded sternly, showing no leniency whatsoever.
The reason for avoiding the guild members and speaking privately with Chase was concern that existing knowledge of dragons might traumatize the kids, preventing them from firming their steps toward higher levels.
Natsu, having been raised by a dragon since childhood, was probably fine—but guild rules couldn't be broken.
Anyway, knowing his personality, even if he couldn't follow upstairs now, he'd eventually wear Chase down for the relevant information sooner or later.
That was Chase's problem to deal with.
"Haha, work hard on getting promoted to S-Class soon, little brother Natsu~"
Chase strode past Natsu, who was plastered to the floor, wearing an obnoxiously smug expression as he kicked him while he was down.
"Bastard! After this year, I'll definitely be S-Class!"
Natsu grit his teeth in frustration. But constrained by the chairman's authority, he ultimately abandoned any idea of forcing his way up.
With the leading charging warrior choosing to compromise, the other guild members, though extremely curious, just shrugged and obediently returned to their seats, continuing drinking and chatting.
Compared to their docility, one person followed close behind Chase, slowly making her way upstairs.
Makarov glanced back at her, then silently looked away.
Though Mirajane's personality had drastically changed after that incident years ago, now just a harmless counter girl, her S-Class mage status was undeniable. He couldn't really say anything.
"Hey, hey, Happy, what's the relationship between Mira-nee and Mr. Chase?"
Lucy watched Chase and Mirajane disappear one after another around the stair corner. Her gossip soul finally couldn't be restrained as she nudged Happy with her elbow.
"Lucy wants to know?"
Happy's eyes darted around slyly. Slowly, he extended one finger. "Trade you—one box of dried fish!"
"One box?! I can't even afford my own rent right now!" Lucy hurriedly clutched the wallet on her belt.
Having just joined the guild, she hadn't taken any decent requests yet. Her pockets were completely empty—she was living on an extremely tight budget.
Where would she get money to buy fish for this damn cat?!
"Aye! Then no comment!" Happy turned his head away mischievously.
"You damn cat!!" Lucy trembled with anger and cold.