Magnolia's bustling streets.
Chase, Elfman, and Loki walked in a trio. Wherever they passed, residents gave them a wide berth.
"Strange, Elfman. Is your reputation in town really that bad?" Chase asked, puzzled.
"What are you talking about? My manliness has been recognized by countless people!"
Elfman raised his arms high, showing off his muscular build. "It's definitely Loki's fault."
"Yeah, that makes sense. This guy's always philandering." Chase nodded thoughtfully.
"Hey! You two have had enough!!"
Loki's handsome face twisted in anger. "I'm ranked at the top of Weekly Sorcerer Magazine's 'Most Popular Male Mages' list!"
"That list doesn't mean much. I was top of the destruction rankings a year ago." Chase smiled.
"That's exactly the point!!" Loki was about to collapse.
Come to think of it, he still had no idea why he was forced to go on this date with these two!!!
"Hmm? Dave's Wonderful Tavern?"
Walking along, Chase noticed a tavern in a busy area and suggested, "A date needs a place to sit. This one."
"Manly!" Elfman agreed.
Loki...
Well, his objection wouldn't have mattered anyway.
Perhaps because it wasn't yet peak drinking hour, the tavern was quite quiet, with only a few scattered customers.
A young boy, about six or seven years old, with a crew cut, sat at the counter doing homework.
Seeing Chase and the others enter, his eyes—dulled by homework—immediately lit up.
"Big Brother Chase!!"
The boy happily abandoned his homework, jumped off the counter, and ran over to Chase.
It was the child Chase had saved during the "Drunken Magic Beast Attack" incident!
"Oh ho, little Tom! A year later, you've grown so tall?"
Chase smiled and ruffled Tom's hair.
"Hehe, Big Brother Chase! I saw the newspaper! You were super cool, protecting all those tourists on the island!"
Tom's eyes were filled with admiration. "I'm going to become a man like you someday!"
"Haha! Then you'll have to study magic hard!" Chase laughed heartily.
Seeing this warm scene, Elfman and Loki blinked, staring at each other.
Wait, Chase had devoted fans like this in Magnolia?
"Huh? Chase?! What are you doing here?!"
An exclamation interrupted their thoughts.
Dave, the tavern owner, rushed over and pulled his son away from Chase. Still feeling unsafe, he immediately backed up several meters.
Magnolia Chase Safety Rule #1: When there's no danger around, Chase is the most dangerous presence!
"Come on, Dave! A year later, and this is how you treat an old friend?"
Chase greeted him with a smile. "Brought two friends for drinks. Got a table?"
Thanks to the earlier magic beast incident, he had a decent relationship with this tavern.
"No! We're closed!" Dave said firmly.
Then his mouth twitched as he watched Chase lead Elfman and Loki to an empty table and sit down.
"Let's see... for a date, two bottles of red wine to start." Chase smiled, holding up two fingers.
Dave was speechless at his familiarity but didn't kick them out. "Want some free peanuts?" he asked impatiently.
"Of course."
At the wine tavern, Chase's language became fancy.
Though to Elfman and Loki, it was quite a style shift...
"An S-Class mage and still so stingy! Fine, I'll give you the leftover fried chicken legs from the kitchen!"
Dave paused, then emphasized: "Not that I want to give them to you! They're leftovers from yesterday!"
How could he truly refuse the man who saved his child?
He'd give Chase the whole tavern without blinking!
"Dad... didn't you fry those chicken legs this morning?" little Tom said weakly.
THUD!
Dave knocked on his forehead. "Mind your own business!"
Seeing his stupid son just standing there holding his head, Dave pointed at the homework on the floor. "Pick up your homework! I told you to pick it up!"
With that, he hurried behind the counter, grabbed an apron, and went into the kitchen.
'For Chase, I can't use cheap frozen chicken. I'll fry some fresh ones.'
'Wait? What did he say? A date? With those two guys?!'
What would the customers enjoying wine and chicken legs think if they knew what this sneaky profiteer was thinking...
Wine and food soon arrived.
Before leaving, Dave shot them a look mixed with suspicion, ambiguity, surprise, and curiosity.
After hesitating, he decided not to ask.
After he left, the atmosphere became extremely awkward, totally out of place with the noisy dice-throwing at nearby tables.
Three big men stared at each other, unsure how to proceed.
They couldn't actually act lovey-dovey like a real couple, could they?
Even the thick-skinned Chase couldn't do that—looking at those two faces was too disgusting!
Time quietly passed.
Ten minutes later.
"Manly!"
Elfman, the steely straight man, finally couldn't take it anymore. He slammed the table and stood up. "We have to do what Mira-nee asked!"
"Chase, Loki, let's do something normal couples do!!"
The entire tavern buzzed.
Chase smiled and shook his head. "Truly Mira's blood brother."
Loki, however, was filled with fear, staring at Elfman's serious expression, nothing like joking.
Was Elfman actually going
through with this?!
He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable...
The next second, the scene shifted from the tavern to the city riverbank.
The very spot where Natsu and Gray used to fight as kids.
"A manly date should be full of passion!!"
Elfman, having received the beast arm, roared and delivered an uppercut that sent Loki airborne.
Loki's eyes glazed over: In your mind, what normal couples do is FIGHT?!!!
His glasses shattered as he lay flat by the river, silently crying.
His desire to return to the Celestial Spirit World reached unprecedented heights.
"Haha, Elfman, your Take Over magic is getting proficient."
Chase, watching from the sidelines, took in the whole process and then shifted gears. "Too bad you should be able to achieve full body reception."
He'd agreed to this "date" not just to mess with the playboy Loki, but for a more important purpose.
To completely resolve their inner conflicts.
Elfman's fear stemmed from the Beast King that had taken Lisanna's life.
And Loki was trapped in guilt over "causing" his former master Karen's death.
***
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