Because of Chase's intervention, Gajeel hadn't actually harmed Levy's team or Lucy.
So, compared to the hostility and misunderstanding in the original story, the Fairy Tail members weren't overly repelled by Gajeel joining.
As long as no one hurt their comrades and touched that reverse scale, destroying the guild wasn't that big a deal to them.
They trusted their master's judgment and were willing to give Gajeel a chance to reform.
That being said, compared to Juvia, who needed gentle, warm treatment, the arrogant, punchable-looking Gajeel was definitely getting a different kind of treatment!
"Shut up, you bastards!" Gajeel's face turned red as he turned around and shouted angrily, his mouth full of sawtooth fangs.
The newspaper photo being held up and shaken kept pushing his already low threshold of embarrassment to its limit.
"Hey, Iron Dragon, look over here. I drew the renderings for you."
Lidas, who was skilled in drawing magic, smiled and showed the sketchpad in his hand.
In the picture, on a green grassland, Gajeel's butt was completely exposed. The Fairy Tail emblem was quite conspicuous under the sunlight.
Lidas had thoughtfully added sparkling effects to the key area.
The plump, well-proportioned silhouette made the female Fairy Tail members gasp in surprise and shyly look away.
The males, on the other hand, gathered around with interest, pointing at Gajeel's butt.
"Who allowed you to draw something that invades personal privacy like this?!"
This near-public execution made Gajeel's mouth twitch uncontrollably. He quickly snatched Lidas's drawing and tore it to shreds.
Thanks to Makarov's guidance, he had come to understand the importance of guild comrades. He wasn't like he was in Phantom Lord, casually beating up the weak.
"So, Gajeel, are you ready?"
Mira waved the stamp with a smile. "I've never branded iron before, but I'll give it my best try!"
"Why are you deciding this out of nowhere? Can you ask the person involved what he thinks?!"
"And what's this about iron? I'm an Iron Dragon Slayer, not Iron Man!!"
Gajeel's outburst made Mira's smile immediately disappear. She covered her cheeks with both hands and burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I just thought everyone's suggestions were very interesting. Boo hoo hoo..."
Seeing this, the previously joking Fairy Tail members instantly turned dark-faced and sinister.
Gajeel, completely at a loss, awkwardly tried to comfort Mira.
When he joined the guild, Master Makarov hadn't mentioned that the outside world-called "Demon Mira" had such a fragile personality!
Watching Gajeel run around in a panic, Chase, standing at the edge, smiled and shook his head. Serves him right.
"Mr. Chase, you're back?" A sweet voice came from behind.
Chase turned around. What came into view was a refreshing beauty with a hat and short blue hair. A Fairy Tail emblem was pinned to her chest.
"Juvia, looks like you've officially joined." Chase raised his hand in greeting.
"Yes! Thank you, Mr. Chase, and everyone, for your tolerance. I look forward to working with you!" Juvia smiled happily.
It was hard to connect this cute, pretty girl with the gloomy, "pitter-patter"-muttering rain woman from before.
Did joining Fairy Tail have a beauty filter effect?
"Hey, didn't you go on vacation with Gray and the others?" Chase asked.
Although he didn't know how Juvia had gotten her hands on the precious tickets, according to the original story, she had appeared at the resort — as a pervert stalker.
"I did, but I came back when I heard about Gajeel."
Mentioning this, a faint sadness appeared on Juvia's face.
She desperately wanted to stay by her Gray-sama's side, but Gajeel was a former guild comrade, and the master had said there would be a new member self-introduction. So she had to come back early.
After Phantom Lord disbanded, the Element 4 and Gajeel still occasionally kept in touch.
Knowing about Gajeel's current dilemma situation with nowhere to go, Juvia had been planning to ask Makarov if he could join too. Unexpectedly, Makarov had found Gajeel first!
"I see. Then you'll have to get along well with Gray from now on." Chase said, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
"Yes! Juvia will definitely have thirty babies with Gray!" Juvia said, her face red but her tone and expression were abnormally determined.
Such a large leap in thinking left Chase amazed. He silently acknowledged her as Fairy Tail's strongest pervert woman.
"Yo, Chase."
Makarov, wearing casual sportswear, walked over with his hands behind his back. He smiled and asked, "How did things go with Ur and Sabertooth?"
"There were a few small issues, but it's on track now. Several wizards had already applied to join when I left."
Chase looked at the little old man. "By the way, Master, was it you who had Ur participate in the Ten Wizard Saints qualification?"
"Just a casual thing!" Makarov waved his hand dismissively.
The next second, his brow furrowed slightly. "To be honest, I did hesitate. You've now gained a strong competitor, which isn't necessarily a good thing for Fairy Tail."
"Well, you'll give it your all, right?
For our guild's honor."
Chase met Makarov's gaze and silently pulled out the Brain Control card. "I think this card suits you better, Master."
"Ahahaha! I can't use card magic, you know!"
Makarov immediately understood Chase's implication, but he had no intention of admitting it. He changed the subject. "Anyway, I'm going to try out the new swimming pool behind the guild."
With that, the little old man looked left and right, made sure Mira, who was stamping Gajeel, wasn't watching, and then leaned in close to Chase's ear.
"I'll let you in on a secret. The bottom of the pool has a super interesting special device installed. Once the inspection is done, I'll take you to try it out~"
He lowered his voice so much that even Juvia, who was closest, couldn't hear.
Watching Makarov spread his arms like a little kid and hop over to the outdoor pool, Chase couldn't help but think, Old pervert.
As for the so-called "special device," he didn't need to guess — it was the periscope from the original story.
He remembered that Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel had been invited by Macao and the others to the observation room in the basement to peep — ahem, to appreciate — the swimsuit-clad girls' swimming forms. Then they had coincidentally seen Makarov's extremely eye-stinging naked body.
"Welcome back, Chase."
A faint, pleasant fragrance interrupted Chase's thoughts. Mira, having finished stamping, smiled and asked, "Didn't Dark Magician Girl come back with you?"
In the end, Gajeel had chosen the same spot as in the original story: the prominent bicep of his left arm.
According to him, since the Fire Dragon's mark was on his right arm, he'd do the opposite!
"She's still training with the Dark Magician. Probably a few more days," Chase said.
"I see. That's hard work." Mira sighed, a bit disappointed.
"Hey, Mira, have S-Class jobs been reopened?" Chase pointed to the second floor of the guild.
Up there, Cana, slightly tipsy, was leaning against the railing in a very voluptuous pose — despite being a beauty with a good face and figure, the old perverts seemed completely uninterested.
"Yes. Also, to facilitate communication, the master canceled the rule that only S-Class wizards could go upstairs."
Mira looked up with him, her fair finger resting on her cheek. "However, taking S-Class or higher jobs still requires an S-Class wizard to accompany the team."
"I see."
"There happen to be a few good new jobs recently. Chase, do you want to take a look?"
Mira knew Chase had been bored out of his mind lately.
"I'll wait. My new house should be finished in the next couple of days. Besides, isn't the annual Harvest Festival coming up soon?"
At this point, Chase was actually not in a hurry to go out.
After all, the difficulty of S-Class jobs varied. Some could be done in a few days, but others required extensive investigation and tracking if the target wasn't clear.
For example, the previous Ten-Year Quest had taken nearly a year.
If he accidentally took a job like that, he'd miss the chance to beat up Laxus at the Harvest Festival!
"Good point. Then, once guild matters are settled, I'll come with you to see the new house." Mira's eyes sparkled with expectation.
"No problem." Chase readily agreed.
So Mira happily turned and left, immersing herself in the various tasks related to completing the new guild hall.
After chatting with Juvia for a bit, Chase wandered around the new guild hall out of boredom.
Time flew by, and soon it was afternoon.
Comotion arose at the guild entrance. Without Even looking, Chase knew the Strongest Team was back from their vacation.
"Wow! We were only gone for two days, and the guild's decoration and equipment are already finished?!"
Lucy stood at the entrance, curiously examining the spacious, brand-new guild hall.
"Aye~ That was fast!" Happy also gasped.
"It is indeed a bit unexpected..." Erza propped her chin on her hand, seriously analyzing.
"Especially since the surrounding shops have appeared too." Gray played with a Lucy figurine in his hand.
It had been a freebie from Marcus after Chase's big purchase.
Ding!
He pressed the button. The Lucy figurine's clothes immediately split open.
"Why did you bring that stupid thing here?!" Lucy snatched the figurine from Gray's hand.
"They're all familiar faces, but this feels strange. It doesn't have the old guild's atmosphere at all."
Natsu frowned, looking uninterested. He couldn't figure out what was wrong.
"You little brats, did you have fun?" Makarov walked over slowly with Juvia.
Mentioning this, the Strongest Team instantly turned to stone on the spot.
If you didn't count the compensation for the damage caused by Natsu and Gray's fighting, then yes, it had been quite enjoyable.
"Haha, sounds like it was a memorable vacation."
Makarov guessed probably what had happened from their embarrassed expressions. "Come over. Let me introduce you to the guild's new members."
Hearing this, Natsu was the first to come out of his petrified state. He ran over excitedly. "Hey, old man! Who's the other person besides Juvia?!"
Erza and the others followed.
"Ahem. You know him. Over there, that guy."
Following Makarov's gaze, they saw Gajeel sitting alone in a corner of the guild, chewing on iron.
"What?! That bastard?!" Natsu gasped in disbelief.
Lucy, Happy, and Gray were also stunned. Even Erza couldn't help but frown.
Although both were wizards from Phantom Lord, Gajeel — who had destroyed the guild and attacked Shadow Gear — was not at all comparable to Juvia, who had already earned their acceptance.
Whether for the guild or for his other comrades, this guy was quite a dangerous individual — a time bomb!
But for the same reason — because Gajeel hadn't done those things to their comrades — their tolerance was relatively higher. They didn't outright oppose it like in the original story.
"Hah? You got a problem with that, Fire Dragon?"
Incompatible with Natsu, Gajeel stopped chewing on iron. His expression arrogant, he said stubbornly, "If I didn't need a stable job, I wouldn't even want to be in the same guild as you!"
"Damn it! You wanna fight, bastard?!" Natsu couldn't take it. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to go.
But Gajeel, the newcomer, knew he was in the wrong. He just clicked his tongue and sat back down, not escalating the situation.
Just as Natsu was about to continue, WHOOSH — the entire guild suddenly went dark.
In its place, a spotlight shone on the center stage.
The curtain opened. Mira, holding a guitar, sat in the middle of the stage.
"As a welcome back to the Strongest Team and to celebrate the completion of the new guild hall, let me sing you all a song~"
Mira smiled and greeted Natsu and the others, then adjusted her guitar and tested the little winged-chicken microphone floating before her.
"Ooooh! Mira's singing? Awesome!"
"That outfit is perfect too, Mira-chan!"
The surrounding old perverts immediately erupted in cheers. Thoughts of the new guy Gajeel and fighting Natsu were completely forgotten.
Seeing this, Natsu had to give up. He sat down with Lucy and the others.
The entire guild fell into brief silence. After a few seconds, Mira strummed the strings.
"Gently stroking ~ the table where your figure is missing ~"
"The shadow hangs low. Today too, I am alone ~"
The melodious, beautiful voice echoed through the quiet guild. In this atmosphere, the usually troublesome members uncharacteristically stayed put, quietly listening.
But Chase was nowhere to be seen in the crowd.
When Mira had proposed singing, Chase had a sudden idea. He wanted to give the Fairy Tail members the shock of some exclusive background music, as a rehearsal for the Harvest Festival's magical parade.
At that moment, he was backstage with Dark Magician Girl and the other summoned card monsters, tuning their instruments!
***
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