Chapter 347: My Entire Being is Focused on Chasing You, Surpassing You
"Since you aren't going to fight anymore, get behind the counter and start processing the guild's paperwork," Noah ordered Laxus, pointing to the mountain of documents.
"Wait, you want me to process paperwork looking like this?" Laxus stared at Noah in utter disbelief. He gestured frantically at his bruised, battered body.
He was sporting two massive black eyes, his arms were mottled purple and blue, and he looked like he had just gone twelve rounds with a very angry train. Noah wanted him to sit at the front desk and deal with clients and guild members looking like he belonged in an intensive care unit?
"Isn't that your own fault?" Noah rolled his eyes, utterly unsympathetic. "If you hadn't run away from your shift in the first place, I wouldn't have been so pissed off, and you wouldn't look like that."
Noah crossed his arms. "It's not quite noon yet. Get behind the counter, process the morning paperwork, then go home and rest. You can finish the rest this afternoon."
Noah knew perfectly well that the injuries he inflicted were superficial. They looked horrific, but to a mage of Laxus's caliber, they were little more than an annoyance.
"Fine," Laxus sighed, accepting his fate. He knew arguing with Noah was pointless.
"Laxus..." Freed looked at him worriedly.
"I'm fine," Laxus waved him off. These injuries really weren't a big deal to him.
"At least allow me to apply some medicinal salve," Freed insisted, his expression deadly serious.
"Alright," Laxus yielded.
He and Freed walked into the guild hall together. Laxus found an upright chair and sat down with a groan. Freed quickly pulled out a small container of high-quality medicinal salve and began carefully applying it to the worst of Laxus's bruises.
Seeing that the fight was definitively over, the rest of the guild members trickled back inside, resuming their various tasks and preparations for the Fantasia Parade.
"Wait, what about Natsu?" Lucy asked as everyone filed past the smoking, twitching body of the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"Just ignore him. He'll be fine in a few minutes," Happy said casually, floating past his fallen partner without a second glance.
"Wow, you guys are so cold!" Lucy gasped in disbelief.
"Because Natsu does this all the time. He just needs a quick nap and he'll be back to normal," Happy shrugged his tiny shoulders.
Lucy looked down at Natsu, conflicted. Finally, her conscience won out. She grabbed his arm, hauled him up off the dirt, and dragged his charred, groaning form into the guild hall.
"Happy, aren't you going to help me?!" Lucy grunted, struggling under Natsu's dead weight.
"I'm just a cat," Happy replied, spreading his paws innocently.
"Damn cat," Lucy muttered. She dragged Natsu over to a chair, unceremoniously dumped him into it, and walked off to rejoin Levy and the girls for their performance practice.
Back at the counter, Freed finished applying the salve to Laxus's arms and reached for the hem of his shirt. Laxus immediately caught his hand. "That's enough."
Unlike Gray, Laxus had zero desire to sit shirtless in the middle of a crowded guild hall, especially while covered in bruises.
Freed sighed in disappointment and packed the medicine away.
Laxus stood up, walked behind the bar counter, and looked down at Makarov. "Gramps, I'm back."
Makarov looked up at his grandson. Seeing that aside from some superficial bruising, Laxus was perfectly fine and highly energetic, Makarov smiled, raised his mug of ale, and took a deep, satisfying drink.
"Glad you're back."
"Laxus, how did your mission go?" Noah asked, taking a seat at the bar in front of him.
"It was fine. Finished everything up," Laxus replied, grabbing a pen and beginning to sort through the paperwork.
"What was the deal with that magazine article recently? I saw it while I was out. It featured a bunch of the guild members... but the report was incredibly weird," Laxus said, his expression turning sour.
While working his long-term request, Laxus had read the recent issue of Weekly Sorcerer. He had also overheard countless people discussing Fairy Tail because of the feature article. Most of the discussions were not exactly flattering.
He knew exactly what the guild was like on a daily basis, but seeing that utter chaos broadcast to the entire kingdom in a major publication was embarrassing. Fairy Tail's reputation for collateral damage was already bad enough; that article had completely tanked it.
Hearing Laxus bring up the magazine, Makarov's face darkened significantly. He had desperately tried to use that interview to improve their public image, only for it to backfire spectacularly.
"You know exactly how the idiots in this guild act. And the reporter who came was absolutely obsessed with Fairy Tail's chaos. Honestly, I half-wondered if he was a secret guild member I didn't know about. Toss him into the middle of one of our daily brawls, and that's exactly the kind of article you get," Noah shrugged helplessly.
Noah then turned to Makarov. "Gramps, are you absolutely certain that reporter wasn't a guild member? He really fit our vibe perfectly."
"NO!" Makarov barked, his face black with frustration. He had never expected the reporter to be such an absolute maniac. Noah's teasing almost made him doubt his own memory of the guild roster. Thanks to that lunatic Jason, his guild's reputation was further in the gutter.
"Sigh..." Laxus let out a long breath. Hearing Noah's explanation, he understood exactly what had happened. He knew the guild's daily routine far too well: a minor brawl every three days, a major riot every five. It was almost guaranteed the reporter would stumble into one.
"I saw the section about you, by the way. Openly admitting your relationship with Ultear and the other three in a national magazine. Bold move," Laxus smirked at Noah.
"Hehe. I bet everyone reading it was dying of jealousy, weren't they?" Noah asked, entirely unashamed.
"Of course. Everyone I overheard was practically seething with envy."
"Did anyone say I wasn't worthy?" Noah asked with a smirk.
"No," Laxus shook his head. "Every time your name came up, they immediately talked about how you absolutely brutalized Jose. Not a single person dared to say you weren't worthy."
"That's because I finally showed some of my strength. Nobody dares to talk trash when you have the power to back it up. But honestly, other people's opinions are irrelevant. You shouldn't care so much about what others think either," Noah said gently, steering the conversation toward a more serious topic.
Laxus paused his paperwork, looking at Noah earnestly. "I know what you're trying to say. You've brought it up plenty of times in the past. Honestly, I really don't care anymore when people say I only got where I am because I'm the Master's grandson."
Laxus smiled softly. "In fact, I'm incredibly proud to be my grandfather's grandson."
Hearing those words, Makarov's eyes widened. He smiled so brightly his eyes crinkled shut, the deep wrinkles on his face softening with pure joy.
Hearing his grandson say that meant the world to him.
Laxus continued, his voice steady. "In the past, people would dismiss all my hard work, claiming my strength was just inherited because Gramps is a Wizard Saint. I used to let that bother me so much. But then you showed up, and I learned very quickly that there will always be someone stronger."
Laxus chuckled dryly. "You surpassed me at an unimaginable speed, and then you surpassed Gramps. And recently, you beat down Jose—another Wizard Saint—without breaking a sweat. I've already heard rumors that the Council is considering you for the next Wizard Saint seat."
"Yeah, Yajima-jiisan mentioned that some Council members brought it up. I refused, though. It's way too much of a hassle, and the restrictions would do Fairy Tail more harm than good," Noah said casually.
"You bastard..." Laxus stared at him, utterly speechless.
Any other mage in the kingdom would scream it from the rooftops if they were even considered for the title of Wizard Saint. Noah had just casually tossed it in the trash. But then again, it made sense. If Noah had wanted the title, he possessed the strength to take it years ago. He had intentionally hidden his power precisely to avoid that kind of attention.
Laxus paused for a moment before continuing. "If I kept worrying about what other people thought, it would only hold my training back. And if I let my training slip, you'd leave me so far behind I wouldn't even be able to see your dust. How could I ever claim I was going to catch up to you then?"
Laxus's expression hardened with absolute determination. "Once I poured my entire heart and soul into my training, I realized I simply didn't care about the opinions of weaklings anymore. My entire being is focused on catching up to you, and eventually, surpassing you."
"Wow, you're making me cringe!" Noah exaggeratedly rubbed his arms as if brushing off goosebumps. "So intense!"
"Shut up and let me finish," Laxus rolled his eyes at Noah before his tone grew serious again. "Wizard Saint? Hmph. I'm fairly certain my current strength already vastly exceeds the Council's baseline for that title, even if I'm still a long way off from catching you."
Laxus turned his gaze to his grandfather. "My next goal is to surpass Gramps! I used to be proud of him. Now, I'm going to make sure Gramps is proud of me!"
Hearing Laxus's heartfelt declaration, Makarov completely broke down. Tears and snot began streaming down his face uncontrollably. "Laxus!"
He didn't care in the slightest about Laxus declaring he wanted to surpass him. On the contrary, he fully supported it. "You're absolutely right! You should surpass me! Isn't it only natural for the next generation to surpass the previous one?!"
Laxus smiled gently, pulled a tissue from a box on the counter, and handed it to Makarov. Makarov took it and tried to wipe his tears, but they just kept flowing faster.
He was simply too happy. His emotions overwhelmed him completely.
Laxus's words today proved that he had truly grown up. The toxic knot in his heart, born from the pressure of Makarov's fame, had completely vanished. Makarov couldn't have asked for a better outcome.
The other guild members had kept their distance once Noah and Laxus started talking seriously, not wanting to intrude. However, seeing their normally stoic Guild Master suddenly bawling his eyes out, they all looked over in concern. Several members even stood up, ready to rush over.
Noah noticed their panic and quickly waved them off, signaling that everything was fine. Seeing Noah's reassurance, the guild members relaxed and sat back down, though they continued to cast curious glances toward the bar.
It took a long time and plenty of soothing words from Laxus before Makarov finally managed to rein in his tears.
"My boy... the greatest meaning of my life is simply watching you grow up," Makarov said, his voice thick with emotion. "You don't need to have overwhelming power. It's perfectly fine if you aren't the smartest. The most important thing is that you live a vibrant, fulfilling life. That's more than enough for me."
"Gramps..." Laxus stared at Makarov, touched beyond words.
"But!" Makarov's expression hardened into one of absolute, unwavering support. "If you want to work hard, if you want to become the strongest, then I will support you with everything I have!"
"I know, Gramps."
Having finally laid their true feelings bare, the bond between grandfather and grandson deepened immensely. The invisible wall that had stood between them for years was finally, completely shattered.
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