That finally made even Laxus frown. If it was not the opinion of that old senior, then what else could possibly be making the old man hesitate so much?
At the bar, Kabe listened silently to the conversation between grandfather and grandson. After thinking for only a moment, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he arrived at the answer.
"Old man... don't tell me you're just unwilling to spend the money."
"Nonsense! Do I look like that stingy of a person?!"
Makarov suddenly became agitated.
Maybe everyone might have believed him before.
But the moment he got that worked up, everyone immediately started looking at him with suspicion and contempt.
Seeing all those strange looks aimed at him, Makarov instantly panicked.
"What are those looks for?! Who do you think is responsible for the guild having no money in the first place?!"
As he spoke, the old man began calling people out one by one.
"Gray. One month ago, you streaked naked through Narcissus Town, frightened a whole bunch of girls along the way, and even got arrested by the town's enforcement unit. In the end, it was me who had to pull strings to bail you out and pay 200,000 J in compensation to all the victims!"
Gray, having his name called, awkwardly scratched his head and forced an embarrassed smile toward Ultear, who was now looking at him.
"And then there's Max. Still one month ago, you used your sand magic and ruined the farmland in White River Village. I was the one who had to write the apology letter and advance 500,000 J in compensation!"
"Uh... that was necessary for the mission."
Max tried to defend himself, but the fact remained that he had indeed destroyed farmland.
"And the worst one was Natsu. That idiot directly demolished an entire street in Hargeon City. The mayor of Hargeon was so furious he reported it to the Council and demanded 3,000,000 J in compensation from the guild. And again, it was me who had to use guild funds to pay for him in advance. That brat still hasn't paid back a single coin he owes!"
...
Listening to the old man endlessly list off one disaster after another...
Ultear, Sorano, and Juvia, who had only recently joined the guild, were stunned.
Even old hands like Kabe, Cana, and Erza felt their faces twitching.
They had always known the people in their guild were troublemakers.
But what they had not expected was that in just a single month, this group had managed to dig such a terrifying number of holes for the guild to fall into.
And among the people named, aside from Natsu, who was not in the guild and had probably ended up in a hospital somewhere...
the others, including Gray and Max, all lowered their heads in shame.
"So..."
After finishing the glorious list of everyone's accomplishments over the past month, Makarov suddenly paused.
Then, after taking a deep breath, he spun around at lightning speed and instantly changed his attitude.
"Please, Laki. For the sake of an old man who's worked so hard at his age, give me a cheaper price, alright? I'm not asking for it to be free like Kabe's new house, but at least, please, please give me the most affordable discount possible!"
Everyone nearly fell over.
This sudden, absurd turn left the entire guild so shocked that it felt like their waists had been snapped.
Laxus climbed back up from the floor with a black face, then roared at Makarov through gritted teeth,
"Enough already!
This is something as important as rebuilding the guild, and you, the guild master, are still haggling over the price?
Be careful the First Master doesn't crawl out of her grave and come visit your room in the middle of the night, you dead old miser!"
The moment the First Master was brought up, Makarov, who had still been putting on his pitiful act, instantly lost some of his nerve.
"I was joking, joking, alright? Laxus, you really didn't inherit a single bit of my sense of humor."
As he said that, he did not dare look at the fire-eyed Laxus again. Instead, rubbing his hands together, he turned toward Laki and revealed that all-too-familiar ingratiating smile.
"Laaakiii-chaaaan~"
"20,000,000. Full payment. No credit."
Laki pushed up her glasses and coldly spat out a number.
Makarov: "..."
Seeing the Master turn to stone on the spot, Kabe casually stood up with his wine glass in hand, walked over, and squatted down in front of him.
"Thank you for your patronage, Guild Master."
As he spoke, he grinned and stuffed the wine glass into the old man's hand, then patted his shoulder in gratitude.
Looking down at the glass in his hand, Makarov suddenly let out an "Aoooh!" and burst into tears.
He lunged forward and hugged Kabe's leg, then turned and begged both him and Laki in every possible way, crying and bargaining shamelessly.
His ridiculous appearance had everyone laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
For a while, they even forgot the sadness that the guild was about to be torn down.
Of course, the so-called 20,000,000 was only meant to scare this hateful old man who loved treating people differently.
In the end, Laki only charged the guild for the most basic construction materials and the design fee for hiring someone to draft the building plans.
And that result made Makarov so happy he nearly fainted on the spot.
He grabbed Laki and thanked her over and over again, even going so far as to declare that he would pass the position of guild master directly to her.
Laki was so annoyed she began to suspect the old man was repaying kindness with malice, and she almost quit on the spot.
Only after the old man begged and pleaded with every ounce of sincerity he had did he finally manage to coax her back.
Laxus watched the entire process from the side and felt his whole body go numb.
If the First Master ever found out that Fairy Tail's guild master had become this cheap and shameless, who knew what she would think.
(Mavis: Achoo! Zzz~~)