Over the next two weeks, Fairy Tail's people did not go anywhere. Working together with one heart, they completed the guild's basic reconstruction in the shortest time possible.
Among them, Laki and Ultear deserved the greatest credit. One provided materials and craftsmen, while the other used magic to speed up the construction process.
It was thanks to the two of them that the guild was able to be completed so quickly.
Of course, the interior renovations and furniture purchases would still need more time to finish.
But right now, the people of the guild could not wait that long.
"Master, I want to work!"
"Please assign a job to me. No matter what it is, I'll complete it."
"Please give me a request!"
Looking at the crowd packed around the counter, all of them begging for work, Meredy, who had spent two straight weeks moving bricks and had already started questioning her life, collapsed across the table and could not help saying in admiration,
"Everyone's way too hardworking. The guild was finally rebuilt, and they can finally rest, but they're already this eager to go out and work again."
It was not just her.
Ultear, Sorano, and Juvia were also sprawled across the table like salted fish.
But none of them dared agree with her too quickly.
Sorano lifted her head slightly off the table and looked at the people enthusiastically crowding around the request board, picking out jobs. Her heart was full of confusion.
"This is weird. When did this bunch of lazy drunks who only know how to drink, play cards, and waste time become so diligent?"
She had not joined for very long, but she already understood Fairy Tail's nature well enough.
Unless the sun had risen in the west today, there was no way these people could suddenly become this hardworking.
Just as the girls were sitting there in confusion, Kabe walked in with a flock of girls all around him.
Compared to the members who were practically about to start fighting over a well-paying request, Kabe's group looked especially relaxed. After greeting Makarov at the counter, they sat down at the table beside the girls.
Cana: "Hey, Kabe, the request board seems to be open again. Shold we go take a job too?"
Kabe: "Not me. I'm not like those idiots. None of them know how to save money. Skip work for two weeks and they're already so broke they can't even pay rent."
Erza: "Everyone really is too lazy in their daily lives. Looks like I need to have a proper talk with them when I get the chance."
Mira: "What are you, their mother, Erza? If you meddle too much, people are going to hate you."
Meredy and the others, who had been secretly listening to the four of them, all went silent.
Meredy tightened her little face and turned to Ultear.
"Ur... was it really okay for us to join this guild?"
Ultear: "...Probably. I think."
Mother and daughter stared at each other with wide eyes, neither knowing what to say.
At that moment, Juvia gently tugged on Sorano's sleeve and asked in a low voice,
"Big Sister Sorano, how much money do you still have on you?"
Sorano gave her an expressionless sideways glance but did not answer.
Juvia paused, then turned to look at Ultear and Meredy instead.
"You two... don't tell me you're out of money too?"
Meredy thought for a moment, then silently pulled out two crumpled banknotes.
"I still have 600 J. That should be enough, right?"
Looking at those two bills, which were not even enough for a proper meal, Ultear immediately lost the lazy look on her face. She straightened her back, stood up, and said seriously,
"Girls, I think it's time for us to take our first mission since joining the guild."
Juvia was the first to raise her hand in response.
"Then the four of us can form a team."
Sorano and Meredy: "Agreed!"
After reaching a consensus, the four girls stood up together and rushed toward the request board.
...
"No. All of you are still newcomers.
Even if you're not ordinary newcomers, at the very least, for your first mission, you need an old guild member to accompany you."
Makarov looked at the four girls, whose faces were full of hope, and mercilessly rejected their application.
No matter how much the four of them tried to persuade him, he remained completely unmoved.
Even Laki, the guild's poster girl, could only spread her hands helplessly.
"If the Master won't agree, then I can't do anything about it either.
Go ask the others in the guild. See if anyone is willing to take you along on a mission."
Hearing that, the four girls were deeply dejected.
But since it was a guild rule, there was nothing they could do. They could only start looking around the guild for someone willing to help.
At this point, most of the members had already headed out in advance, and the ones left behind were not especially close to them either.
After looking around and weighing their options, the four girls finally turned their eyes toward Kabe's table.