Sensing Mira's cold tone, Chen Fan immediately wilted. Seeing her and Lucy chatting happily, he didn't want to disturb them. He walked over to Natsu and Gray. "Yo, Natsu. Welcome back."
Natsu's first instinct was to run, but he managed to restrain himself. It seemed the childhood trauma Chen Fan had inflicted was still potent. Gray was doing much better.
Gray wasn't afraid of Chen Fan anymore because over the past two years of watching Chen Fan chase every girl in the guild, he realized Chen Fan's preferences were quite normal. Having grown up, Gray understood more about the world and had matured significantly.
Natsu had changed as well. After Lisanna's disappearance, he seemed to grow up overnight. He didn't blame her brother, Elfman; instead, he encouraged him during his darkest moments, helping him find the strength to go on. Combined with his years of traveling, Natsu's mindset was far more mature than before.
Before Natsu could speak, Happy chimed in. "Aye! Hello, Chen Fan!"
Chen Fan picked Happy up with both hands. "Oh, it's Happy. Why haven't you grown any taller? If you stay this small, you'll never find a girlfriend." Happy immediately began to panic, his paws flailing.
"Stop scaring Happy!" Natsu snatched the cat back. "There isn't another cat like Happy in the entire world!"
"Who said that? I've seen one," Chen Fan said nonchalantly.
"Liar!!" Natsu, Happy, Gray, and everyone nearby shouted in unison.
Seeing how unified they were, Chen Fan jumped as if his tail had been stepped on. "Since when have I ever lied?! Don't slander my upright character and pure soul!"
"Ugh, let's go. Don't talk to this guy or you'll catch whatever he has," someone said, waving the crowd away. Everyone dispersed as if Chen Fan were something contagious.
"Fine! You guys just wait!"
"We've been waiting so long the flowers have withered," they chorused back. The guild members began tidying up the broken furniture. Natsu headed straight for the bulletin board to find a good mission, with Happy hovering beside him to help.
By now, Mira had stamped the Fairy Tail mark onto the back of Lucy's left hand. Lucy ran excitedly over to Natsu. "Natsu, look! I got the Fairy Tail emblem!"
Natsu didn't even turn his head, replying with a tired, "Oh, congrats, Luckie."
"It's Lucy!"
"This one has a high reward," Happy said, pointing at a flyer.
"Oh... Exterminating thieves, 160,000 Jewels." Natsu looked excited. "Let's do this one," Happy added.
Seeing Mira was alone, Chen Fan scurried back to the counter and sat down, looking wounded. "Mira, they don't believe me. My heart is seriously injured. Won't you soothe my aching soul?" He looked at her with puppy-dog eyes.
"No," Mira replied, as crisp and direct as always.
Thump!
Chen Fan slammed his head onto the counter and played dead.
Just then, a small, youthful voice spoke up. "Hasn't my dad come back yet?"
Hearing this, Chen Fan suddenly remembered that this was how the story began. Having lived here for years, the plot had become a hazy memory. He cursed the original author for having such a poor sense of time they never noted the specific dates or hours.
Makarov spoke up, his tone a bit brusque. "Hmm? You're so noisy, Romeo. As the son of a mage, you should wait patiently at home."
"But he said he'd be back in three days! It's been a week!" Romeo said emotionally. Natsu and Lucy stopped what they were doing to listen to the exchange.
"I think he went to Mt. Hakobe."
"That's not even that far. Just go look for him!"
"Your old man is a mage, isn't he? If a mage can't handle his own business, can he even be called a mage?" Makarov said to the boy.
"You jerk!" Romeo shouted, throwing a punch that landed squarely on Makarov's chin.
Then, instead of running out the door as Chen Fan remembered, Romeo ran straight toward him.
"Big Brother Chen Fan," Romeo sobbed. "You're the only good person in this entire guild. Please help me find my dad!"
Chen Fan actually had a decent friendship with Macao, that perverted old guy. They often hung out and joked around, and Chen Fan had even gone to Macao's house for drinks and brought Romeo treats. Romeo had been completely won over by Chen Fan's kindness.
Chen Fan hadn't intended to get involved, knowing Natsu and Lucy would eventually save the old rogue. But hearing Romeo call him the only "good person" in the guild completely healed his "wounded heart."
Chen Fan stood up straight, puffed out his chest, and patted it confidently. "Only a child has truly pure eyes. You speak the truth! Just for that 'good person' comment, I'll take this job!" He looked around the room, his nose practically pointing at the ceiling in pride.
"Hey, hey, are you sure you can handle it?" Gray asked from the side. "I've known you since we were kids, and I've never even seen you kill a chicken."
"You shouldn't go," another member added. "You don't know a single offensive spell. Your body might be stronger now, but you're still too weak!"
"Yeah, he's right."
"It's true."
"I... I didn't know Big Brother Chen Fan couldn't use offensive magic. I can't let him go into danger!" Romeo cried and ran out of the building.
Chen Fan felt a surge of anger toward the others. He turned and roared at them, "Look at you people! You won't go yourselves, and then you mock the one person who will! Huh? Don't talk to me about that useless 'pride.' In my eyes, life is far more precious than pride! What is pride? It's garbage! I threw mine into a dumpster years ago!"
His words silenced the room. Everyone lowered their heads. They realized he was right. They had been so worried about Macao's pride as a mage that they hadn't considered his actual safety.
Seeing their reaction, Chen Fan softened his tone. "From now on, none of you owe me any money. And I won't be putting in any good words with the Council for you anymore.
Just like you said, everyone should take responsibility for their own actions. You all have pride, right? Well, pride needs to be forged. Go ahead and start training it."
Makarov watched it all in silence. He, too, felt the guild had become too complacent. As the Master, he couldn't simply order his members to do everything for one another; that wasn't how a leader should operate.
A Master had to balance the interests of the entire guild and couldn't abuse his authority. But the members could have chosen to act on their own, and yet they had remained indifferent. It was a disappointment.
Chen Fan walked over to Makarov. "Master, you're probably going to get scolded by the Council again. My apologies."
"It's not your fault," Makarov sighed. "I was the one who failed to consider things properly. I thought I was protecting these children under my wings, but it seems I was only hurting them. You're right. A mage should have pride, but it must come after life. A human life is more important than anything."
Natsu punched the bulletin board, turned, and walked out of the guild without a word. Seeing this, a worried Lucy followed after him.
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