It was another peaceful day. Everyone in the guild was leisurely eating and drinking, while Noel was telling the story of the events in Border Town.
Everyone felt a little envious — after all, it had been quite a powerful team that went, and the incident had ended in complete success.
To celebrate the mission's completion, they were having this party. Some members had already gone out on jobs and couldn't attend, which was a bit of a shame.
Still, the atmosphere in the guild was much livelier than usual. Today, though, there weren't any special games or activities, and the guild was not in its usual state of chaos.
After the banquet, Mirajane began clearing the plates and utensils from the tables, while Noel found a seat, poured himself a large mug of beer, and took a deep gulp.
He hadn't expected beer after a meal to taste this good.
No wonder Cana drank so much every day in the guild — honestly, it was no surprise. It really was delicious.
Once she finished tidying, Mirajane went upstairs, probably to clean the second floor. But she came hurrying back down almost immediately.
"Master, one of the request slips posted on the second floor is missing,"
Mirajane said urgently.
Makarov, who had been quietly sipping coffee, spat it out in shock at the news. Noel, in the middle of drinking his beer, reacted exactly the same way.
The guild instantly erupted into an uproar. This was no small matter — all the jobs posted on the second floor were S-Class or higher, which only S-Class Mages were allowed to take.
"The second floor jobs are S-Class, right? Which idiot would do something like this?"
Levy, who had been working on a translation nearby, had been disturbed by the noise and joined the conversation.
Just as everyone was talking about it, a voice suddenly came from the second floor.
"It was a cat. I saw a winged cat grab a request slip and fly off."
Laxus, leaning against the railing upstairs, had spoken.
"You mean Happy?"
Mirajane's face grew serious.
Noel suddenly put the pieces together — if Natsu was involved, everything made sense.
But what was Natsu thinking, taking on an S-Class mission without permission?
"That's a serious violation of the rules. Old man, you're going to expel them from the guild when they get back, right?"
Laxus said with a tone of gloating satisfaction.
"Laxus, if you saw it, why didn't you stop them?"
Noel stormed up to the second floor, glaring at him.
Mirajane followed, staring at Laxus with clear displeasure in her eyes.
"At the time, I just thought some stray cat had wandered into the guild and stolen a piece of paper,"
Laxus said with a mocking smirk.
"I didn't realize it was Happy, or that Natsu would go after an S-Class job,"
he added in defense.
"Haven't seen that expression from you in a long time,"
Mirajane said darkly, but Laxus didn't care in the slightest.
"And you, Noel — if you've got something to say, hurry up. I'm busy."
The tension between Noel and Laxus spiked, and the entire guild fell silent — an eerie, unnatural stillness.
"If this keeps going, those two might actually fight,"
some members whispered to each other.
Normally, a scene like this would have had the whole guild in an uproar, but today was different — no one was egging them on.
The Master didn't want to step in, Gildarts wasn't around, and most of the other strong members were out on jobs. There was practically no one left who could stop these two.
The people nearby didn't dare say a word — they could only let the three of them settle it themselves.
"Laxus, you've gone too far today…"
Noel said quietly.
"Tch."
Laxus scoffed.
"What's wrong with driving out the weak ones? Weaklings don't deserve to be in Fairy Tail."
"Hey, don't say that. As long as you're in Fairy Tail, you're family,"
Noel shot back, his temper rising.
But there was nothing more he could say — maybe it was simply a clash of ideals.
Noel would never agree with Laxus's philosophy of judging whether someone could join the guild solely on strength. That was far too unreasonable.
But Laxus had always held that belief. He was deeply dissatisfied with the Master for allowing so many weaker members to join.
In Laxus's eyes, a guild didn't need numbers — it needed quality. Noel could understand why he thought this way; after all, Laxus's personality had changed a lot after certain experiences.
But that change had made him extremely extreme — showing no respect whatsoever to the other guild members.
Noel had tried to persuade him a few times, but every attempt had failed. Their relationship had steadily worsened.
"That request slip — I was the one who asked Happy to take it. I want to go on that job,"
Noel quickly explained.
"So that's how it is,"
Laxus said, losing interest, and walked away.
At least this way, Laxus might be annoyed, but everyone's dignity could be preserved.
As for Natsu — everyone knew how strong he was, but taking on an S-Class job now was still pushing it. Still, as an extra hand, he'd be fine.
But since it was an S-Class mission, the trio of Natsu, Happy, and Lucy was still too weak. Noel, being more of a strategist-type mage, decided adding Gray would make for a good team.
"Gray, come with me on this job,"
Noel said after some thought. Gray's strength was also considerable, and with him, the team would be solid.
"What job?"
Gray asked, looking puzzled.
"The Galuna Island job,"
Noel replied, adding pointedly,
"It's an S-Class mission."
Gray, who had been uninterested a moment ago, suddenly lit up, pumping his fist.
"Then what are we waiting for?!"
He'd never done an S-Class job before — this was an incredibly rare opportunity. His whole body seemed to burn with excitement.
"Gray… where are your clothes?"
Noel asked, noticing that Gray was already nearly shirtless.
"Aren't they on me?"
Gray said, confused, then looked down at himself.
"…Where are my clothes?!"
Mirajane walked over, aware that Noel hadn't actually taken this S-Class job and didn't know much about it.
If she had to guess, he was just trying to defuse the situation. But since he'd said it aloud, they'd have to go through with the mission now.
"Do you even know how to get to Galuna Island?"
Mirajane asked.
They didn't. Normally, they could have learned a bit from the request slip, but Happy had already flown off with it. Now, their only option was to ask Mirajane directly.
"It's simple. The fastest way is to take the train from Magnolia Station to Hargeon,"
Mirajane explained, kindly handing them a map with the route marked.
With the map in hand, the two quickly packed their things and prepared to depart.
PS: Access the complete chapters/series at