"Get out of the way."
Laxus stared at the person in front of him, his tone quite impolite.
If it had been a small door, Noah might have moved out of politeness. But with both large guild doors fully open, four or five people could pass side-by-side.
If he'd been a bit more polite, Noah might have moved, but Laxus's arrogant and boundless gaze... So Noah's temper flared, and he stood his ground, quite displeased.
"You're blocking my way, move."
"Heh~"
Laxus laughed in anger. "Noah, don't think that just because you're still useful to me, I won't attack you."
"What do you mean useful to you? I think this is the first time we've spoken." Although Noah didn't understand what Laxus meant, he could tell the other party was in a bad mood.
Indeed, what good mood could a grandson who just had a bad argument with his grandfather be in?
Makarov was so angry he'd brought up his status as the Guild Master—Noah didn't know what Laxus had said or done to make the usually tolerant and kind old man so furious.
The two stood in a stalemate at the main entrance, the atmosphere gradually reaching a freezing point.
"Noah, you're back!"
"Welcome home, Noah!"
The energetic, pink-haired boy and the cute blue cat spotted Noah's back from afar and enthusiastically greeted him as they ran.
When Natsu arrived at the door, he noticed the lightning-haired blond inside. "Laxus, are you here today too? Come and accept my challenge!"
Apparently unable to stand Natsu's fiery nature, Laxus ignored Natsu, merely giving Noah a cold glance before leaving the guild without a word.
Natsu was long accustomed to Laxus's behavior. Although the other party had once again not accepted his challenge, Natsu believed that one day he would.
And one left, wasn't there still another one?
"Noah, let's fight."
"I refuse."
Noah's answer was unequivocal.
It wasn't that he was being unkind—it was just that Natsu was a battle maniac who always wanted to clash with powerful Mages he encountered.
Even if he lost, he'd probably challenge again the next day. Gray's nickname for Natsu, "single-celled organism," fit Natsu perfectly.
Casually taking Happy into his arms, Noah stroked the cat as he walked toward Makarov at the bar.
"Guild Master, I'm here to submit the job."
Although Noah had completed the job and received his reward, he still needed to report to the guild for statistical purposes and to hand over the guild's commission.
The main source of funding to keep a Magic Guild running normally was the commission from job rewards, and Fairy Tail was no exception.
For every job completed, Fairy Tail would deduct one percent of the job reward to maintain guild operations.
For example, Noah's reward for this job was three million plus an additional two and a half million, making the guild's commission only fifty-five thousand Jewels.
Based on Noah's understanding of Fairy Tail over the past three months, such a commission ratio was simply not enough to cover the compensation needed for the damage caused by guild members during jobs.
Not to mention the salaries for positions within the guild.
So Noah suspected that Makarov had been using his retirement fund to cover the deficit, or that the guild had other secret sources of income.
Taking the job form Noah handed him, Makarov, who'd been quite angered by his grandson just moments ago, immediately broke into a joyful smile.
A three million Jewel job turned into five and a half million—this kid is good.
Makarov, of course, didn't know that Noah still had two million Jewels unreported, as that was the operational fund provided by Roland and not part of the job reward.
"So you haven't been around these past two days, not because you were slacking off in the dormitory, but because you went out on a job."
Makarov, in high spirits, teased Noah a bit. As the Guild Master, how could he not know that the guild's combat instructor was a slacker?
Noah's face was filled with helplessness. "I didn't want to work either, but if Erza hadn't come looking for me, and I dared to refuse, she'd definitely have chopped me up."
"Eh?! Noah, you seem to be quite afraid of Erza, don't you?" Happy enjoyed Noah's massage service, the entire cat nearly melting with comfort.
Makarov chuckled lightly. "He's not afraid—it's just that Noah is a lazy person, and he simply isn't used to Erza's strict and strong personality."
Noah was too lazy to retort, merely yawning, and prepared to go to the harbor to see if there were any discounted potato chips for sale.
[Ding]
[You have a new Otherworld Wish, please check it.]
Well, just finished working and now something else comes up, right?
Noah looked around. There weren't many people in the guild right now, so he found an inconspicuous corner to sit down and cast Magic in his hand.
[Otherworld Wish Request]
[Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp is currently troubled by the education of his two grandsons and hopes to receive excellent parenting experience.]
[Reward: Self-mastery of Otherworld power · Armament Haki]
[Deadline: Before Ace meets Sabo]
After reading the details, Noah frowned slightly. It was a strange time limit, similar to "before the Millennium Puzzle is completed."
Is there something wrong with this Magic?!
Who knows when that "Ace" will meet "Sabo"?!
However, this reward certainly made Noah envious: the power from the world of Marine Hero Garp—Armament Haki.
It sounded very cool.
But asking Noah, a teenager who loved to stay at home, to answer questions about parenting experience was really too difficult for him.
Fortunately, Fairy Tail currently had two "father" figures.
After glancing at Macao, who was playing horsey with his four-year-old son, Noah still chose to ask the more experienced Makarov.
"Tips for educating children? Why are you asking this?"
Makarov's face was stern as he eyed Noah suspiciously. "You kid, you wouldn't be..."
"Guild Master! Don't get the wrong idea!"
Noah quickly interrupted the old man, stating that he was still a virgin and that his inquiry was merely to provide some parenting advice to a military friend.
Soldiers—they rarely see their families throughout the year, let alone educate their children.
Makarov nodded, but then sighed inwardly, thinking that his own education of his descendants couldn't really be considered successful... his son who tried to steal guild taboos.
His rebellious grandson who wanted to make the guild stronger but used extreme methods.
Since that was the case, he would summarize his failures and provide some experience to that Marine.
Makarov spoke, and Noah recorded in his notebook.
First and foremost, establish the child's sense of right and wrong early on.
Next, the child's education should be balanced—mistakes can be punished, but not too severely, just enough to make the child remember.
Absolutely do not let shady characters approach, to avoid them instilling any evil thoughts in the child. Young children are most susceptible to twisted ideologies at this age.
You can find a preschool for the child...
After returning to his dormitory, Noah copied Makarov's parenting insights again for safekeeping, just in case he might need them in the future.
Tucking the notebook into the pure white glow of the Wish Magic, Noah waited quietly. Based on past experience, he'd receive his reward in just a few minutes.
Sure enough, a "ding~" sound quickly appeared in his mind.
[Otherworld Wish Completed]
[Reward: Self-mastery of Armament Haki]
[Requester's comment: That Zephyr guy is really easy to talk to. After he and Sengoku beat me up for a day, he agreed to open a preschool for my two grandsons at the "Marine Headquarters Training Camp."]
[As for Sengoku, that old man seems to have noticed Ace's identity, but he didn't expose it on the spot, so there won't be any problems later.]
Noah's mouth hung open. What did he see?!
He sent two little kids to the army?!
Is this something a human would do?!
Those named "Zephyr" and "Sengoku" were totally taking out their anger on your two grandsons, weren't they?!
However, this Marine Hero sounded surprisingly resilient to beatings.
Since things had come to this, Noah could only offer his blessings.