"Natsu, let's go fishing!"
"No way."
"You're just sitting around doing nothing anyway."
"No, I'm going to find Lucy."
"Gray, let's go fishing."
"I'd love to, but..."
"Gray-sama, aren't you coming with me to that new dessert shop?"
"Forget I said anything!"
"Gajeel, how about—"
"Sorry, Jehfrit, I need Gajeel for something!"
"Reby, you... ugh."
"Why do all the men in the world belong to women now?!" Jehfrit exclaimed in frustration.
"I'll go find Laxus. He's not popular with girls, right?!"
Laxus had long since moved out and lived alone.
*BAM*
Jehfrit kicked open the door to Laxus' house.
"Laxus, come fishing with me!"
"...," Laxus exhaled through his nose, reluctantly getting up.
"Laxus-nii!" Lisanna ran into the yard, shouting, "Come with me on a mission!"
"Huh?" Lisanna noticed Jehfrit. "What's up, Jehfrit-nii?"
"I came to ask Laxus to go fishing."
"Oh, you can handle that by yourself." Lisanna waved dismissively. "Laxus-nii is already reserved for me."
"...," Jehfrit paused for a few seconds before saying, "I was here first."
"So what? Jehfrit-nii, don't interrupt my date with Laxus-nii," Lisanna teased.
"...," Jehfrit was speechless and turned to leave.
"Hehe—" Lisanna quickly ran up and grabbed his arm, cooing, "Just kidding! Since you're here too, why don't you join us on the mission?"
She explained, "I can't keep relying on Mira-nee's money forever. Elfman-nii also needs to save up for dating expenses, so I have to earn my own."
"I found a job, and you two can come along. I'll treat you to food on the way—well, you'll have to cover it first, but I'll pay you back once I get the reward."
"Forget it," Jehfrit shook his head. "I don't feel like going out."
"What do you want to do, then?"
"Fishing. I haven't been in a while, so my luck's been building up. Today's the day for a big catch."
"How big?"
"Four to three pounds!"
"...," Lisanna let go of him, looking utterly disgusted. "Go bother Mira-nee instead. That's embarrassing."
"What did you say?!" Jehfrit glared at her angrily.
"It's true..." Lisanna smirked. "Even I could catch several fish with just a random stick."
"Impossible!"
"Wanna bet?"
"What do you want to bet?"
"If I win, you and Laxus-nii will take me on an S-Class mission," Lisanna declared.
"Fine!"
"One thing," Laxus interjected. "I never agreed to this, and secondly, Jehfrit, you're not an S-Class mage."
The guild rules stated that S-Class missions required the accompaniment of an S-Class mage.
While Jehfrit was more than capable of handling one independently, rules were rules.
Jehfrit shrugged.
*Tap tap tap*
Lisanna sprinted over to Laxus, snatched off his headphones, and announced, "Confiscated!"
"...," Laxus sighed and walked toward the house.
"Under the bed," Jehfrit casually mentioned.
"!!!" Laxus froze and immediately made a move to leave.
"Help me, Jehfrit-nii!" Lisanna shouted.
"You two are impossible!" Before Laxus could react, Jehfrit appeared in front of him and executed a perfect shoulder throw, flipping Laxus onto the ground.
Meanwhile, Lisanna dashed into the house.
"You little brat!" Laxus fumed but didn't have time to deal with Jehfrit as he bolted upstairs. However, the bedroom door was locked.
"Lisanna, don't mess around!"
"Hmph, big boobs, huh?" Lisanna's voice carried a teasing tone from inside.
"Alright, fine! We'll go now, just come out!" Laxus conceded hastily.
*Click* The door opened, and Lisanna emerged empty-handed.
"I wasn't even interested in looking," she teased with a grin.
"...," Two red kanji symbols formed on Laxus' forehead.
Shortly after,
the trio arrived at the riverside.
Jehfrit was fully equipped with all sorts of gear.
"Hmph, professional stuff. There's no way I'll lose to some amateur girl who doesn't know anything," Jehfrit taunted.
"Yeah, right, Jehfrit-nii," Lisanna retorted. "You have zero talent for fishing."
"Shut up!"
"Tch."
"... Boring." Laxus pulled out his plain old fishing rod, baited it, and casually cast the line.
This river was known for its abundant fish population.
Anyone who came here usually caught something.
As for Jehfrit...
Well, maybe there really was such a thing as conservation of luck.
Though honestly, his luck didn't seem particularly good in any other areas either.
"Pick up a stick, no cheating," Jehfrit reminded her.
"Not interested in cheating," Lisanna replied lightly. She picked up a random stick, tied a sturdy blade of grass to it haphazardly, and fashioned a makeshift fishing pole.
"You think that'll catch anything? Ridiculous," Jehfrit scoffed.
"Animal Soul—Mermaid!"
"?????"
"...," Lisanna, now transformed into a mermaid, opened and closed her mouth silently.
"It's the mermaid's song," Miko reminded them.
At that moment,
a fish actually bit onto the stick.
Lisanna swiftly pulled it up—a five-pound fish flopped on the shore.
"That's cheating!" Jehfrit accused.
"Just singing, nothing against the rules about fishing while singing, right?" Lisanna batted her eyes innocently.
"...,"
"Laxus!" Jehfrit turned to Laxus.
"You lost." Laxus flicked his wrist, pulling up an eight or nine-pound fish that looked rather strange.
"This can't be right..." Jehfrit glanced at his still bobber, pulling out the fishing manual Happy had given him.
"Stop analyzing, Jehfrit-nii, let's go on the mission," Lisanna pleaded, clinging to him.
"This isn't scientific!" Jehfrit protested.
"What's science?"
"Uh..." This was a magical world after all.
"But this isn't magic either!"
"Fine—" Lisanna sighed. "You guard your rod then."
With that, she transformed back into a mermaid and began singing again.
This time, they could hear her voice clearly.
"La~"
A sweet, melodious sound.
"Is it summoning fish?" Jehfrit asked.
"Not exactly, just singing normally," Miko explained.
"No magic?!"
"A mermaid's song naturally attracts fish."
Soon, a swarm of fish gathered near the shore.
Jehfrit grew excited.
Beneath his rod, all the fish were large, each weighing at least four pounds!
"Quick, reel them in!" Jehfrit whispered, careful not to scare them away.
But—
*SPLASH*
Laxus reeled in another fish.
Three seconds later—
*SPLASH*
Three seconds later—
*SPLASH*
"Get lost!" Jehfrit kicked over Laxus' fish basket in anger.
"...," Two red kanji symbols appeared on Laxus' forehead.
"Why aren't they biting?!" Jehfrit grumbled.
"...," Lisanna was puzzled too. She extended her finger toward the water.
A fish immediately bit her finger, and with a tug, she pulled it out—a seven or eight-pounder.
"...," All three fell silent.
"Jehfrit-nii..." Lisanna cautiously glanced at him.
"...," Jehfrit quietly packed up his fishing gear, patted her head gently, placed on her head a straw hat with red band faded by the sun and smiled softly. "Big brother has to go far away. Don't miss me."
"When you've become a great mage… come return it to me. Until then, live free, chase the horizon."
With that, he prepared to jump into the river.
"No, Jehfrit-nii!" Lisanna quickly held him back. Tears streamed down Lisanna 'scheeks in thick, unrelenting rivers,
"Let go! I need to confront them and ask why they won't bite!" Jehfrit shouted dramatically.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Lisanna panicked and called out, "Laxus-nii, help! I can't hold him back!"
"Boring." Laxus finished packing up his gear and said, "If you're going on the mission, hurry up. If you're jumping into the river, do it already."
"...," Jehfrit suddenly calmed down. He untangled Lisanna's fingers, walked over to Laxus, and suddenly yelled, "If i die, we die together!"
*SMACK*
Upon hearing this, three red kanji symbols appeared on Laxus' forehead, and he promptly flipped Jehfrit onto the ground again.
"...," Jehfrit stared at the sky, his face filled with despair.
"Alright, Jehfrit-nii, stop wasting time. Besides, I'm earning money not just for myself but also to buy Mira-nee a birthday present."
Jehfrit sat up and said, "Let's go."
Two requests awaited them.
Lisanna had taken one herself.
And Laxus took an S-Class request.
B-Class Request—
Find a missing kitten.
Requester—Edilan.
"An Exceed?" The trio was surprised to see a standing yellow female cat.
"Mr. Jehfrit, Mr. Laxus, I'm so glad you accepted the task! Waaaahhh," Edilan cried, her eyes red from weeping.
As an Exceed, she naturally recognized the powerful figures from the Edolas war.
In this world, she knew how strong S-Class mages like Laxus and Jehfrit were.
"What happened?" Jehfrit asked.
"My child, Speed, is missing," Edilan sobbed as she recounted the story.
Speed was an adventurous cat who always wanted to prove himself.
Three days ago, he heard news—
To the east of Araka Town, many beasts had appeared, constantly harassing nearby villages. Local mage guilds found the situation troublesome because they seemed endless. They sought to uncover the cause of the disturbance in the forest.
Ignoring Edilan's objections, Speed ventured into the forest and disappeared.
"What a coincidence," Laxus remarked as he glanced at another request slip.
S-Class Request—
Investigate the beasts issue in the eastern forest of Araka Town and resolve it.
Reward—5 million Jewels.
The two requests conveniently aligned.
"Alright," Jehfrit consoled Edilan briefly and assured her, "Don't worry, we'll do our best."
He didn't make promises. If the forest truly harbored malicious intent, Speed's chances of survival weren't high.
"Mm," Edilan nodded but added guiltily, "I'm sorry, I don't have enough money to upgrade this to an S-Class request."
This was a major taboo.
Clearly, both requests pertained to the same difficult situation, which should've been categorized as S-Class.
Setting it as a B-Class misled others. If inexperienced mages attempted the task, they might end up dead.
Generally, mages would refuse upon realizing the difficulty, though it affected their reputation.
Jehfrit and the others didn't mind.
Still, a stern warning was necessary.
"Doing things like this will get you blacklisted from all mage guilds. It's fine this time since we took the request, but next time, don't ever do this again!"
Edilan apologized profusely.
Combining the two requests, the trio set off.
Araka Town wasn't far.
They arrived in half a day by carriage.
After speaking with the mayor, the three headed straight for the forest.
*BOOM BOOM BOOM*
Along the way,
Jehfrit and Laxus refrained from intervening, allowing Lisanna to handle the battles.
By the time she was exhausted, Laxus casually unleashed a few lightning strikes, frying all the魔兽.
They ventured deeper into the forest.
However, night fell.
They decided to rest for the night.
Jehfrit pulled out a card, tossed it, and a tent materialized.
Dinner consisted of roasted beast meat.
After eating, the three leaned against a fallen log, gazing at the stars.
All three assumed the same pose—hands behind their heads, legs crossed, even favoring the same direction with their right leg over their left.
"Jehfrit-nii," Lisanna suddenly called out.
"Hmm?"
"Have you thought about the future?"
"Sometimes yes, sometimes no."
"What do you think about when you do?" Lisanna asked curiously.
"Saving money, buying an estate, marrying, having kids, growing the family," Jehfrit replied.
"How much have you saved?"
"Haven't counted. Things have been unstable lately with constant trouble. I'll calculate when I'm ready to buy in a few years."
"How many wives are you planning to marry?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course, just one—it's illegal otherwise," Jehfrit chuckled.
"Don't nobles have mistresses?"
"That's different."
"Ha!" Lisanna turned around, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "Exposed! You filthy scoundrel!"
"How am I exposed?"
"Not denying means default, and default means you're thinking about it!"
"...," Jehfrit was at a loss for words.
"Hmph," Lisanna sniffed. "Laxus-nii wouldn't be like you."
"Him? He's someone who reads multi-heroine novels," Jehfrit sneered.
"Really?" Lisanna turned to look at Laxus.
"I'm not interested in novels; that book was lent to me by Jehfrit," Laxus admitted calmly.
"Did you finish reading it? Did you finish?!" Jehfrit pressed.
"...," Laxus remained silent.
"It's just a novel. Maybe the other parts of the story are well-written. It doesn't mean anything," Lisanna pouted.
"He also frequents cabarets," Jehfrit added another jab.
"I'm going to sleep!" Lisanna stood up and ran into the tent.
"...,"
The two fell silent for a moment.
Jehfrit spoke, "Seriously, Laxus, do you still want to become guild master?"
"...," Laxus took a deep breath and sighed, "What difference does it make if I want to?"
After recent events, not only did he realize, but it was objectively clear—becoming guild master required everyone's support.
Currently,
the most support was for Jehfrit.
Then Erza, Gildarts.
As for him... not many supported him.
"I support you," Jehfrit stood up and declared, "You're the most suitable candidate."
Of course, it had to be him. After all, neither he nor Erza wanted to stress over guild matters until they went bald.
With that, he returned to the tent.
Lisanna was already curled up in her sleeping bag, seemingly asleep with her eyes closed.
When Jehfrit lay down, she turned over, whispering dreamily, "Jehfrit-nii, what should I do?"
"Just wait. Achieving goals or dreams takes time," Jehfrit replied.
"Hnnn..." Lisanna's light snores filled the tent.