After urgently borrowing money from Makarov, Ur finally managed to send the carriage off in one piece.
Back inside the guild, Makarov was still standing there, visibly stunned.
"Thanks, Master! I'll pay you back as soon as I can." Ur walked over, rubbing the back of his head apologetically.
Makarov rubbed his temple, finally recovering from the chaos Ur had just caused. "Ur… did your mission fail?"
"Nope!"
"No?" Makarov blinked in confusion.
He had assumed Ur couldn't pay the carriage fare because the mission had failed. After all, D-Class missions weren't that difficult; rookie mages often took them, and as such, success rates weren't very high.
If Ur had failed, Makarov wouldn't have been surprised in the least.
But now he was saying the mission was complete?
"Then what happened to your reward? Didn't the client pay you?"
"Uh… no, I did get paid. But… there were a few unexpected circumstances, and I… kind of spent all of it." Ur scratched his head again, the awkwardness practically leaking out of him.
"Spent it?" Makarov's mouth opened, but no words came out.
Wasn't that mission the highest-paying among the D-Class tasks?
"Sigh… another one I'll have to keep an eye on…" Makarov muttered in his heart, feeling the familiar throb of a rising headache.
Even though he'd mentally prepared for this, it didn't stop his soul from crying.
Compared to the day Ur first joined the guild, the place was much more crowded today.
With just a few glances, he spotted several familiar faces.
"Yo, Ur! Long time no see! I didn't expect you to join the guild too!"
A familiar voice called out.
Ur turned his head and saw a grinning Natsu, and right behind him was Happy, drooling like a faucet.
"Aye, long time no see, Ur~! Slurrrrp… That fish you're carrying looks delicious~!" From the moment he appeared, Happy hadn't looked at Ur even once. His wide, starry eyes were glued to the two giant fish strapped to Ur's back.
These fish were a gift from Grandma Isse.
The fish in her pond were so well-fed that they were practically mythical beasts. These two may look big, but they were only considered medium-sized back at the pond. Originally, she had even offered to give Ur the "King of the Pond", but he'd been physically incapable of carrying it.
Even with his thick skin, Ur couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
All I did was take a quest…
So why did it end up feeling like I robbed someone's family dinner?
"Hey Happy, do me a favor. Go find someone to cook these fish. I'm treating everyone today!"
Even though Ur had rushed back by carriage, the fish weren't going to last long in this scorching heat. Rather than let them go to waste, why not use them to make some friends?
"Aye, sir! Leave it to me!" Happy's eyes sparkled even brighter. He zipped off with lightning speed, probably already dreaming of grilled fillets.
After that was taken care of, Ur finally had time to look around the guild hall properly.
"Fairy Tail" was, as always, boisterous to the extreme, buzzing with chaotic energy and just a hint of destruction.
Take Natsu, for example. A few moments ago, he was smiling at Ur, but now he was locked in a friendly argument with a black-haired, half-naked boy in nothing but a pair of shorts, both hurling intense verbal affection at each other.
"You exhibitionist freak!"
"You charcoal burner!"
"Idiot!"
"Moron!"
"You wanna go?!"
"Come at me!"
Before long, the two rolled across the floor in a deadly embrace, shouting sweet nothings only rivals could understand.
Their wild tumbling triggered a cascade of friendly fire, and soon—like dominoes—more and more guild members were pulled in.
Within seconds, the entire hall turned into a riotous mess.
There were flying tables and spinning chairs, and someone even threw a keg. Magic lights began to flicker as some of the more passionate mages started chanting.
"Cut it out. Right now!"
Right before anyone could fire off a spell, a crisp but commanding female voice rang through the air.
The room froze.
Everyone stopped, except for Natsu and the half-naked boy, who were still rolling like battling hedgehogs.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed across the floor.
Ur looked up and saw a girl in full knight armor approaching, her long crimson hair flowing behind her like a flame, walking calmly into the chaos. Her expression was stern and serious.
Then, without a word—
Wham! Wham!
Two heavy punches.
Natsu and the boy were flattened instantly, massive lumps forming on their heads as their eyes spun like tops.
Damn.
The rest of the room turned pale.
The earlier rowdiness was replaced by cold sweat and trembling silence.
Ur: "Uh…"
"Now this feels familiar…"
He'd seen this scene many times before in the anime.
But seeing it in person?
It still felt… oddly surreal.
All of them were "old acquaintances".
The black-haired boy was Gray Fullbuster, one of the main cast. He used Ice-Make Magic and was Natsu's eternal frenemy.
As for the armored redhead, she was none other than Erza Scarlet, later known as "Titania, Queen of the Fairies." A prodigy who passed the S-Class test at age 15. She used a rare magic called Requip: The Knight, allowing her to instantly switch weapons and armor in combat.
These two weren't just background extras like Wakaba.
They were major players in the Fairy Tail story.
After restoring order, Erza finally walked over to Ur and Makarov.
She eyed Ur for a moment, curious. "Master, who is he?"
"Oh! That's right, you haven't met yet!" Makarov suddenly seemed to remember something.
With a quick hop, the tiny old man bounced up onto the counter and called out loudly to the room.
"Let me introduce you all! This is the newbie I mentioned a few days ago. Ur Geld, our guild's newest member!"