It was the perfect display of "flex hard, then sprint away," and it nearly drove the people downstairs insane.
A few hot-headed idiots even tried to charge up to the second floor to challenge Kabe to a duel.
But before Kabe could deal with them himself, Makarov's face darkened. He stepped in and dropped them with one punch each, knocking them flat.
"Quiet down, you morons!"
Under Makarov's intimidation, everyone fell silent.
Even so, people kept stealing glances up at the second floor, their eyes filled to the brim with envy.
Honestly, it was not just them. Even Makarov was grinding his teeth, jealousy practically seeping out of him.
'That little bastard actually pulled it off for real.
Why does old man me never get something like that?!'
If nothing unexpected happened, after Kabe's flashy little stunt, most of the men in the guild were going to lose sleep tonight.
They would probably even jolt awake in the middle of the night, spit out a furious curse, and hiss "bastard" with pure envy and bitterness.
...
Up on the second floor, Kabe lay flat on the floor, peeking through the gaps in the railing and soaking in the expressions of everyone below. His mood was indescribably blissful.
Mira leaned against a bookshelf with her arms crossed. Seeing him act like this, she snorted and coldly said,
"What are you so happy about? After you provoked them like that, for the next half month, the moment you show your face in the guild, you will get jumped."
Kabe did not care at all. He climbed up off the floor, shamelessly slid an arm around Mira's smooth waist, and then turned his eyes toward Erza, who was pretending to read the job board while secretly peeking at him from the corner of her eyes.
"And that is because I have two naturally gorgeous, gentle, and virtuous girlfriends.
It is normal to be envied."
"Tch. Fine, you know how to talk."
Mira's lips curled into a satisfied smile as she accepted the flattery.
Erza also let out a quiet hum, her mood lifting in spite of herself.
Looking at his two proud, tsundere girlfriends, Kabe could not help laughing softly.
Just then, the guild hall below suddenly got noisy again.
Mixed in with the shouting was Makarov's furious swearing.
Curious, the three of them stepped to the railing and leaned over to look down.
"Natsu, you brat, you are finally back!
This time you wrecked three whole streets on your mission! Now I have to write another apology report to the Council!"
Under Makarov's roar, a pink-haired boy casually tossed his bag aside and yelled impatiently toward Laki,
"Hurry, hurry, bring out whatever food there is. I am starving!"
"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"
Seeing Natsu completely ignore him, Makarov got so angry his beard almost seemed ready to explode.
At that moment, a blue cat fluttered up and stopped in front of Makarov, speaking in a soothing tone.
"Do not be mad, Master. Natsu really did teach the local dark guild a serious lesson this time.
And those three destroyed streets cannot all be blamed on him.
Also, I want a fish."
That last line was directed at Laki.
Watching both of them think only about eating while he was scolding them, Makarov snapped. He enlarged part of his arm and swung it down at the boy and the cat.
"Reflect properly, you idiots!"
"Ah!" *2
As expected, one human and one cat were sent straight into the floorboards.
Seeing the familiar mess that happened practically every other day, Kabe, leaning on the railing, could not resist teasing from above.
"Causing trouble again, Natsu?
The pay you earn from missions probably is not even enough to cover the damages, right?
That will not do. A man has to save money to buy a house and marry a wife."
Hearing that voice, the entire guild once again looked up in unison, shooting furious glares at the second floor.
Meanwhile, Natsu, face-down in the floor, twitched his ears.
Then he suddenly got excited, yanked his head out of the boards, and shouted up at the second floor.
"Kabe, you are back already! And Erza, Mira too!
Any of you, I do not care who, fight me!
I am stronger than before now!"
As S Class mages, the three of them had always been the targets Natsu chased, the wall he wanted to surpass.
Seeing them the moment he returned made him happy, and that happiness instantly turned into a challenge.
But all three looked completely uninterested.
Mira: "Tch. You said the same thing last month and the month before.
And every time you got punched into the ground by me."
Erza: "Natsu, improvement requires consistent training and steady accumulation. It does not happen overnight.
Wait another six months. After six months, even if you do not ask, I will test you myself to see if you are worthy."
After being mocked and rejected by both girls, Natsu stubbornly turned his eyes toward the only one who had not spoken yet.
Kabe did not disappoint him. The moment Natsu looked his way, Kabe beckoned with a crooked finger.
"Fine. I will play with you.
Jump up here yourself."
"You are the best! Then I am coming!"
After praising Kabe, Natsu's fists burst into flames. He kicked off the ground and charged straight for Kabe at the second-floor railing like a blazing cannonball.
Makarov only glanced over calmly, with no intention of stopping it.
Happy, who had just climbed back up, shook his head and started calling out lazily.
"Natsu, I will just eat your meal for you. And then..."
Before he could finish, a blur shot past with a sharp whoosh.
A second later, a person went flying backward, smashed through the guild's front doors, and cratered the ground outside.
Looking at Natsu, eyes rolled white and unconscious, Happy wore the expression of someone who had seen this coming a thousand times. He sighed and shook his head.
Then he happily flew up to the bar and began eating the fried rice that had originally been meant for Natsu.
Everyone else was similarly unfazed. They went back to drinking and playing cards, whispering and grumbling about a certain lucky bastard under their breath.
And for Fairy Tail's five S Class mages, disciplining an overly energetic Natsu was simply daily life.
After sending Natsu flying, Kabe noticed the guild's hostility toward him had eased a little.
So, naturally, he boldly and cheerfully led Mira and Erza back downstairs.