Chapter 33: Date Invitation
A familiar figure stood on the second floor of the guild. He had short blond hair, a lightning-shaped scar on his right eye, and wore headphones over his ears. His rebellious appearance matched his attitude as he leaned against the railing, looking down at the guild members below with a smug expression.
"Laxus! You're actually here!"
"Laxus! Come down and fight me!" Natsu shouted immediately upon spotting him.
Laxus smirked playfully. "Come up here if you can!"
"Just watch me!" Natsu yelled and charged toward the stairs.
Suddenly, a massive hand descended from above and slammed Natsu into the floor. "Not yet! You're not ready!"
"Yo yo yo! You made Gramps angry!"
Makarov sighed. "Laxus, that's enough!"
"I'm being perfectly reasonable. You should tell the guy next to you to take it easy. The guild's reputation has taken a hit because of him." Laxus's eyes shifted to Dino. "Fairy Tail is supposed to have the strongest mages in Fiore. But has anyone outside even heard of this so-called 'strongest'? And old man, don't you think your 'strongest' title has an expiration date? It's time to pass it on."
"Right now, I'm the strongest mage in Fairy Tail!"
"Just wait! One day I'll claim that title for myself! And that day isn't far off! Hahahaha!" Laxus laughed and turned away, disappearing into the second floor.
Lucy's eyebrow twitched. "Who does he think he is? He was totally picking a fight with Dino just now." Laxus's arrogant attitude rubbed her the wrong way.
Mirajane smiled gently. "That's Laxus, one of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages. It's normal for him to challenge Dino. After all, most of the guild recognizes Dino as our strongest mage right now. For someone like Laxus who's always chasing strength, Dino is the biggest wall he has to climb over."
Lucy pumped her fist. "Dino, he was totally provoking you! Why don't you teach him a lesson like you did with Natsu?"
Dino waved dismissively. "I don't deal with chuunibyou." He shrugged. "Besides, you can't just go around hitting people, right?" Even setting aside that Laxus was a guildmate, he was also Master Makarov's grandson. For the old man's sake, Dino wasn't going to make a big deal out of Laxus's attitude.
Lucy gave him a flat look, clearly not buying it. "Uh-huh, sure." After walking around with him just twice, she'd seen him knock people around plenty. "You're not actually scared, are you? Afraid he might actually take your throne?"
Before Dino could respond, Mirajane giggled. "No, it's because Dino beat Laxus so badly before that he feels a little guilty about it. For the past few years, Laxus wouldn't even make a peep around Dino. But recently he's gotten stronger and finally feels confident enough to challenge him again."
Lucy thought back to the terrifying destruction Dino could unleash with a single attack. The odds of someone being stronger than him seemed pretty slim.
"By the way, why doesn't the Master let Natsu go up to the second floor?"
"It's too early for him. The jobs on the second floor are completely different from the ones down here—they're all S-Class quests. One wrong judgment could cost you your life. Of course, the danger comes with much higher rewards. Only S-Class mages are allowed to take those requests. Currently, there are only six people in the guild who can go up there."
"Six people? That's incredible! Who are they?"
"Gildarts, Dino, Erza, Mystogan, Laxus, and me."
Lucy's jaw dropped. "You too, Mira?!" Mirajane always seemed so gentle and sweet around the guild. She'd had no idea Mirajane was an S-Class mage.
"Why did you retire so young? When we first heard about it, everyone was shocked!"
A flicker of pain crossed Mirajane's eyes. "A lot happened back then. But I'm happy helping everyone in the guild this way."
Dino headed up to the second floor to check the S-Class request board. After scanning the few available jobs, he found nothing that interested him and came back down. Glancing at the time, he realized the guild would be closing soon. He decided to head back to his dormitory and get some rest.
Spending a leisurely day hanging around the guild reminded him of his old office job back on Earth—showing up at the same time, leaving at the same time, every single day.
He'd traveled to another world—shouldn't every day be an adventure? A few years ago, Dino had actually felt that fire for exploring, and he'd acted on it too. But after a while, he'd circled back to square one. Honestly, this easygoing lifestyle was the most comfortable.
As soon as Dino stepped outside the guild gates, he heard someone call his name. Turning around, he saw Mirajane hurrying toward him.
She glanced around cautiously, making sure no one was watching, then walked up to him quickly. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. "Dino, remember when you promised you'd go shopping with me? You don't have any urgent quests right now, and now that the Master's back, I finally have some free time too." She fidgeted slightly. "Let's meet tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, under the big tree in South Gate Park. See you there!" Before he could respond, Mirajane turned and hurried away.
Dino stood frozen. His mind replayed her words—see you there—and the image of her blushing, shy expression. Had Mirajane just… asked him on a date? Sure, she'd framed it as fulfilling their earlier promise, but as far as he knew, Mirajane had never invited anyone out like this before.
He pinched his arm.
"Ow!" It hurt. "This is real!"
His heart pounded.
"Yes! Yes! YES!"