Time flew by once a routine was established; Alex and Erza were two people who were never apart.
Now that Alex had magic and could take on guild requests, he completed C, B, and A-Rank missions alongside Erza Scarlet. All the missions were completed with success. They were mostly hunting requests some normal or magical beast was pestering a village or city, and they would take care of it.
The duo gained a bit of fame among business circles; after all, the beasts they hunted remained intact, meaning their full value could be utilized to make as much money as possible. There were even requests directed specifically at them from magical artisans looking for complete, undamaged magical beasts to forge new magical weapons or armor.
With plenty of money in his pocket, Alex began to relax a bit. He was now in the Fairy Tail guild, in his favorite spot at the bar, far from the tables where people usually fought over the slightest disagreement. He had a very sexy, white haired waitress who would occasionally tease him by showing a bit too much cleavage with her dress.
When Erza saw Alex looking at Mirajane's breasts, she would get jealous. "Where are you looking, Alex? If you want to see something, look at me." Then, Erza would grab Alex's head with both hands and bury it in her chest... that would have made anyone happy.
The problem was that Erza usually wore her magical armor. That meant a blunt impact against metal. Alex's head was hit mercilessly by Erza's embrace, causing the entire guild to burst into laughter.
"Man, I don't know whether to be jealous or happy that I'm not the one getting Erza's attention," one member joked.
"A hug like that could knock anyone out. Look at the state Alex is in every time he glares at Mirajane."
"Tsk, just a lucky guy," Loke said.
Gray, who was next to his friend, said, "Didn't you try to flirt with them the other day? What happened? You ended up beaten by the women, and Alex left you hanging on the wall for a few minutes."
Loke remembered that embarrassing moment. Not only was he rejected, but he also experienced firsthand what it was like to be "crucified" in the guild, with everyone staring and laughing at him.
"That guy Alex is too heartless for doing that to us."
"Well, the Guild Master decided to use it as a new punishment for those who mess around or cause trouble," Gray replied.
Loke rolled his eyes. "Bastard, you already forgot when you stripped in front of Erza. The guy got so mad he crucified you upside down while you were naked..."
Recalling such an embarrassing moment, Gray blushed. Since then, he hadn't dared to walk around completely naked in the guild he only took off his shirt.
Seeing his friend's embarrassment, Loke laughed. "Hahahaha! And you have the nerve to say something to me when you've had it worse!"
"You wanna fight?!" Gray landed the first blow, and that triggered another brawl in the guild.
Makarov watched his children demonstrating their excess energy in a fight once again. Then he saw Erza and Mirajane arguing.
"Those two haven't changed at all. They used to fight to see who was stronger; now they fight over a boy? Ridiculous..."
He also noticed Cana joining that circle; the girl clearly wanted something from him. Makarov felt a headache coming on, but it wasn't his place to intervene.
Seeing Erza and Alex go on missions together was a good thing, but also a bad one. S-Rank missions were piling up.
Mystogan rarely takes S-Rank jobs, his grandson does them occasionally, Gildarts hasn't returned to the guild in months, and Erza is only doing normal missions lately. Mirajane hasn't gone on a mission since her sister's incident.
In a month, none of his S-Rank wizards had taken a mission. What would others say about his guild? That his S-Ranks didn't have the confidence to handle a difficult job?
"Ridiculous. This cannot stay like this. Since only Erza and Mirajane are in the guild, I can only entrust a mission to her." Makarov approached the bar. "Erza, my child, I need to talk to you."
Erza stopped struggling with Mirajane and asked Makarov, "What do you need, Master?"
Alex "revived" from the dead to hear what the Master was saying to Erza. Cana and Mira also fell silent.
"Ahem," Makarov cleared his throat. "I see you've been doing normal missions with Alex lately, right?"
Erza nodded; she had accompanied Alex on every single one.
"Well, I'm glad you've been working for the guild, but remember that you also have to take on an S-Rank mission once in a while. Why don't you two take one? With Alex's abilities, you should be fine, and with your strength, you could complete it. What do you say?"
Erza thought about it seriously. She hadn't done an S-Rank mission in a while. Bringing Alex could be both good and bad, but in the month she had worked alongside him, she knew his magic was ridiculously strong. It wouldn't be a bad idea to try; if they could complete it, great. If not, safety came first.
"I think we can try it, Master. I can't guarantee we'll complete it, but if the mission puts Alex's life in danger, I will have to abandon it," she said firmly.
Makarov agreed. "I understand. If it's too dangerous, it's fine if you don't finish. Your lives come first."
Once they reached an agreement, the two went to the second floor to decide which S-Rank mission was suitable for them.
Alex waited at the bar with Mirajane and Cana.
The two girls reacted differently to the news. Mirajane became a bit melancholic, as if remembering something painful.
Cana had a look of longing in her eyes becoming an S-Rank wizard was the goal she had set for herself so she could finally say those words to that man. Words she hadn't been able to say since she was a child.
Alex saw the change in both women and decided to stay silent. Although he knew their problems could be solved in the future, trying to help now without being asked could spark curiosity about how he knew such information, leading to suspicion.
He didn't want any trouble following him, so he would help them in the future. Now was not the time.