Having returned to the guild, I lazed about for a few days, letting my body fully heal and wash away the stress from finally avenging my village's killer. As for Fairy Tail, it returned to normal, operating like the chaotic guild we were.
Currently, I was resting my head on Lucy's lap while she played with my long white hair, something I noticed she enjoyed doing, as this wasn't the first time she had done so. "Haa, life is so unfair. How can a man have such silky smooth hair? It's infuriating." As if to vent her frustration, Lucy suddenly yanked a hair out of my head, causing me to wince. "Oi, stop being so rough." Rubbing my head, I shot a glare at Lucy, who placed it atop her lips, pretending as if it were a mustache.
"Hehe, Sir Lucy!" Natsu, the guild's bundle of energy, approached us with a smile while looking at Lucy, who quickly brushed aside my strand of hair with a faint blush of embarrassment before shooting Natsu a glare. "Hmph, I'm a woman, Natsu." "Eh, you sure? Don't women usually have long hair? Big bros is longer than yours." "Urgh, d-don't mention it."
Faintly smirking at Lucy's depression, I sat upright while grabbing Natsu's hand, pulling him into Lucy, who blushed at their close proximity, but Natsu didn't really react. "Hmm, you smell good, Lucy." "She does." Natsu's words caused Lucy's face to become crimson from his sniffing, and my words of agreement seemed to push her past the limit as she kicked him off her. "G-Get off me! Pervert! Natsu!"
While an overwhelmed Lucy used her hands to cover her face in embarrassment, Natsu stood back up and plopped onto the bench between her and I before leaning towards me. "Hey, big bro, is Lucy okay? Her face is like an apple." "Hm, yeah, she just finds you attractive. You should compliment her beauty." Whispering to Natsu, he furrowed his brows slightly before nodding.
As I watched Natsu compliment Lucy, calling her beautiful, which she was, her whole body went rigid while ethereal steam floated from her face, causing me to chuckle. "Um, I think she's broken, big bro." Poking Lucy's face, Natsu looked at me in concern, though having sensed a great disturbance in the laws of flirting, Loke summoned himself from Lucy's pouch as he slapped Natsu's hand.
"Natsu, you can't just so boldly flirt with a woman like that." "Eh, I just did what big bro did." "Haa, while I admit big bro is experienced, he is just a child in the world of courting women." Hearing his back-handed compliment, I grabbed my cup and tossed it at Loke, who ducked it. "Oi, I'm more than just a child." "Ho, I deeply respect you, big bro, but please, that is my area of expertise." Faintly smirking, Loke narrowed his eyes, competitiveness sparking within them.
"Who said that was your area of expertise? It damn sure wasn't me." "Are you perhaps claiming you're better at courting women than I am, big bro?" "Damn right I am. I'm confident I could court more women than you in a day." Standing up, I pushed the table out of the way, which stood directly in front of Loke, meeting his competitive gaze with my confident glare. "Since you're so confident, big bro, why are we still talking? Let's go right now."
Grinning at Loke's challenge, which I didn't hesitate to accept, the two of us headed for the entrance, only to briefly freeze, remembering our famous, or I should say, infamous reputation in Magnolia, particularly among women. After a bit of thinking, Loke and I seem to have come to the same conclusion as we glanced at each other. "How about we change locations for the challenge?" "Hmm, yes, that sounds smart, big bro. Ah, I have tickets to Akane Resort."
Loke, in one fluid motion, reached into his pocket, grabbing seven tickets to Akane Resort, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "Why so many?" "Ah, they were for me and my girlfriends…" Loke didn't need to finish speaking, as I already knew why they were still with him; after all, I had been at the scene, facing down the Celestial Spirit King. "Oh, Akane Resort? I heard that place was amazing. Count me in." Gray, without an ounce of shame, suddenly grabbed one of the six tickets, though he wasn't the only one without shame.
"Hmm, Akane Resort? I shall also accompany you." Erza, the ever-bold queen, grabbed another ticket, and Cana, who must've been listening to us, also grabbed one. "Hehe, they must have tasty beer." "Oh, I also want to come! I'll also give one to Lucy." As Natsu took two, one for him and the other for Lucy, only two tickets remained, causing Loke and me to look at each other, though, as if that wasn't enough, Happy came flying out of nowhere.
"Akane Resort? Isn't that by the beach!? They probably have delicious fishies!" Full of excitement, Happy took a ticket before returning to his previous spot beside Gramps at the bar, causing Loke's expression to twitch violently. "L-Looks like I'll be hiding in the Celestial Realm until we arrive." Akin to a Volcano moments away from erupting, Loke handed me the final ticket before dissipating into golden lights, causing me to sigh and shake my head.
"Alright, we are leaving tomorrow morning. Get ready, everyone." Erza, taking command of our little vacation, received a nod from everyone who was attending before walking away, prompting me to rub the bridge of my nose as I exited the guild. Stuffing the ticket into my pocket, I walked down the main street of Magnolia, stopping by my favorite kebab spot, only to spot the Thunder God team in the distance.
When I got closer, I noticed their slightly pale expressions and haggard eyes, not to mention the way they walked with a limp and the bandages; clearly, the numerous S-class and SS-class missions Laxus had taken to annoy me weren't so easy. 'Tsk, lucky.' Finishing my kebab, I tossed the stick into the trash and folded my arms as I stopped Laxus, blocking his path. "I can tell you've clearly had a fun time." Evergreen and Bickslow groaned at my words, while Fried didn't even react.
"What did you do!" Narrowing his eyes, Laxus's deep voice entered my ears, causing me to smirk as it seemed he was able to sense that he and I were now different. "Me? Nothing, I just slayed a dragon, that's all." Grinning, I spread my arms while eyeing Laxus, whose expression hardened while the three others widened their eyes in disbelief.
"W-What!? T-That's impossible! Big bro is strong, but Dragons are mythical creatures!" "A-Aren't they invincible to other magic? Isn't that why they made dragon-slaying magic in the first place?" Hearing their shocked voices, I shifted my gaze to the three little ducks behind Laxus. "Evergreen, did you forget what magic I use?"
The notion that Dragons were invincible to most magic was merely a random theory stemming from the world's shallow understanding of dragons. However, even if that were the case, my magic enhances my body in a way that sets it apart from ordinary magic.
"Anyway, seeya later." Waving at Laxus, leaving him infuriated with a plethora of questions, I continued down the main street, heading to one of my siblings' homes to crash for the night. However, while doing so, I sensed a brief burst of intense magic power, causing me to laugh. "Haha, that will piss him off for a while."
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After waking up the next day and taking a two-hour train ride, the six of us arrived at Akane's station.
"Whoa, even the station is fancy." "Why do you sound surprised? Aren't you the daughter of a billionaire?" "Hmph, I can't appreciate wealth?" Rolling my eyes, I raised my arms, not wishing to argue with Lucy while Erza led us to the Akane resort, acting as our de facto leader.
Once we reached the entrance, we handed in our three-day ticket to Akane Resort and were led to a massive room where we'd be staying. "Hmm, four beds. Who nominates to share?" Settling the little bit of luggage we had on the ground, Erza gestures to the four beds before glancing at all of us. "I can just sleep on the couch." "Nah, share with me and Happy big bro!" "I would rather not sleep at all."
I've crashed at Natsu's home before, and aside from its disgusting state, Natsu sleeps like a wild animal. 'I do not want to be woken up by a slap to the face.' Deciding to leave that whole discussion for later, Natsu, Gray, Happy, Lucy, and Cana changed their clothes and headed to the beach, although Cana didn't change hers.
"What will you be doing?" "I'll probably just rest for now; it's rare for me to take vacations." Unequipping her armor, Erza plopped onto the bed, while I just lightly nodded before rubbing my hands with a lustful smile. 'Enjoying a few women before my challenge with Loke should be acceptable.' With the desire to finally release my pent-up lust, I left Erza alone, exploring the Akane Resort in search of a beautiful middle-aged woman.