### Chapter 4: Sweating Profusely Gray
Walking through the central streets of the town, local residents would occasionally greet Makarov warmly from both sides.
The old man would smile and nod in response every time.
As for the lifeless-looking child following him, the locals at most gave him a few curious glances but didn't presume to ask questions aloud.
After all, they were long accustomed to Guild Master Makarov's practice of bringing back one or two children every time he went out for a while.
Even now, everyone in the town would occasionally joke in private with good intentions that Fairy Tail had gathered so many children that it looked more like a nursery than a Mage guild.
It was just that the child Guild Master Makarov brought back this time seemed particularly shy; he had kept his head down since just now and hadn't said a word.
They walked through almost the entire town, and finally, Makarov stopped with Jiro in front of a building near the lake.
The building had a multi-story design with a roof covered in red tiles and a golden dome decoration on top. It was accompanied by three fluttering flags representing the Kingdom of Fiore, Fairy Tail, and the Magic Council.
In the most prominent position on the front of the first floor, a huge sign with a gold background and light purple text reading 'FAIRY TAIL' was also extremely recognizable.
Glancing at Jiro beside him, who was still out of it, Makarov extinguished the thought of introducing the guild to him. He directly kicked open the guild's main gate and roared inside:
"Quiet down, all of you stinky brats! I could hear you shouting from far away. Don't you know how to show some restraint and behave yourselves?!"
Such a 'shocking' entrance naturally attracted everyone's attention instantly.
However, the crowd, long used to being scolded, didn't take the Master's reprimand to heart at all. They immediately cast their gazes on the listless brat who walked in behind the Master.
"Hey, hey, Master, where did you pick up another unidentified brat?
Come on, if this goes on, our guild will be misunderstood by others as a nursery. Can't you give it a rest?"
Hearing the complaint, Makarov's sharp gaze swept over instantly.
The person speaking was a young man with a small beard on his chin and dark blue spiky hair.
After he finished speaking, a young man beside him with a pompadour hairstyle and sunglasses also chimed in:
"Yeah, Master, these brats are chirping all day long, it's annoying to death.
Next time if you want to pick someone up, please trouble yourself to pick up a beautiful lady who is 18 or 19 years old with a curvy figure, okay?"
"Oh~ that's a good idea, as expected of you, Wakaba."
The pompadour's suggestion won the approval of a crowd of single men in the guild.
Only Makarov and the few children who were despised by the adults looked ugly and unhappy.
"Shut up, all of you!"
Amidst the roar, Makarov's arm expanded rapidly like a balloon being inflated. Finally, accompanied by the fearful expressions of the guild members, it smashed down heavily, hammering Macao and Wakaba, who were laughing just now, along with their chairs, right into the floor with one punch.
"Eek—! The Master is flipping out!"
Fairy Tail members who realized the situation hurriedly moved away from the two unlucky guys as fast as possible.
But Makarov obviously didn't intend to let these guys off. Just now, anyone who complained was chased down one by one and punched into the floor.
While Makarov was busy violently suppressing the guild, a girl with darker skin wearing an orange plaid dress quietly approached Jiro, who was contemplating life.
"Hey, are you okay? Don't mind what those stinky old men said, they just drank a little too much and were joking.
In Fairy Tail, we don't care about background or personality. As long as you like this guild and treat everyone in the guild as companions, we are all your family."
While the girl was speaking, two other children of similar age also gathered around.
They looked at this new partner who kept his head down and didn't speak with various curious and scrutinizing gazes.
Jiro, who had been silent since entering the city, seemed to have finally ended his internal friction and slowly raised his head.
In an instant, three faces that were both familiar and strange to him came into view.
They were Cana, who seemed to be talking to him just now, Gray, who was shirtless and barefoot wearing only a pair of blue shorts, and Erza, who had put on silver-white armor early on.
No Natsu or Mirajane? It looks like my timeline is quite early.
Having watched Fairy Tail two or three times anyway, he instantly deduced the approximate timeline.
Gray, with his arms crossed, saw that this guy didn't say a word for a long time and waved his hand in front of him in annoyance.
"Hey, you guy, did you hear that?"
"Gray! That's too rude."
Erza couldn't stand Gray's behavior and spoke up to stop him.
Having joined the guild less than half a year ago, looking at Jiro was like seeing herself when she first arrived at Fairy Tail six months ago.
Perhaps this boy had also encountered some bad things and was in a period where he needed care and comfort from others. They should have a little more patience.
On the other side, Jiro only pondered for a moment before his consciousness returned to reality.
Looking at Gray, who seemed a bit impatient because he hadn't spoken.
He reached out and pointed to his ear, apologizing:
"Sorry, I can't hear. Could you please slow down? I can read lips."
Gah—!
In an instant, the backs of Gray and the other two were soaked with cold sweat. Especially Gray, who hurriedly bowed 90 degrees and apologized in fear:
"I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry!!!"
Seeing this, the corners of Jiro's mouth just curled up, revealing a smile of a successful prank.
But the next second, he was sent flying by a giant fist larger than a person, directly embedding him into the wooden bar counter.
Looking at Cana and the other two, they were dumbfounded, completely messy in the wind.
A few seconds later, the giant fist slowly retracted and returned to its original size. Makarov walked over with a dark face, reprimanding:
"Stinky brat! Don't play such nasty jokes on your companions. I don't remember you having any disabilities!!"
Jiro, who was punched into the bar counter, broke free from the counter as if nothing had happened under the shocked gazes of the three little ones. Covering his sore nose, he retorted:
"Stop talking to yourself, you stinky old man. Who are companions? I never said I wanted to join your guild!"