Gildarts drained the liquor in his cup and slammed the oak mug heavily on the table, making a dull thud.
"Hah—the commission is done. Didn't you want to join the guild? Then come back with me."
He wiped the foam from his mouth and said briskly.
Shane naturally agreed. Having a guild member lead the way was certainly better than the two of them rushing over blindly as newcomers who knew nothing.
However, Gildarts still didn't say what the requirements for joining the guild were. Shane wanted to prepare in advance.
In his view, wanting to get something always required paying a corresponding price.
"No time to delay, let's go now!" Gildarts said, about to get up.
"Wait." Erza suddenly stood up, her crisp voice interrupting him.
Gildarts and Shane looked at her in confusion at the same time.
Erza extended her hand, palm up, straight in front of Shane, and said concisely: "Money."
"What money?" Shane didn't react for a moment.
"I defeated the bandits." Erza stared at him unblinkingly with her pitch-black eyes. "Give me my share."
Shane was stunned for a moment, then realized.
"Well, Erza did defeat the people, so indeed we should split the spoils." While silently mourning his house purchase fund taking another step away, he painfully took out the money pouch.
He couldn't help being curious; logically, with Erza's personality, she shouldn't care about these things. So he asked, "Why do you suddenly want money? Is there something you want to buy?"
Erza clenched the coins tightly, the anger that had subsided flaring up again.
She gritted her teeth and said, "The weapons you manifest disappear as soon as the fight starts! I can't wait for you to forge me a Magic Sword; I must buy a weapon of my own first!"
"Ha... ha... is that so." Shane laughed awkwardly and rubbed his nose, finally understanding why Erza had given him attitude inside the barrier earlier.
Just as the little episode between the two was about to end—
Stomp stomp stomp stomp...
Outside the tavern door, a large number of heavy and orderly footsteps suddenly sounded, approaching quickly from afar, swiftly surrounding the small tavern.
"Not good!" Gildarts' face changed slightly. "It's the Council's Rune Knights; they came really fast!"
"What's wrong?" Shane was puzzled. "Aren't they here just in time to handle the aftermath? I still have some things to ask the people from that Dark Guild. Speaking of which, what exactly do you plan to do about that destroyed street..."
However, Gildarts didn't give him a chance to finish asking. He stood up abruptly, his tone urgent: "No time to explain! Absolutely cannot be caught red-handed!"
Before his voice fell, he used both hands, lifting Shane by the back of his collar with one hand and scooping up Erza like a kitten with the other large hand, his body sinking slightly—
BOOM!!
The thick brick wall turned into powder instantly upon contact, breaking open a large hole.
"Wait! Your 'brilliant plan' was just this... physically running away?!" Shane shouted messily in the wind as he was carried at high speed.
"Hahaha! It doesn't count if you aren't caught on the spot! Relax, leave the headache for later to that old man in the guild who only eats and doesn't work!"
Gildarts laughed nonchalantly, his feet not stopping, carrying the two and sprinting wildly on the street, so fast that he left afterimages.
"How can I relax about this!!" Shane's complaint was scattered by the wind.
Erza, being carried on the other side, looked in the direction behind them and murmured, "I, I want to buy a sword first..."
Behind them came even more chaotic footsteps and the exasperated shouts of the Council's Rune Knights.
...
...
A few days later, Fiore Kingdom, Magnolia Station.
A long-distance train, puffing the dull roar unique to Magitech, slowly stopped steadily. The carriage doors opened, and among the surging crowd, three travel-worn people walked out.
Magnolia, located in the east of the Fiore Kingdom, with a population of about 60,000, was a commercial metropolis famous for magic since ancient times.
Out of the station, Shane looked around curiously.
Different from the small city they stayed in before, the streets here were neat and spacious, lined with shops on both sides. Pedestrians were dressed decently with peaceful expressions on their faces, and the air was filled with an atmosphere of prosperity and harmony.
"This is where Fairy Tail is located..." He sighed softly. From the leisurely gait of the residents, he could feel the difference here.
Beside him, Erza was hugging an ordinary longsword she had hurriedly bought in a town on the way, fondling the scabbard admiringly.
This expression made Shane a bit jealous, and he couldn't help saying, "Erza, didn't we agree you'd wait for me for weapons?"
On the way, he had tried hard to persuade the girl to wait a bit longer and not waste money.
This kind of mortal iron sword wasn't even as good as the practice pieces he left with Noel; it would be eliminated sooner or later.
Erza had also learned Shane's commonly used trick now. Hearing this, she just turned her head slightly, pretending not to hear, and continued rubbing the hilt, but the corner of her mouth quietly curled up in a small arc.
Gildarts walking in front yawned. Over these few days, he had gotten used to the bickering interaction between these two little guys from time to time.
He rubbed his face; sure enough, one isn't clear-headed after a hangover.
"Gildarts, which direction is the guild?" Shane withdrew his gaze and asked.
"The guild..." Gildarts stopped and looked around.
Then he raised his hand very naturally and pointed straight ahead. "Hmm... don't remember clearly. But it doesn't matter; anyway, walking straight in this direction is correct!"
Before his voice fell, he had already taken big strides and stood at the entrance of the town's busiest street.
In the next second, he entered that unique state.
His eyes unfocused, his body emitting an aura of "all things make way," turning a blind eye to all obstacles ahead, he walked forward unswervingly.
"Here it comes again..." Shane held his forehead helplessly.
In an instant, the entire street was like cold water thrown into boiling oil, exploding instantly!
"It's Gildarts!!"
"That Destroyer is back!!"
"Run!!"
"Pack up! Pack up quickly!!"
"Honey! Quickly put away the porcelain displayed outside!"
Pedestrians dodged in panic; vendors hurriedly packed up their stalls. Wherever Gildarts passed, street lamps, corners of stalls, and decorations extending from buildings all turned into neat fragments the moment they touched his surroundings.
Looking at the continuously added "scars" on the road and the distressingly skillful evasion movements of the residents...
Shane thought with a twitching mouth: If this goes on, the residents of Magnolia will be forced to develop a specialized "Gildarts Early Warning and Emergency Response Mode" one day...
Under this "efficient" way of advancing, the three soon arrived in front of a tall wooden building at the back of the town.
The architectural style was rugged, and an eye-catching Fairy Tail guild mark could be seen hanging there.
A member just walking out of the guild saw Gildarts walking straight toward him and just raised his hand to greet: "Yo! Isn't this Gildarts? You're back!"
However, Gildarts' eyes remained unfocused. He had absolutely no intention of turning toward the main gate, walking straight toward the thick wall beside it without stopping.
The man was stunned and hurriedly pointed to the open main door beside him and shouted, "Wait! Gildarts! The main door is here!"
His reminder was obviously futile.
BOOM!!
With a muffled sound, the thick guild wall was like paper under Gildarts' Crash Magic, broken open again with a large hole with neat edges.
Amidst flying stone chips, Gildarts' lazy figure stepped into the guild hall unharmed, his vigorous voice echoing through the entire space:
"I'm back!"