"What is it?"
Shane slowly swallowed the chicken in his mouth and looked up at the shadow suddenly looming over him. His tone was so flat it was like he was asking a waiter if there were any napkins.
"…"
The brat in front of him was sprawled lazily in his chair, half a chicken drumstick in hand, sauce still sared at the corner of his mouth. There wasn't the slightest trace of the reverence one ought to show a Wizard Saint.
A surge of irritation rose in Jose's chest.
Just as expected of one of Makarov's little brats. Not only did he look irritating, he even had the exact sa uncivilized lack of manners.
But Jose didn't explode right away. He took a deep breath and forced a self-styled elegant smile onto his face, barely maintaining the bearing of an important man.
"Boy, I hear you're Fairy Tail's newest S-Class mage?"
"Mmm… I guess."
Shane was still chewing, so the words ca out a little muffled.
"…"
A vein twitched at the corner of Jose's eye, and the skin on his face twitched too, but he suppressed it.
Compared to just teaching this clueless brat a lesson, he had a far more satisfying plan in mind.
Just imagine it—Makarov's precious young prospect, the one he was clearly promoting with the title of "S-Class," suddenly defecting and throwing himself into the arms of his sworn enemy, Phantom Lord.
When that happened, just how wonderful would the look on Makarov's old face be?
Just picturing it made Jose feel refreshed.
So he once again forced down the anger in his chest and pointed toward Makarov, who was laughing loudly in the distance with zero dignity, beer foam all over his beard.
In a tone full of temptation and regret, he said, "Following a guild master like that must be exhausting, right? No authority, no discipline."
"I've heard Fairy Tail is just a bunch of crude, noisy troublemakers. In that kind of smoky, filthy environnt, your talent will only be wasted."
Jose bent slightly and lowered his voice.
"So? Interested in joining my guild instead?"
"If you co to Phantom Lord, I can give you the best resources. That run-down little guild of yours could never offer you that."
"No interest."
Jose had gone on and on, but Shane didn't even blink. He rejected him cleanly.
He'd actually been half looking forward to hearing sothing interesting from this obvious villain face, but it turned out to be such a stale, boring poaching pitch that he was genuinely disappointed.
Slurp.
Shane picked up the fruit juice on the table and took a long, noisy sip, as if the Wizard Saint standing in front of him wasn't even as interesting as the drink.
Jose's already gloomy face instantly turned black as a pot bottom.
But he still refused to give up, assuming the offer just wasn't tempting enough yet.
"If you're worried about people talking if you switch guilds, then don't be. Once you co to us, there'll be no need to care what the weak think. You'll already be living in a different world from them."
"And…"
Jose played what he thought was an irresistible trump card.
"As guild master, I can make an exception and give you a place among the Elent 4."
"That's one of only four supre honors in Phantom Lord. In terms of status and power, it far surpasses your guild's so-called S-Class title."
"The Elent 4?"
At last, Shane set down his cup, seemingly a little interested.
"That's right."
Seeing that reaction, Jose's lips curled smugly.
"It's an honor only the truly strong can receive. As long as you nod—"
"But…"
Shane cut him off. He put on an expression like he was seriously considering it, but there was an almost innocent curiosity in his eyes.
"I do have one question I'd like to ask first."
"Ask."
"Between you and our guild master… which one of you is actually stronger?"
"Hmph. That old fool who only knows how to bluff?"
Jose lifted his chin arrogantly, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Obviously I am."
"Really?"
Shane rubbed his chin and shook his head, looking genuinely regretful.
"But whether it's outside reputation or the reactions of all the guild masters here just now, it seems everyone recognizes Makarov and Fairy Tail as being way stronger than you and Phantom Lord."
"There's a saying, right? People climb upward, water flows downward."
"If I had to choose, then as a mage with ambition, I'd still rather stay sowhere a little stronger."
At that point, Shane paused, looked at Jose's gradually twisting expression, and continued the stab.
"And besides…"
"As a guild master, personally going around trying to poach a young mber from your rival guild… how should I put this…"
"It's kind of pathetic."
Shane shrugged, his tone humble and polite on the surface, but every word cut straight to the bone.
"I just don't think there's much future in following soone like you."
"…"
Dead silence.
The air in the corner seed to freeze solid.
After being ignored over and over, and then mocked like this in such an openly sarcastic way, Jose—who had believed he'd lowered himself enough and been sufficiently gracious—couldn't keep the mask on any longer.
The elegant façade shattered instantly, revealing a twisted rage underneath.
"Boy…"
Jose's eyes bulged, and his voice ca out through gritted teeth.
"Are you… making a fool of ?"
"Oh? You only just noticed?"
Shane blinked in exaggerated surprise.
"I thought I'd made my attitude pretty obvious. Didn't realize Guild Master Jose was this… innocent."
"You dare talk to like that?!"
Jose was used to people looking at him with fear and reverence. He simply could not tolerate so milk-slling brat standing in front of him and mocking him to his face.
"Why wouldn't I?"
Shane rose slowly from his chair, t those murderous eyes directly, and smiled without backing down.
"In Fairy Tail I say worse things than this all the ti. Guild Master Makarov doesn't throw a tantrum like you do and act like he wants to eat people alive."
Boom—!!!
Before the sentence even finished, a terrifying surge of pitch-black magic exploded from Jose without warning.
That magic was like a dark tidal wave made real, carrying the pressure of a Wizard Saint as it crashed down toward Shane.
The plates on the table shattered instantly, and the air around them let out a strained wail.
"So this really isn't starting trouble…"
Even with Makarov's warning still fresh in his mind, Shane knew this wasn't the kind of situation where you ran crying to your guild master. If soone rode right over his face like this, retreating would be pathetic.
His eyes sharpened, and he was just about to move—
"JOSE——!!!"
A roar packed with fury exploded through the banquet hall like thunder.
Boom!
Everyone looked up in terror.
The originally tiny figure was swelling at an incredible rate, transforming in the blink of an eye into a giant whose head nearly punched through the hall's ceiling. Wood chips and stone dust rained down like a storm.
"T-that's Guild Master Makarov?!"
"Fairy Tail's master is enraged! Run!"
The onlookers who had still been watching the show a mont ago now scread in panic and fled toward the corners, staring up at the giant like he had stepped out of myth itself.
"I have tolerated you again and again, Jose!"
The gigantic Makarov looked down at the tiny man beneath him, fury blazing in his eyes.
"But you should never have reached for one of my guild's children! That is the line!"
Though he'd been drinking with his old friends, Makarov had never once taken his attention off Shane.
The mont Jose walked over, he'd already wanted to intervene. He'd only held back for the sake of the bigger picture.
But the instant he felt that malicious burst of magic from Jose, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Hmph. Finally couldn't stand it, huh?"
Faced with the enraged giant, Jose not only didn't retreat—he let out a shrill cold laugh instead.
He pointed at Shane beside him, his eyes venomous.
"Let's not even ntion that I hadn't actually done anything yet."
"But even if I had, then by the little brat's own logic just now… so what?"
As he spoke, he no longer made any effort to conceal his magic.
Buzz—
Evil, cold, death-soaked purple-black magic spilled outward like a plague.
The weaker mages in the room felt nauseous and sick the mont it brushed them, their faces going pale as they collapsed to the floor.
This was magic on the sa level as Makarov's—true Wizard Saint power.
"If that's how it is…"
Makarov stared at the utterly arrogant Jose, took a deep breath, and golden light gathered on his massive fist.
"Then I'll do exactly what you want, and teach that mouth of yours such a lesson that you'll never be able to speak like that again!"
Before he had even finished speaking—
The giant's fist, enormous as a millstone and carrying crushing force, ca slamming down.
If that hit landed, Jose wouldn't be the only one reduced to rubble—half the banquet hall would go with him.
And yet—
Before Jose even had a chance to counter—
A silver blur moved faster than anyone could follow, flashing into place directly in front of the descending fist.
Boom!
Airwaves rolled outward. Silver hair flew wild.
The young figure standing there looked absurdly small beneath the giant fist—and yet immovable.
Under the horrified gaze of everyone in the hall, the boy who should have been standing safely behind his guild master was now holding back that mountain-breaking blow with one raised hand.
The shockwave blew his long silver hair apart, the strands catching the light with a refined, almost otherworldly sheen.
Shane looked up at Makarov's stunned face and gave him a slightly embarrassed, youthful smile.
"Master."
"If possible…"
"I'd kind of like to settle my own score myself."
~~~
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