Chapter 6 - The Tense Relationship Between Brothers

Taking advantage of his height, the boy looking down at Noah became increasingly fierce, making the heavy feeling in the air grow stronger, even giving a sense of tension.

"It's been a long time..."

"Since I moved into the Fairytail guild, a whole year, we haven't seen each other, have we?" Noah nodded calmly, "Laxus, you're still the same as before."

"Don't joke, I'm much stronger than before!" Laxus put down his arm around his chest, took a step forward, bent down, and put his head right next to Noah's ear, laughing in a deep voice, "But you, you're still the same as a year ago, despite having magical power that even the old man was surprised by, you've been afraid to learn magic because of his word. That's all you're worth, coward!"

"Oh?" Noah didn't get angry, but showed a smile, "Do you really want me to learn magic?"

As soon as Noah's words fell, Laxus suddenly stretched out his hand, grabbed Noah's neck, pulled it tightly, and pulled Noah close to him.

Seeing this, even Erza couldn't help but frown.

She didn't want to deal with anyone, even if they were members of the same guild, but that didn't mean she could be indifferent to infighting within the guild. Of course, while she couldn't be indifferent, Erza had no intention of getting involved, and still stood quietly on the side.

Although Laxus is now emanating a dangerous aura, as if he could act at any moment, she doesn’t feel genuine hostility from him.

The most important thing is that despite being tightly restrained and held by the neck by Laxus, Noah remains calm. He does not seem worried that Laxus will harm him. In contrast to the frowning Erza, he appears truly indifferent.

"What I hate the most is your expression of being able to handle anything!" Laxus retracted his smile and continued to speak expressionlessly, "I just want to tell you, even if the old man picked up you from somewhere, since you have become my brother, I will not allow you to be a weak person, do you understand?"

Picked up from somewhere?

After Laxus said this, Erza, who was on the side, froze her gaze on Noah for the first time, showing a complex expression in her eyes. So, he, like me, is an orphan...

Noah, who didn’t know that Erza’s mood had changed, snorted at Laxus's words, making a sound similar to a sneer for the first time.

"You speak as if you are a strong person. Compared with Grandpa, you are far behind!"

A trace of gloom appeared on Laxus's face, which was immediately replaced by a rebellious smile.

"That's only temporary. Sooner or later, I will step on that old man! And..." Laxus laughed wildly, "Even now, I can kill you with one hand, my brother..."

Leaving this sentence, Laxus seemed to lose interest in continuing the conversation, so he let go of Noah, glanced at Erza on the side, and snorted.

"That old man actually asked me to babysit two brats who don't even know how to walk properly. These weaklings should be thrown away somewhere. Fairy Tail is not a nursery!"

With such cruel words, Laxus obviously picked the wrong targets. The two peers on the scene, one always wearing a calm expression and the other not even bothering to lift an eyelid, were exceptionally cold, making him bored and turn around to leave.

"Let’s finish this boring task quickly!"

While Noah and Erza ignored him, they silently picked up their pace, following behind Laxus towards the exit of Magnolia Town.

……

From Magnolia Town to the Lake of Ceremony, even by train, one has to pass through at least four towns and spend an entire day to get there.

Ever since Noah met Makarov, adopted by him and joined Fairy Tail, he usually just wandered around Magnolia Town. This was his first long-distance trip. Even though he had studied the route to the Lake of Ceremony thoroughly, studying the map, whether a kid of about eleven years old could be allowed to take the train alone was still a question.

So, all the way, Noah and Erza just followed Laxus. Under Laxus's leadership, they boarded the train, then sat boringly for a whole day before they arrived at the Lake of Ceremony.

It's worth mentioning that Noah, Erza, and Laxus didn't communicate with each other at all on the way, but Laxus paid for everything, whether it was train tickets or meals.

Of course, these were small amounts of money, and he didn't care, let alone fuss over it because of two annoying teammates.

Only after it got dark did the three of them get off the train.

"Excuse me..."

Just after they got off the train, a middle-aged man in slightly formal attire came straight over from the crowd. His eyes swept over the Fairy Tail guild emblem on Noah's right hand and Erza's armor, and he asked in a neither humble nor arrogant tone.

"I am the person assigned by the council to accompany the task performers who will infuse magic into the Lake of Ceremony. Are you the wizards from Fairy Tail?"

"Council?" Laxus glanced at the middle-aged man and withdrew his gaze a second later, "Then lead the way!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man furrowed his brows.

"Aren't you waiting for the others in your guild?"

"Others?" Laxus understood what the middle-aged man meant and responded with a grin, "There are no others, just the three of us!"

"Three people?" The middle-aged man displayed a look of surprise.

Even though he wasn't a wizard, he was appointed by the council to accompany those who were tasked with infusing magic into the Lake of Ceremony, so he was naturally aware of the lake's significance.

Naturally, the middle-aged man also knew that each year, the guilds that came to carry out the task had to send at least several dozen wizards to infuse the Lake of Ceremony with magic in order to activate it and make it shine.

Now, they were saying that they only brought three people?

The middle-aged man's first reaction was disbelief, but then he recalled the rumors about this specific guild. Fairy Tail may be one of the strongest wizard guilds in the Kingdom of Fiore, but the council didn't really appreciate them.

And the reason was simple. Makarov, the guild master of Fairy Tail, advocated for the guild members to follow their own paths and carve out their own way of magic. For this reason, he openly declared to the guild members that they didn't need to heed even the council's words.

Such behavior, in the eyes of guild members, was freedom, but to the council, it was indulgence, so they naturally didn't look favorably upon such a guild.

Could it be that they didn't take the council's commission seriously this time either?

The middle-aged man's brows furrowed even more.

"The three of you, I think it would be better if your guild master sent more people..."

"Huh?" Laxus laughed instantly, a laugh filled with arrogance, "Is there a requirement for the number of people needed for this commission?"

"That's...not specified..."

"If it's not specified, then don't talk so much nonsense, as long as we can complete the task!" Laxus said impatiently, "Since you're here to guide us, just guide us obediently!"

As the middle-aged man was left speechless, he could only lead the way and walked out of the station.