Fairy Tail Guild.
Creeeak!
The guild doors were pushed open with force. Ide, Gildarts, and Makarov, looking utterly battered and disheveled, stumbled inside. They collapsed onto stools at the bar deep within the guild hall, and with incredible synchronization, each downed a massive mug of ice-cold beer.
"Ahhh, that hits the spot!"
"I feel alive again."
After draining their beers, Ide, Gildarts, and Makarov all let out contented sighs, blissful smiles plastered on their faces.
"So, Master, you haven't finished the story."
"Why didn't things work out between you and Ms. Porlyusica?!"
Ide turned to the old man beside him, striking while the iron was hot.
"Well, you know."
"Youth is just like that. It's always filled with all sorts of regrets."
Makarov sighed, shaking his head wistfully.
"I definitely don't want regrets like that."
Ide and Gildarts said almost in unison.
"Haha."
"Then let me ask you: if, at a crucial moment in your life, you met two women you wanted to spend your life with at the same time, how would you choose?"
Makarov chuckled, looking at the two men beside him.
"Take responsibility for both, of course!"
"If I love them, I'll marry them both."
Ide answered without a second of hesitation.
"I'm very devoted to my feelings."
"So I'll date one first, then date the other!"
Gildarts followed up immediately with his answer.
"Huh?!"
"Are you two even speaking a human language?"
Makarov stared at them, dumbfounded. After a long silence, he burst out laughing. "But honestly, if I had the kind of resolve you two have when I was young, maybe my life really wouldn't have any regrets."
"Hahaha."
The next second, Makarov, Gildarts, and Ide all roared with laughter together.
Yep, birds of a feather flock together.
Then, Ide went off to take care of the babies.
Cough.
---
"By the way, Master."
"Who actually won the fight between Ide and Gildarts?!"
Macao had been watching Makarov, Ide, and Gildarts chat for a while now. Seeing that they were just drinking and laughing without announcing the result, he finally couldn't sit still anymore. After enduring a few agonizing minutes, he approached Makarov and asked directly.
"Eh?"
"Did I not say?"
"The result of the battle is... a draw."
Makarov paused for a moment, realizing he had indeed forgotten to announce it. He cleared his throat and gave a serious answer.
Yes, because the ultimate victor of the battle between Ide and Gildarts was Ms. Porlyusica.
So, Makarov officially declared the battle for the title of "Fairy Tail's Strongest" a draw.
"A draw?!"
Even though the guild members had prepared themselves for various outcomes, Makarov's announcement still shocked them. Disbelief washed over their faces. "It was actually a draw?"
"In other words, besides Gildarts, our Fairy Tail guild now has another strongest mage?"
"Hahaha, we hit the jackpot this time! If our guild has two mages at Gildarts' level, we must be the undisputed strongest guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, right?"
Many guild members looked excited. They were genuinely happy to see Fairy Tail growing stronger.
"Damn it!"
However, in a shadowed corner of the guild, a young man with short black hair stared maliciously at Ide and Gildarts.
This black-haired youth was Makarov's son, Ivan Dreyar.
At this moment, he glared at Ide with eyes full of spite, gritting his teeth. "That newbie actually tied with Gildarts? You've got to be kidding me! Doesn't that mean my status in the guild has dropped even lower?"
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
"Why is everyone else's talent so high?"
"Even though I am Makarov's son!"
Ivan clenched his fists, his heart filled with negativity. As the son of the famous Makarov, great expectations had been placed on him since birth. Unfortunately, he failed to inherit his father's immense magical talent, which bred a deep sense of inferiority.
"Father."
"I've mastered the power of the Dragon Lacrima."
Just as Ivan felt like grinding his teeth into dust, a childish voice sounded by his ear.
It was Ivan's five-year-old son, the boy with spiky blond hair—Laxus Dreyar.
"Is... is that so?"
Ivan froze for a moment at Laxus's words. A twisted smile appeared on his face as he said in a low voice, "You're amazing, Laxus."
Ivan had to admit, for a split second, he even felt jealous of his own son, Laxus.
Because his son possessed the very thing Ivan had always craved but never obtained—the immense magical power inherited from Makarov.
"Heh."
"So not everyone in this guild is a good person, huh?"
While rocking the babies, Ide glanced at Ivan in the corner. A look of distaste crossed his face, and he shook his head silently.
In a guild where almost everyone, from the Master to the members, was a good person, Ivan's murky, evil soul stood out like a lit candle in the dark. Ide's Observation Haki couldn't miss it even if he wanted to.
For a petty villain like Ivan, Ide's strategy was simple: minimal contact, even if he was the Guild Master's son.
---
And so, Ide, Ur, Irene, Ultear, and Erza—a family of five—settled down in Magnolia.
Because Ide had a large family, they planned to buy a house in town big enough for everyone. This led to a new problem for Ide.
"I need to make money."
Ide stared at the request board, which was covered in hundreds of job flyers ranging from D-Class to A-Class. He fell into deep thought.
Since it was his first time doing a job, he wasn't sure what level to start with.
"Ide, team up with me."
"Those jobs you're looking at are too simple for you. No challenge at all, and the pay is low."
"With your strength, I suggest you start directly with an S-Class job."
Just as Ide was feeling confused, Gildarts walked down from the second floor of the guild. In his hand was a stack of flyers for S-Class jobs and above.
Yes, as the guild's only active S-Class mage (before Ide joined), Gildarts and Makarov were the only two people allowed on the second floor.
"S-Class job?"
Ide frowned, seemingly unfamiliar with what Gildarts meant.