"New recruits?"
Ankh raised an eyebrow in surprise and glanced around the increasingly noisy guildhall.
"We can still get new members?"
Ever since Fairy Tail became the strongest mage guild in Ishgar, powerful mages hoping to join showed up almost every day.
However, Makarov—the person in the guild with the sharpest eye for people—was steadily getting older.
Most day-to-day responsibilities had gradually been divided among Ankh, Mirajane, and Laxus, which meant recruiting new members was no longer as casual as it had once been.
Laxus's view was simple: Fairy Tail already had more than enough established powerhouses.
There was no need to judge every applicant purely by how strong they were right now. What mattered most was their potential.
As long as someone possessed a reasonable foundation and showed enough room to grow, they could usually pass Laxus's assessment.
The second hurdle was Mirajane.
Her method was considerably less scientific.
If Mira took one look at someone and thought they seemed interesting enough to fit into Fairy Tail—rather than ending up isolated from everyone else the way the Thunder God Tribe once had—then she would approve them.
Finally came Ankh.
His job was to play the villain.
After a newcomer officially joined, he would quietly observe their character for a while.
If he discovered that someone was dishonest, malicious, or fundamentally incompatible with the guild, he would throw them straight back out without hesitation.
There wasn't much choice.
Makarov was getting old, and nearly every member of this enormous dysfunctional family had originally been brought in because of the old man's frighteningly accurate judgment.
That eye for people was one of the main reasons Fairy Tail's strongest generation had formed in the first place.
Unfortunately, the younger generation wasn't nearly as reliable in that department.
Lucy was remarkably perceptive when it came to people, and Natsu's instincts occasionally produced bizarrely accurate results, but almost everyone else had obvious shortcomings.
Ankh was naturally suspicious of people. Mira tended to trust them too easily. Laxus was too demanding with newcomers.
None of them could honestly claim Makarov's talent for identifying good people at a glance.
So they compensated by putting applicants through several different filters.
Fairy Tail wasn't short on frontline strength anyway. At this point, recruitment was more about cultivating the next generation than desperately filling vacancies.
Ankh curiously accepted the booklet Mirajane handed him.
"Three recruits, huh? Where are they?"
"They should be here any second," Erza said as she leaned over to look. "I heard Laxus was extremely strict. Several hundred people applied, and he only approved three."
Laxus sat nearby drinking in silence.
"I wasn't that strict. Their ages, strength, and potential simply happened to suit the guild's future needs."
This version of Laxus had never experienced being expelled after an internal guild conflict and wandering alone for years, so his personality hadn't mellowed quite as dramatically as it might have otherwise.
Even so, he was no longer the arrogant man who dismissed anyone weaker than himself.
At the very least, he no longer obsessed over driving out weaker members in pursuit of some idealized "strongest guild."
After all, no newcomer they recruited was going to be stronger than him right away.
And if someone was weak now but possessed genuine talent in some area, Fairy Tail had more than enough resources and experienced mages to nurture that talent over time.
Mirajane nudged Ankh with her elbow and gestured toward the entrance.
"Look. They're here."
The guildhall, already loud to begin with, immediately became even noisier when three newcomers stepped through the doors.
Max, who had always been good at stirring up the atmosphere, proudly escorted the trio toward Makarov.
"Master! These are the three new members. We picked the absolute best of the bunch!"
Makarov scratched his head and sighed.
"Only three?"
"Well, Laxus really cares about potential!"
Max nodded emphatically.
The overwhelming majority of applicants had fallen at Laxus's stage of testing.
At this point, getting into Fairy Tail was starting to look harder than enlisting with the Magic Council.
Jet and Droy came over next.
Both were bruised and battered.
They nevertheless raised their thumbs with complete seriousness.
"We tested their combat ability too."
"No problems!"
Levy stared at their swollen faces.
"You two were obviously the ones who got beaten…"
Gajeel immediately stood up with an eager grin.
"How about I test the newbies myself?"
"Absolutely not! You just want an excuse to bully them!"
Makarov ignored the commotion and looked over the three newcomers, each of whom wore a very different expression.
Then he smiled warmly.
"Anyway, welcome to Fairy Tail."
"From today onward, you're part of this family."
As usual, the old man immediately launched into his heartfelt speech about bonds and family.
Unfortunately, one of the new recruits clearly had no interest in cooperating with the atmosphere.
"What do you mean, family?!"
The tall blond man among the three suddenly raised his voice.
His hair was curled and carefully styled, and his expression was overflowing with excitement as he threw both arms wide toward the guildhall.
"This is the strongest mage guild in Ishgar!"
"The absolute pinnacle of the entire continent!"
His grin widened.
"THIS is where someone like me belongs! Every other guild is useless! Whenever there's a war, all they do is hide behind Fairy Tail and pick up whatever scraps are left!"
Laxus's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
The blond man didn't notice.
He pointed toward Jet and Droy and sneered.
"Instead of wasting difficult jobs on useless seniors like those two, you should give them to me!"
His self-confidence had already crossed well beyond arrogance into outright delusion.
"One day, I'll rise above everyone here!"
He laughed loudly.
"And I'll become the Master of the strongest guild in the world!"
Nearly everyone in the hall frowned.
Ankh's eyes remained calm, but the warmth had disappeared from them.
He casually glanced at Laxus.
"He reminds me of you back in the day."
"Not completely."
Laxus's expression stayed flat.
But he was very obviously annoyed.
Ankh smiled faintly, then waved toward Gray.
"Go test our future Guild Master."
The blond newcomer frowned and opened his mouth, apparently preparing another grand declaration.
Then he saw a handsome, expressionless man charging straight at him.
BOOM—!
Gray drove his fist into his face and buried him in the guildhall floor.
He looked down at the crater for a moment.
"Pretty average."
Ankh exchanged a glance with Makarov.
The old man silently shook his head.
That was enough.
Ankh stood, walked over to the dazed blond man, and spoke in a voice so quiet it somehow carried more pressure than shouting.
"The people in this guild aren't here for you to insult."
"And they're not stepping stones for you to climb toward power."
His eyes turned cold.
"Get out."
The blond man was already barely conscious from Gray's punch.
When he finally focused enough to see Ankh's expression, whatever arrogance remained collapsed instantly.
He scrambled to his feet with a terrified yelp, shoved open the guildhall doors, and fled outside.
Ankh didn't even bother watching him leave.
Instead, he turned toward the remaining two applicants.
"So."
His presence became noticeably heavier.
"Why do the two of you want to join Fairy Tail?"
One of them was a young boy.
Under Ankh's oppressive stare, the poor kid's legs immediately began trembling.
He lasted only a few seconds.
Then he burst into tears and ran for the door.
"THIS GUILD IS TERRIFYING!!"
Ankh stared after him speechlessly.
'That mental fortitude is… really something.'
Which left only one applicant.
A cute silver-haired girl wearing an elegant dress.
Unlike the boy who had just fled, her gaze remained remarkably determined.
A shy smile appeared on her face as she straightened herself and declared clearly,
"I joined this guild because of Natsu-sama."
"Hm?"
Ankh looked at her in surprise.
Erza tilted her head curiously.
"And what exactly is your relationship with Natsu?"
The silver-haired girl's cheeks immediately turned pink.
Her eyes filled with unmistakable adoration as she clasped her hands together and answered in a dreamy voice,
"Natsu-sama…"
"is my darling!"
The entire guildhall went silent.
Then, almost simultaneously, everyone's expressions became strange.
One by one, their heads slowly turned toward Juvia, who was currently glued to Gray's side.
That lovestruck expression…
That obsessive devotion…
Why did it feel like someone had just copied another guild member's entire character gimmick?
Even the best friends had to match in this department too?
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