Mage A said, "Have you heard? Fairy Tail has a new S Class. They say he is only fourteen."
Mage B replied, "Heard long ago. Word is he is not only talented, but also incredibly diligent and hardworking."
Mage C snorted.
"Tch, I bet it is just another publicity stunt these guilds use to boost their name.
Fourteen and already S Class? Give me a break. At that age I could not even handle basic magic."
Mage A glared at him.
"Where did this country bumpkin crawl out from? Since when does Fairy Tail need hype?
They are the number one guild in Fiore. Their previous two S Class mages, Gildarts and Laxus, are both monsters at the top of the country.
If this Kabe is allowed to stand beside them as S Class, then he must be another bona fide little monster."
Mage B chimed in at once,
"Exactly, exactly. You think everyone is as useless as you?
There are plenty of geniuses in this world. And anyone who becomes S Class in Fairy Tail is a genius among geniuses."
Conversations like this were happening all over the kingdom.
Because of Kabe's age, of course there were those who doubted his strength.
But far more people trusted the ranking personally recognized by Makarov, one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
All thanks to Fairy Tail's S Class standards being far, far stricter than a normal guild's.
Any S Class mage from Fairy Tail might have their quirks and flaws, but their power was never in question.
Because of that, those who doubted Kabe were actually in the minority.
At the same time, everyone's curiosity about this new star of the magical world grew stronger and stronger.
Newspapers and magazines across the kingdom smelled blood in the water like sharks and began frantically digging into Kabe's record, trying to unearth every scrap of his personal information.
And as the most beloved magic weekly in Fiore,
Weekly Sorcerer, of course, was not going to miss this chance.
...
"Hah? Weekly Sorcerer, that famous magazine, wants an exclusive interview with me?"
Fresh back from a job, Kabe pointed at himself in shock, face full of disbelief.
He bought Weekly Sorcerer often, especially loving the special "Beautiful Mage" section.
But being the one interviewed, being printed as the main feature, that was something he had never experienced before.
"It is really necessary for me to accept? Being the target of everyone's gossip sounds super annoying."
"No. You absolutely have to accept!"
Makarov, who had brought him the news, grabbed onto his arm anxiously, his big watery eyes full of pleading.
"Kabe, our Fairy Tail's reputation has gotten worse and worse these past two years.
This interview is the perfect chance to change how people see us.
You are the child I like and trust the most in the guild, so you must help me with this."
"Ugh, old man, that sounded so gross."
Kabe pretended to gag. He was used to quarreling with the old man all the time.
Suddenly seeing him lower himself and butter him up like this only made Kabe's skin crawl.
"Please, I am begging you!
Tell me what you want. My stash of magazines, my best liquor, you can pick whatever you like.
If you want to be the next guild master, I can even consider it."
"Deal."
For a second, Kabe really did hesitate at the part about magazines and booze.
Then he heard the last line about dumping the guild master position on him.
He immediately kicked the old bald man away in fury.
"You rotten geezer, are you begging me or trying to ruin my life?!
Get lost, get lost, give that guild master title to anyone you like, I do not want it."
With that, he turned on his heel and left.
Makarov let out a pathetic whimper and lunged forward to cling tightly to Kabe's legs, putting every ounce of his acting skills into playing the pitiful old man.
No matter how Kabe tried to shake or pry him off, he refused to let go.
At the bar, Laxus, whose injuries were mostly healed, quietly set down his glass and watched.
He cleared his throat, propped his elbows on the counter, tilted his chin up at what he thought was a cool forty five degree angle, and spoke in a tone thick with implication.
"Old man, instead of relying on a brat like him, why not pick someone more reliable?
There are plenty of members in this guild. He is not the only one who can handle this job."
Both of them turned to look at him.
They took in the way he casually adjusted his collar, smoothed his hair, and practically had the words "Pick me" flashing across his forehead.
They exchanged a glance.
Then went right back to struggling and yelling at each other, ignoring him completely.
Seeing himself get so blatantly ignored, Laxus slammed the table and leapt to his feet in humiliation and anger.
"Raging Bolt!"
"Boom!"
"Argh, you little brat, you actually attacked your own grandfather?!"
"You sore loser. Are you asking to be back in a hospital bed for another month?!"
"Shut up, both of you! Do you have any idea how much resolve it took for me to say that just now?!
You dare look down on me? I will kill you!"
In an instant, magic flared in all colors across the guild hall.
In no time at all, the main room was blasted into a complete wreck.
"Whoa! A fight! Count me in!"
The moment Natsu saw people fighting, his eyes lit up and he charged straight toward the chaos.
A second later, he shot back out even faster, slammed into the floor blackened all over, smoke curling out of his mouth.
Seeing how miserable he looked, everyone else wisely stuck to the walls and inched toward the corners, doing their best not to get caught in the crossfire.
Right then, the front doors of the guild swung open from outside.
Little Erza walked in, leading a blond young man with a camera hanging from his neck, eyes darting around like a typical reporter.
"Master, the reporter from Weekly Sorcerer is here for the interview."
As soon as she spoke, she saw it.
Makarov, giant-sized with his Titan magic, crackling with lightning from head to toe, and Laxus poised with a magic bullet in his hand, all turning their heads toward her at the same time.
Erza's brows drew together. She clenched her teeth, fury pressed down in her chest as she shouted,
"What do you think you are doing to the guild?
How many times have I said this? No fighting in the guild!!"
The three of them shuddered in unison, instantly dispelling their magic and lining up like well-behaved children.
"Sorry, sorry, we will never do it again."
Seeing this scene, Jason, the reporter from Weekly Sorcerer, quickly scribbled notes with shining eyes.
*A mysterious scarlet haired girl, whose single reprimand made three of Fairy Tail's four strongest members back down at once.
Her presence is like that of a queen scolding her vassals.*
I hereby crown her the Queen of the Fairies.
After writing that, Jason could not hold back his excitement and shouted,
"Cool! This is Fairy Tail, all right. A guild full of hidden monsters!"
Without even waiting for Erza to introduce anyone, he rushed over to Laxus like a gust of wind and thrust his notebook out.
"Cool! Laxus himself! Were you just now fighting each other? What started it?!"