"Since everyone's here, I'll announce the list for this year's S-Class exam."
Makarov suddenly clapped his hands, the sharp sound cutting through the noisy guild hall.
The lively room fell silent almost instantly, and everyone's eyes turned toward the bar.
Even Natsu and Gray, who had been fighting like mad and yanking at each other's faces on the other side of the room, froze at the same time as if someone had cast a binding spell on them. Their eyes went wide as saucers.
"Um… Mira just ran out. Is that really okay?"
Wakaba, pipe in his mouth, asked hesitantly.
"She should have a spot this year too, right? Considering how famous the 'She-Devil' has gotten lately."
Macao chimed in from the side:
"If she doesn't hear her own name, she'll probably come back and turn the place upside down."
"It doesn't matter."
Makarov waved a hand calmly.
"I'll post the list on the request board afterward, so everyone will see it."
"And besides… letting you all know early gives certain impatient little brats time to prepare."
"We should make it this time… right?"
In the corner, Natsu and Gray exchanged a glance, both seeing the same mixture of anticipation and anxiety in each other's eyes.
They had trained like mad all year for this. Both of them truly believed they had earned the right to compete.
Makarov ignored the eager looks from the two boys.
He cleared his throat, and his expression turned solemn.
"Based on everyone's efforts and performance throughout the year, and after my overall evaluation, this year's list has been finalized."
"Four mages have been selected!"
The entire hall held its breath.
"The first one!"
Makarov raised his voice slightly.
"Laxus Dreyar!"
"Ohhh, it really is Laxus!"
"His personality sucks, but there's nothing to criticize about his strength!"
A wave of unsurprised chatter broke out through the guild.
Shane wasn't surprised at all.
That blond rich boy might not be back yet, but with how often he was away from the guild all year, constantly grinding through jobs like a workaholic, plus his already overwhelming strength, getting on the list was a foregone conclusion.
He didn't need to hover around the guild like everyone else, anxiously waiting for the results.
Well, I guess that's the calm confidence of a real workhorse, Shane thought to himself.
"The second one!"
Makarov continued,
"Ur Milkovich!"
"Yahoo! That's me!"
Ur, still in nothing but underwear by the bar, raised her drink excitedly and downed it in one bold gulp.
"Totally deserved!"
"Ur's job count this year was ridiculous too!"
This time, the cheers were even louder, especially from the men.
This bold, hot-blooded big sister with a stunning figure and ice Make magic so gorgeous it was almost extravagant—
even though she hadn't been in the guild that long, both her strength and her charisma had already won over everyone.
"The third…"
"And the fourth…"
Before Makarov even said the names, the atmosphere in the guild had already grown strange.
There was no need to say it aloud. Other than Natsu and Gray—those two idiots who were still staring anxiously at the Master's mouth—everyone else already knew who it would be.
"Erza!"
"And… Mirajane Strauss!"
"Whaaaaat—!!!"
The moment the names were announced, the two idiots let out miserable wails and collapsed to the floor like deflated balloons.
"Well, of course."
Macao mocked them mercilessly from the side.
"How were you two brats supposed to beat Erza and Mira?"
"Damn it!!"
Natsu shouted unwillingly, rolling around on the ground.
"I trained so hard! Why am I still not good enough?!"
"Idiot… did you seriously think everyone else was just standing still?"
Gray didn't throw a tantrum like Natsu, but his face was full of disappointment, and he stood there grinding his toe into the floor.
He had thought that after training with Ur for so long, he'd at least have narrowed the gap a little.
And yet… he was still only part of the audience.
"Alright, enough whining."
Makarov tapped the bar, drawing everyone's attention back.
"As usual, each participant may select up to one 'assistant' to take part in the exam with them."
At that point, the old man's face suddenly darkened, and he said through gritted teeth,
"Originally, Gildarts was supposed to serve as one of the examiners… but that idiot said something like, 'Since Shane is around this year anyway, I'm not hurrying back,' and then went missing!"
"So!"
Makarov took a deep breath and turned to Shane.
"This year's exam location, content, and rules… will be left entirely to our current S-Class Mage—Shane!"
"Even I don't know the details!"
"Huh?!!!"
The moment he said that, the whole guild erupted again.
"Shane's making the test?"
"Doesn't the Master usually handle this personally every year?"
"Isn't that way too casual?"
"Hahaha, with Shane's awful personality… this exam's definitely going to turn into hell mode!"
Some people had already started gloating.
"Ahem… well, people do want to slack off sometimes."
Makarov shifted his gaze away awkwardly, then quickly nodded with forced conviction.
"But when it comes to Shane's abilities, I'm still… uh, probably, maybe, basically at ease."
"Hey! Shane!!"
Just then, Natsu wriggled through the crowd like an eel and ran up beside Shane, shouting,
"Tell me what the exam is! Hurry!"
"Idiot."
Before Shane could answer, Gray mercilessly cut in.
"Why would they tell you something confidential before the exam? And you're not even on the list, so what's the point of knowing?"
"Who says it's pointless?!"
Natsu planted his hands on his hips, two streams of fire hissing from his nostrils, looking completely fired up.
"I'm going to ask Laxus! I'll make him pick me as his assistant!"
"As long as I get into the S-Class exam, I'll have a chance to beat everyone else! Then I'll beat Laxus too while I'm at it! And then I'll be the S-Class Mage!!"
Meanwhile, Erza looked at Natsu with genuine confusion.
"Natsu, you want to take the exam?"
She asked with complete sincerity,
"Then why go all the way to ask Laxus? With his personality, he'd definitely refuse you."
"If you really want to go… why not ask me instead?"
"Uh…"
Faced with those clear, questioning eyes of hers, Natsu's fierce expression froze in place. Sweat instantly poured down his face like a waterfall.
Team up with Erza for the exam?
Just imagining that hellish scenario made every bone in his body start aching, like he was about to get torn apart all over again.
"W-well, um…"
Natsu stumbled back two steps, then suddenly shouted,
"I-I'm going to wait for Laxus at the station! See ya!"
And with that, he bolted out of the guild like a startled rabbit, even faster than Mira had run out earlier.
"Why did Natsu leave?"
Erza turned her head, looking thoroughly puzzled.
"Is he… afraid of me?"
She genuinely didn't understand. She was standing right here. If Natsu had earnestly asked, then as a guildmate, she absolutely would have agreed to bring him along so he could see what it was like.
Of course he's afraid of you!!
Everyone screamed internally. Who in the guild didn't know how she usually "educated" Natsu?
"Ahem…"
Shane held back a laugh and replied in an utterly serious tone of complete nonsense:
"Maybe Natsu just wants to team up with another guy."
"After all, boys have more in common with each other, so it's easier for them to get close. Look at him and Gray—they're practically hanging off each other every day, aren't they?"
"I see."
Erza nodded in sudden understanding.
"So that's it. Boys' friendships really can be hard to understand sometimes."
"She really is easy to fool…"
Shane tilted his head back and sighed at just how pure this knight girl could be in certain areas.
"Come to think of it…"
Gray suddenly looked around, seeming a little thrown off.
"Why isn't Cana back yet? Is she still out working?"
"At a time like this, normally we'd have heard her already—either stirring up trouble or drinking in celebration. It feels weirdly quiet without her…"
"Who knows."
Shane shook his head, a little puzzled himself.
That girl really had been acting mysterious lately. She kept saying she was out working hard, but he honestly hadn't seen her in forever.
"Gray."
At that moment, Ur walked up to her student with a grin, bent down, and flicked him lightly on the forehead.
"You want to join the exam and have a little fun, huh?"
"If that's the case… ask your master nicely…"
"I might consider taking you along to see what it's like."
"W-who says I want to go for fun?!"
Gray turned his head away, face slightly red, still trying to sound tough.
"If you want to take me, then just do it. Don't tease me."
"What an unstraightforward student."
Ur wasn't angry in the slightest. If anything, she smiled even more brightly.
"You clearly want to go like crazy. You really want a serious fight with that fire-breathing brat on an official stage, don't you?"
"Alright, alright, I'll take you."
"Really?" Gray's eyes lit up instantly.
So everything he had just said about not wanting to go had been a complete lie.
Seeing that all the participants more or less had their preferred assistants in mind now, and that the mood had reached the right point—
Smack!
Shane suddenly clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"Oh, right. About the thing Natsu asked just now…"
A bright smile spread across his face.
"I can actually tell you."
"Natsu's question?"
Some people still hadn't caught up and asked blankly, "What question?"
"Idiot! The exam content! The exam content!"
"As for the exam location…"
Shane deliberately dragged out the last word, letting his gaze sweep over everyone present.
"It's going to be… in a city."
Pffft—!!!
At the bar, Makarov—who had just been calmly sipping his drink—instantly spat it out like a fountain, spraying Macao across the face.
Cough! Cough! Cough!!
The old man didn't even bother wiping his mouth. His eyes bulged in horror as he stared at Shane.
"A-a city?"
"What city? Are you saying you're going to throw this bunch of destruction addicts into a city? Tell me I heard that wrong."
~~~
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