A day passed quickly in the lives of Alex and Erza after their date ended. Both returned to the Fairy Tail Guild the next day.
They arrived at noon, just as everyone was gathered. Seeing them arrive, Makarov, who was sitting at the bar, asked:
"Well? How did it go? What kind of trouble did you cause? Did you finish the mission?"
Erza and Alex went straight to where their guild master was. "Everything went perfectly, Master. the magical beast in the forest was eliminated without damaging anyone's property."
"We even had some extra income by delivering the boar's body to a merchant; they paid us 50,000 Jewels."
Erza handed the 10% commission to the guild master, who gave it to Mirajane to put away; without needing to count the money, Makarov trusted his children, and they wouldn't be so petty as to skimp on a few Jewels.
"So you're telling me that you, Erza, and the new kid didn't cause any trouble during the whole mission? You didn't punch a random civilian or destroy a house?"
Makarov asked with some doubt. Erza is strong, but sometimes she causes trouble; she uses too much force and ends up destroying everything around her.
"This time, Alex was the one who handled everything. In less than 3 minutes, he defeated the giant boar. His ability stripped away the magic and the armor of the magical beast."
"...."
"You must be joking... he defeated it in only 3 minutes? Rookies usually take 30 minutes to defeat a C-rank magical beast."
"Hey Natsu, how long does it take you to defeat those magical beasts?" Gray asked.
Natsu thought about it for a second. "Between 10 to 15 minutes. Some put up a bit of a fight and I have more fun with them."
"I take about the same time. Magical beasts have some defense and usually run away occasionally."
"Aye!!! Gray, you took your clothes off again," Happy said.
"Eh! When did that happen?"
Gray went to look for his clothes while the others simply accepted his strange habit.
"As expected of Alex, finishing in three minutes!!! He's a real man!" Elfman shouted.
"....."
Some women blushed, others giggled secretly, the veteran men burst out laughing, and those who were still ignorant of the double meaning just looked confused.
"Stupid brother," Mirajane facepalmed with exasperation.
Alex felt aggrieved. Even if Elfman hadn't meant it maliciously, he made him go through an awkward moment; what if a rumor started circulating that he "lasted three minutes"?
"Bastard!!" Without thinking, he impaled Elfman to the wall with his screws. The muscular guy was crucified, helpless.
Alex sat at the bar and ordered food and a beer. Mirajane looked at Alex and pleaded for her brother.
"The screws will disappear in 10 minutes. He won't have any wounds or anything, but this will serve him to reflect on saying stupid things."
Alex didn't intend to forgive Elfman so easily. After seeing the big guy crucified, no one laughed again and the crowd dispersed.
Nobody wanted to receive the same treatment as Elfman; after all, Alex has a magic that makes your magic power disappear nobody wants to experience what it feels like to be a normal person.
The guild master only sighed at the antics of his children; it was Elfman's fault for being an idiot.
"Master, I apologize for Alex's behavior..." Erza said, as if Alex were her son.
Makarov rolled his eyes. "Forget it, it's always the same with you lot. If Elfman isn't crucified now, he'll end up knocked out later in a brawl anyway."
Seeing that the guild master didn't get angry at what Alex did, Erza went to tell him what she had discussed with Alex the other day.
"Master, you know Alex has a magic that turns something that happened into fiction. I was thinking that maybe his magic can be used to heal sick people."
"Our clients would be nobles or merchants with a lot of money. What do you think? Do you have any acquaintances who can help us get the word out about what Alex can do with his magic?"
Makarov thought about it carefully, and he liked Erza's idea. If Alex could enter the circle of tycoons, Fairy Tail would indirectly have better connections with important people.
And that means more popularity; then better missions would arrive, and those fools at the Magic Council would have to accept that his guild is one of the best in the Kingdom of Fiore.
And better missions mean better commissions for the guild; he would no longer have to worry about going into debt one day because of the destruction caused by his children.
"Leave it to me. I'll get in touch with some acquaintances and I'll let Alex know if a job comes up for him."
Meanwhile, Alex listened to Erza and Makarov's conversation; he could already see how many Jewels he was going to make healing tycoons.
Mira, who heard everything, smiled. "Who would have thought the rookie would be a big-shot from now on?" She winked at Alex. "You won't forget to invite this poor waitress who talks to you every day, right?"
If Mirajane hadn't been on the other side of the bar, she would have flirted with Alex a bit more, perhaps hugging his arm against her chest.
The temperature dropped a bit around Alex; he felt a small chill. "What's going on? Why am I suddenly afraid?"
"Hey, demon woman, wipe that silly smile off your face."
Mirajane felt Erza's hostility, but she didn't back down. "My, Erza, you have Alex all to yourself. There's nothing wrong with him treated me to an expensive meal, is there?"
Sparks flew between the two. Makarov could only think, "How beautiful is the youth of today."
Alex wondered if they were going to fight or if they were just playing. Cana saw that Erza started to get possessive with Alex at this rate, she wondered how he was going to help her during the exam.