Chapter 22: The Rebellious Mirajane

Mirajane and her siblings seemed unsure of what to do and looked towards Makarov, who was already drunk and out of commission.

"Mira, I take back what I said earlier at the door. Alex isn't very popular after all."

...

That day, Alex was chatting and drinking with Macao and a few others in the guild, having a great time. Everyone else's glasses were filled with alcohol, but Alex's was filled with pure white milk.

"You're still drinking milk? That's really not in line with your image," Macao teased.

Alex waved his hand dismissively. "What's strange is why you all love drinking alcohol. It tastes awful." He shuddered at the memory of being forced to drink last time.

"Haha, true enough. With your tolerance for alcohol, it's no wonder," Macao laughed.

Alex had once demonstrated his lack of alcohol tolerance in the guild by getting completely drunk after just one glass, collapsing like a rag doll, making everyone think he had alcohol poisoning and almost needing a trip to the hospital.

Yet, Alex had an extraordinary recovery speed. Considering the amount he drank, he should have been out for at least a day and a night. However, by the time the party ended and everyone was ready to go home, Alex was already sober, which had left Cana in utter disbelief.

Alex believed it had something to do with his physical constitution. Back in the forest, he would quickly recover from any poison. He figured the same logic applied to alcohol, though he didn't delve too deeply into the matter.

...

..

.

"Look at what I found!" Natsu shouted as he burst into the guild, carrying a large, blue-patterned egg.

All eyes in the guild turned towards him.

"Oh, Natsu, did you bring an egg to treat us to a meal? How thoughtful of you," Alex teased.

"What are you talking about, Alex? This is a dragon egg. There's no way I'm letting you eat it!" Natsu said, looking horrified at the thought and quickly hiding the egg behind him.

"There's no way that's a dragon egg," said Gray, shaking his head.

"Gray, your clothes..."

"Huh? When did that happen?"

Natsu, annoyed, pointed to the patterns on the egg and said, "Look at these patterns. They look like dragon claws. This is definitely a dragon egg."

"Haha," the guild members laughed at Natsu's earnestness.

Natsu then ran over to Makarov, urgently saying, "Master, use your magic to hatch this dragon egg!"

"Bang!" Makarov knocked Natsu on the head with his staff and said, "Fool, there's no magic that can desecrate life like that."

"Life is born from love. No magic can compete with that," Makarov said earnestly, though Alex could tell from Natsu's confused expression that he didn't understand a word of it.

As expected, Natsu, puzzled, said, "What are you talking about? I don't get it at all."

Makarov sighed, "It seems it's too early for a kid like you to understand."

Erza walked over and said, "It means if you want this egg to hatch, you have to do it yourself."

With arms crossed, she continued, "You usually just know how to destroy things. This is a good opportunity for you to learn about the birth of life."

"Oh, Erza, you're back!" Alex greeted, and Erza nodded lightly.

"Erza's back? Where? Where?" At that moment, a girl with a cropped top, long white hair tied in a high ponytail, and a purple skull accessory on her head rushed out, shouting.

Seeing this, Alex sighed, thinking, "Here they go again."

The girl dressed like a delinquent was Mirajane. Ever since her arm had returned to normal and she became more familiar with the guild, her true nature seemed to have emerged, possibly influenced by the others in the guild. This wasn't something Alex could comprehend.

When Alex first met Mirajane, she had been so gentle.

The most critical thing was that Mirajane and Erza didn't get along at all. Erza, likewise, was extremely irritated by Mirajane. They had become the guild's second Natsu and Gray.

Every time they had a conflict, they would drag Alex into it to judge who was right.

Alex just wanted to say, "Spare me. I just want to quietly drink my milk."

Whenever they started to fight, Alex found it best to play dead, hoping the conflict wouldn't reach him.

With this in mind, Alex frowned and quietly retreated behind the others.

"Speaking of which, we still haven't settled our last match, I hope that you have improved since" Erza said confidently, hands on her hips, as she turned to Mirajane.

"Damn you, Erza!" Mirajane shouted, clenching her fists and charging at Erza.

"I'll teach you a lesson, Mira!" Erza retorted, equally unyielding.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A series of loud crashes echoed through the guild. It's worth mentioning that since adapting to her Satan Soul, Mirajane's strength had skyrocketed, putting her on par with Erza.

"You skinny witch!"

"You stubborn prude!"

Nearby, Elfman and Alex were drenched in cold sweat, silently praying not to get dragged into the fray.

The two girls locked heads, their gazes intense.

"You crop-top tramp!"

"You rigid blockhead!"

"Fat pig."

"Delinquent."

...

"They're so childish," Gray muttered, exasperated.

"They tell us not to fight, huh? One day, I'll definitely defeat both Erza and Mirajane," Natsu pouted, imagining himself triumphantly besting all the guild's strongest members. He wore an excited expression.

"What on earth is he thinking?" Cana whispered to Gray, eyeing Natsu's strange demeanor.

"Hey, Natsu, can I help you hatch that egg?" asked Lisanna, who was wearing a red dress as she approached.

"You want to help? Great!" Natsu was overjoyed to have help since he had no idea how to hatch the egg himself.

"But do you know how to hatch an egg?" Natsu asked, puzzled.

Lisanna thought for a moment and said, "It needs to be heated!"

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Heating it is my specialty."

He grabbed the egg and prepared to use his flames, startling Lisanna. Gray quickly kicked Natsu away and grabbed the egg. "Idiot, you'll cook it!"

"So how should we heat it?" Natsu asked, sitting on the ground, scratching his head in frustration.

"We can use my magic," Lisanna said confidently.

"Takeover: Animal Soul!" She snapped her fingers, and a pink magic circle appeared in the air. Lisanna was enveloped in pink pixels, transforming into a large bird over a meter tall.

"Wow!!" Natsu exclaimed in amazement.

"This way, it'll be fine," Lisanna said, wrapping her wings around the egg.

Meanwhile, Erza and Mirajane's fight continued, even escalating, causing more cold sweat among the onlookers.

"Hey, Alex, what are you sneaking around for?" Wakaba's curious voice caught Alex just as he was about to escape.

Alex froze, his eyes signaling towards Erza and Mirajane, and tried to make a quiet exit.

However, Wakaba's voice had attracted the attention of the two girls, who were pulling each other's hair. Now everyone's gaze turned to Alex, who had his hand on the door handle.

"Where do you think you're going, Alex!!" Mirajane appeared behind him, her eyes glaring.

"Yeah, it's still early. You're not planning to go home, are you?" Erza also moved closer.

"Uh, haha, I just suddenly felt a bit unwell and wanted to go home and rest," Alex chuckled nervously.

"Being unwell is nothing. Since you're here, I want to ask you, isn't Erza just a stubborn prude?" Mirajane placed a hand on Alex's shoulder, her nails digging into his skin even through his clothes.

A vein popped on Erza's forehead. Alex felt a small hand grip his waist tightly, pinching his soft flesh.

"Heh, you find this funny too, you delinquent!!"

"Haha, it seems only Alex can stop these two monsters," Wakaba said, looking at the two girls who had momentarily stopped fighting to gang up on Alex. He gave Alex an admiring look.

"This doesn't seem simple; he's got something going on~~" Macao speculated.

"Why are you talking like that?"

...

The next day, Alex arrived at the guild's entrance, peeking left and right.

"What are you doing?" Cana asked, puzzled by Alex's behavior.

"Shh! Cana, are Erza and Mirajane here yet?" Alex hushed her, speaking in a low voice.

Cana thought for a moment and said, "If I remember correctly, they haven't arrived yet."

Alex sighed in relief and walked inside.

He ordered a glass of milk and sat down next to Kana, letting out a long breath.

"Why are you so afraid of them? How do you plan to stay in the guild like this?" Cana asked.

Alex sighed again. "It's not fear. When they aren't fighting, it's fine. But once they start, they always drag me into it. It's really frustrating. Yesterday, they didn't resolve their conflict, so they'll probably fight again today."

"When they fight, I get caught in the middle. I can't side with either of them. It's really a hassle!"

___