Meliodas's Great Struggle

By the time Meliodas and Gray had returned to the guild, it was already dark. After a quick dinner and a drink at the hall, Meliodas bid farewell to Gray and went back home. Before going inside his house, he went down stairs and knocked on the landlord's door. After several moments, Schneider opened the door. He looked down and saw Meliodas.

"Yo!" Meliodas greeted.

"What can I help you with?" Schneider asked. Meliodas reached into his pocket and handed Schneider a wad of bills, having just cashed the check from his previous mission. Schneider was a bit surprised but accepted it.

"Paying me a bit early for rent huh? I guess that's fine." Schneider commented. "You have a good night then."

Schneider closed the door as Meliodas went up the stairs to his room. He didn't worry too much about living expenses. He didn't need to eat as often as humans did and when he did, he could eat at the guild for cheap.

Meliodas layed down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He reached for his wallet which was still in his back pocket and opened it. 'Still fifty eight thousand five hundred jewels left…'

---

The following morning, Meliodas returned to the guild hall. He took a seat at the bar and ordered a Magnolia Ale to start his day. As he drank, he read a newspaper someone had left on the counter, with the head article titled "Count Joe Bluegarden Arrested for numerous scandals."

"A little too early for a drink, Meliodas?" Mirajane asked as she handed him his mug of booze. Meliodas gulped down his drink before replying.

"Not at all!"

Meliodas continued looking at the newspaper prompting Mirajane to become curious.

"Anything there that catches your interest?" Mirajane asked.

"This guy was my previous job's client." Meliodas pointed at Joe's face in the newspaper.

"Joe Bluegarden... I have heard of him. I heard he had a similar status to Duke Everlue." Mirajane replied.

"Who is Duke Everlue?"

"He was a politician and the highest authority figure in Shirotsume town. He was recently arrested. Natsu and Lucy were actually the ones who got him arrested."

Meliodas nodded and turned back to the newspaper.

"I see…If he has a lot of influence, then he won't be held for long will he?"

"Probably not."

'Nothing to do with me'. Meliodas thought to himself before changing the subject.

"By the way do you know where the master is?"

"He locked himself in his office. He's been in a grumpy mood because of all of the paperwork the council has given him and doesn't want to be bothered until he finishes it all." Mirajane replied. "Did you need something from him?"

"Well I guess if he's busy it can't be helped. Is there a good place to get information on spatial magic?" Meliodas asked. His original plan was to ask if Makarov had gained any leads on spatial magic but seeing that he was busy, he had to take matters into his own hands.

"Well we do have a library in the basement. It wasn't heavily damaged in the attack so most of the books should still be intact. There's a lot of books on various magic down there. I think Levy is down there right now. She knows the library better than I do and can help you find what you need."

"Alright I'll go check it out! Thanks!" Meliodas said as he jumped up from his seat and began walking towards the stairs leading to the basement.

Meliodas followed the tall spiral staircase downward into the basement. There were several scaffolds on the walls, indicating that renovations were going to be made here soon. The library itself was relatively large. The bookshelves were about six meters high, filled with various books. At the corner of the library was a small portion that was destroyed, with rubble and wood covering one of the shelves.

Meliodas walked down the corridor of shelves, not knowing where to start. Behind a shelf, he could hear the pages of a book rapidly turning. Meliodas peeked his head over and saw a petite blue haired young woman wearing red glasses.

"You're Levy right?"

The young blue haired woman stopped flipping through the pages and looked up at Meliodas.

"Oh you're Meliodas, the one who joined recently! And yes I'm Levy." Levy greeted Meliodas with a smile.

"I was wondering if you could help me locate some books. I need to research spatial magic."

"Spatial magic…" Levy said to herself as she thought for a moment. "I think those books are over there." Levy pointed to a shelf that was down the corridor. "Were there any in particular you were looking for?"

"Transportation. Kind of like teleportation I guess." Meliodas replied. He walked towards the corner that Levy had pointed and began shuffling through the book Titles.

"Advanced Re-equip…nope...Celestial magic theory... nope. Spatial theory for Beginners Vol.1…" Meliodas grabbed the book and sat down on the ground. He began reading the introduction.

The introduction described various magic relating to space. The most common usage was Re-equip. It allowed users to store items in a pocket dimension, so they can easily summon it at any time. Meliodas thought about the usefulness of this ability and noted it for later.

Meliodas flipped past the introduction and began reading the actual content of the book. During this time Levy had also left the library, leaving Meliodas alone in the room.

Meliodas spent five hours reading a single book and by the time he finished, he felt like his head was exploding. Meliodas had lived a long life, but he couldn't remember the last time he had picked up a book and sat down to read it. He laid on the ground groaning. He barely understood the contents of the book and it was only the introduction.

'Damn it…. This will be harder than I thought.' As Meliodas lay sprawled out on the floor, Levy had returned to the library after her break and looked towards the corner.

She noticed Meliodas on the ground and grumbling to himself. She walked up to him and asked if everything was alright.

"Meliodas? What happened?"

Meliodas lifted his head and answered.

"Oh nothing. I just read one book and it took me 5 hours. Look at the quantity of books here…"

Levy laughed and handed Meliodas a pair of glasses. They were a simple looking pair of glasses with elongated lenses and a red, mildly large frame, whose only unique feature is the design of a small wing on each side.

"Here, try using these. They should help you read"

Meliodas took the glasses and looked at them curiously.

"What are these?"

Levy explained the glasses to Meliodas.

"These are Gale Force reading glasses. It allows you to read books at a rapid pace. These particular glasses will allow you to read at eighteen times the normal speed. I just finished using them, so you can borrow them."

Meliodas thanked her and put on the glasses and picked up the book he had just finished reading.

"Wow, I really can read much faster. But it's still hard to understand."

"Well, the glasses can only help you read faster. Unfortunately, they don't increase your comprehension." Levy explained before bidding farewell. "Well, I'll leave you to it alright."

"Thanks." Meliodas returned to his reading. The glasses drastically increased his reading speed. However, he still had trouble understanding the content. 'I wish Merlin was here...' Meliodas thought as he scratched his head.

A few hours later, he had completed 3 books, all of which were basics which explained various spatial magic. He had read them multiple times in order to try and grasp the information. After hours, the only magic he somewhat understood was Re-equip.

'I can't just read all day, I need to see it in action as well.' Meliodas got up from the ground and rubbed his head. His head hurt after all that reading.

After putting back the book in its place, Meliodas walked back up the stairs and returned to the main hall. He looked around and noticed that it was a little empty as he had spent most of the day in the library. He saw Levy sitting with her team and walked up to her.

"Yo, thanks for lending me your glasses." He said as he handed her back the glasses.

"No problem, did you find what you were looking for?" Levy asked. Meliodas scratched his head.

"Not really, but I learned some useful things."

"Well, I am happy to help. By the way, this is Jet and Droy." Levy introduced the duo behind her. One was a slim young man with orange hair and the other was a tan skinned young man with black hair that was styled upward in the back.

"Meliodas right? Nice to meet ya I'm Jet!"

"Droy here! That was pretty cool of you to stand up to Laxus like that a few days ago."

"Yeah Laxus is a jerk. Although I would look forward to watching you and Laxus fight each other, especially after seeing what you did to Natsu." Jet added.

"Hehe, it was nothing." Meliodas said smiling and scratching the back of his head. "I'm not sure if I could beat Laxus though. He seemed pretty strong to me."

"You should join us on a mission sometime Meliodas! We're Team Shadowgear." Levy suggested.

"Oh neat you guys have your own team name. I don't mind joining you guys sometime. I always appreciate more money for booze."

Meliodas and Team Shadowgear continued to talk for another half an hour before Levy had to leave. Jet and Droy followed as Meliodas said goodbye to the three and went towards the bar.

Meliodas slumped over and ordered a drink at the bar from Mirajane. Talking with Team Shadowgear eased his pain slightly but now he felt his headache throbbing even worse now and spreading throughout his body.

"I wonder if this is what it feels like to grow old."

Meliodas said to himself. He felt amused by his statement as he was actually much older than everyone around him.

"That's a weird thing for someone so young to say. Did you find what you were looking for?" Mirajane asked as she poured Meliodas's drink.

"Nope. But I did learn something about Requip magic though. It seems like it would come in useful."

"Oh. If you are interested in Requip, I recommend talking to Erza. She's an expert when it comes to Requip magic and can probably teach you how to use it."

Meliodas perked up a little when he heard that. He was interested in Requip magic. He would be able to store his belongings in there and not have to lug things around.

"I'll do that. Where is she?"

"Unfortunately, She left on a mission with Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Lucy. I don't know when they will return."

"Alright. I think I will go home for the day then." Meliodas said as he finished his drink and got up from the barstool. He stretched his body a bit as he stood up before leaving.

"See you tomorrow!"

Meliodas left the building and noticed there was still some light out. He instead decided to go to the weaponsmith. 'My dagger broke, and I can't keep using the handle.'

He made his way over to a nearby magical weapon shop in town.

Meliodas approached the weapon shop. At the very top of the shop were a sword and shield and on the shield read, "Muscia's Weapons and Wares." The display windows at the front of the shop were filled with various weapons and armor. Meliodas spent a few minutes observing the fine craftsmanship of the weapons out on display before walking in.

Meliodas walked through the door and saw a man sitting behind the counter. He appeared to be a middle aged man with a thick beard and a large stature. He was seated behind the counter reading the Sorcerer weekly, when the door opened and kid walked in.

"Good Day! Welcome to Musica's Weapons and Wares. What ya need kid?"

Meliodas quickly glanced around the place before replying.

"I am looking for a good sword."

"Well, you've come to the right place lad! Is there anything particular you fancy?"

Meliodas calculated the amount he had left before asking.

"What's the price range of your weapons?"

The owner explained the prices to Meliodas, despite him looking like a kid. A customer was a customer, no matter what they looked like.

"The most expensive swords are close to 1 million Jewels. Our cheapest swords vary. Take a look at that sword rack over there "

Meliodas walked over to the sword rack. There were several blades mounted on it but a short sword caught Meliodas's eye. Meliodas picked up the sword from the rack and unsheathed it. The sword was well polished with a nice edge and he could see his reflection. There were no special engravings or ornaments. It was a simple iron sword. Meliodas sheathed the sword again before walking over to the counter and placing it down.

"How much for this one?"

"Twenty thousand jewels. The sheath and holster are included as well."

Meliodas paid the man twenty thousand jewels and slung the sword over his shoulder.

"Thanks!"

"Anytime lad!" The owner waved at Meliodas as he exited the store.