(25) Natsu Getting Beaten Half to Death

Chapter 25: Natsu Getting Beaten Half to Death

Around 10 a.m. the next morning, Silver woke up slowly, yawning as he sat up in bed.

"Ah, it's morning already," he muttered sleepily, letting out another yawn as he lazily shuffled to the bathroom to freshen up.

Just as he stepped out of the bathroom, a knock came at the door. Heading over, Silver opened it to find Mira holding a small pot. She stepped in and remarked, "You really take your time, don't you? Just getting up now?"

"Ah…" Silver yawned again, his groggy brain still catching up. He asked in confusion, "How did you know?"

"Do you even need to ask? You were yawning just now," Mira said with a deadpan expression, placing the pot on the table.

"Oh, haha…" Realizing what she meant, Silver scratched his head awkwardly and laughed. Then, noticing the pot, he asked, "What's this?"

"Leftover fish from yesterday. I brought it over for you. Eat up," Mira replied, ladling a bowl of soup and handing it to him.

Taking the bowl, Silver asked casually, "Have you eaten already?"

"Of course I have. Do you even know what time it is?" Mira rolled her eyes and scolded, "You're the only one in the guild who sleeps past ten unless someone wakes you up."

Silver chuckled awkwardly at her remark and quickly focused on the fish soup. Mira, meanwhile, rested her chin on her hand and quietly watched him eat. By the time they finished and left for the guild, it was already past 11 a.m.

"Huh?" Silver muttered as they entered the guild. Something about the atmosphere felt different than usual.

"What is it?" Mira, noticing his reaction, looked at him curiously.

"I don't know. It just feels like something's off," Silver replied, scanning the guild hall.

"Off?" Mira looked around as well. "I don't see anything unusual. Maybe it's just your imagination?"

"Maybe." After a thorough look around, Silver couldn't pinpoint anything strange, so he shrugged it off. Changing the subject, he asked, "Mira, has Elfman gone on another mission?"

"Yes, why? Did you need him for something?" Mira replied.

"Not really. I just thought of asking him to join me on a mission," Silver said casually.

"Wasn't it you who suggested he take on solo missions to build his confidence before bringing Lisanna along?" Mira's brows furrowed slightly as she crossed her arms. "He's only just started taking her on missions."

"Is that so? What a shame," Silver said with a wry smile, sensing Mira's dissatisfaction.

He looked around the guild again, this time at the other members.

"What are you looking at now?" Mira's tone grew darker as she noticed his wandering gaze.

"I'm just checking to see if anyone's interested in joining me for a mission," Silver mumbled, oblivious to Mira's shifting mood.

Before he could say another word, Mira's fist slammed down on his head.

Grabbing him by the collar, she pulled him close and growled, "You idiot. Do you not see me standing right here?"

"N-No, wait! Let me explain!" Silver panicked, sensing Mira's anger. "It's just a small mission! There's no need to trouble someone as powerful as you!"

"I don't care what kind of mission it is. I'm coming with you, got it?" Mira huffed, throwing him to the ground. "Now, go pick a mission."

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Silver stammered, quickly nodding. With no other choice, he led Mira to the mission board to select a task.

When Silver and Mira arrived at the mission board, they hadn't even started picking a mission when Gray greeted them. "Yo, good morning."

"Morning? It's already noon," Mira replied, her face still clouded with irritation.

"Uh, hehe… yeah, true," Gray said awkwardly, his body tensing up as he caught Mira's dark expression.

"Hmph." Mira snorted coldly and shifted her attention to the mission board behind Gray.

Taking the chance, Gray pulled Silver aside and whispered, "What happened? Mira seemed happy this morning. Why is she mad now?"

"Uh, nothing. It's already resolved," Silver scratched his head and replied evasively.

"Is that so?" Gray didn't push further, though he was still curious. Instead, he chuckled and said, "By the way, you should've seen Natsu this morning. He showed up with his face all swollen and bruised—it was hilarious."

"Yeah, thanks to you," Silver shot him a side glance.

"Not just that." Gray slung his arm around Silver's shoulders and continued with a grin, "You know what? This morning, that idiot actually went to challenge Erza to a duel out of nowhere. She beat him half to death, and now he's lying in the back of the guild."

"That's because of you, isn't it? If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have gone after Erza and gotten beaten up," Silver said, glaring at him again.

"How is that my fault? I didn't tell him to challenge Erza, that monster! It was his own decision. Besides, I even tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. What could I do?" Gray defended himself hastily, refusing to take the blame.

"Of course it's your fault." Silver looked around, then leaned in and whispered, "Yesterday, you tricked Natsu into coming to the lake where Mira and I were fishing. Mira caught him red-handed, and then used the excuse of 'training him to defeat Erza' to beat him up all afternoon. With Natsu's simple mind, after such intense training, of course he'd go challenge Erza. So, doesn't the root of this all trace back to you?"

"That's not fair! If we're talking about the root cause, it's actually you," Gray shot back immediately. "You're the one who told Mira that Natsu was using her portrait as a target for his attacks, and she overheard you! If anything, it's your fault."

"What nonsense. Mira didn't even get mad when I said that. If you hadn't tricked Natsu into coming, none of this would've happened," Silver argued, shaking his head in denial.

"Tricked? What trick? I told the truth! You and Mira were fishing by the lake—how is that wrong?" Gray defended himself again.

"What's this? I hear you two saying my name. Is there something I'm not supposed to know about?" Mira's slightly chilling voice interrupted their debate.

Both Silver and Gray turned to see Mira standing nearby with a dark expression.

Silver straightened his face immediately and said, "No, you misheard. We were just discussing what mission you might pick. Right, Gray?"

"Exactly," Gray laughed nervously.

"Is that so?" Mira gave them a skeptical look before holding up the mission request she had chosen. "This is the mission I picked. Which of you guessed it correctly?"