Chapter 7: My Stupid Oniisan

“Who the hell are Itachi?!”

Lakshus’s words instantly enraged Natsu, who leapt to his feet and stormed toward him, ready to confront him head-on.

Unfortunately, due to his height, he could only look up at Lakshus.

Though Natsu wasn’t tall, his temper was as fiery as his magic affinity; this stranger Lakshus had come out of nowhere and berated him, and Natsu naturally couldn’t take it.

“Remember this—I’m Lakshus, the future president of Fairy Tail.”

Lakshus straightened up, no longer glancing at Natsu, and dropped those words before walking past him to leave.

Such a weakling wasn’t worth a second glance; once he became president, he’d kick every weakling out of the guild!

Especially someone like Natsu, who’s clearly got a screw loose, shouldn’t even be a mage—he should just be a normal person.

“.”

Watching Lakshus stride away with arrogant confidence, Natsu was left with a thousand questions.

“Is he… got a problem in the head?”

Natsu turned to Mo En and asked quietly, as if afraid Lakshus might hear—though he wasn’t afraid of Lakshus; he was afraid Lakshus might actually be mentally ill, and that his words might hurt him. This guy, sometimes, was surprisingly thoughtful.

“.”

Natsu’s question made Mo En’s lip twitch. He thought to himself: Itachi guys are all the same—half a pound versus eight taels, fifty steps laughing at a hundred. None of Itachi can accuse the other of being crazy.

Ignoring Natsu, Mo En’s attention was already drawn to the [Saint Warrior System], which had just triggered a new quest.

[Quest Name: “My Stupid Oniisan”

Quest Content:

Once a well-behaved and enthusiastic Lakshus entered his rebellious adolescence. Harsh judgments and unfair treatment from others tormented him, slowly causing him to retreat into his inner world, severing all communication and descending into extremism.

As his younger brother, it is your duty to pull him back onto the right path—awaken him! Help him remember his original intentions! Help him rediscover his love for the guild and for those around him!

Quest Progress: Incomplete.

Reward: Random Gold Saint Cloth.]

Looking at the quest, Mo En’s expression grew complicated. Pulling back this stupid oniisan wouldn’t be easy.

Over the past few years, Mo En had begun to shine, revealing his magical talent, while Lakshus had plunged into rebellion. The more he felt the “injustice,” the more he believed he was being unfairly criticized.

Under this atmosphere, the once-close brothers drifted apart; Lakshus stopped confiding in Mo En, locking himself entirely within his own world.

Mo En had once gone through his own rebellious teenage phase—he understood the pressure Lakshus felt—and had repeatedly tried to counsel this stupid oniisan.

But reality proved some emotions couldn’t be resolved by others’ words; the person had to process them themselves.

‘This is a Gold Saint Cloth’

Looking at those words, Mo En’s eyes nearly turned green. Even a “Bronze Saint Cloth of Pegasus” had given him a significant boost—what would a “Gold Saint Cloth” do? The thought was unimaginable!

‘Too bad, I definitely can’t get it yet. This can’t be rushed. Fortunately, quests have no time limit—I can take my time.’

Without hesitation, Mo En set the quest aside. Something he couldn’t obtain was useless to stare at.

“Natsu, Itachi recovered that fast? Came looking for me?”

Mo En turned his gaze to Natsu, asking him while beginning today’s physical training. As a close-combat mage, the body was the foundation of battle!

Looking at Mo En, Natsu recalled what had happened earlier and shuddered involuntarily. Mo En’s punches had left a deep impression—but what truly made him tremble was that massive slap he’d received while half-conscious.

“Was it Erza who hit me?”

Natsu asked shakily.

“Huh?”

Mo En, mid-flip push-up, gave Natsu a strange look—then suddenly understood. He was asking about that slap.

Seeing Natsu’s expression, Mo En inwardly marveled: damn, could one slap really hurt a ten-year-old that badly?

“It was Erza. So? Itachi wanna get revenge?”

Mo En didn’t try to cover for Erza—this was her doing, and if Natsu asked her, she’d admit it outright. That girl never lied.

“I’m challenging her!”

Natsu gritted his teeth and shouted loudly.

Challenge her? Why are Itachi shouting so loudly? Itachi hot-headed idiots are always so noisy—I can't handle Itachi.

Mo En did one-handed push-ups while pinching his ear in annoyance.

Natsu, probably because he’d just come out of the wild and barely adjusted to human society, always spoke too loudly—as if afraid no one could hear him. Maybe his fire dragon dad had bad hearing.

“But I’ll warn Itachi, Natsu—right now, Itachi can’t beat Erza. Challenging her will only get Itachi beaten again. That girl doesn’t hold back like I do—she hits hard enough to leave Itachi bedridden.”

Seeing Natsu’s fiery determination to avenge the slap, Mo En gave him a well-meaning warning.

Though Erza looked like a delicate beauty, she wasn’t a doll. Her strength was formidable—even Mo En needed a real fight to defeat her; he couldn’t crush her like he crushed Natsu.

“Huh? She’s that strong?”

Natsu froze, his face skeptical.

This “little fire dragon” had always thought he was pretty strong—but after being instantly obliterated by Mo En’s “Pegasus Meteor Fist,” he was now unsure of his own power.

“If Itachi include Lakshus, Erza is the second strongest among our generation. Without Lakshus, she’s number one.”

Mo En paused, then gave his ranking—though right now, Erza still couldn’t beat Lakshus.

“Lakshus…”

Natsu froze. Wasn’t that the name of that arrogant jerk who’d just walked by? That guy was that strong?!

“Then where do Itachi rank, Mo En?”

Natsu suddenly realized—if Lakshus was first and Erza second, that meant both were stronger than Mo En?!

“Me? I’m off the charts. Not included in rankings.”

Mo En smiled, giving Natsu an answer he hadn’t expected.

(End of Chapter)