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Chapter 58 - Chapter 58: Compared to Natsu, Happy’s Still the Smarter One

Happy tilted his fluffy head, his black brows comically furrowed as if deep in thought.

After a moment, he stepped forward and carefully plucked a red bill from the stack of money with his mouth, gently placing it in front of Gray.

Then, he grabbed a purple bill and set it in front of himself, pressing it down firmly with his paw.

"Wow!!" The crowd watching the scene erupted in amazement, clapping enthusiastically. "So smart!"

Surrounded by applause, Happy shyly covered his face with his paws, his cheeks faintly blushing.

"Oh my gosh!! He's embarrassed!" Lisanna's eyes widened in shock. "I can totally tell he's blushing!"

Gray smirked and ruffled Happy's head. "Haha, recognizing money and doing math? You're way smarter than a certain idiot!" He shot a pointed glance at Natsu.

"What'd you say?!" Natsu, who'd been clapping along, reacted like a cat with its tail stepped on, veins popping on his forehead.

He lunged forward, slamming his forehead against Gray's. "Say that again, you droopy-eyed jerk!"

Gray didn't back down, pushing back just as hard. "What, it's not true? The first time you went shopping alone, you got scammed out of 5000J! And you came back all proud, showing off your 'dragon egg,' saying it'd grow bigger and bigger!"

"And what happened? Not even a single chicken feather! Even Happy wouldn't fall for something that dumb. You're hopeless!"

Natsu's face flushed red as he sputtered, "Tch, that was an accident! Besides, I earned that money from a job! I can spend it however I want! Happy… he can't even do jobs, so where's he getting 5000J to buy a dragon egg?!"

"Oh, he's got some," Cana's airy voice cut in like a needle, instantly deflating Natsu's bravado.

"Huh?" Natsu whipped around, incredulous. "No way he's got that much money!"

Cana's fingertips glowed, and with a flick, she pulled out a card like a magician. After a flash of white light, a dog-shaped piggy bank appeared in her hand.

"Here's 30,000J, all earned by Happy himself!" she said, proudly shaking the piggy bank. "Happy's nose is super sharp. He can smell from a mile away whether food's fresh or not."

"Once, he stopped an old man from buying some bad chicken. Turned out, a bunch of people who'd bought meat from that same vendor got sick—some just had stomach issues, but others ended up with high fevers!"

"The old man's wife was really frail, and eating that meat could've made her seriously ill, maybe even killed her. So, to thank Happy, the man gave him 10,000J and a huge pile of his favorite pork chops!"

"After that, Happy got famous! Tons of people started shopping only at stores he'd 'approved'!"

Cana kept spilling the tea. "Another time, Happy and I were out for a walk when we saw a crying kid. Happy just plopped down and played with him for a minute, and the kid started laughing. The guy in a butler suit standing nearby said, 'It's been ages since the young master smiled like that.'"

"And just like that, he gave Happy 20,000J and a year's supply of premium cat food!"

"=_=|| Seriously…?" Natsu was speechless, staring at Happy wagging his tail on the ground. The world suddenly felt like a bizarre fantasy.

Gray leaned back, smirking smugly. "Tch, tch, tch. Tough luck, Natsu. Forget cheering up kids—you're lucky if you don't scare them off crying! Happy's definitely got you beat!"

"You—!" Natsu's fist burst into flames, and with a roar, he tackled Gray. The two rolled into a brawling heap.

The party went on noisily until late into the night.

Some time later, the guild's atmosphere shifted. Makarov climbed onto the bar counter, his face unusually stern as he let out a heavy sigh. "Listen up, everyone! Ivan… has been officially expelled from the guild. As of today, he is no longer a member of Fairy Tail!"

The news hit like a rock thrown into a pond. The guild members let out a collective "Ah!" of shock, but soon, murmurs of relief and quiet discussions followed, as if many had been expecting it.

Natsu's gaze drifted to the corner where Laxus leaned, idly flipping through a comic book.

Natsu strolled over casually and plopped down beside him. "Yo, Laxus, how come you don't… seem to care at all?"

The room quieted slightly, with several people subtly perking up their ears.

Laxus's mouth twitched, his eyes not leaving the page. "Are you an idiot? At a time like this, a normal person would ask, 'You okay?' not 'Do you care?'"

Natsu blinked, paused for two seconds, then nodded earnestly. "Oh. So… you okay?"

Thud! Laxus slammed his comic book onto the table, a vein pulsing on his forehead. "I'm not okay! I really need to punch an idiot to blow off some steam right now!"

Natsu's face lit up with understanding. "Oh, I get it! Then go beat up Gray! That'll—"

Before he could finish, an armored hand grabbed his head and slammed his face into the table with a crack! Splinters spread outward from the impact.

Erza yanked Natsu up by the collar like a ragdoll and tossed him aside. She turned to Laxus, her tone soft. "He's just trying to check on you. His… approach might be off, but he didn't mean to bring up your dad getting kicked out."

Laxus rubbed his temple, letting out a long, tired sigh. "It's fine, Erza. I'm really okay. Gramps told me about it a while ago."

"My old man getting kicked out… it's his own fault. I've got no reason to be upset."

"Good," Erza said with a relieved smile. "Everyone's been a bit worried about you."

Laxus glanced around the guild. Though no one was blatantly staring, plenty of eyes flicked his way, filled with quiet concern.

"Hm," he grunted softly, picking up his comic book again to shield his face, his fingers flipping the pages.

Erza let out a small breath of relief and turned to leave.

Once the lingering glances faded, Laxus's fingers paused on the page.

His eyes drifted to the window, his grandfather's heavy words echoing in his mind: "Ivan… he's a danger to Fairy Tail."

…Dad, I hope you don't actually go that far.

"Ugh…" Natsu, still dazed, struggled to his feet, shaking his head. He scooted back to Laxus's side. "Laxus, good to know you're okay! I was gonna show you my dragon egg—"

"Dragon egg?" Laxus raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing. "Don't tell me you got scammed into buying another 'dragon egg.' How much did you lose this time?"

"It's not like that!" Natsu bristled like an angry cat. "I found it while training in the eastern forest! It just fell from a tree—thud! Nearly hit me!"

"A dragon egg… fell from a tree?" Laxus propped his chin on his hand, giving Natsu a look that screamed, You're kidding, right?

"Aren't dragon eggs supposed to be hidden in caves? What kind of dragon leaves its egg in a tree?"

"Obviously, it's 'cause the dragon had stuff to do!" Natsu declared, eyes shining with conviction. "Like Igneel! Maybe it accidentally dropped it!"

Laxus rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared. What kind of careless dragon 'accidentally' drops its egg? But, wary of bringing up Natsu's fire dragon, he swallowed his retort.

Gray's snarky voice cut in. "With your personality, if you found a 'dragon egg,' wouldn't you have come charging back, yelling for the whole guild to see? Why so quiet this time?"

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