Rumble, rumble, rumble!
In almost every household, iron corner guards rose along the walls to reinforce the structures. Some residents had gone as far as converting their entire homes into earthquake-proof shelters—a sight that had become the most common architectural feature in Magnolia.
"Hey! Clear all the trash off the streets! Leave nothing behind!"
"Heavens! Who dropped this banana peel?! Clean it up, quickly! Do you want our entire town destroyed?!" A crowd stared at a single banana peel on the ground as if it were a nuclear bomb capable of leveling the town. They scrambled in terror to dispose of it, leaving the streets looking cleaner than most people's living rooms.
Stepping off the train, Chu Yan watched the scene with a look of utter speechlessness. He thought to himself: Is this necessary? Is it really? I'm not a terrorist, I'm just coming home. To be treated like this... it's heartbreaking.
Three years had passed, and Chu Yan was now fifteen. No longer a scrawny kid, he stood tall in a black trench coat, with jet-black hair, violet eyes, and a handsome, fair-skinned face. He looked exceptionally sharp.
Creak! The heavy doors of the Fairy Tail guild swung open.
Everyone inside flocked toward him.
"Chu Yan! Welcome back!"
"Welcome back, Chu Yan!"
"Long time no see!"
Natsu leaped out, looking at Chu Yan with excitement. "Chu Yan! Fight me!"
"Move aside, Natsu! If anyone's fighting him, it's me first!" Gray kicked Natsu out of the way and stepped in front of Chu Yan.
But before he could finish his sentence, he was sent flying by a punch from Mirajane. She looked at Chu Yan with a bloodthirsty, excited expression. "Chu Yan, you really kept me waiting! I've been thinking about you every single day."
"??!!" Everyone turned to stare at Mirajane in shock.
"A confession?!"
"Is she confessing?"
"That's definitely a confession, right?"
"As expected of Mirajane; even her confessions are one-of-a-kind." ...
Lisanna blushed and looked at her sister. "Big sister, since when? I didn't know."
"Sister, if it's Chu Yan, I won't object! Because he's a man among men!" Elfman added with a look of genuine blessing.
Chu Yan rubbed his nose and said with a modest expression, "Mirajane, if you're thinking about me every day... then I'm totally okay with that!"
"He agreed! Has the strongest couple in the guild been born?!"
Mirajane finally realized how her words had sounded. Her face turned bright red, and she roared at the crowd, "I meant thinking about defeating him! Your heads are all full of nonsense!"
"And you, Chu Yan, you bastard! You knew exactly what I didn't mean! I... you jerk! Jerk!" Her face scarlet, Mirajane bolted out of the guild, with Lisanna and Elfman hurrying after her.
Suddenly, Makarov's voice rang out: "Chu Yan!"
"Master! You're here! Long time no see, I'm home!" Chu Yan joyfully scooped Makarov up into a hug.
Bam! Makarov rapped Chu Yan on the head and hopped back onto the counter. "You brat! I'm the Master, stop ruining my dignified image!"
"Master, I heard about this 'Chu Yan Mode' just now—what on earth is that? I'm not Gildarts, I can feel the deep-seated malice in that name!"
Makarov replied, "It's because of you, kid. You're even more dangerous than Gildarts. He just breaks a few things; you break everything. So, how did the Ten-Year Quest go?"
Chu Yan smiled. "With me on the job, there was no doubt. Success, of course."
Hearing this, the guild members erupted in chatter. "A Ten-Year Quest! He completed it!"
"He's probably ready for a Century Quest next!"
"So cool! As expected of the wizard known as the 'Humanoid Natural Disaster'! He really is in a league of his own!"
Chu Yan's ears twitched. He glared toward the source of the voice. "Hey! Which bastard gave me that title? I'm going to sue! This is a serious defamation of my character!"
The others ignored his complaints, laughing and joking. "Chu Yan, what character? Your reputation is probably the worst among all wizards right now!"
"Yeah, that's right. That title wasn't made up for nothing."
"Wherever you go, disaster follows. The title fits perfectly." ...
Makarov smiled. A Ten-Year Quest meant a mission that had gone uncompleted for a decade. Such missions weren't just posted at Fairy Tail but across other guilds as well.
Completing such a task was a testament to the guild's strength and affected its official ranking. He could now brag to the other guild masters and the Magic Council. He was in a fantastic mood.
Then, Chu Yan began to complain: "Master, can you please stop giving me missions? The rewards aren't enough to cover the damages. I might be the poorest S-Class Wizard in history."
One year after joining the guild, Chu Yan had passed the S-Class Wizard trial, becoming the second S-Class member in Fairy Tail and the youngest ever. The only other S-Class member was Gildarts.
Gildarts was also the one who had proctored Chu Yan's exam. The two had fought a massive battle on a deserted island; the island was destroyed, but the fight ended in a draw. Makarov was the only witness. Since then, Gildarts had become even lazier with missions, leaving most of the heavy lifting to Chu Yan.
But the more missions he did, the poorer he became. Whenever he fought, the collateral damage was billed to him. It got to the point where he was losing money on jobs.
The most frustrating time was when he was traveling to a mission and a natural earthquake occurred nearby. The Magic Council tried to blame him for the damages. If Makarov hadn't held him back, Chu Yan would have leveled the Council headquarters right then and there.