mesbooks Chapter 11: Absolutely not!
Chapter 11: Absolutely not!
"Bang!"
Natsu, who had "lost his color," lay helplessly on the ground.
Although the child's body was still lying on the ground, his soul seemed to be slowly floating up, as if he was about to ascend to heaven.
Natsu's expression revealed a hint of despair.
"What a decisive defeat."
Cana, holding Little White, couldn't help but sigh, "Poor Natsu, this is the second time he's been beaten to the ground today. What's wrong with him?"
This time, however, Natsu quickly got up from the ground. He grimaced and writhed like a maggot, as if he was uncomfortable all over and the pain made his face contort.
Erza stood there with her hands on her hips, looking quite smug. She didn't even draw her sword; she just punched Natsu to the ground, making Natsu seem incredibly weak.
Actually, that's not the case. Although Natsu was repeatedly beaten down by Moen and Erza, Natsu's strength is quite excellent and he's not as weak as some people think.
Ultimately, it's because Moen and Erza's strength is just too abnormal.
After joining the Fairy Tail guild, Natsu learned what it meant to be "there are always people better than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding." Having always interacted with animals in the wild, he immediately encountered a major setback upon entering human society.
"Want to come again?"
Erza flicked her hair, tucked it behind her ear, and then asked Natsu, "No matter how long it takes, I'll fight you to the end."
"Alright, alright, Erza, let's stop here."
Seeing Natsu biting his lip so hard he couldn't speak from the pain, Moen waved to Erza with a smile.
"Natsu still needs to learn to read and write later."
Moen patted Natsu on the shoulder, offering him a reason, but his words only made Natsu's expression worse.
"Actually... I can still hold on!"
Natsu shrank back and raised his hand in a low voice.
He hated studying more than getting beaten up; those scribbles that looked like gibberish gave him a headache just from looking at them.
"Huh? Are you sure?"
Moen's smile remained unchanged. He squinted at Natsu and slowly tightened his grip on Natsu's shoulder, causing Natsu's face to contort once more.
"I'm sorry, Brother Moen, I'll study hard!"
Natsu grimaced and shouted. He finally gave in. He realized that learning to read was really necessary, otherwise he wouldn't even be able to understand the task assignments on the bulletin board.
"That's right. Time is of the essence, so don't waste any time. Don't forget, you'll need to practice meditation after you finish your academic studies."
Moen chuckled, released Natsu, patted him on the shoulder, and then dragged him away by the back of the collar.
"Erza! You wait! I'll defeat you one day!"
As Moen dragged him away, Natsu waved his fist at Erza and said something harsh. This guy really doesn't learn his lesson; he even dared to provoke Erza again. It seems he hasn't been beaten into submission yet.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for you to challenge me again."
Erza's reaction to Natsu's words was indifferent; she simply nodded in response, not seeming to care much.
Gray, on the other hand, seemed quite moved. Seeing Natsu's unconvinced expression, Gray clenched his fist, then jumped out and pointed at Erza.
"Erza! I challenge you to a duel too!"
Despite his tragic expression, Gray finally mustered up his courage. He would challenge Erza once again, not necessarily to defeat her, but at least not to be worse than Natsu!
"..."
Cana was very surprised to see Gray jump out and challenge Erza. He clearly couldn't win, so why did he still challenge her? Did he like getting beaten up?
Cana couldn't understand Natsu and Gray's actions at all.
Moreover, whether it was her imagination or not, it seemed that Gray had also become abnormal since Natsu's appearance.
Cana's feeling was completely correct; Natsu's appearance had indeed completely ignited Gray's competitive spirit.
Before Natsu arrived, Gray was in an awkward position within the Fairy Tail guild. He couldn't beat Moon and Laxus above him, but he could easily defeat Jet and Troy below him. Naturally, it was difficult to provoke his competitive spirit.
But Natsu's appearance gave Gray a worthy opponent, and the two also had very different personalities, so they were now completely at odds and had to settle the score.
Now, if you want to motivate them both, the method is very simple.
"Natsu, learning to read isn't difficult. Even Gray mastered it easily. You don't want him to laugh at you for being an idiot, do you?"
In the study room, seeing Natsu scratching his head and looking like he had lost his parents whenever he studied, Moen decisively unleashed his killer move.
"no way!"
Sure enough, a killing move is a killing move. As soon as Moen finished speaking, Natsu got into a rage, literally into a rage. Flames started to rise from his head, and he became completely energized.
"What that guy can do... I can definitely do too!"
Natsu roared and began writing frantically. The scribbles that used to make him dizzy no longer bothered him so much. In order to avoid being laughed at by Gray, he had to learn to write quickly!
Natsu acts almost entirely on instinct, perfectly fitting the definition of a "single-celled organism," so there's no need to overthink things when interacting with him.
"Pfft~"
Watching Natsu diligently writing, the blue-haired girl next to Moen smiled, her eyes crinkling.
"Levy, I'm leaving this to you. Keep an eye on Natsu and don't let him slack off."
Moen looked at the blue-haired girl Levy beside him. Levy was two years younger than him and one year younger than Natsu. She was only ten years old this year and a little shorter. She looked cute and charming. Moen patted her head and gave her a word of advice with a smile.
"Okay, Moen, I'll keep an eye on Natsu."
Levy narrowed her big eyes slightly, seemingly enjoying Moen's head pat. She nodded obediently and replied earnestly.
Levy is a literary girl who is very good at literature. Although she is young, she has already begun to learn several ancient scripts. Her dormitory is basically filled with books. "Sleeping with books as pillows" is her daily routine.
To read, Levy also spent a fortune to buy a pair of "Wind-Singing Glasses," a magical item similar to Laxus's "Sound Pot," which allows her to read at speeds up to 32 times faster.
Moen was quite at ease having Levy supervise Natsu's studies; she might even be more competent than him, able to make these dry facts more interesting.
Although he entrusted the task of supervising Natsu to Levy, Moen didn't go far. He simply sat down cross-legged to the side and began his meditation practice for the day. Meditation practice requires a lot of concentration, so he couldn't be distracted by instructing Natsu. With Levy volunteering to help, he saved himself a lot of trouble.