114. Alex's Disappointment

Everyone is feasting on the dead sea monster that's actually edible. Erza lets Team Natsu join the feast because the Mayor asks her to let them join the celebration. They've at least tried to help the town, so the town wants to appreciate that.

Team Natsu enjoys the celebration happily as if they didn't cause trouble. That's why on their way back to Magnolia, Alex gives them a harsh lecture about how their action just made the town suffer even more.

"If you think what you did was helping them, then you're wrong. That impulsive brain of yours won't know this, but you would help them more by ignoring their quest. After all, if you take it, no other Mages will be able to take that quest. The S-Classes of our Guild or other Guilds can't take it because it's labeled as being taken. You are just blocking their chance to get proper help. Also, just how many boats and ships have you broken on your attempts to kill that monster? Those people are fishermen. Their boats and ships are their best friends. But you broke many of them. They've already lost a lot of money because they couldn't catch good fish for a few months and now they still need to spend money to fix or even make new ships. Our job is over once we kill that sea monster, but their lives won't become very easy instantly after that."

Alex talks very seriously, but Natsu doesn't seem to listen seriously even though he sits quietly.

"Sigh, what am I hoping for from someone who doesn't think much about destroying people's houses when fighting. If I'm in Master's position, I would've expelled you already."

"W-what?!" Now Natsu is surprised.

"Why are you so surprised? You have caused unnecessary damage too many times and the Guild always pays for it. Do you think your payments from those quests were enough to compensate for the damage you cause? We got into trouble with the Magic Council so many times because of you. Do you know how many times Master was scolded by the Council? Do you know how bad people's opinions are about us?"

"Their opinions don't matter. It will be fine as long as we're always together."

"Really? Their opinions don't matter, huh? I really hoped you weren't this stupid, but you actually are. Natsu, do you know who gives us the job quests we take? Who pays us for doing those jobs?"

"... P-people." Natsu finally seems to understand even with his simple brain.

"So you know. People, the Kingdom, and even the Council are the ones that give us jobs. I'm sure you never know this, but there are so many job quests that could be offered to us but they were sent to other Guilds instead. All because the requesters were afraid that we would destroy things. It doesn't matter as long as we are together? Well, it does matter because as long as we are together, we should help each other, but the unnecessary destruction when you work was causing problems for all of us. Master always helps all of you using the Guild's funds in those situations because he thinks of you as his family, his children. But do you really think of him as your family when you cause so much problems for him? Family helps each other, doesn't it? But what I see is only you get help and only Master keeps helping you. So can you still call yourself his family? Can you still call your Guild Mates your friends when you take their chances of getting safer jobs with decent wages? I didn't know that the Power of Friendship you always talk about means you can do anything even if it causes problems for your friends."

This is a big problem that Alex finds out after he becomes an S-Class and gets access to more secretive things. They might be showing the destruction as comedy or proof of how strong the characters are in the series.

But they don't show the consequences and problems caused by those destructions. The main characters who caused all those troubles don't get real consequences even though so many troubles happen behind the scenes.

It's always Makarov as the Guild Master who handles all those troubles. That's why Alex and the S-Classes always try to keep their reputation high. S-Class jobs get more attention, after all, so they need to be mindful of their behavior.

But even Alex will get fed up by the problems his Guild Mates caused, especially Natsu who causes the most problems. That's why he makes sure to give Natsu a big piece of his mind on their way back to Magnolia.

Natsu seems surprised by everything that Alex says. He might be an idiot, but that doesn't mean he can't understand anything that Alex says. Even Happy understands everything that Alex says and he also feels very guilty now.

"If you care about our Guild and everyone in it, then think of your actions more thoroughly. I don't say you shouldn't destroy anything, but avoid causing unnecessary destruction. If you cause too much destruction when fighting your enemies, then that means you are still weak because if you are strong, you will win before things get messy."

Alex keeps lecturing Natsu with hurtful facts that he explains as simple as he can. The Power of Friendship bullshit doesn't work on everything and Alex is fed up with that. So he really needs to put that all in Natsu's brain.

Even after all that, a punishment has already waited for them upon their return to Magnolia. Their punishment is to dig a hole and fill it up again continuously. The duration is as long as they work on the stolen job, so around 2 weeks.

This is the punishment that Alex proposed to Makarov before going to chase Team Natsu. After all, just some beatings won't work on Natsu. The duration of this punishment is also the reason Alex let them keep working until they give up.

The longer they do the job, the longer their punishment will be. Makarov and Alex agreed to do it like that to make sure they realize their mistake and know how much it will affect people who requested the job.

Well, Makarov gives them some leniency. Only Natsu is punished for 2 weeks. Lucy and Happy are doing half of his punishment. It's because Natsu was the one who stole the quest and he is the team leader, so he has more responsibility.

Surprisingly, none of them try to run away from the punishment. They do it earnestly and Happy even does the punishment for 2 weeks like Natsu because he also feels responsible for stealing the quest, unlike Lucy who was forced to join them after they stole it.

Makarov and everyone in the Guild are surprised by how Natsu and Happy do their punishment without complaining. Even they would be frustrated to dig a hole and fill it again for a day, yet the likes of Natsu and Happy do it for 2 weeks without any complaints.

Lucy who finishes her punishment after a week still comes for the next week to bring food for Natsu and Happy. She is just as surprised as everyone, but she can understand why they become like this because she also heard Alex's lecture.

Even she could feel that Alex wasn't actually mad at them, he was just very disappointed and it actually hits them harder than if he lectures them out of anger. After all, being disappointed means that he has great hopes for them, but they betray his hopes.

Well, it's good that Natsu and Happy are listening and show some changes. But Alex surely hopes that the change won't just be for a short period. He doesn't need them to change their personalities, just be more careful when doing jobs.

Fortunately, they still act as usual. They even still fight with their Guild Mates in the Guild Hall. Alex doesn't mind if they cause problems inside the Guild and break things there because even he does it.

After all, everyone always fixes things like tables and chairs that they break because the Guild's properties are their properties, so they are responsible for everything.

What Alex doesn't want is them breaking other people's stuff, especially the stuff of civilians who don't have that much income and only make ends meet every day. He just doesn't want them to worsen those people's difficult lives by being irresponsible.

But of course, he makes sure to tell them that they should still prioritize their safety. It's not a problem if they end up destroying things if it's unavoidable. The problem is if they can avoid it but don't try to minimize the damage.

Natsu shows some good changes after that and the damage report the Guild gets is reduced significantly. Everyone else also feels they need to change because even Natsu is doing his best to minimize the damage he causes.

Time passes with the Guild's reputation getting better by the day. Alex works normally while also planning things with Mystogan. Then finally, the time for the big Anima that can suck the whole Magnolia to show up finally comes.

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Ch. 164. Longest Battle (+ An AI generated picture of Matatabi humanoid form design)