Chapter 105
Success!
Marshall’s carefully crafted "innocent little brother" act had worked perfectly.
Thanks to what he considered a flawless performance, the girls closest to him now believed he was a sheltered, easily embarrassed boy who hadn’t yet figured out romance!
Marshall had spent years behaving like a remarkably well-mannered child, so no one suspected that any part of it might be deliberate.
Instead, they experienced a collective moment of realization.
"So Marshall isn’t a genius at absolutely everything!"
"He still has a childish side after all!"
"We finally found his weakness!"
Marshall had always presented himself as an intelligent and unusually mature prodigy.
Discovering that he was hilariously "clumsy" in one particular area scratched a very specific itch for the girls.
Exactly as he had predicted!
Once this contrast became obvious, the girls started enjoying every opportunity to tease the supposedly innocent Marshall.
They whispered jokes they assumed he was too young to understand, then laughed triumphantly when he stared at them with a confused expression and flushed cheeks.
At last!
After years of being mercilessly outsmarted by that irritating boy, the girls had finally reclaimed some dignity!
Cana and Mira enjoyed the game more than anyone else.
They were older and far more experienced at teasing people.
Once they discovered that pulling Marshall into a tight hug immediately made his face turn bright red, they became addicted to doing it on purpose.
Watching his ears redden while he struggled indignantly to escape gave them the intoxicating satisfaction of having finally brought the mighty Marshall under control.
Even Erza had a sudden realization.
She told the others that whenever she invited Marshall to bathe or change armor with her nearby, he would always turn red and quietly refuse.
That testimony seemingly confirmed the existence of Marshall’s great weakness beyond all doubt.
And so Marshall began living a wonderful life in which beautiful older girls teased him every day.
Juvia, on the other hand, disapproved of Cana and Mira’s behavior. She frequently rushed forward to protect Marshall from their relentless harassment.
Levy was the only one left unhappy.
To her immense disappointment, hugging Marshall herself produced almost no visible reaction.
That discovery devastated her!
As a result, Levy often joined Juvia’s side and helped rescue Marshall from the evil embrace of the "big-sister tribe."
Although his fun was repeatedly interrupted, Marshall was actually even happier.
Without Juvia and Levy pulling him out of danger, he wouldn’t have known how to keep the performance going naturally.
Therefore, everything remained within his calculations!
As for dealing with his body’s occasional protests against all this embarrassment?
Hah!
Never underestimate the wisdom of a genius Mage!
Marshall opened a tiny spatial portal around himself whenever necessary and used it to redirect heat and calm his overactive constitution.
Magic existed to solve problems.
This was precisely how it should be used!
Of course, Marshall wasn’t so shallow that he had planned all of this merely to enjoy being teased.
He had a far nobler objective.
He was farming Inspiration!
That’s right!
He willingly endured this heavy burden for the sake of becoming stronger!
His Inspiration had been rising rapidly lately, all thanks to his astonishing intelligence!
"Little Master, are you feeling rather proud of yourself?"
If anyone understood Marshall’s wicked scheme, it was Virgo.
She had watched everything from beginning to end and knew his true nature better than almost anyone.
Virgo knew perfectly well that Marshall understood every joke the girls made. He wasn’t an ordinary child at all.
Seeing her Little Master apparently wandering down a questionable path filled her with guilt.
Clearly, the disgraceful Leo had corrupted him.
"P-Proud? Of course not!"
Marshall looked away.
"I’ve resisted them every time! You saw it yourself, Virgo. They’re the ones who keep attacking me."
"How could any of this possibly be my fault?"
"The world constantly misunderstands my noble intentions."
He sighed dramatically.
"Those who understand will understand. Explaining it to anyone else would be pointless."
"The interests involved are far too complicated..."
As Marshall continued talking nonsense, Virgo expressionlessly rolled up her sleeves and adjusted her gloves.
"...If Little Master requires assistance maintaining his dignity, you may ask Virgo."
"For Little Master’s sake, Virgo would not object to helping you practice resisting such teasing."
"..."
Marshall swallowed.
The little angel and devil inside his head immediately prepared for another argument.
That suggestion genuinely placed him in a difficult position.
He was only enjoying the harmless entertainment of being fussed over.
He wasn’t desperate enough to request some special "training."
Besides, in Marshall’s mind, Celestial Spirits weren’t quite human.
Strictly speaking, Virgo belonged to the same general category of artificial life as Guga.
He certainly wouldn’t flirt with a Guga.
Admittedly, Virgo was beautiful and could transform between several different appearances, but...
No.
A perfectly obedient Celestial Spirit would provide very little Inspiration anyway.
More importantly, the will of the world clearly wouldn’t permit him to step beyond certain boundaries.
He could reconsider such matters after growing older!
"N-No need."
Marshall shook his head firmly.
"I’m hardly some shameless pervert."
"My mind may be mature, but my physical age is real."
"Something like that would be inappropriate."
Virgo tilted her head, considered his answer, and nodded.
"My apologies. Virgo misunderstood Little Master."
"It appears you have not yet fallen as far as Leo."
"There may still be hope for you."
"Hey!"
Marshall stared at her.
"So that was a test?! What would you have done if I’d agreed?"
"Virgo would have been forced to obey."
"Wait, I nearly forgot what you’re really like!"
Marshall pointed at her indignantly.
"You wicked Celestial Spirit maid! How dare you test your master?"
"You deserve a severe punishment!"
"Please punish Virgo, Little Master~"
Virgo also enjoyed teasing her master.
Marshall simply hadn’t noticed yet.
But that hardly mattered.
He was happy!
...
"Marshall! Don’t run away!"
Mira caught him around the shoulders.
"You stole Erza’s little cake, so you have to share it with me~"
"Mira, stop! Let go of me!"
"You wicked demon! Release Marshall immediately!"
Juvia rushed toward them, practically steaming with outrage.
Across the guildhall, Fairy Tail’s older men watched the scene with deeply complicated expressions.
Marshall’s face was bright red as he protested.
Mira looked delighted and completely satisfied.
Juvia was furious enough to produce visible steam.
The three continued laughing and arguing as though no one else existed.
"Must be nice..."
"Seriously, that kid has everything!"
"He became S-Class at twelve, he’s powerful, clever, handsome, and popular with girls."
"Marshall’s already won at life, hasn’t he?"
"Hmph. He’s still just a brat who smells of milk."
Another man crossed his arms.
"A girl teases him twice and he turns red enough to forget how to speak."
"I once thought the boy had the makings of another Gildarts."
"Clearly, I was wrong."
"Has it occurred to any of you that Marshall might be pretending?"
Someone narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"His best magic is Spatial Magic."
"If he genuinely wanted to escape, do you honestly think Mira could hold him?"
"That rotten brat is obviously enjoying himself!"
At that exact moment, Marshall looked toward the older men.
He had heard every word they said.
Carefully choosing an angle where the girls couldn’t see his face, Marshall gave the ’uncles’ a smug, provocative grin.
[So all you can do is gossip behind the back of a great S-Class Mage?]
[What a pathetic group of small-fry old men~]
"You rotten brat!" fifteen voices roared at once.
Even Makarov had begun finding Marshall’s recent smugness unbearable.
Mostly because he was jealous too!
That damned little pervert!
Pretending to be innocent while secretly enjoying every second of it was simply too shameless!
"Marshall!"
Makarov slammed his staff against the floor.
"You’re coming with me to tomorrow’s regional Guild Masters’ meeting!"
"No arguments!"
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