Fairy Tail: Magic is not such an inconvenient thing.

"Abbot! Are you hurt anywhere? Natsu and Gray are so mean! How could they bully a child like that!"

After hearing the whole story, Juvia hurriedly picked up Abbott to check him over, completely ignoring the other two lying on the ground.

Natsu & Gray: ?

Juvia's double standards are really excessive; Abbot tried not to laugh.

"I'm fine, Wendy, why don't you treat them both?"

"Okay, it's all healed now~ I wasn't injured at all."

"If they're not injured, why aren't they getting up yet?"

"Maybe he's faking his death and questioning the meaning of life."

"......" x2

Natsu and Gray remained silent and dared not raise their heads. They were too ashamed to face anyone, having been completely outmatched by Abbot, who was four years younger than them.

But he really couldn't beat her. When facing Ebo, he felt a sense of powerlessness similar to that of Erza, so he dared not speak.

"Boss defeated Gray and Natsu! That's amazing, meow!"

Elu flew onto Natsu's head, making a peace sign while holding up the "Polka Dot" that Ebo had made for her and taking a picture.

"Natsu's defeat commemorative photo! Happy, here you go, meow!"

"......Ai"

Do you need pig's heart with shrimp? No wonder it's Abbott's cat.

We're both cat owners, so why is there such a big difference? Harpy doesn't even find the dried fish in his hand appealing anymore.

Erza dragged Natsu and Gray together and questioned them:

Why are you bullying Aibo?

Gray finally couldn't hold back anymore:

"Who's being bullied here?! Who can bully him?! Can't you see we're the ones getting beaten up?!"

"Let's keep things separate. I know Abbott's personality better than anyone. He wouldn't start a fight with you on his own initiative. You must have forced him into it. Your inferior skills are a different matter! Apologize to Abbott right now!"

Gray stared in disbelief, speechless, though he knew they had started it all. What was with this feeling of frustration? And Erza, are you sure you really understand Ebo's personality?

Aibo quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying that it was just a joke and he didn't really intend to cause trouble for the two brothers.

"No need, Erza-neechan. I was just joking. Actually, I was the one who suggested the sparring. It's not Natsume's fault."

"Abbott is such a good boy..."

Erza patted Ebo, then turned and began to scold the two of them:

"Look at you all! You're not even as sensible as a ten-year-old!"

Natsu & Gray: @#￥#%￥！ #？

Natsu picked up Happy dejectedly, muttering to himself in a gloomy tone:

"I'm sorry, Happy, I'm a maggot. I couldn't even beat Abbot... I'm so useless..."

Oh no, I hope this doesn't traumatize the child.

Kind-hearted Abbott immediately stepped forward to comfort him:

"Natsu, don't be discouraged. I just have naturally stronger magic. As long as you keep working hard, you'll definitely have a chance to catch up with me! Keep up the good work in the training ahead!"

Natsu was moved to tears:

"Abbot!! Good bro! You're all right! Just wait and see what my next challenge will bring!"

Gray sensed something was wrong, and sure enough, he heard Abbott continue:

"I'm afraid that won't work. If you want to challenge me next time, you have to defeat Gray first. Didn't we agree on that?"

"Oh! It seems there is such a thing! Well then, Gray, you'd better be prepared!!"

Gray: ? ? ?

Oh no! We've fallen for their trap! Does this mean I'll be harassed by this fireball bastard every day from now on?! Abbott, what a vicious scheme you have!

Aibo scoffed, "This is nothing. Even without my involvement, you guys have fought all the time."

"Erza, look how enthusiastic Natsu and Graydo are! I can feel their desire to become stronger. Can you help them?"

Erza nodded:

"Indeed, it's a good thing to want to work hard. How about this, I'll try to spend more time with you guys in the future, don't be shy."

"!?"

Natsu and Gray's faces turned pale instantly. "Eibo, what have you done?!"

Erza frowned:

"What? You don't want to? Abbott's strength is almost catching up with mine. If you don't work hard now, how will you win in the future?"

"Willing...willing..." x2

Natsu and Gray looked dejected, as if life had lost all meaning and had become meaningless.

Then the two saw Abbott give them a peace sign from a corner where no one was watching, and then a mocking voice echoed in their minds:

Haha, you guys brought people to ambush me, now you regret it! Small fry~ Small fry~

? ? ! !

"You bastard, Abbott—"

Erza: "Hmm?"

Natsu and Gray were furious, but Erza was right there, so they dared not speak out and almost suffocated with anger.

Oh dear! How could Abbott be so wicked!

"Abbot! You just wait! I'll be back for revenge!"

Natsu grabbed Happy and ran away in a flash, afraid that if he stayed any longer he would lose control and go berserk.

"Me too! Abbot! I'll make you pay!"

Gray also yelled and ran off, he was going back to train like crazy! He was going to get his revenge sooner or later!

Mira asked thoughtfully:

"Abbot, what did you say to them at the end? They seemed really angry."

"Hehe, it's nothing, just some encouraging words to boost their morale. Young people should be full of passion; how can they give up so easily?"

"Aibo, you're still a teenager, how come you don't seem to have much drive usually?"

"Because I'm a beautiful boy, all I need to do is be beautiful!"

"You're so vain! You're clearly an idiot who can't even take care of himself if no one takes care of him."

Kana rolled her eyes and pointed at Abbot:

“We buy all your clothes for you, you never take care of your hair, you don’t do any housework, and you can’t even cook. I can’t even imagine how chaotic your life would be without Baluge!”

Abo, far from being ashamed, proudly cradled Ailu in his arms:

"I still have Ailu, Ailu will take care of me."

"Yes, boss! Ailu has learned to cook, meow!"

"..."xn

Erza couldn't stand it anymore:

"Abbot, Ellu is only 2 years old..."

Kana immediately grabbed Abbot's ear:

"You brat, how can you let a cat take care of you? You're so smart, you should at least learn to cook!"

"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts!"

Mira slapped Kana's hand away, snatched Abbot from her, and made a face at Kana:

"Abbot doesn't need to know any of that! I'll take care of him from now on. I'll take good care of Abbot. If you don't want to, you can leave on your own. You don't need to bother with me~"

Kana's pupils contracted slightly; Mira's words had clearly hit a nerve, and she immediately reacted defensively.

"Huh!? You're the one who came later! I've been the one taking care of Abbot all these years! And it will only be me from now on! What business is it of yours, an outsider!?"

Mira hadn't expected Kana to react so strongly, but she wasn't one to back down easily, and immediately retorted:

"What did you say?! You bastard Kana, do you want to fight?!"

Seeing that things were going wrong, Levy quickly stepped in to interrupt:

"Hey! Stop arguing! Didn't we buy Abbot new clothes? Abbot, Abbot, let's hurry back and try them on to see which one looks better!"

"Oh, okay!"

At this moment, Abbott was already sweating profusely. How could the situation have changed so much in the blink of an eye?!

He quickly began to act, first reaching out to take Kana's hand:

"Aibo will never leave Sister Kana. You know I'm always bad at taking care of myself, and I'll have to trouble you a lot in the future!"

Then Mira was brought over again:

"Mira! Don't fight! If the sisters' relationship gets worse because of me, Abbot will be very sad!"

"Hmph! I didn't mean to start a fight, she got agitated first!"

Kana also came to her senses and realized that she had indeed overreacted. She took a deep breath:

"Sorry, Mira, it's my fault... Abbot, these are the clothes I picked out for you... I just remembered I have something to do, you guys go have fun first."

Kana fled as if she were running away, leaving the remaining girls looking at each other in bewilderment.

Mira pouted:

"Don't look at me! You all know I was just joking. But Kana, haven't you been acting a little strange lately?"

Erza frowned:

“I know Kana has been secretly drinking lately, and I’ve told her about it several times already.”

Levy sighs:

“I talked to her about it, but she said she wouldn’t drink much, so I didn’t pay attention. Now it seems that she probably has something on her mind.”

Abbott scratched his head. He roughly knew some of the reasons, but Kana's personality was just so awkward, and he didn't have a good solution for the time being.

"Don't worry, I've got a clue, I'll handle it. Next... shall we go to my house first?"

Juvia... Juvia had been secretly observing and taking notes in the corner, her little brain working frantically, so much so that even Abbott couldn't hear what she was thinking.

Abbot sighed. The girls were getting older, and their minds were becoming more complex; this group was getting harder and harder to manage...

Chapter 76 Juvia's Investigation and Research

Juvia has been under a lot of pressure lately.

As an unfortunate child who lost both parents at a young age and lived alone for ten years.

Juvia...is extremely lacking in love.

Because of her Rain Woman constitution, Juvia has hardly ever experienced kindness from others.

What has sustained Juvia over the years is her expectation for a "better future".

She always believed that one day she would meet her own prince from the story, fall in love, get married, have two children in three years, and finally live a happy and fulfilling life.

All of Juvia's fantasies about life revolve around love; her life is love!

To win in life, you must first win in love! — This is Juvia's life motto.

Juvia's personality destined her to fall in love at first sight with the first man who showed her kindness. So when Ab accidentally entered Juvia's world and pulled her out of that "cage", he was already marked by Juvia.

Juvia believed that Abbot was her prince, even though he hadn't grown up yet, she was willing to wait!

During this waiting period, Juvia can eliminate some potential competitors. When it comes to gathering dating intelligence, Juvia is a professional!