— — — — — —
"Okay, kidding aside. I'm here for a new mission—my 101st mission."
Kazuma waved the paper in his hand. The moment Natsu and Lucy saw the number printed on it, their eyes practically popped out.
"Two hundred thousand J?! That much?!"
Lucy's eyes turned into glittering coins, and she actually started drooling a little.
"Two hundred thousand j… how much is that in fish?"
Natsu held up his fingers and tried to calculate, but it didn't help. He'd done plenty of missions before, sure—but two hundred thousand? That was money he couldn't even imagine touching in his lifetime.
Natsu was good at earning money, technically. The problem was, he destroyed so much stuff during every job that he never kept any of it.
"Two hundred thousand j! If I had that much, I'd have endless fish to eat! Happy will be happy."
Happy was already staring off dreamily into the clouds, lost in fantasy. "I'd have a grilled fish in my left hand, another in my right. Take one bite, switch hands, take another bite… then toss it away. Not because I'm full—because I can afford to!"
Kazuma shrugged. "Two hundred thousand's not much, really. But I got lucky and ran into it right after leaving the guild, so it's still a decent deal."
He didn't sound excited at all. To him, that kind of payout disappeared in a blink once you bought a new spell or enchanted gear. Money was just a tool. The real prize was the increase to his magic capacity—another ten percent this time. Enough to summon ten more cannons.
"Not much?!" Lucy gaped at him. "You're insane… no wonder they call you the Gun Tyrant! You must be swimming in cash!"
She swallowed hard. She couldn't even imagine that kind of wealth. But once she joined Fairy Tail, she promised herself, she'd get there too. Someday she'd look at the jewels and shrug just like that.
"Actually," Happy piped up, "Kazuma's done over a hundred jobs this year. He probably has, what, a few tens of millions saved up? Maybe hundreds?"
"Not really," Kazuma said casually. "I've only got a few million left. The rest all went into gear and training. I make a lot, but I spend a lot too."
He'd poured a fortune into learning support spells like Eagle Eye, hired martial arts masters to train his close combat, bought rare herbs and crafted strengthening potions, and invested in weapons and equipment. By the end of it all, his bank account was nearly empty again.
"A-a hundred missions in a year?!" Lucy gasped.
"Lucy, you're not a member yet, so you probably don't know," Happy said. "When Kazuma joined Fairy Tail a year ago, he started doing missions nonstop. Almost a hundred in twelve months."
"When we left on this trip, he was finishing his hundredth mission," Natsu added.
Lucy did some quick math in her head. "A hundred missions… that's one every three or four days. For a whole year. That's… that's not even human!"
She knew Kazuma was strong, but this was another level entirely.
Happy nodded. "And they weren't easy jobs either. All high-difficulty ones, with crazy strong enemies. Way worse than the guys from today—like a hundred times tougher."
"A hundred times?!" Lucy nearly choked. One of the traffickers earlier had been a mage, and that was terrifying enough. Multiply that by a hundred, and you were talking about an entire guild's worth of fighters.
"You're kidding, right? He didn't actually destroy a guild or something, did he?"
Her voice wavered, half-joking, half-nervous. But when she saw Natsu and Happy suddenly go quiet, their faces serious, the laughter died in her throat.
"No way," she whispered. "You're not saying he actually wiped out a guild… right?"
Kazuma scratched his cheek. "It wasn't that dramatic. It was a dark guild, but there were only a few dozen members. Hardly as bad as Happy makes it sound."
Lucy turned to him with wide eyes, completely speechless. One man, wiping out dozens of full-fledged mages—and he said it like he was talking about grocery shopping.
Now she really understood what kind of monster she was dealing with.
By the time they finished talking, the group had reached the train station. The last train was just about to leave, and they boarded together, heading back toward Fairy Tail.
---
The next morning, they returned to the Fairy Tail guild. Before they even reached the door, a familiar racket echoed from inside.
As soon as they pushed the door open, chaos unfolded before them—once again, the whole guild was brawling for who knows what reason.
But unlike last time, this one had an unfortunate casualty.
Mira had somehow been caught in the crossfire. Her eyes spun in dizzy little circles as she collapsed onto the floor.
"Mira! My dearest Miss Mira! You can't faint on me now—wake up! Come on, wake up!"
Seeing her fall, Kazuma rushed forward and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her back and forth in a panic.
"Is that the Mirajane? She's even prettier than I imagined!"
"But wow, look how nervous Kazuma is… could it be that they… hehehe."
Lucy covered her mouth, eyes sparkling like she'd just stumbled into the juiciest gossip of the year.
"Lucy, I don't think it's what you're thinking…"
Happy shook his head just as Kazuma's next words shattered any hint of romantic misunderstanding.
"Mira, if you pass out, who's going to submit my quest report? Is the old man around? If not, you're the only one who can handle it!"
"Every minute you stay unconscious is another minute of my time wasted! I could've finished another mission by now!"
He clutched his head, mourning his lost productivity like it was the greatest tragedy in life.
"Y'know, she might've woken up a second ago, but you shook her like that and made her faint again."
Gray, who'd just been punched across the room and landed beside them, groaned and threw in a jab. "Also, quit running your mouth—it's annoying."
Without missing a beat, Kazuma spun and kicked Gray straight back into the melee. Then he sighed, glancing at the still-unconscious Mira.
"Unbelievable. Just my luck."
He carefully propped her up against the wall and dusted off his hands, ready to go find Makarov to turn in his mission.
Before he could take a step, however, a massive figure stooped through the doorway, shadow falling over the guild's chaos.
"Quiet down, all of you! It's the middle of the day and you're already raising hell? If you've got that much energy, go take more jobs!"
Makarov's voice boomed like thunder. The guild instantly fell silent.
Of course, "silent" didn't mean "effective." Within seconds, everyone was back to drinking, chatting, and lazing around like usual.
With a long sigh, Makarov shrank back to his normal size and hopped onto the counter.
"Yo, old man, you really don't look so good these days. Maybe it's time to retire and enjoy your golden years."
Kazuma waved lazily.
"Hah! Even half-dead, I'm still stronger than you, brat."
Makarov chuckled, but his expression soon turned thoughtful.
"I already got the report about your last mission. Honestly, I'm impressed—didn't expect you to finish that fast."
"The speed, the efficiency, and the… destruction level—all top-notch. If only you'd learn to talk like a normal person."
The old man rubbed his temples with a sigh. Fairy Tail earned a lot, but they spent just as much fixing what they broke. His poor hairline paid the price.
"The Magic Council actually processed it fast this time. Anyway, here's the signed receipt—go ahead and log it, and I'll take my reward now."
"Oh, and I brought back a new recruit. You'll like her."
"Lucy! Lucy, come here!"
Kazuma handed over the quest form stamped with the captain's signature, then called out toward the doorway.
"Coming! Uh—hello! My name's Lucy. I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage, and I'd really love to join Fairy Tail!"
Lucy hurried over, still starry-eyed from the chaotic, lively atmosphere that had completely stunned her a moment ago. Now she stood nervously in front of the small, white-bearded guild master.
"Hmmm…"
Makarov frowned seriously, staring her down.
Gulp.
Lucy swallowed hard, bracing for judgment.
"Alright then! Since you're his recruit, I'll allow it. Mira, get her registered and give her the guild mark."
His stern face broke into a grin.
"Yes, Master!"
Suddenly, the very same Mirajane who had been knocked out cold moments ago appeared beside them, smiling sweetly as ever.
"Wait—you're fine now?"
Kazuma couldn't help but blurt out.
"I was only out for a little bit," she replied with a soft laugh. "Thanks for moving me somewhere safe, though maybe next time you could pick something better than 'against the wall.'"
"So you really weren't unconscious, huh…"
Kazuma muttered under his breath. Guess my mom was right—pretty women really are the best liars.
Mira ignored him, focusing on Lucy instead. She helped her fill out the registration and then pulled out the magic seal.
"Alright, Lucy—where do you want your guild mark?"
"Anywhere's fine?" Lucy asked.
"Yup! But it's best to place it somewhere visible. The mark's our proof of membership—you'll need to show it sometimes when taking jobs."
Lucy nodded thoughtfully. "Then… on the back of my hand, please."
She'd noticed that Kazuma's mark was there too. For him, it wasn't symbolic or anything—just convenient.
But for Lucy, it meant something. Kazuma was the first Fairy Tail mage she'd met, the one who'd invited her to join. She admired his strength and kindness. Having her mark in the same spot felt right.
"You can even choose the color," Mira said with a giggle. "It's really handy magic. I still remember when Kazuma first joined—he didn't even want the mark at all!"
She laughed at the memory. He hadn't disliked the guild; he'd just hated the idea of sticking anything onto his body.
And then—
[Ding!]
[Achievement unlocked: First time recruiting a new member to the guild.]
[Reward: Observation Haki – Future Vision!]
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