— — — — — —
"Exactly. If you hire me, then you pay the price. That's just how it is."
"It's also what keeps a guild running. If a client is genuinely desperate, I can choose to take less, or even nothing at all."
"But they definitely can't lie. You still remember Macao, right?"
"If Macao had pushed himself to finish that mission and died up in those mountains, and then the client just cried about being poor and said they couldn't pay—"
"What would you do? Would you pity them? Or pity Romeo, whose father traded his life for a reward… that vanished into thin air?"
"What happens to Romeo after that? What's he supposed to live on?"
"We're mages. Our duty is to ourselves and our comrades. It sounds cold, but so what if they're pitiful?"
"I don't know them. Why should I sympathize, why should I help?"
Kazuma spoke calmly.
"…I'm sorry."
Lucy looked at him, guilt clear in her eyes as she apologized for her earlier attitude.
When she first met Kazuma, she'd thought he was just a powerful, unruly mage who did whatever he wanted.
But during their first mission, she'd realized he actually cherished his comrades deeply.
And now again, she noticed something—Kazuma might look rough and violent in action, but he always stuck to his own rules.
Rules he made for himself.
To a client, he might seem ruthless. But as a comrade? He was someone you could absolutely rely on.
"You're still far from being a mage who can stand on her own." Kazuma reached out and patted Lucy on the head like it was no big deal, not bothered at all by what happened earlier.
People misunderstand today, they'll misunderstand tomorrow.
But what does that have to do with him? Why should he care what they think? He just acts according to his own will.
"Um… then why did you say they were deceiving us from the start?"
Seeing his easy smile, Lucy's frustration melted away. Kazuma really wasn't a bad guy. He could be overbearing, sure, but sometimes he was surprisingly gentle.
She quietly decided she'd go all out buying gifts to apologize to him after they got back. With that resolved, she quickly returned to her usual curious self, clinging to his arm as she asked. "What did you notice?"
"That house earlier wasn't theirs. Most likely rented. Or borrowed from a friend."
"At first I thought they were just putting on a bit of a show, but I didn't expect it to be pure acting."
Kazuma let out a short snort. Pitiful people often have something infuriating about them. Why go through all that trouble to stage this?
Simple. They were afraid Kazuma and the others would see their true living situation, worry they couldn't pay, and demand proof of payment upfront.
And if they couldn't produce it, no one would take the job.
But if they rented a nice house and pretended to be rich, they wouldn't have to fear that doubt. No verification required. And once someone completed the mission, they could beg for more time to gather the money.
Quite the clever plan.
"I-I see… but how did you know it wasn't their house?"
Lucy was shocked by his conclusion, but still didn't understand one thing.
"Use your eyes. And your brain."
"The wife moved around that house awkwardly. She had to look around for a while to find even basic things. The husband sat on the sofa all stiff like he wasn't used to it."
"Put those together and it's obvious."
Everything he said was true—but these were deductions made easier by him knowing the original story.
In the actual story? Natsu figured it out by sniffing like a bloodhound.
"Ohhh! That makes sense!"
The clues all clicked in Lucy's mind. There was no concrete evidence, but it was hard to deny Kazuma's logic.
If they actually had the money from the start, they wouldn't need to pretend to be wealthy.
Real rich people have confidence—they don't need to act.
But because they couldn't produce that much money upfront, they had to bluff with a rented house and empty bravado.
"Originally, the mission reward was two hundred thousand. They actually could have paid that."
"But that Kaby guy got obsessed and raised it to two million J. An amount they could never hope to produce."
Kazuma shook his head. The job was worth two hundred thousand at best, but Kaby's desperation snowballed this whole mess.
When Kazuma returned to the guild and reported everything to Mira and the Guild Master, he handed them the book as well.
"This is one of the perks of being in a guild. We take the job, and the guild backs us up. If there's a problem later, the guild handles it."
"All we have to do is complete the mission."
A chime echoed in his mind—his magic power had risen again. Task completed.
"You brat, always stirring trouble, but this time you did well. That's more like a guild master."
Makarov actually praised him, clearly approving of his actions.
If it had been him in that situation, he would have done the same. This wasn't a personal favor—it was a guild matter. A small misstep could lead to big consequences.
"Is that so? Then hurry up and retire, old man. Let me take over already. Under my lead, this guild will rise to greatness!"
Kazuma accepted the praise without a shred of modesty.
"You wish! Praise you twice and you're already soaring? Let me tell you, you're far from being guild master material." Makarov huffed.
...
"Ara~ Ara~"
Mira whispered to Lucy. "Don't let the Guild Master's face fool you. He's actually really happy right now."
"Anyway, Lucy, I understand what happened now. And Kazuma was completely right this time. Anyone in the guild who hears about this will be impressed."
"This was even meant to be a training mission for you. He did exactly what he should."
"So yeah, you really should apologize properly," Mira spoke gently.
She might have retired from active missions, but as the one in charge of handling guild requests, she had seen a lot. She understood the weight behind Kazuma's words more than anyone.
"Yeah… but what should I give him…"
Lucy wanted to bury herself in a hole. She felt like she couldn't face him at all.
He'd been helping her ever since she joined, and all it took was one misunderstanding for her to lash out at him.
It was awful—even she thought she'd gone too far.
"Hmm… Kazuma doesn't really need anything. His treasury is overflowing already. His magic, the Gate of Babylon, is really something."
"So how about this—Lucy, you wrap yourself up in a ribbon, get inside a box, and deliver yourself to him."
Mira flashed a wicked grin.
.
.
.