— — — — — —
"Eh?! Ma... magic?!"
Tohru stared at the long sword that had been knocked to the ground and was now slowly fading away, then at the wound that was already beginning to close.
Finally, she looked at the human standing before her, a floating canon hovering at his side. Her mind went completely blank.
"No, wait, no way. That couldn't have been magic! That was a divine longsword! Magic shouldn't be able to affect it at all!"
"What in the world are you?!"
Tohru stared at Kazuma in disbelief. She had thought he was just some human blinded by greed.
Yet he had pulled out a god's sword like it was nothing. That was... terrifying even for a dragon!
"Technology is power. Your era is over, Tohru."
Kazuma patted her on the shoulder. How could an ancient-era dragon comprehend something like a futuristic super-gravity floating cannon?
"Alright, job's done. Time for me to collect my payment."
Kazuma took a sample of dragon blood and a few broken scales from the not-yet-healed wound on her back and stored them away in his vault.
Once he got back to school, he planned to study them and kill some time.
"Wait... You're just leaving?!"
Tohru watched Kazuma turn to go. Her opinion of him had completely changed. He no longer looked like a greed-obsessed human.
He looked more like a bizarre creature who did inexplicable things for inexplicable reasons.
"What? Got something else?"
Kazuma glanced back at her. "Don't tell me you want me to carry you to a hospital. This world doesn't have hospitals for dragons."
"No need. Once the divine sword is removed, I can heal on my own."
"I just... I nearly died just now. You saved my life. Aren't you going to make me repay you? For example... making me your mount? You could be a dragon knight or something?"
Tohru honestly felt that a little blood and some broken scales weren't nearly enough to repay a life debt.
"Riding a dragon, huh... It does sound kind of cool. But nah, I don't need a ride."
"..."
"Then what about letting me protect your family? I can ensure your bloodline continues for generations. Don't look at me like this, I'm actually very powerful."
"To thank you for saving me, I can spend millennia guarding your family."
Tohru offered her second idea: using her long lifespan and power to ensure a human family's prosperity. Dragons loved paying debts this way. At least, that's what novels always wrote.
"I don't have a family. It's just me."
"And even if I had one, I wouldn't need help. If they're too weak, it's natural they decline."
Kazuma turned around and actually sat down. He found Tohru surprisingly interesting. Talking to a dragon was bizarre, but still better than hanging around with those stupid delinquents at school.
"You really are impossible to understand."
Tohru looked at the tiny human in front of her. A magic circle formed beneath her feet, and the next second she shifted into her human form.
She wore an oversized cloak, white skin faintly visible underneath. She stepped closer, red-orange slit pupils locked onto Kazuma, as if trying to see into his true desires.
But after staring for so long, she still couldn't figure out what he wanted.
"I can give you tons and tons of treasure. As thanks."
"...I don't need treasure."
"What about helping you conquer the world?"
"...If I wanted to conquer the world, I could do it myself. Don't need help."
Kazuma watched her grow increasingly distressed. Teasing her was oddly fun. Especially when she was trying so hard to think. She looked pretty cute like that.
Tohru looked absolutely lost. Weren't humans supposed to love wealth, power, and fame? Why didn't this one want anything?
"Ah, I know!"
"I can tell everyone you were the one who defeated me. You could become a legendary dragon slayer!"
Of course. If he didn't want money or power, then he must want fame. She was sure of it.
"Hahaha, alright, I'll stop messing with you. A commission doesn't work like that. You ask for something, I respond, I take the payment, and that's it. Don't mix favors into business."
Kazuma couldn't help laughing at how clueless she looked. Honestly, spending time with a cute girl was way better than dealing with the weirdos at school.
Come to think of it, did their teachers feel the same way back then? He'd only been teaching for a bit and he was already annoyed. Their old teacher must have been suffering even more.
"You ask, I respond... right?"
Tohru suddenly remembered some human-dragon romance she'd overheard once. In the story, the knight didn't save the princess, he fell in love with a beautiful dragon.
Wait... could the human in front of her be like that too?!
"Um... what do you think of dragons? Do you hate them?" Tohru asked cautiously.
"They're alright. I've spent years around a kid who was raised by a fire dragon, so I've gotten used to them."
Kazuma had no strong opinions about dragons. He'd never really met any. You can't like or dislike something you've never encountered.
"So he was around a dragon-raised child, grew close over time, and ended up liking dragons too!"
"Is... is that kind of story actually real? That legend wasn't just a tale?"
Tohru's imagination started running wild. Should she accept it? But they just met. Should she refuse? But he saved her life. Isn't a life debt repaid with one's body?
"Um, I'm still single. Actually, I've always been single."
Tohru spoke nervously, hinting that she had been alone this whole time.
"Huh... dragons can get lonely like kids too."
Kazuma looked at her human form, looking sixteen or seventeen. Her chest was impressive, sure, but emotionally she seemed like a lonely little kid.
"Lonely... maybe a little."
Tohru thought about her long journey. She really had felt lonely sometimes. Ever since she left her father, she'd been traveling alone, witnessing wars between humans, dragons and gods. Years of that would make anyone lonely.
She hated war. She just wanted a place to settle down in peace.
"In that case, want to join my guild? Become my family and partner? If you join now, I'll even give you the vice-leader position."
Kazuma had already decided. The first member of his guild in this world would be Tohru. She was a dragon, strong as hell… and she still owed him a favor. What better candidate could there be?
"Family...? Partner?"
Tohru looked at Kazuma, at the sincerity in his eyes. She reached a hand toward him, wanting to take his.
But just before she touched him, she hesitated. "Humans and dragons are enemies... If we stay together then..."
"Cut it out. The only people I care about are the ones beside me. What everyone else thinks is their problem, not mine." Kazuma grabbed her hand himself.
Tohru pressed her lips together. No matter what happened later, she should at least try. She had already been one inch away from death under that god's attack.
If this human hadn't saved her, she really would be dead.
Instead of wavering forever, better to be brave. Treat her old life as dead and start a new one now.
She'd wanted to try living differently for a long time anyway.
She tightened her grip on Kazuma's hand. A magic circle lit up between them, the mark of a contract.
It basically asked: {Do you wish to join the guild and become a member? If so, click "Yes."}
"This is my first time. Please take good care of me."
Tohru smiled brilliantly. Her words sounded… strangely like a wife on her wedding night, but she didn't seem to realize.
"Sure. I'll teach you everything step by step."
Kazuma nodded. A veteran guiding a newcomer on how to take quests was guild tradition.
And besides, Fairy Tail currently had only two members in this world: himself and now Tohru. If he didn't teach her, nobody would.
"Also... system, why did the guild invitation look so cool?"
"Forget it. Do it like that next time too. Don't just send a plain text notification. Using fancy magic circles like this, it's so stylish."
He complained in his mind. He thought an invite was just a message the other person accepted. He didn't expect something this flashy.
[This system adapts the invitation method to what the target understands best...]
[Request received... Adjusting...]
[Magic-circle invitations are now the default. Unless otherwise specified, magic-circle invites will be used by default.]
"This is the most human the system has ever sounded."
"Tohru, change your clothes first. Seriously, at least try to look normal."
Kazuma rummaged through his treasure vault and tossed her two dresses. Don't ask why he had dresses. He had everything.
"No need. I can make them myself. Something like this should be fine."
Tohru glanced at the dresses, then waved her hand. Her cloak shimmered and shifted into a neat dress.
"Convenient. Alright, I need to get to work now. You can come with me if you want. If not, go find a place to rest. I'll message you if anything comes up."
He looked at the sky. The sun still hadn't set. When he was a student, he always waited for school to end. Now a teacher, he still waited for school to end.
Life really was a cycle.
"Work, yes. Humans need to work to earn money. I'll help too."
Tohru nodded. Her tail wiggled excitedly. Learning how humans worked was the first step in her brand-new life.
"Let's go."
Kazuma headed toward the school, and Tohru followed with bright anticipation.
And just like that, two people who weren't even on the same wavelength somehow managed to understand each other and form a contract.
Both of them were surprisingly satisfied.
"You already know my name, but I'll introduce myself properly. I'm Tohru."
"I'm Kazuma."
Walking along the road, the two chatted about random small things. Nothing important, but Tohru enjoyed every second of it.
They reached the gate of Ishiyama High School.
"I'm a part-time teacher here. This is where I work."
"I'll show you how to teach students. Watch closely and learn. You might need it someday."
Kazuma stepped into the school, already planning to find an annoying student and beat him up as a demonstration.
"School... what kind of place is that? And what's a teacher?"
Tohru tilted her head. As a dragon, she had no clue about human institutions. But she did understand the idea of a "role."
'Kazuma must be a powerful mage. But living among humans means he needs a hidden identity. Being a teacher is his disguise.'
'Then I need one too.'
"Should I hide that I'm a dragon?" She tugged on Kazuma's sleeve and whispered.
"Up to you. Hide it if you want, don't hide it if you don't. This school probably won't care anyway."
He glanced at Tohru, then at the chaotic Ishiyama High. With how thick-skinned these delinquents were, they'd probably forget after five minutes.
That saying was true. Idiots had fewer worries.
'So... as the teacher's wife... no, no, that would expose our real relationship.'
'I need a disguise. Something believable...'
Tohru suddenly had an idea. She tugged Kazuma's sleeve again. "What if I become a teacher with you? It's a perfect disguise. And we can stay together normally."
She was very proud of her cleverness.
"That works. Starting today, you're the school's second teacher. I'll call you Tohru-sensei. Sound good?"
Kazuma agreed immediately. Free labor. Why wouldn't he?
As for the principal? Who was that? This school followed Kazuma now.
"Hehe..."
Tohru scratched her cheek shyly.
The two entered the school building. Nearby, the principal who had been trimming the bushes overheard everything.
"I... I don't mind."
He watched Kazuma walk off and felt like crying. Not only had his chair been stolen, now new teachers were being hired without him.
At this rate, he'd lose the title of principal entirely. Actually, he probably already had.
---
"Tohru-sensei. Next, as a new teacher you need to introduce yourself."
"When I did my introduction... I beat everyone up and threw them outside. After that, they behaved."
"You can do the same."
Kazuma shared his teaching experience. Step one: the perfect self-introduction.
"I get it. Establish dominance. I'm good at that."
Tohru nodded. Dragons introduced themselves through battle anyway. After fighting, everyone recognized each other.
"Watch me. I'll do great."
She fully intended to follow Kazuma's method and beat every student up before class.
The delinquents had no idea what kind of terrifying school life awaited them.
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.
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