Erza hadn't expected Qi Yan's first act upon waking to be demanding payment, but such a high reward was also a first for her.
"That's right, we've been delayed here for a long time. It's time to go back; if we're any later, the Guild Master will start to worry."
The two of them headed to the Royal Palace Hall together.
At this moment, in the Royal Palace Hall.
The King was handling affairs. This sudden attack by Magic Dragon Alazam had caught him off guard, and the entire city had suffered severe damage. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the city's residents, and the country was rebuilding in an orderly fashion.
Most importantly, with the hidden danger of Magic Dragon Alazam gone, the country was truly free of worries and could vigorously develop and exploit its existing resources.
Just then, a minister reported: "Your Majesty! Mr. Qi Yan and Miss Erza have arrived."
The King's eyes lit up: "Mr. Qi Yan is here! Usher him in quickly!"
Soon, Qi Yan and Erza arrived at the Royal Palace Hall once more.
"Mr. Qi Yan! You're finally awake!"
Seeing Qi Yan, the King enthusiastically came forward to greet him.
"I apologize for making Your Majesty worry. I merely overused my magic power and have recovered after a few days of rest."
"It's good that you've recovered! It's good!"
"Your Majesty, we have been out for a long time this trip, and we were delayed for a while due to rest. We have come to bid our farewells."
"Farewell? So soon?! You could certainly stay for a bit longer!"
Erza said: "No, Your Majesty, if we stay any longer, everyone at the Guild will start to worry."
"I see!"
The King hesitated for a moment and said: "Mr. Qi Yan, Miss Erza, I wonder if you would be willing to stay in Sobeya Kingdom. If you stay, I can appoint Mr. Qi Yan and Miss Erza as the Guild Master and Vice Guild Master of the Sword City Mage Guild."
Qi Yan and Erza were both experts, especially Qi Yan, who possessed the strength to slay a giant dragon. If he stayed in Sobeya Kingdom, he would be like a stabilizing force.
The King's meaning was clear: he was telling Qi Yan and Erza that if they stayed in Sobeya Kingdom, wealth, status, and fame would all be within their grasp.
"My apologies! Your Majesty, I am a Mage of Fairy Tail."
Qi Yan directly refused. He was bound to the Fairy Tail Guild; let alone 100 million, he wouldn't stay for a billion or ten billion.
This experience also taught him that in this world, strength was far, far more important than money.
"That is truly a pity!"
Although he had already guessed this outcome, the King still felt some regret.
"Someone! Bring the items!"
Soon, someone brought over several boxes.
The boxes were opened, revealing stacks of money inside.
Qi Yan's eyes went wide. This... how much money was this?
"This is 100 million J. I know this is not enough to pay for the contributions you two have made to Sobeya Kingdom, but as the royal capital is about to be rebuilt, we can only pay this much for now."
Erza was also a bit stunned when she heard there was 100 million J. She had become a Mage a long time ago and had been working actively all these years, but the combined rewards she had earned over the years didn't even amount to 100 million J.
"No, no, this is a bit too much. My winning prize was 20 million J, and the reward for an SS-rank quest is 30 million J, totaling 50 million J. Half of this is enough."
"If the original plan had gone smoothly, it would have been 50 million J, but then there was a monster surge and a magic dragon. This has far exceeded the level of an SS-rank quest. Compared to the difficulty of the quest, this reward is already very low."
The King wasn't speaking nonsense. Just the two words 'giant dragon' alone were enough to classify this quest as a ten-year quest, and the reward for a ten-year quest starts at a minimum of 500 million J. So, 100 million J really wasn't much. The most crucial thing was that almost no Mage from any Guild dared to accept a ten-year quest, just like this time; even if one of the Ten Great Saint Mages came, he would die.
Qi Yan shook his head and insisted: "Since the quest has been accepted, it naturally cannot be changed. The subsequent unforeseen circumstances are part of the risks, so I cannot accept the extra money."
"What Qi Yan said is correct. The quest was confirmed the moment we accepted it. If we were to accept more payment, it would violate our Guild's regulations," Erza also agreed with Qi Yan's viewpoint.
Hearing the two of them say this, the King no longer insisted and had someone bring the box containing 50 million J in reward to Qi Yan.
Qi Yan took the box, feeling its heavy weight, his heart filled with excitement.
Working was exhausting, but all worries vanished the moment he received the money.
"Your Majesty, with this matter concluded, we must return to our Guild."
Seeing that Qi Yan and Erza were determined to leave, the King knew it would be inappropriate to detain them further, so he laughed heartily: "In that case, I will not keep you two any longer. I have already ordered a carriage to be prepared to take you both part of the way. I also welcome you both to visit Sobeya Kingdom at any time; the doors of Sobeya Kingdom are always open for you, and you will always be Sobeya Kingdom's most honored guests."
"Your Majesty is too kind. If there are ever similar jobs in the future, please notify me. I can give you a twenty percent discount privately, you know."
Qi Yan said jokingly.
"Pfft—!!! Hahahahaha!!"
The King burst into laughter upon hearing Qi Yan's words. He knew that with this one sentence from Qi Yan, his preparations had not been in vain.
"Good, good, good! If there are ever jobs like that, I will definitely notify you!"
The two arrived at the entrance of the Royal Palace Hall, where a luxurious carriage was already waiting.
The King personally saw Qi Yan and Erza into the carriage, which made the two of them somewhat overwhelmed. If this were in Qi Yan's previous life, it would be like a head of state seeing him into a car.
"Mr. Qi Yan, Miss Erza, please make sure to visit once the royal capital has been rebuilt!"
"Alright!"
"Giddy up!"
The coachman urged the carriage forward.
After leaving the Royal Palace.
"It's Mr. Qi Yan and Miss Erza's carriage!!"
"Mr. Qi Yan!!"
"Miss Erza!"... Qi Yan and Erza pulled back the curtains and looked out, seeing dense crowds of people standing on both sides of the street; they were the citizens of the royal capital.
What Qi Yan and Erza didn't know was that even though these people were in the arena, Qi Yan and Erza's performance in this war had all been seen by the citizens.
This was originally intended to show everyone the heroic posture of the swordsmen fighting against monsters, but it unexpectedly turned into Qi Yan's personal show.
They had also seen from the magical screens that Qi Yan was Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
Qi Yan was the hero who had saved their Sobeya Kingdom.
Qi Yan and Erza waved to the crowd on the street, eliciting cheers from everyone.
The crowd accompanied them all the way to the city gate before stopping.
"Mr. Qi Yan, Miss Erza, please be sure to visit Sword City again when you have the chance."
Arthur said, looking at Qi Yan and Erza.
"Definitely, definitely!"
After bidding farewell to everyone, Qi Yan and Erza sat back inside the carriage.
Erza looked at Qi Yan and smiled: "How does it feel to be a hero?"
"It feels pretty good, but it would be better if they weren't so enthusiastic. I'm a bit socially anxious."
"..."
Erza was speechless; she hadn't seen any social anxiety from him during the Sword Tournament.
"Alright, no one's here now. Time to split the money! Split the money!"