Qi Yan excitedly opened the box, and the pile of money inside was so dazzling that he could barely keep his eyes open.
Qi Yan immediately counted out 20,000,000 J.
"This is my prize money from the Swordsman Tournament, so I'll be keeping it."
Then, Qi Yan counted out another 15,000,000 J and gave it to Erza.
"This is the reward for this mission. Half for you, half for me!"
"Uh… why didn't you just count out 15,000,000 J directly?"
"Well! Sharing money! The process of sharing is also a kind of happiness, isn't it?"
After a moment of hesitation, Erza said, "Qi Yan, most of the credit for this time belongs to you. You should take more."
"See? There it is again? Elfman was the same last time. Forget about credit; since we teamed up to do a mission together, it's only natural to divide it by headcount. That outdated system of distributing by labor isn't suitable for teamwork!"
"…"
"Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? If anyone should be thanking, it's me thanking you. Thanks to you, I've gained a full 35,000,000 J this time, that's 35,000,000!!"
Qi Yan said with a cheerful laugh, his happiness completely genuine. Seeing this, Erza also relaxed a little.
Qi Yan's mind began to calculate rapidly: 1,000,000 J is equivalent to 50,000 RMB, so 10,000,000 J is 500,000 RMB, and 35,000,000 J is 1,750,000 RMB!!
If this were his previous life, if he put all this money into the bank, he could just lie flat for the rest of his days.
Fortunately, there are also banks in this world. Although the interest isn't high, it's still 3 percent. When he goes back, he'll deposit this money into the bank. When he gets old and retires, the interest will be enough for him to live on. Perfect plan.
At this moment, Erza suddenly leaned closer, looking directly at Qi Yan and saying, "Qi Yan, I have something I want to ask you."
"Gulp!"
Qi Yan couldn't help but swallow as he looked at Erza's beautiful face so close to him.
Is she going to confess? Does she want to be with me? I'm not mentally prepared for this yet!
Should I say yes, say yes, or say yes? It's really hard to choose!
"Qi Yan… can I become your disciple?"
"Pfft——!"
Qi Yan directly spat out his drink upon hearing this.
What the heck?
Erza wants to become his disciple?
Qi Yan's mouth twitched as he asked, "Wh-… why?"
"Of course, to learn swordsmanship! Qi Yan, you are the strongest swordsman I have ever seen, even capable of slaying a dragon with your swordsmanship. That's a legendary dragon that can destroy an entire country."
"None of our attacks had any effect on it, only you could severely injure or even kill it."
"Just as you said, those without swordsmanship see you like a frog at the bottom of a well gazing at the moon in the sky, while those with swordsmanship see you like a tiny mayfly gazing at the vast blue sky!!"
Erza's eyes gleamed as she spoke.
If anyone else had said this, she wouldn't have believed it, even scoffing, but having witnessed Qi Yan's swordsmanship firsthand, she knew that what Qi Yan said was not an exaggeration; it was simply the truth.
Qi Yan, on the other hand, felt a pang of anxiety. Why did he have to show off like that in the arena?
"This… my swordsmanship is actually very poor…"
"Poor?! If your swordsmanship is considered poor, then where in the world are there any skilled swordsmen?"
"Uh… to be honest, I'm actually very weak myself. Right now, I might only barely be at the second-tier level of the Guild. My swordsmanship isn't mine; it belongs to the character I Take Over."
"Isn't that your magic? How can it not be yours?"
Erza and Mira had fought each other since childhood and were extremely familiar with Take Over Magic. She naturally knew that the swordsmanship belonged to Tsugikuni Yoriichi, whom Qi Yan had Taken Over, but Taking Over Tsugikuni Yoriichi was Qi Yan's magic to begin with.
"That's true, but the consciousness is still mine. I know how to use it, but I don't know how to teach others. Moreover, the swordsmanship that suits me might not suit you. You are a swordsman, but not purely a swordsman. What suits you is the best."
He didn't want Erza constantly chasing him around calling him master. That feeling was too terrifying, so it was better to refuse.
And he wasn't talking nonsense. In the anime, Erza's strongest form, although it involved abandoning defense for full offense, was not her magic. Erza's magic was Knight.
"If you want to learn swordsmanship, I can Take Over Tsugikuni Yoriichi and spar with you when I have time."
"Really?! That's wonderful!!"
Erza was very happy to hear Qi Yan say this.
This made Qi Yan suspect that Erza's original goal might have been to spar with him.
****
Magnolia
Fairy Tail Guild
Bang!
Makarov threw a thick stack of newspapers in front of Qi Yan and Erza. The reports were about what happened in the Sobeya Kingdom, with Qi Yan and Erza being the main focus. Only after they returned to the Guild did they realize that the news had spread throughout the entire Ishgar continent in the past three days.
After all, a legendary dragon had appeared, and Qi Yan had even become a Dragon Slayer. This level of buzz would be hard to die down in less than ten days to half a month.
"Explain yourselves. What exactly happened?"
Qi Yan and Erza sat obediently on their knees in front of Makarov.
"This… Master, we just went to do a mission. Who would have thought we'd be so unlucky as to encounter something like this?"
Qi Yan's words immediately reeked of sophistry.
"It's like this, Master…"
Erza immediately reported everything, including how the king originally intended to slay the dragon, and that they had even accepted an SS-rank mission.
"Nonsense—!!"
"You two are being too reckless!"
"An S-rank mission is one thing, but you dare to touch an SS-rank mission? That was a giant dragon, a giant dragon capable of destroying an entire country with just one of its kind!!"
Makarov was truly angry this time. From the newspaper reports, it was clear how dangerous this mission was, and these two audacious brats actually dared to accept such a mission.
Qi Yan cried out in injustice, "Master, you can't blame us for this! We hadn't even started the mission yet, and who knew the mission target would just come after us? We couldn't just stand by and watch so many innocent lives in the city be killed, could we?"
"Still trying to argue! Is that what I'm talking about?!"
Makarov slammed the table in anger.
Mira came over to mediate, "Master, please calm down. Didn't they come back safely? Although it was inappropriate for them to accept an SS-rank mission, the outcome was good. You two, quickly promise that there won't be a next time."
Mira secretly winked at Qi Yan and Erza.
The two immediately understood: "Master! We promise! There will definitely not be a next time!"
Hearing Mira's words, Makarov's anger slightly subsided.
"Hmph! If there's a next time, I will absolutely break your legs. Now get out of here, both of you!"
"Understood!"