Bird of Paradise, also known as the crane flower, symbolizes freedom, auspiciousness, happiness, and joy, while also representing unwavering loyalty in love.
This is a school.
The task was posted by a teacher from this school.
This small town doesn't have a Magic Guild.
After Christmas, the teacher made a request to the Council, but the reward was simply too low.
For over ten consecutive days, no Mage took on this task.
The quest stated from the beginning that it wasn't particularly difficult - the children's Christmas wish was simply to have Mages teach them.
This small town is a leisurely and peaceful place.
Most residents here make their living through farming.
The population isn't very large, and judging by the town's appearance, tourism doesn't seem to be well-developed either.
The school is located slightly to the right of the town center, standing out from the surrounding buildings.
Surprisingly, it's newly built and much taller than the neighboring structures.
Probably because all the children in the entire town attend school here.
Seeing such a building, Raizel was surprised that the reward was only 20.000J.
He had never taken on a task with such low compensation before - even his simplest tasks involved delivering valuable items.
When they arrived at the school, the children were still in class.
The three of them - Raizel, Ultear, and Erza - went straight to the office, as the quest contained the office address.
After knocking on the door, Ultear showed the quest form, while Raizel and Erza extended their left hands to prove their identities.
They were met by a female teacher around thirty years old, with a ponytail, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and dressed very plainly - the very common type of female teacher.
She stood up from her position.
"Thank you very much for three of you being willing to take on this task. I had already received the message earlier. Please have a seat over there." She then pointed with her right hand to the tea table by the window.
The female teacher poured each of them a cup of hot water.
After sitting down, she adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and said.
"I'm sorry, we only have hot water here, nothing else. Let me introduce myself - I'm Jessica Algert, a teacher working here."
The three of them also introduced themselves one by one and indicated for Jessica to make herself comfortable.
"To be honest," Jessica sat down, adjusting her glasses. "I'm surprised mages of your caliber accepted this. The reward is... well, it's all I could scrape together from my salary."
"Why is that?" Raizel asked bluntly. "This school looks like it cost a fortune to build. Is the funding tight?"
Jessica smiled bitterly. "This school was funded by Mr. Alfred, a wealthy merchant who grew up here. He paid for the construction and the equipment out of his own pocket. But... there are no mages here. Few people from this town have magic power, and those who do leave to join guilds. They don't come back to teach."
"Why not ask Mr. Alfred to hire a mage?" Ultear asked.
"We couldn't," Jessica shook her head. "He's done so much already. We teachers... we're just locals. We're paid the standard government wage. We didn't want to burden him further just to fulfill a 'Christmas wish' from the children."
"I see," Raizel nodded.
He looked around the office.
It was clean but sparse.
The contrast between the expensive building and the humble staff was stark.
"Mr. Alfred insists that schools should be the tallest, most beautiful buildings in town," Jessica said, her eyes softening.
"He wants the children to look out of the windows and see a wider horizon. He wants them to dream."
"Mr. Alfred mentioned that student dormitories and teacher dormitories will be built later. If the teacher dormitories are well-equipped, I think more people would be willing to come here."
Ultear was also somewhat puzzled.
"Why is this Mr. Alfred spending so much money on these renovations?"
With a proud expression, Jessica explained, "Mr. Alfred is a legend here. He grew up in poverty and received help from neighbors and the school during his childhood. He also studied at this school. As an adult, he started from scratch and gradually became the wealthiest person in our area.
We tried to persuade him, but Mr. Alfred insisted that schools should be built well and tall so that children can see higher and farther horizons, have better perspectives, and achieve greater development."
Erza turned to Raizel and Ultear and nodded.
Raizel and Ultear understood—she wanted to take on the task.
...
Jessica first took the three of them on a tour around the school.
The cafeteria, gymnasium, and sports field were all fully equipped, and there was even a large classroom similar to an auditorium.
Jessica explained that this classroom could seat 400 people and was used for teaching observations and open classes.
The school was undoubtedly expensive to build.
On the sports field, children were already running and playing.
Some of them noticed the three and grew curious, whispering and discussing among themselves.
Inside the teaching building, Raizel and the others peeked into a classroom from the back door.
The teachers were teaching basic knowledge and some magical concepts, but since the teachers themselves couldn't use magic, they couldn't demonstrate it to the children.
"Our entire school has 156 children, divided into three classes."
...
After the tour, they returned to Jessica and the other teachers' office.
"We'll take on this task," they announced, a decision they had already made earlier. "Moreover, we don't plan to do it for just a day or two. If we're going to do it, we'll do it for a longer period—we intend to teach for two months."
This was the joint decision of Ultear and Erza, and Raizel had no objections.
"Won't this interfere with your other tasks?" Jessica hadn't expected them to teach for so long.
A week or two would have already satisfied her.
Raizel shook his head to reassure her, "Don't worry, we have a way to handle it."
"Leave these two months to us," Erza and Ultear declared with high spirits.
Jessica smiled, feeling genuinely happy.
Raizel bid farewell to Ultear, Erza, and Jessica at the sports ground.
"I'll go handle the nearby missions first. They're all just extermination tasks anyway—I'll finish them quickly and leave this place to you for now. I'll return as soon as I'm done."
Ultear handed the commission document to Raizel and said.
"We're counting on you."
"Good luck," Erza said, her eyes shining with determination. "We'll take care of the children."
"Right."
Raizel stepped back.
A magic circle flared beneath his feet, glowing a brilliant blue.
"Take Over: UlforceVeedramon!"
His body was enveloped in light, transforming into the majestic, armored blue dragon warrior.
His cape fluttered in the wind, and the V-crest on his chest shone like a star.
"A MAGE!"
"LOOK! A DRAGON!"
The children on the playground erupted into screams of delight, rushing toward the fence.
Raizel gave a thumbs-up to Jessica and the girls, then launched himself into the sky with a sonic boom, streaking toward the horizon like a blue comet.
Jessica watched him go with her mouth agape.
"It seems the children are ready to listen," Ultear smiled, turning to the stunned teacher. "Shall we begin class?"