The quest to take down the Dark Guild offered the highest reward.
Since Raizel had also taken action during the fight, the girls insisted that he receive his share. So, the four of them split the money equally, each taking one-fourth.
In the past, Raizel had only needed to step in for the truly difficult tasks.
But now, he felt they hardly required his help anymore—unless they ran into major threats like the Nine Demon Gates or Grimoire Heart.
Although they couldn't take on official S-Class quests yet, defeating that Dark Guild could basically be considered a simple S-Class mission.
Tob Brian was strong enough to be considered an S-Class gatekeeper.
While the Wyvern form itself had weaknesses, not just anyone could defeat it.
The fact that Tob Brian could defeat a Wyvern alone to gain its power showed he had real strength.
During the fight, his speed with Take Over wasn't slow either.
He switched to the Wyvern form instantly to protect himself from their rapid attacks, which showed he had decent talent.
Currently, none of the three girls could defeat Tob Brian in a one-on-one fight.
...
In the quests that followed, Raizel didn't get a chance to intervene.
They were all relatively easy jobs, mostly dealing with groups of bandits and mountain thieves.
Erza and Ultear intentionally held back during these fights to let Kagura gain experience.
After completing all their tasks, the group planned to return to Magnolia.
Last year, before heading back to the guild, they had visited a specific place, and Erza had been wanting to go back ever since.
On the train, she excitedly suggested, "While the weather hasn't gotten too hot yet, how about we go to Freesia Village for a hot spring bath?"
"I'm fine with that. I'd like to relax too." Ultear crossed her arms and nodded slightly.
"Is it the one Ur took us to before?" Kagura wasn't sure if that was the place Erza meant.
Earlier last year, Ur had taken them on a trip and they had visited a hot spring, but Kagura couldn't remember the name, though she remembered the village.
Speaking of tourism near Magnolia, Freesia Village was quite famous, so it was hard to miss it.
"Yes, that's the one." Erza's expression was thrilled as she nodded vigorously.
"Alright," Kagura agreed softly.
The four got off at Magnolia Station but didn't go to the guild. Instead, they headed straight toward Freesia Village.
Crossing the arch bridge, they familiarly booked two private hot spring pools.
Raizel separated from the three girls as they reserved a larger pool, while Raizel took a smaller one for himself—no need to waste money for things this simple.
Raizel didn't expect them to finish bathing earlier than he did.
When he arrived back at the room, they were in the middle of a fierce pillow fight.
As soon as Raizel slid the door open, a pillow hit him square in the face.
It was probably Erza who threw it—only she could launch a pillow with the speed and force of a shot put. Typical.
Raizel decided to join the pillow fight.
He distributed his attention evenly, catching the pillows they threw and hurling them back with a bit of extra speed, though he held back his strength.
"Wow, this is actually a pretty good workout." Raizel hadn't expected throwing pillows to make him sweat.
Feeling uncomfortable from the heat, they each went to the shower rooms to rinse off again.
The four slept in one large room, with Raizel on one side and the three girls on the other.
The conversation on the girls' side was quiet, but Raizel could still hear them.
"Starting next year, I won't be accompanying you lot on quests anymore." Raizel lay on his futon and spoke suddenly.
Under the night sky, Ultear, Erza, and Kagura froze for a moment upon hearing those words.
Then, they all sat up straight.
"Why?" Ultear and Erza furrowed their brows tightly.
Kagura also frowned slightly but remained silent.
"Since none of you are asleep, how about a chat?" Raizel pointed toward the door leading to the porch.
The three were stunned for a second, then nodded one after another.
Erza, Kagura, Ultear, and Raizel sat side by side by the door, gazing at the moon hanging high in the sky.
"Ultear, Erza, your strength is already quite impressive," Raizel began, gazing into the distance. "You can form a team or take on missions separately. With your abilities, most tasks would be easy for you. Kagura is also very strong now, though she lacks experience in missions. Truthfully, my presence doesn't offer much help. Watching the three of you join forces to defeat Tob Brian left a deep impression on me."
Ultear seemed to understand what he meant, but she shook her head.
"That's not true. The reason we dare to take on dangerous missions like hunting Magic Beasts or raiding Dark Guilds is because we know you're always watching our backs. We never have to worry about danger coming from behind. Right, Erza?"
Since Kagura had only completed a few missions, Ultear assumed she wouldn't feel the same way, so she didn't ask her.
Erza smiled and nodded firmly. "Yes. For our first mission, if we hadn't known you were following us, I doubt we would have dared to act helpless and walk through the forest. You didn't intervene in that mission, but knowing you were there made the difference."
Kagura turned her head, her eyes looking straight into Raizel's.
"When Ultear makes plans, I think she always takes you into consideration."
Under the moonlight, her gaze was earnest and bright.
Raizel tilted his head, confused.
Kagura rarely spoke this much, so he wanted to hear her explanation.
Kagura frowned slightly, carefully choosing her words. "In these past missions, whenever a frontal assault was needed, Ultear always told us to lead the charge while she provided support from the rear. But I think she must have calculated that you were behind us. Even if she couldn't react in time to save us, you would protect us. She must have factored that in."
Ultear was stunned for a moment, then she smiled and patted Kagura's head.
She hadn't expected Kagura to guess her subconscious thoughts so accurately.
She continued where Kagura left off. "Kagura is absolutely right. I never explicitly asked you to do anything, but you were always there. You always acted like you didn't want to be involved, but I knew you were watching over us."
Erza also smiled, recalling how Raizel had appeared clapping after they defeated the Dark Magic Cult during their very first mission.
Although Ultear had joked that Raizel looked like a villain when he showed up, Erza still felt a deep sense of security.
"Relax, I'm not leaving you guys right now," Raizel said softly. "It'll be next year at the earliest. I've also enjoyed working on missions with you lot. Your talent and hard work have exceeded my expectations. Your progress has been so fast that even though I've been watching, most of the time there was no room for me to intervene."
"It's because you guided us well, isn't it? Kagura and I can honestly say we were entirely trained by you." Erza's eyes held a nostalgic look as she patted Kagura, who sat between them.
She remembered sparring with the Blade Spirits, being blown into the lake by the wind, and training with Kagura against Raizel.
Through all their progress, Raizel had always been there.
"Kagura wants to help you." Kagura glanced back at Archenemy, which she had placed in front of her pillow, then turned her head back to him.
Raizel tried to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth but failed.
He could only look up at the night sky, feeling somewhat moved by their words.
"After next year, you will take on missions by yourselves. Kagura will go with you. When both of you become S-Class Mages, we'll take Kagura along to undertake missions together—SS-Class missions, or even Ten-Year missions. How does that sound?"
"It shouldn't be difficult for you two to become S-Class Mages, right?" Raizel looked at Erza and Ultear with a teasing expression.
Ultear used to think becoming S-Class was optional, but now she felt differently.
Erza had always desired to become S-Class anyway, so this wasn't really a demand for her.
Raizel guessed that Makarov, seeing the strength of Raizel and Laxus, would likely make the S-Class requirements harder in the future.
Ultear and Erza looked at Raizel and nodded solemnly, both agreeing to the plan.
Raizel continued, "As Fairy Tail's reputation grows, more and more newcomers will join. Newcomers need guidance, and I won't be able to mentor every one of them. Those young girls without much strength might need your guidance."
He looked at them seriously.
"Including Kagura. By that time, you'll be seniors. I hope you can also become their support and help them grow."
"Alright."
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