— — — — — —
Once the Behemoth Legion and Erza were gone, Kazuma paired each dragon with a loli and dispatched them in all directions, the massive silhouettes quickly scattering across the land as they waited for his command.
In no time at all, the dense crowd vanished.
All that remained were Tohru, Kanna, Kayano, Kayo, and the members of Edolas Fairy Tail.
"Um… um, Guildmaster," Miko Yotsuya asked timidly, raising her hand with a visible tremble. "Do we… do we have to fight too?"
She was just an ordinary high school girl. Combat was really not her thing.
"Miko…" Kazuma paused for a long moment. "You don't need to go. Your combat power is basically zero. Just stay here and behave."
"Treat this operation like a guild outing," he added casually. "Doesn't your school have field trips or something? Think of it like that."
He glanced at her. For once, he didn't scold her about poor work efficiency, and even offered a bit of reassurance instead.
"Whew… thank you, Guildmaster," Miko said, finally relaxing.
Aside from being able to see spirits, she was pretty much the same as a normal person. If anything, being a modern kid meant her physical condition was terrible. Run a little too much and she would be panting like crazy.
"Guildmaster Onii-chan," Kayo said thoughtfully, "we do have quite a few people here this time. But I just heard from that woman named Erza…"
"This country also has considerable military strength. If we clash head-on, we might win in the end, but there might be losses."
Kayo was one of the Cursed Children from the Black Bullet world, bearing the dolphin gene. Her intelligence was extremely high.
"That's nothing to worry about," Kazuma replied with a grin. "When it comes to group fights, I've never been afraid of anyone."
He snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, countless shadow soldiers surged out from the darkness.
"These shadow soldiers will be the main force against ordinary enemies," he continued. "Your primary task is to take control of the city."
"As for troublesome mages, you handle those. Everything else can be left to the shadow soldiers."
With Kazuma's current reserves of magic, he practically couldn't run dry. The number of shadow soldiers he could summon was terrifying, like an endless tide.
Their only real weaknesses were that each individual wasn't very strong and they couldn't speak. Other than that, there were no problems.
Thinking of Kazuma's power, Kayo nodded. With these shadow soldiers acting as expendable troops, casualties were no longer a concern.
"And I'm not planning a direct assault either," Kazuma went on. "Once Behemoth takes control of their king, the second step is to activate the super–high-tier magic, 'Anima,' in this place."
"If we reverse its activation, it will drain what little magic this world has left and send it all to another world."
"These people are used to relying on magic. If they suddenly lose it, their will to fight will collapse instantly."
"That's when the dragons and the guild kids who are already waiting in position will move. We'll take over the city in the shortest possible time."
"After that, we'll use Yolda's teleport anchors to announce the change of regime as quickly as possible."
"That's the plan."
Kazuma had more than enough power to brute-force everything, but if it could be done more easily, why choose the most troublesome method?
He usually handled missions in a simple and brutal way because that was the most efficient. This time, taking a detour was actually the shortest path.
"Mm, I see," Tohru said with a very serious expression. "So… are we done talking business now?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Kazuma answered.
"Then… it's been so long, my darling hubby! I missed you soooo much!"
The seriousness instantly vanished from Tohru's face. She turned starry-eyed, lunged at Kazuma, wrapped him in a hug, and followed up with a flurry of kisses.
"I haven't even been gone that long," Kazuma said helplessly, feeling his arm enveloped by something very soft. "On your side, it was only a little over a day, right?"
"Don't humans say one day apart feels like forever?" Tohru pouted. "To me, it feels like forever times forever!"
"I was super lonely the whole time!"
As Tohru clung to Kazuma and acted cute, little Kayo glanced at Tohru's overwhelmingly powerful "assets," then looked down at her own painfully ordinary situation. She could still see her toes when she looked down.
"Miko…" Kayo suddenly asked, walking over and staring up at Miko Yotsuya for a long time. "How did you get… that big?!"
"Eh?! Th-this…" Miko blushed under the intense gaze and hugged her chest reflexively. "Just eating properly every day, not being picky, and drinking lots of milk should be enough, I think?"
"I follow a professional diet every day," Kayo said seriously, "but it doesn't seem to work. Miko, does your family have some secret method... or is it just genetic luck?"
Kazuma had already cured the Gastrea Virus in their bodies, giving the Cursed Children hope for a normal life—and even the ability to grow like regular humans. In fact, their growth was faster than usual… but some of the girls just didn't want to wait a few years to become mature big sisters.
Especially Kayo, who ate medicinal meals every day meant to enhance growth and curves, but sadly they had zero effect. Well, not exactly zero. She had gained a tiny bit of belly fat, which at least proved the meals were nutritious and high in energy.
"Um... I don't have any secret methods…" Miko replied awkwardly. "But my mom has a great figure too. I guess I inherited it from her."
"Don't worry, Kayo. You're still young. When you grow up, you'll definitely get bigger."
"Genes, huh…" Kayo muttered. "Looks like I'll need to study biology next."
She had never seen her mother, but if her own mother was also flat, what then?
Genetic modification it is!
...
"Mr. Kazuma may be a little fierce," Mirajane said with a smile as she watched the scene, "but he's really a good guildmaster. Fairy Tail in another world must be lively."
She stepped forward and asked if Tohru and the others wanted something to eat.
"Mira…" Lisanna murmured, exchanging glances with everyone else. "Her sense of aesthetics really is… unique."
Mira always had a very special perspective on things like this.
She accepted things others couldn't, without hesitation. Maybe that was why she had such incredible talent for Take Over magic.
.
.
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