The next morning, after waking up, Kaien and the others prepared to return to Fairy Tail.
The village chief, along with all the villagers, came to see them off.
"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, we might've remained lost in confusion forever, living in fear day and night. Here's the reward we agreed on."
The village chief handed a box to Kaien. Kaien accepted it without hesitation—he never turned down payment. It was his well-earned reward.
"No need to thank us. This was just part of our job. Honestly, compared to the reward, the mission was almost too easy."
"Perhaps it was easy for you, but for us, it was like scaling the heavens."
"If you ever have another job like this, be sure to contact Fairy Tail. Next time, I'll give you a 20% discount."
Kaien delivered his classic line to secure future clients.
Everyone was momentarily stunned.
The village chief laughed. "Alright! If there's a next time, we'll definitely call on you again."
"Hahahahaha!!"
All the villagers laughed warmly. They knew Kaien was joking, but no one could guarantee things would always be peaceful. Having ties to a powerful Mage like him was a reassuring backup.
"Let me take you back to Harujion," offered the boatman.
Kaien waved him off. "No need. We're mages—we can get back ourselves. If we're lucky, we can catch the morning train to Magnolia."
The boatman's eyes widened. "Morning train? It's leaving in about an hour, but it takes at least an hour and a half by boat to get to Harujion from here!"
Kaien glanced at Gray, who instantly understood.
"Ice-Make: Boat!!"
Gray conjured a sparkling ice ship that floated gracefully on the sea.
"Wow—! An ice boat!!"
"So pretty—!!"
"Alright, let's go! On board!"
Everyone boarded, and the boat slowly drifted away from the shore.
"Thank you!! Fairy Tail!!"
"Good luck with work——!! Come visit us again sometime——!!"
"Let's do the demon dance together next time——!!" …
"Take care——!!"
…
"Time to split the loot!!"
Once the boat had gone far enough, Kaien called out.
Everyone's eyes lit up and rushed over.
Kaien opened the box: inside were 7 million J and a Golden Celestial Spirit Key.
"So much money—!!"
The sight of 7 million J made everyone's eyes gleam with greed.
"I've never seen that much in my life!"
Gray's hands were shaking. He'd been a Mage for years, but whatever he earned, he spent. He never saved anything—just like most Mages in the guild.
"Aye~~!"
"One fish is 500 J… Ten fish is 5,000 J… A hundred fish is 50,000 J… I can't keep counting, Lucy!"
Lucy said, "Idiot. Just divide 700 by 0.05, then add the 'thousand'—that's 14,000 fish in total."
"Fourteen thousand!!"
Happy imagined himself swimming in a sea of fish. Fourteen thousand—how long would it even take to eat them all?
"Hmm… 6 million J for me, 1 million J for Gray. Loot split, done!"
Kaien handed Gray 1 million J, then shut the box.
"What?!!"
"Kaien… why does Gray get so much?! He didn't do anything! He even got beaten up!!" Happy protested.
"What, you guys think you can steal my job and still get paid? Gray may have gotten beat up, but he still came and helped. That deserves something."
Gray's hands trembled holding the money. He'd heard Kaien was generous. Back when Elfman did an S-Class mission with Kaien, even though he didn't do anything, he still got 1 million J.
They were all so jealous back then. Gray never imagined the same luck would fall on him.
"Kaien! If you get another gig like this, count me in!!"
Gray was ready to be Kaien's underling. With a boss this generous, he'd never be at a loss.
"Kaien! Let me be your cat!"
Happy clung to Kaien's leg.
"I want to—ugh…"
Natsu tried to join in too. He wanted to grow stronger!
"You're disgusting… Stay away from me! Swim back home!"
Gray pushed Natsu aside before he could even get close.
Lucy rubbed her hands together awkwardly. "Um… Kaien, that Golden Key… it's no use to you, right? So maybe…"
"Maybe I should sell it. I heard it's rare—could fetch a good price."
"No no no! If you're selling it, sell it to me!"
"To you? You got any money?"
"Ugh…"
Lucy couldn't say a word. What she lacked most right now was money.
Just then, something landed in her hands. She looked down—her dream: a Golden Celestial Spirit Key.
"Kaien…?"
"Take it. Consider it a thank-you gift for treating me to that meal."
"This… this is too much…"
Lucy never expected Kaien to give her such a precious item—just for a single meal.
"You don't want it? I'll take it back."
"I want it!! I want it!!"
Lucy clutched the key tightly. She was just saying things—there was no way she'd let anyone else have it now.
She realized something: following Kaien really was the best choice. She wanted to team up with him now. If she'd traded places with Gray, she'd be the one holding that 1 million J. She immediately felt regret.
"Alright! Loot's split. Time to head back to the guild."
Kaien activated Take Over Magic, and his body transformed into Ace's form.
A small speedboat materialized. Kaien jumped on, tied one end of a rope to the mast, and the other to the bow of the ice boat.
"What is this?"
"A small boat? Don't we already have a boat?"
Lucy and Happy were confused.
But Gray looked serious and warned, "Don't ask. Just hold on tight."
He quickly used his magic to secure safety locks for everyone, then sat down with a tense expression.
"Hold tight—we're moving!!"
BOOM————!!
A surge of blazing fire erupted from the engine. The whole boat seemed to take off.
"YAAAHHHHH!!"
Everyone screamed in terror.
In less than twenty minutes, they arrived at Harujion Port.
"Urgh~~!"
This time, it wasn't just Natsu—everyone was seasick.