Chapter 92: Let Me Be Your Cat
The next morning, after a long and surprisingly peaceful rest, Ren and the others woke up and prepared to return to Fairy Tail.
The village chief, Moka, and all the villagers—now in their true, demonic forms but with clear, happy eyes—saw Ren and the others off at the edge of the village.
"Thank you so much, Mage-samas," Moka said, bowing his head low. "If it weren't for you, we might have remained in that state of confusion forever, fearing the end of our days."
He held out a heavy, ornate box to Ren. "Here is the agreed-upon quest reward."
Ren reached out and took it. He wouldn't be polite about the reward; it was what he deserved for his work.
"No need to be polite," Ren said, securing the box. "This was just our quest. And, to be honest, compared to the reward, we even feel this quest was a bit too simple."
"It might be simple for you, Mage-sama, but for us, it was a problem as difficult as ascending to the heavens," Moka said with a grateful smile.
"If there's ever another job like this, please contact Fairy Tail anytime," Ren said, flashing a charming, professional smile. "Next time, I'll even give you a twenty percent discount."
Ren uttered his classic line for attracting repeat customers.
Everyone was momentarily stunned by the blatant business solicitation, but then the villagers all laughed.
"Good! If there's a next time, we'll still look for you!" the chief said.
"Hahahahaha!!"
All the villagers couldn't help but laugh. They knew Ren was half-joking, but who could guarantee perpetual safety? If they could establish a connection with such a powerful, world-breaking Mage, it would be like having a trump card for their village's future.
"Then let me take you back to Hargeon," Bobo, the boatman, said, stepping forward.
Ren waved his hand and said, "No, no, as Mages, we can go back ourselves. With good luck, we might even catch the early bus to Magnolia."
Bobo's eyes widened. "The early bus? But... Mage-sama, there's only about an hour until the early bus departs from Hargeon, and it takes at least four hours by boat from here!"
Ren glanced at Gray, who immediately understood.
"Ice-Make: Boat!!"
Gray, now that his trauma regarding Deliora and Ur was settled, was back to his usual self. He slammed his hands together and then spread them wide, creating a large, sparkling, and surprisingly sturdy-looking boat made of clear ice, which floated gently on the sea.
"Wow—! An ice boat!!"
"So beautiful—!!"
"Let's go! Get on board!"
The group boarded the boat one after another. With a push from Gray, the boat slowly left the shore and began to move forward, gliding almost silently over the water.
"Thank you all!! Fairy Tail!!"
"Keep up the good work—!! Come visit anytime in the future—!!"
"Let's dance the Demon Dance together again sometime—!!"
"Take care—!!"
As the boat sailed further away, Ren, remembering the most important part, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted back.
"Money, money! Don't forget, the quest reward...!"
After the boat had sailed far out of sight of the island, Ren finally sat down and placed the heavy box on the deck.
Upon hearing the thud of the box, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy immediately brightened up and gathered around, their fatigue from the previous night forgotten.
Ren opened the box. Inside, stacked in neat piles, was 7 million Jewel, and resting on top of the cash was a single, ornate Golden Key of the Zodiac.
"So much money—!!"
Looking at the 7 million J, everyone's eyes involuntarily showed a greedy expression. Lucy's eyes practically turned into Jewel symbols.
"I've... I've never seen so much money in one place before!"
Gray's hands trembled slightly. Although he had been a Mage for many years, he was like most of the guild; he always spent what he earned on rent and necessities and never saved any money.
"Aye~~," Happy drooled, his mind racing.
"One fish is 500 J... ten fish are 5,000 J... one hundred fish are 50,000 J... No, Lucy, I can't keep track. It's too much!"
Lucy, who was also mesmerized, did the math automatically. "Idiot. Just divide 7 million by 500. That's... 14,000 fish."
"14,000 FISH!!"
Happy fainted on the spot, feeling like he was already lying in an ocean of fish. 14,000 fish... when would he ever finish eating them all?
"Hmm..." Ren surveyed the loot. "6 million J for me," he said, taking the majority of the cash. "And 1 million J for Gray."
Ren took out a stack of 1 million J and tossed it to Gray. Then, he closed the box.
"Distribution over!"
"What?!!"
Happy, who had just been revived by the mention of fish, instantly shrieked in protest. "Ren... why did you give Gray so much money?! He didn't do anything! He just got beaten up badly!!"
"What?" Ren said, giving the trio a cold look. "You few... the thieves who wanted to steal my quest... you still want a share of the money?
"Gray got beaten up," Ren continued, "but he still wasted his time coming here to help, on the Master's orders. He was on an official support mission. So it's only right that he gets a reward for his time."
Gray's hand, holding the 1 million J, trembled slightly. He had long heard that Ren was generous. When he and Elfman did that S-Class Quest together—the one where Ren took down the King of Assassins—Elfman had also done nothing but had received a reward of 1 million J.
At that time, they were all so envious. He never expected that such a windfall would happen to him, just for coming along and... well, getting beaten by his old rival.
"Ren..." Gray said, his voice thick with emotion. "If there's ever another job like this... be sure to find me!!"
He was practically ready to become Ren's subordinate. Following such an open-handed and monstrously strong leader... he wouldn't lose out at all.
"Ren-sama! Let me be your cat!"
Happy, seeing where the money went, instantly abandoned Natsu and flew over, hugging Ren's leg.
"Me too... retch..." Natsu, who was still sick, also wanted to come over; he wanted to improve his standing, too.
"Natsu is useless... disgusting! Don't come over here!" Gray, now protective of his new benefactor, pushed him away. "You might as well swim back!"
Lucy, meanwhile, was nervously rubbing her hands together. Her eyes weren't on the money; they were on the box in Ren's lap.
"Then... that..." she stammered. "Ren, that Golden Key... it's useless to you, right? Why don't you..."
"Why don't I sell it?" Ren interrupted, pulling the key out and inspecting it. It was the Key of the Giant Crab, Cancer. "I heard this thing is very rare. It should fetch a high price at a magic shop."
"Don't... don't do that!" Lucy yelped, panicking. "If... if you're going to sell it... sell it to me! I'll pay for it! I... I don't have the money now, but I can pay you back! I swear! I can work for you, I can be your maid, I can—"
"Sell it to you?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have money?"
"Ugh..."
Lucy was speechless. What she lacked most right now was money. Her 70,000 J rent was due soon.
Just then, something gold and heavy was thrown into her lap.
Lucy looked down and saw it was the Golden Key she had always dreamed of.
"Ren...?"
"It's for you," Ren said with a slight smile. "Consider it a return gift for you treating me to that meal back in Hargeon, when we first met. Now we're even."
"This... this is too valuable..."
Lucy stared at the key, her hands trembling. She never expected Ren to just give her such a precious, priceless item... simply because of one meal. This key was worth millions of Jewel. It was one of only twelve in the world.
"Don't you want it?" Ren asked, holding out his hand. "Then I'll take it back."
"I want it! I want it!!"
Lucy quickly clutched the Golden Key to her chest, as if her life depended on it. She was just saying that; she would never give away a Golden Key she had in her hand.
She looked at Ren, her eyes shining with unshed tears of gratitude. She also realized that following Ren was truly a good thing. She really wanted to team up with Ren. If she had been in Gray's position... she would be 1 million J richer and have a Golden Key.
She immediately regretted not being on the "official" team.
"Alright! The distribution is complete," Ren said, standing up on the ice boat. "It's time to return to the guild. This ice boat... it's too slow."
Ren activated his Take Over Magic.
"Full Body Take Over: Ace!"
His body rapidly transformed, his clothes dissolving into shorts and his hat appearing as his muscles filled out. The Whitebeard tattoo appeared on his back.
Then, a small, fiery speedboat—the Striker—materialized on the water next to them.
[Akarin's Note: The Striker is Portgas D. Ace's personal, fire-powered speedboat from the One Piece series.]
Ren jumped onto it. He then grabbed a rope, tied it to the Striker's mast, and tossed the other end to Gray, tying it to the bow of the ice boat.
"What is this?"
"A small boat? Don't we already have a boat?"
Lucy and Happy were a bit confused.
Gray, however, who had experienced Ren's other high-speed transportation, warned them with a serious, pale expression. "Don't ask. Just... hold on tight. And I mean TIGHT."
Saying that, Gray immediately used his Ice-Make magic to create several "safety locks" and "handles" on the ice boat, securing Natsu (who was still moaning), Lucy, and Happy. He then sat down and braced himself.
"Hold tight!" Ren called back from the Striker, his voice full of Ace's fiery joy. "We're off!!"
Boom—!!
A violent, roaring flame erupted from the thruster at the back of the Striker. The rope went taut, and Lucy and the others immediately felt a terrifying, G-force-inducing thrust.
The entire ice boat launched forward, seeming to fly over the water, skipping off the tops of the waves at an incredible speed.
"KYAAAHHHHH!!!"
All of them—Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy—screamed in fright as the ocean blurred past them.
In less than twenty minutes, the group, having traveled a distance that should have taken hours, arrived back at Hargeon Port.
"Ugh~~!"
This time, it wasn't just Natsu.
Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy all stumbled off the ice boat and collapsed onto the dock, their faces green, all of them groaning from a severe, high-speed case of motion sickness.
[Akarin Note:
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