Galuna Island, also known as the Cursed Island, was inhabited by demons whose ancestors had survived there since ancient times.
There were quite a few of them, but they were remarkably weak by demonic standards.
They could neither use magic nor boast extraordinary strength or intelligence, and their technology was primitive.
Their only unusual ability was transforming into human form.
Because they posed no real threat, the Magic Council had never paid them much attention, leaving them to quietly multiply on their isolated island overseas.
In the original story, Galuna Island was only the setting for a relatively short arc.
Gray’s senior disciple, Lyon Vastia, wanted to prove that he had surpassed their master, Ur.
To accomplish that, he transported Deliora—the demon Ur had sealed away—to Galuna Island and attempted to use Moon Drip to melt the ice created by Iced Shell, intending to defeat Deliora himself afterward.
However, the Magic Circle used to gather Moon Drip created a layer of purple magical energy over the island.
Its influence distorted the memories of Galuna’s residents, causing them to believe that the purple moon was transforming them into demons.
That misunderstanding eventually led them to submit a request to the Mage Guilds, asking someone to remove the island’s supposed “curse.”
Of everything involved in that incident, the one thing Noah found genuinely interesting was Moon Drip itself.
It was a form of magic said to gather the power of moonlight and possess the ability to dispel other magic.
As for everything else… well, Galuna was an island full of demons.
There were bound to be all sorts of demon-related materials scattered around.
If Noah got lucky, he might be able to collect something useful and turn it into a few interesting Magic Items.
Most of the jobs Noah had taken in the past involved hunting monsters or magical beasts.
They were convenient because they required very little thinking, and he could collect materials for his crafting while he was at it.
This time, though, he felt like doing something different.
In the original story, the Gold Celestial Spirit Key offered as part of the reward eventually ended up in Lucy’s hands.
And Lucy was someone with an almost ridiculous connection to Celestial Spirits.
Which meant Noah could already imagine the scene where Lucy came to him wanting to buy the Gold Key…
‘Hehehe…’
Noah coughed.
No.
There was no point getting ahead of himself.
‘If I get that Gold Key first, wouldn’t I be able to name whatever price I want?’
“Ah, this really is the wonderful part about knowing the future!”
One of the greatest joys in life was having a cheat.
The only thing better than having a cheat was getting to keep abusing it.
Of course, people always said that cheating might feel great in the moment, but if you kept doing it long enough, eventually you got banned.
Still, who could casually turn down something that convenient?
Noah took the request down from the board and headed back to the registration counter on the first floor.
He slapped the paper onto the desk with considerably more enthusiasm than usual.
“Mira, Mira! I’m taking this one. Register it for me.”
Sometimes Noah found Fairy Tail’s staffing arrangements rather strange.
For such a large guild, an absurd number of major and minor responsibilities seemed to end up on Mira’s shoulders.
Job registration, helping new members, working behind the bar…
Maybe that was why she rarely went out on jobs anymore yet never seemed short on money.
Then again, she had once been an S-Class Mage herself.
She had probably built up quite a comfortable amount of savings over the years.
Beautiful, wealthy, gentle, mature, and blessed with the kind of figure that made people forget what they had been saying halfway through a sentence—Mira really did come with an almost unfairly perfect character setup.
No wonder so many fanfics made her the heroine. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Unfortunately, none of that was enough to tempt Noah.
She was weaker than him, less intelligent than him, probably less popular than him, and definitely had less money saved up than he did.
What, was she supposed to conquer him with nothing but her looks?
Was Noah really that shallow?
Of course not.
He was Noah.
That name alone carried a certain weight.
Those who understood, understood.
Those who did not would be difficult to explain it to, and there was no need to search online because all the relevant information had obviously already been deleted.
The rest involved matters far too complicated and sensitive to discuss casually.
In reality, of course, Mira was not literally handling every job in the guild by herself.
There were other staff members around.
Noah simply never paid attention to any of the background characters.
“Oh my, this really is unusual,” Mira said as she accepted the request sheet and examined it.
“You’re actually taking a job. Is there something about the reward that caught your interest?”
Her eyes settled on the listed prize.
“The Gold Celestial Spirit Key?”
Everyone in the guild knew Noah ran a magic shop, so naturally he was always interested in acquiring unusual Magic Items and materials.
A Gold Celestial Spirit Key was certainly valuable enough to tempt him into taking a job.
“That’s part of it,” Noah admitted.
“But an island inhabited by demons is pretty rare too. I might find some unexpected materials while I’m there.”
Mira glanced at the request again.
“Are you sure you’ll be all right going alone? This job doesn’t look easy.”
She trusted Noah’s strength, but words like demons and curse were enough to make her somewhat concerned.
“It’ll be fine. I’m strong, remember?”
Noah confidently patted his chest.
Still…
Mira had a point.
Maybe bringing a few extra pairs of hands would not be a bad idea.
There was a decent chance he would run into Lyon, Ultear, and the others on Galuna Island.
Bringing Gray along might be worthwhile.
Not because Noah cared about preserving the original plot or anything like that, of course.
He merely wanted to give two estranged fellow disciples a chance to settle their differences.
‘Ah, I really am an angel.
I do good deeds without asking for anything in return.
Where else are they going to find a trustworthy companion like me?’
Honestly, these people had no idea how lucky they were.
With that thought, Noah walked toward the noisiest table in the guild.
Slap!
He dropped the request sheet in front of the group currently drinking and raised three fingers on his left hand.
“Everyone, I’m taking an S-Class job. Anyone want to come with me? I’ve got room for three people, but each of you only gets one percent of the reward.”
“Huh? One percent? Who the hell would go with you for that?” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Wait, did he just say S-Class?”
“I heard that too.”
“Seriously? An S-Class job?”
“If it’s S-Class, even one percent might be a lot, right?”
“Forget that—Noah’s actually taking a job? That’s the surprising part.”
Someone else frowned.
“Wouldn’t that be against guild rules?”
Noah waved the concern away.
“Relax. If anything dangerous happens, I’ll be there. Besides, doesn’t the Master always say not to get too hung up on rules and regulations?”
Several people stared at him.
“If anyone complains, just say I’m the one who accepted the job and you guys happened to be traveling to the same island for a vacation.”
There was a brief silence.
“…You really are something else.”
Once Noah put it that way, however, several people began reconsidering.
They crowded closer and immediately looked at the most important part of the request.
The reward.
“What’s the job, anyway? Let me see…”
Then someone’s eyes nearly popped out.
“What?! Seven million Jewels?!”
“An S-Class job pays that much more than ours?”
“One percent would be seventy thousand Jewels.”
“That’s about what we get from a normal job!”
The sight of the reward instantly sobered several people who had been halfway to drinking themselves unconscious.
One of them nearly sprayed his alcohol across the table.
Gray stared upward toward the guild’s second floor, where the S-Class request board was kept, and felt ambition surge through him.
He had known S-Class jobs paid well, but he had never really thought about the difference before.
One S-Class job could apparently pay nearly a hundred times more than some of the jobs he normally took.
‘I’m definitely becoming S-Class.’
Absolutely.
No matter what.
And he was going to do it before Natsu.
Then he would spend the next several months rubbing it in that idiot’s face.
Gray paused.
‘Wait… this might actually be a good opportunity.’
One percent might sound pathetic, but seventy thousand Jewels was still around what he normally earned from a job anyway.
Actually, after accounting for all the property damage he occasionally had to pay for, he sometimes came home with less than that.
Gray nodded to himself.
‘Yeah.
I can work with this.’
End of Chapter 6