Heartaches are hard to cure.
Even if Edward analyzed where the problem lay, there was nothing he could do about it.
Besides, this kind of extremist…
well, those who know, know.
Edward had also thought about it.
Should he advise Elfman to switch to another type of magic?
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
Take Over magic was also a form of obsession for Elfman.
As a symbol of his family, it was something he rejected, yet something he couldn’t do without.
It was truly a complete dead end.
…
The mission had to continue.
It concerned the reputation of Fairy Tail, so it absolutely couldn’t be abandoned halfway.
Actually, after being honest with each other, both of them felt lighter and carried out their duties.
Elfman simply took charge of searching, while Edward was responsible for the hunting.
Mere beasts without magic power— it really wasn’t difficult at all.
Fortunately, Kirlia was clever and quick-witted, using the repeated killings to improve its skills in Confusion and butchering.
Things like snapping a wild duck’s neck, or crushing a wild rabbit’s head, and so on.
Vaguely,
Edward saw the future elegance of a Psychic Queen—no, the style of the Terrible Tornado!
Even though it was a boy…
…
“Oh, this is truly outstanding.”
In just three short days,
Edward had cleared out most of the overpopulated wild beasts in the surrounding area.
Actually, he could have continued, but Edward saw that Elfman was already starting to show obvious signs of resistance.
Edward never intended to drive them to extinction anyway, nor could he kill them all.
Moreover, constant slaughter was something neither he nor Kirlia desired.
So, feeling that he had reached a point where he could hand in the task, he went to the village chief to complete the mission.
After a simple verification, he was warmly—no, passionately—hugged by the village chief.
Edward:???
What is this for?!
Fortunately, the village chief let go after a quick hug, but then he couldn’t stop slapping Edward on the shoulder, saying with tears in his eyes, “Perfect, it’s absolutely perfect!”
“Uh, it’s just what I should do…”
“No! You don’t understand! Extra pay, I must give you extra pay!”
“Can you come again next year?!”
“Of—Of course, as long as I’m free. As for the extra pay…”
“Is this within the regulations?”
“I… I don’t know.”
Elfman indicated that he had never experienced such a scene either.
His own sister wasn’t exactly easy to deal with either.
“Um, the extra pay isn’t necessary.”
Edward was a bit tempted, but from a common-sense perspective, this kind of behavior was against the rules.
Especially with such a regular customer.
Edward could only painfully refuse.
“Could I just ask you to help me process these ingredients?”
Edward pointed to the two wild boars and five birds behind him as a compromise.
He wanted to take them back to share.
“Of course, leave it to me.”
The village chief slapped his chest heroically.
Clearly, it wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this.
It made sense.
Everyone in the guild probably had similar ideas.
Even though magic had proven that wild game isn’t necessarily more nutritious than farmed meat.
…
A reward of 140,000 Jewel.
That was roughly equivalent to ten thousand yuan in his previous life; in terms of workload, it was quite low.
But Mages were that kind of existence.
Because they could easily do things ordinary people couldn’t, yet weren’t ridiculously expensive, people were willing to coexist with these “dangerous” beings who were prone to going berserk.
“Here, your share.”
Edward counted out seven ten-thousand-Jewel bills.
He held them out in front of the dazed Elfman.
“Mi—Mine?”
“Uh, is it not enough?”
Edward, who had experience as an intern, asked in Confusion.
Could it be that this world also had some unwritten rules?
“No, no, no, it’s… I don’t deserve to share this reward.”
After Elfman explained, he lowered his head in shame.
“What are you talking about? Without you to lead the way, just finding the habitats of those wild animals would have given me a massive headache.”
Edward unreasoningly stuffed the money into Elfman’s hand.
To be honest,
Edward, having worked on Earth, felt a tiny bit of imbalance.
After all, their workloads weren’t on the same level at all.
In that era of “awakening,” people who worked hard without complaint were fools.
The maxim was: as long as you’re willing to endure hardship, there will be endless hardship to endure.
But it was different here.
Edward had looked into it.
Since they chose to team up, they were companions who acknowledged each other.
Regardless of ability or effort, the rewards were split equally.
If anyone had an issue, they’d just have to suck it up and not team up next time.
In just a few days since transmigrating, he had made all sorts of blunders.
Sometimes he really wished he were a native of this world.
…
The sky was dark by the time they returned to Magnolia.
It looked like it could rain at any moment.
Edward and Elfman immediately quickened their pace.
The moment he saw the guild, Edward suddenly felt a sense of joy, and even Elfman, who had been gloomy all the way, had a slight smile on his face.
Could there be some strange magic within this emblem?
Edward looked at his palm and stepped into the guild.
He thought that this time he would still be like a nobody, coming and going quietly.
But who would have thought?
“Oh?! Back already!”
“Did the mission go smoothly?”
“Do you even need to ask? This is our monster rookie!”
“You didn’t wreck their crops, did you?!”
Uh.
Facing the suddenly bustling guild, those voices—some teasing, some joking, but all full of concern— made Edward’s breath hitch.
Even though these were people whose names he didn’t even know, they were worried about him.
The slight chill brought by the cloudy day outside was completely dissipated at this moment.
He felt warm all over.
It was a strange yet very familiar feeling…
Oh, he remembered; it was the long-forgotten warmth called “home.”
“Welcome back!”
Lisanna, who had returned a day early, skipped playfully in front of her brother and gave them both a bright smile.
“Yeah, I’m back.”
…
“You’re back.”
The first thing to do after returning from a mission was naturally to submit it.
The Shop Attendant wasn’t there, so the Guild Master Makarov handled it personally.
He reached out to take the mission sheet, feeling immensely happy and relieved at the children’s safe return.
“Yes.”
“How was it? Was your first mission interesting?”
More than the completion and evaluation of the mission, he cared about Edward’s feelings.
“Yeah, it was alright.”
With that kind of episode, it certainly wasn’t ‘interesting.’
But Edward felt he was capable of and quite suited to being a Mage.
Most importantly, he didn’t want to leave this place anymore.
“That’s good. By the way, how many crops did you destroy? Was the reward enough to cover the compensation?”
Edward:…
Why are you starting with the assumption that I destroyed something?!
And what do you mean, ‘enough to cover the compensation’?
Have there been cases of paying out of pocket before?
Looking at the Guild Master’s face, which seemed resigned to fate, Edward secretly resolved that he would never become an existence that caused the Master distress!
Never—well, he’d try his best!