Fifty million!

The celebratory banquet was soaring into the sky, while on the second floor of the guild building, Gajeel, Jiang Bai, and Makarov quietly watched the people below drinking and laughing heartily.

"Gajeel, aren't you going down to join the victory celebration?" Makarov asked with a smile, taking a sip of his drink.

Gajeel shook his head, a not-too-unpleasant smile tugging at the corners of his lips, "Let's forget it. My face would probably ruin the atmosphere if I went down there now."

After saying that, he took a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Makarov.

"Chairman, this is where your son Ivan is hiding. I've found him."

Makarov took the note, his smile fading considerably. He glanced at the address on it, then carefully put it away. "Thank you for your hard work, Gajeel. I'm sorry to have put you in such a dangerous job."

Gajeel glanced at Jiang Bai, who was yawning listlessly beside him, and chuckled, saying, "The most dangerous job in this world is fighting against Fairy Tail. I've already done that, so being a spy is nothing."

"However," his expression turned serious.

"Ivan has his eye on the Magic Crystal inside Laxus's body. Guild Master, should we do something in advance?"

Upon hearing that his own son was going to harm his grandson, whom he had finally managed to get back on track, Makarov's expression became incredibly complex, and he fell into deep thought.

"Don't worry," Jiang Bai said lazily at this moment.

"I don't think Laxus would lose to that kind of trash right now. If all else fails, I'll just go and pack up the entire 'Raven Tail' guild and send them to the Magic Council a chat."

"However, I still suggest that it's best to let Laxus handle this himself." Jiang Bai looked at Makarov.

"This is a hurdle he must overcome, and also his best chance to prove himself."

Makarov sighed and nodded. "Ah, I understand. I'll find an opportunity to have a proper talk with Laxus again."

Early the next morning, the aftereffects of the civil war began to appear.

All guild members spontaneously took to the streets to begin repairing the streets and houses they had damaged.

Repair what can be fixed with magic; for what cannot be fixed, honestly pay compensation.

As for the Cardia Cathedral, which suffered the most severe damage, Makarov personally brought Jiang Bai and Laxus to the scene.

Although the church's overall structure has not completely collapsed, almost no stained glass windows remain intact. Most of the stone pillars supporting the dome have collapsed, and the walls are riddled with holes of all sizes, making it a truly pitiful sight.

Laxus looked at the familiar holes and collapsed pillars, and suddenly felt his body, which had been beaten up just yesterday, begin to ache again.

"No matter how I look at it, I feel like those holes in the wall were blasted out by Jiang Bai while Laxus was being beaten up."

Makarov stroked his beard and said with a mischievous grin.

"Hey! Grandpa, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!" Jiang Bai immediately protested.

"I was ordered by you to wake Laxus up; I'm a victim too, you know!"

"You little rascal, you're all lively and energetic, you don't look like a victim at all!"

Jiang Bai immediately clutched his chest, feigning heartache. "My heart has been deeply hurt by your words, sir."

Makarov's forehead creased with annoyance. "Alright, alright, stop fooling around. The mayor has already waived part of the fees for us. The rest, you two culprits, will each pay half, is there a problem?"

Jiang Bai and Laxus exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

The guild's affairs have finally come to an end, and everything is back to normal.

Those who need to do quests should do quests, and those who need to chat and joke in the guild should continue joking around. That familiar yet noisy daily routine is finally back.

The only difference is that the three members of the Thunder God Tribe are also slowly trying to integrate into the guild family. Although they are still a little awkward when talking to everyone, it is already a very good start.

On this day, to everyone's surprise, Jiang Bai, who was known throughout the guild for his laziness, was unusually standing in front of the task panel on the second floor, carefully selecting tasks.

Lucy, holding a glass of juice, watched this scene in astonishment.

"Sister Mira, what's wrong with Jiang Bai? Did he take the wrong medicine?"

Mirajane chuckled as she wiped the glass, explaining, "Oh, Xiao Bai, he used part of his savings as compensation to give to the Cardia Cathedral."

"Don't let Xiao Bai's usual lazy demeanor fool you; he's actually very good at planning ahead. He gets really anxious if he doesn't have enough cash on hand."

Lucy's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Jiang Bai is broke? Hasn't he done S-Class Missions, even taken on 100-Year Quest? How could he be broke?"

Mirajane explained, "Xiao Bai said that money depreciates, and simply keeping it in your hands is like constantly losing money, so he used most of his money to buy houses in various parts of the kingdom."

"By the way, Lucy, the landlord of the apartment you're living in now is Xiao Bai."

"Huh?! I... I had absolutely no idea!" Lucy was completely dumbfounded.

Why did Jiang Bai buy so many houses?

At this point, Mirajane's cheeks flushed slightly, but she still spoke with a hint of sweetness and shyness, "Xiao Bai said he wants to have many children with me and Erza in the future. If we don't earn more wealth now, we won't be able to afford to raise so many children later."

"Puff--!"

Lucy felt like she had been unexpectedly fed a huge dose of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

She wiped the juice from the corner of her mouth and complained helplessly, "That rich bastard Jiang Bai, he actually worries about not having enough money? Just how much money does he need to feel secure?"

Mirajane tilted his head, tapped his chin with his finger, and thought about it seriously.

"About... fifty million J!"

"Pfft--cough cough!"

This time, Lucy really did spit out all the drink she had just taken in.

"How... how much?! Fifty million?!"

"Yes," Mirajane nodded matter-of-factly.

"Because Xiao Bai also said that a man's money is equivalent to his courage. The more money he has, the bolder he is."

Upon hearing this, Lucy had already begun to silently calculate.

My monthly rent is 70,000 J, which adds up to 840,000 J per year.

Fifty million J... that's enough to pay my rent for over sixty years!

And this is merely Jiang Bai's "bottom line" for gaining a sense of security!

For a monster of his caliber, earning this much money would probably just be a matter of completing a few more S-Class Missions...

It's true what they say, comparisons are odious!

Lucy collapsed onto the bar, tears welling in her eyes.