What I Want Is Forever

Edolas, the royal palace.

King Faust sat high on his magnificent throne, listening to the flattery of his ministers below.

"Your Majesty is wise! With this Magic Crystal, the kingdom's magic reserves are sufficient to last for ten years! This is an unprecedented feat!"

"Yes, yes! This is all thanks to His Majesty!"

Faust listened to these compliments, but his face showed no joy; instead, it revealed a hint of unsatisfied greed.

Ten years... is not enough!

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority that instantly silenced the entire hall.

"What?" A minister cautiously raised his head.

"I said it's not enough!"

Faust abruptly stood up from his throne, walked to the French windows, looked at the enormous Magic Crystal in the sky, and his eyes flashed with a mad light.

"We are the great Kingdom of Edolas! I don't want limited magic, I want—eternity!"

The ministers were terrified by the king's mad aura and fell silent.

Just then, a messenger rushed in.

"Report! Your Majesty, news has arrived from the front lines: a madman calling himself Jiang Bai has routed the garrison in Kas City and is threatening to declare war on the kingdom!"

However, Faust was currently immersed in the ecstasy of about to gain eternal magic and did not care about such a trivial matter at all.

"They're just a bunch of clowns, what big trouble can they possibly cause?" He waved his hand calmly.

"They're just trying to attract our attention and covet my Magic Crystal. This is likely a diversionary tactic; we can ignore it..."

Before Faust could finish speaking, he was interrupted by another, more urgent report.

"Urgent report! Your Majesty! The entire Royal Army of Moran City... was wiped out! They were defeated by Jiang Bai, who came from Earth-land!"

"Crack!"

The crystal wine glass in Faust's hand shattered with a crack, and crimson wine dripped through his fingers.

His composure vanished instantly, replaced by rage.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

Faust whirled around and roared at the ministers below, "Send out Sugarboy and Hughes troops immediately! Tear that madman to pieces!"

He paused, then added a crucial command.

"Pass on my order! Jiang Bai Warren and Erza Knightwalker are not to leave the capital until that imposter is captured! They must remain in the capital to guard the Magic Crystal!"

Meanwhile, Jiang Bai, the protagonist of the incident, after casually dealing with the Royal Army in Moran City, did not linger at all and was leading everyone to the next city.

"Are we just going to... fight our way through like this?" Queen Lucy followed behind, her face filled with disbelief.

She was still a little shaken from the crushing battle she had just fought.

"Otherwise what?" Jiang Bai shrugged.

"If we want to save the others, we'll have to wait for my group of friends to come looking for us. That's the fastest way."

Queen Lucy looked at Natsu and Wendy walking ahead and couldn't help but ask curiously, "So... are Natsu and Wendy also able to use magic without magical items, just like you?"

"Ugh! Lucy's so clumsy!" Happy flew up from Natsu's head, hands on his hips, and complained.

"Why are you asking such a simple question!"

"Hehe! Silly Lucy!" Natsu joined in the teasing.

A crossroads suddenly appeared on Queen Lucy's forehead.

She darted forward, her arms wrapping precisely around Natsu and Happy's necks, pulling them forcefully together.

"I might not be able to beat that monster Jiang Bai, but do you think I can't beat the two of you?!"

"Ugh... I'm... I'm going to suffocate..." Natsu's face turned bright red.

After Natsu and Happy finally managed to break free, Happy ran to Carla's side, still shaken.

"How scary! It's a scary version of Lucy!"

"Don't give people nicknames so easily!" Queen Lucy snapped irritably.

She took a breath before remembering what she was going to say.

"Honestly, I almost forgot the important thing. Since only Jiang Bai can use magic right now, why don't the rest of you come with me to buy some magic items? We can't just stand there watching the battle forever."

"A magical item?" Wendy's eyes lit up.

"Yes!" Queen Lucy nodded.

"With that, we won't have to just stand by and watch."

"Yoshi!" Natsu perked up immediately upon hearing this, punching his own palm.

"Go buy it! I've been wanting to go up there and have a good fight for ages!"

"Actually..."

Jiang Bai was about to say that it didn't really matter whether he bought it or not.

Although those Royal Army seemed weak to him, they weren't someone an ordinary person could easily defeat by simply buying a magical item.

But when he saw the expectant looks on Natsu and Wendy's faces, as if they were finally able to help, he swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Oh well, let them have their fun.

Seeing that Jiang Bai had no objections, Queen Lucy prepared to take the two of them to find the "black market" of this world.

Before she left, Jiang Bai called her back.

"Aren't these magical items very valuable?"

"Of course!" Queen Lucy replied matter-of-factly.

"Due to the depletion of magic power, the kingdom has now completely banned residents from using magical items privately; they can only be secretly purchased on the black market."

"Prices have naturally gone up, and I don't know if I have enough money."

"Is that so?" Jiang Bai nodded thoughtfully.

"You must be able to use gold here, right?"

As he spoke, under Queen Lucy's questioning gaze, Jiang Bai took out a fist-sized, glittering gold nugget from his personal space and casually handed it over.

Queen Lucy's eyes widened the moment she saw the gold nugget.

She instinctively took it, only to feel its weight in her hand, almost dropping it.

"You, you... you're so rich?!"

"It's alright," Jiang Bai said casually.

"After all, these are props for my younger brother and sister, so I can't let you pay for them."

Queen Lucy looked at the gold nugget in her hand, then at Jiang Bai's "this is nothing" expression, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

Who exactly is this guy?!

In the end, Lucy realized that she might not have enough money, so she carefully put away the gold nuggets and, with Natsu and Wendy looking excited, headed proudly towards the black market.

Jiang Bai, meanwhile, leisurely found a bench by the roadside and sat down, waiting for them to return laden with their spoils.