Commission in Progress

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Aika?" Feng Lan brought Mira and the three little ones into a large house and found its owner.

"Mm, that's right, I'm Aika. What are you four kids here for? This isn't an amusement park, you know~" A middle-aged man with a goatee said dismissively to the four of them.

"Hey, old man, what do you mean by that?! Don't look down on us!" Mira charged forward, looking ready to fight Aika.

"Hey, hey, hey! Mira, what are you doing?" Feng Lan hurriedly grabbed Mira and pushed her back, while Aika was startled by her sudden charge.

"Hehe, sorry about that. My friend has a rather fiery temper. We're mages here to take on the job." Feng Lan reassured Aika, putting him at ease.

"Mages? You kids should stop fooling around. This job is very dangerous." Aika still could not feel at ease entrusting the job to four children like Feng Lan and the others.

"I'm telling you... ah!" Mira had barely started to speak when Lisanna and Elfman grabbed her.

Feng Lan tugged at his clothes, revealing the guild emblem. "Don't worry, we're all legitimate mages. We only came here after receiving the Guild Master's approval."

"Ah... I see. Then I'll leave it to you. The details are already written on the request form—it's to hunt a Giant Wind Serpent on nearby Mount Nara." Aika thought it over. They truly were mages, so he had no reason to refuse them.

"Very well. Please rest assured, we'll complete the job soon." Feng Lan gave Aika a slight nod.

Aika returned the gesture with a small bow, expressing his apology for earlier.

In the forest not far from town.

"Hey, Lisanna, Elfman, why did you two stop me earlier?!" Mira shouted furiously at Lisanna and Elfman.

"Sorry, Mira..." The two little ones lowered their heads and apologized miserably.

"Alright, don't blame the two of them. If they hadn't held you back and you'd started fighting the client, Fairy Tail would've become famous again. The Guild Master would probably lose another five or eight years off his life." Feng Lan shielded Lisanna and Elfman behind him as he tried to persuade Mira.

"Tch, fine. I won't say anything more about it." Mira turned away irritably. "By the way, who's going to do the work when we get there?"

"Uh... you three go first! I want to see how strong the three of you are." Feng Lan scratched his forehead as he spoke to Mira.

"Fine... wait! Wasn't I supposed to watch you do the job? How did it turn into you watching me?!" Mira felt as if she had been tricked, and the anger that had just subsided flared up again.

"Hey, hey! Don't get angry yet. Think about it—I already showed you part of my strength before. Since we're doing this job together, shouldn't I get to see your strength too? But don't worry. If anything unexpected happens, I'll protect you." Feng Lan hurriedly stopped the enraged Mira from hitting him and laid out his reasoning.

"Fine, but don't get it wrong. We don't need your protection. Whether it's me, Lisanna, or Elfman, I can protect us all myself," Mira said stubbornly to Feng Lan.

"Yes, yes, you don't need my protection." Feng Lan treated Mira like a child, his tone full of perfunctory agreement. "Let's keep moving. We should try to arrive by noon tomorrow."

With that, the four continued onward. Along the way, the slightly more mature Elfman walked between Mira and Feng Lan to keep Mira's temper in check, while Lisanna clung completely to Feng Lan's side and refused to move even a little farther away. This made Mira quite jealous, since Lisanna had never been this close even to her own sister.

And so, the four spent an afternoon traveling amid cheerfulness, tension, and frustration. Night fell.

"Mira, I don't want to eat green peppers." Seeing that it was getting late, the four stopped to prepare for the night. They were eating the boxed meals they had prepared in advance, while Lisanna pitifully picked out the green peppers.

"No! How can a mage be a picky eater? That's unacceptable. Eat them, and don't leave any behind!" Mira scolded Lisanna angrily.

"That's right, Lisanna. Don't be picky. You can't grow stronger if you don't eat green peppers," Elfman added, telling Lisanna not to be picky.

"But... what does eating green peppers have to do with getting stronger?" Lisanna was so frightened by Mira that she nearly cried.

"Of course it does." Feng Lan walked over to Lisanna and patted her little head. "Think about it. To become stronger, don't you need a healthy body? And doesn't a healthy body require balanced nutrition? If you want balanced nutrition, shouldn't you avoid being picky? So only by being good and not being a picky eater can you become stronger~"

It had to be said that Feng Lan was truly good at coaxing children. After hearing him say that, Lisanna held back her tears and, though extremely unwilling, ate the green peppers.

After dinner that night.

"Brother Feng Lan, look, the moon is so round tonight!" Lisanna sat on Feng Lan's lap, pointing at the moon in the sky.

"Mm, it's round—pretty and cute, just like Lisanna's little face!" Feng Lan pinched Lisanna's chubby cheeks, enjoying their soft feel.

"Hey, Feng Lan, I noticed you didn't bring a water flask when you left. What will you do if you get thirsty?" Mira glanced at Feng Lan's bag but saw no cup.

"Ah! That... I drink alcohol!" As he spoke, he took out a bottle of beer from beside him and casually drank more than half of it. "And if I run out of alcohol... I just find some living creature and drink all its blood..." As he spoke, Feng Lan wore an extremely bloodthirsty expression, making Mira and the three little ones shudder.

Amid their pleasant conversation, Lisanna fell fast asleep in Feng Lan's arms, and Elfman lay down on the ground and drifted off as well. Mira sat across from Feng Lan, and it was impossible to tell whether she was asleep or awake. Feng Lan alone looked up at the moon, deep in thought.

"Back when the full moon came, you would surely have sat with me on a sandy island beach, eating sakura mochi that I had no idea how you got, watching the bright full moon together... But where are you now? How are you doing? Do you still eat sakura mochi and watch the moon as you used to? Slokard..."

"You said before that you weren't worried. What happened now? Did the scenery make you think of your dad?" Mira had heard everything from nearby and became alert.

"You weren't asleep? Sorry for disturbing your sleep," Feng Lan said somewhat awkwardly.

"It's fine. I didn't really want to sleep anyway... Can you tell me about your dad?" Mira sat beside Feng Lan and looked up at the full moon as well.

"Sure~" Feng Lan had not expected anyone to be interested in his dragon. "Slokard was covered in dark blue scales, with a thin layer of webbing on his claws. He was longer and leaner than other dragons, and his wingspan was 1.25 times that of a normal dragon. He wasn't as sturdy overall as other dragons, but he possessed mobility that no other dragon could match. And although the Water Dragon's claws weren't as powerful as other dragons', his bite force was several times that of a normal dragon, and his teeth were much sharper too."

"So that means your teeth are sharp too?" Mira looked at Feng Lan's mouth, trying to see his teeth clearly.

"Of course! Otherwise, how would I usually suck blood?" Feng Lan revealed his very sharp teeth, pulled one of Mira's arms toward his mouth, opened his jaws, and gently rested his teeth against her arm. "Want to try it?"

"Ah... huh? Wha!? No, um..." Mira stared at him with his teeth against her arm, her face instantly turning bright red.

"Hehe, I'm just joking. Don't be nervous." Feng Lan lowered Mira's arm and smiled at her.

"What was that? I'm ignoring you!" Mira knew she had truly been tricked this time. In a fit of pique, she walked away, lay down, and went to sleep.

"Sigh~ This kid really can't take a joke, huh? Forget it, I'll get some sleep too..." Feng Lan carefully laid Lisanna on the ground, then lay down himself and closed his eyes.