Task

"Guild Master, I want to take this quest!"

Ul tore a request slip from the board and walked up to Makarov.

Makarov glanced at the slip in Ul's hand, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Are you sure you want to take this one? If you do, I'd recommend finding a partner. Handling it alone will be pretty tough."

"No need. I can do it by myself."

"Very well, then."

Seeing the firm resolve in Ul's eyes, Makarov said no more and approved his request. D-rank and C-rank quests were basically risk-free; the one Ul had picked was merely a bit more difficult, not impossible. Since Ul wanted to take it, Makarov had no reason to stop him.

"Thanks. Well... I'm off!"

"Take care."

The city where the Fairy Tail guild was located was called Magnolia, an ancient magical commercial city. Fairy Tail was the only Mage Guild in the entire city.

Fairy Tail was deeply trusted by the city's residents. Whenever anyone had a problem, they would seek Fairy Tail's help. In fact, the residents had even carried out a stunning renovation of the whole city because of the "whims" of a certain red-haired uncle in the guild.

Though Ul always felt the real reason for this phenomenon was simply that Fairy Tail was the only guild in town.

After walking for over three hours, his feet nearly blistered, Ul finally reached the quest location.

What?

Why didn't he take transportation?

Sorry.

In a poor bastard's world, "transportation" simply didn't exist.

"Anyone home? Please open the door. I'm a mage from Fairy Tail, here to deliver some warmth..." Ul stood outside the gate of an independent courtyard, knocking and shouting.

A moment later.

An elderly woman with graying hair slowly opened the door, a kind smile on her face. She glanced at Ul and said, "So you're the mage who took the quest from the guild?"

"That's right."

"Then please, come in!"

"Young man, have you eaten yet?" Ul followed the old woman inside when she suddenly asked.

"No," Ul answered honestly and decisively.

"Hehe... In that case, why not have something to eat before you start working?" The gray-haired woman seemed to pause for a moment, but then her smile returned, warm and gentle.

"Sure."

Though it was a bit embarrassing to admit, one of Ul's reasons for taking this quest was to mooch a meal. After all, ever since he left the orphanage, there was no more free food to be had.

Once inside the courtyard house, Ul realized that while the building looked decently sized from the outside, it was eerily quiet inside—as if no one else lived there besides the old woman.

"I don't have anything fancy here, young man. Just make do with what there is."

After Ul entered, the old woman brought out several plates from the kitchen and spoke to him kindly.

"Uh..."

Ul stared wide-eyed at the piles of meat and the whole roasted fish on the plates, feeling like his sense of values had taken a hit. He didn't yet know the exact prices in this world, but one thing was certain: this was far from "nothing fancy."

If these "big fish and big meat" weren't good things, then Ul had no idea what in this world counted as good.

While Ul was still stunned, the old woman brought out several more plates from the kitchen. Soon, the food on the table in front of him had piled up into a small mountain.

"Young man, go ahead and eat! If it's not enough, I'll make more..." the old woman said with a chuckle.

Hearing her words, Ul glanced at the "meat mountain" before him, which barely showed any vegetables, and couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth.

Suddenly, he felt like he was back in his past life as a child visiting his grandmother's house for New Year's.

Something like:

Grandma: "Are you full?"

Ul: "I'm full..."

Grandma: "No, you're not. Eat some more."

Ul: "..."

To be honest!

When the old woman brought out this food, Ul's first reaction was, "Could this food be poisoned?"

After all, this teenage body housed an adult soul; he couldn't simply think like a child.

One must not have the heart to harm others, but one must also have the heart to guard against them!

But soon, he cast that guess aside.

Because he really couldn't think of any reason for someone to harm him...

For money?

That was simply impossible. Given Ul's current appearance, anyone could see his poverty. After all, the only difference between him and a beggar right now was probably that he himself didn't think he was a beggar...

For looks?

That was also impossible. With Ul's scrawny frame right now, whether it could even be used was another matter entirely.

After a few seconds of deliberation!

In the end!

Ul decided to eat first and talk later.

If the food hadn't been brought out, Ul could have still endured...

But once the aroma of the food crept into Ul's nose, although Ul himself wanted to keep enduring, his stomach had already let out a thunderous protest, completely beyond his brain's control.

One of the passive abilities the Void Stomach granted Ul was "being able to eat"!

Sticking firmly to the principle of never wasting, Ul spent a full several hours on this meal...

Using the Void Stomach's ability, Ul ate and digested simultaneously, finally wiping out the entire "mountain of meat" on the table.

Throughout this process, the old woman showed no sign of urging Ul. She just sat beside him, watching with a smile, at most chatting with him a few words. In the end, even with Ul's thick skin, he felt a bit embarrassed!

So as soon as the meal was finished, Ul immediately spoke up: "Granny Is, I'm full. Let's start working right away!"