Isa Sajeka!
That was the old woman's name.
From their conversation over the meal, Ul had also learned a little about Granny Is...
Granny Is's story was actually quite simple. When she was younger, her husband had gone out on business and been killed in a bandit attack!
Her son also did business away from home, so he never came back.
In other words!
Granny Is was the only person living in this secluded little courtyard. That was why it had felt so quiet and deserted when Ul first arrived.
Granny Is wasn't short on money!
Emmmm!
And she wasn't just well-off—she was rich enough to be a full-on tycoon...
Back when her husband was alive, he'd bought a fish farm in the area. The fish sold from those ponds alone brought Granny Is a fortune every year...
And that was what Ul would be working on next!
The main source of energy in the world of Fairy Tail was magic power.
Magic power wasn't used only for fighting. In the world of Fairy Tail, it had become fully integrated into people's everyday lives. Many forms of transportation, household furnishings, and other things were powered by magic.
Aside from Magic Crystals, the only ones who could use magic power were Mages!
And Ul's task this time was to charge the Magic Water Pump.
In other words!
He had to act as a mobile Magic Charging Treasure!
Actually, money had long since stopped being important to Granny Is.
So a long time ago, she'd stopped selling fish. Not only that, she'd even started keeping the fish in her backyard ponds as pets, giving them an extra meal every now and then...
But because of that, the fish in the ponds had grown not only large but plentiful...
She had no choice!
Granny Is had to sell off the surplus fish.
She'd already found a buyer. All that remained was to drain the ponds and catch the fish for sale...
The job was scheduled for three days later!
That meant Ul had only three days. He had to power the Magic Water Pump and drain all the water from the ponds in the backyard within that time.
It wasn't an easy task, especially after Ul saw Granny Is's fish ponds.
Granny Is's fish ponds really did form "one huge expanse"!
The kind of "one huge expanse" made up of more than a dozen ponds connected together!
Ul felt his mind go blank.
Thinking about how he'd just spent several hours eating, Ul now wished he could slap his handsome face...
Wasn't that just wasting time on the job?
Ul now understood why Makarov had told him to find a partner to help with the work.
With a fish farm this big, relying on his own meager magic power, he'd probably have to work around the clock for all three days to finish the job. And that was assuming he hadn't wasted time eating that meal!
At first, Ul had thought the 15,000 J reward was generous. Now, though, it seemed less generous than downright exploitative!
Ul didn't dare waste any more time!
After all, the completion rate of Guild missions affected more than just money. It also affected the Guild's reputation and a Mage's own advancement in rank.
Ul couldn't stay a D-rank Mage forever. D-rank jobs paid far too little!
Technology wasn't very advanced in this world, so Magic Water Pumps weren't particularly efficient at using magic power.
According to the system's data, one point of magic power could only run the pump for about ten minutes on average. Even if Ul used up all his magic, he could only keep it going for two hours at a time. After that, he'd have to restore his magic power through meditation!
Honestly, Ul wanted to work hard. After all, he'd already eaten a free meal here, and that alone was reason enough to put in the effort!
But... for some reason!
He felt like Granny Is didn't seem to care much about how he did on the job...
"Um... Granny Is, I really don't eat that much. You don't have to make so much food every time..." Ul looked at the ever-growing piles of "meat and fish" in front of him and helplessly repeated himself once again.
"Nonsense. You're at the age when you need to grow. Look how skinny you are! You should eat more..." Granny Is completely ignored Ul and carried dishes over at her own pace.
Ul: "..."
Looking at how he'd gotten noticeably rounder after just two days—because he'd been stuffed—Ul was at a loss for words.
Although Ul had the Void Stomach passive ability, it only served as an aid.
Just two days!
Ul had gained several pounds for no apparent reason. One could only imagine how much he'd eaten over those two days.
Thanks to all of Granny Is's delicious food, however, Ul's work efficiency had improved tremendously.
Normally, after using up his magic power, it took him a little over an hour of meditation to replenish it.
But thanks to the food Granny Is brought him, Ul recovered his magic power much faster. It took him less than an hour to restore it completely.
And that wasn't all!
Over the course of those two days, there had been some changes to Ul's stats panel.
Invincible Passive System Host: Wei Yi Passive Ability: Void Stomach Health: 12 Magic Power: 12 Mental Power: 16 Magic Resistance: 0% Armor: 0%
Because of the system's "rounding" feature, the increases in Ul's magic power and Mental Power over those two days hadn't been very significant. Neither had necessarily gone up by even a full point.
But... Ul's health had increased by a whole three points.
That was an astonishing rate of growth. Even when Ul had been recovering physically, his health probably hadn't grown this quickly.
One could say!
This one stat most clearly reflected just what kind of "piggish life" Ul had been living lately!
Thanks to Granny Is "feeding" him, Ul not only finished the job successfully, but even finished a little ahead of schedule.
When it was finally time to leave!
Ul could clearly tell that Granny Is was reluctant to see him go. But there wasn't much he could do to comfort the old woman. He couldn't stay here forever, after all.
So after accepting Granny Is's "gifts" and his payment, Ul left the memorable little courtyard and headed back to the Guild...
Before you continue