First Commission

Hearing Cana say that the child was named Gray, Cain could not help but freeze for a moment.

Gray had joined Fairy Tail, which meant Ur had already turned herself into ice to seal Deliora.

Cain could not help thinking of Ultear again, and his expression darkened for a moment.

Cana noticed that something was off with Cain and asked with concern, "Cain, what's wrong? You don't look too well."

"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered some unpleasant things."

Seeing Cain say that, Cana did not press him further. Meanwhile, Makarov stamped the guild mark on Gray's chest.

Seeing this, Cain could not help complaining inwardly. What kind of person puts their guild mark on their chest? If someone asks what guild you belong to, do you have to lift your shirt to show them the mark?

No wonder everyone said Gray was a pervert.

Come to think of it, Gray was not the only oddball in the guild. Cain remembered someone else who had their guild mark stamped on their tongue.

He had forgotten the name. That person was a member of the Thunder God Tribe, played with dolls, and had not joined the guild yet.

Cana and Cain then took Gray around to familiarize him with the guild. Watching Cana introduce everything to Gray, Cain could not help recalling when he had first arrived at the guild.

He smiled softly.

Gray, standing nearby, caught Cain's smile and assumed Cain was mocking him for not knowing anything.

Having just gone through such a drastic change in his life, Gray was still rather sensitive. He asked Cain sharply, "Hey, what are you laughing at?"

Cain did not quite understand why Gray had suddenly gotten angry, but he still explained, "Nothing. I just thought of something funny."

Gray assumed the funny thing Cain mentioned was the way he had been looking around earlier, which made him even more upset. "Damn it, are you looking for a fight?"

The moment the other guild members heard that the newcomer wanted to challenge an old member, they immediately got excited.

"Newbie, I support you! Take Cain down!"

"Cain, this newbie is acting so cocky. Teach him a lesson!"

"What are you babbling about? Hit him!"

The surrounding cheers made Gray even more determined to beat up the blond guy in front of him.

Gray's expression, along with the guild members egging him on, gave Cain a headache. "By the way, why are you taking off your clothes when you want to fight?"

"Huh? When did that happen?"

Just as Gray was about to make his move, he heard Cain's words and looked down, only to find that he had somehow stripped down to nothing but his underwear.

Cain could only marvel at what an incredible skill that was.

Cain's strange gaze made Gray fly into a rage from embarrassment. "Damn it! Ice Make: Floor!"

Gray pressed both hands to the ground, and a wave of frost rushed toward Cain, intending to freeze his feet in place.

Then, with a smack from above, Gray realized that Cain had somehow already appeared beside him and given him a hit.

"All right, you lost this time. Now let me take you to the boys' dormitory."

With that, he motioned for Gray to follow.

Seeing the fight end so quickly, the other guild members could not help feeling disappointed. They wanted to stir up more trouble, but Cain, who knew exactly what his guild was like, had already dragged Gray away.

On the way, Cain saw that Gray was still looking rather downcast and said, "Everyone in the guild just likes to stir things up. You'll understand once you've been here longer."

Cana nodded in agreement beside him. Gray also understood at that point that Cain had not been laughing at him earlier, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

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"...Sorry."

Gray's apology left Cain a little confused. "Oh, you mean suddenly challenging me? It's nothing. Fighting is normal in the guild."

Seeing that Cain did not understand, Gray did not say anything more. Before long, with Cain and Cana's help, Gray successfully moved into the boys' dormitory.

The days that followed were peaceful yet fulfilling. Cain learned several more spells and also picked up a gravity-adjustable vest from the magical equipment shop.

After paying for the gravity vest, Cain's savings had been drained dry.

That gave Cain the idea of going out to take commissions. So after arriving at the guild, he went to Makarov and told him what he had in mind.

Makarov considered Cain's strength and said, "You can take escort or gathering commissions in nearby towns, but no subjugation commissions."

Cain understood that Makarov was refusing to let him take subjugation commissions both to protect him and to be responsible to the clients.

Still, Cain was happy enough that he could take any commissions other than subjugation ones.

Cain walked over to the commission board to see whether there was anything suitable for him.

"Escort goods to nearby towns. Around one month. Reward: one hundred thousand. This commission takes too long, and the pay is too low. Not suitable."

"One model needed for a photo shoot. Must be good-looking. Reward: fifty thousand."

This commission made Cain's eyes light up, but when he saw that the client required a woman, he could only curl his lips in disappointment.

After looking around, he finally found a commission that suited him: collect Magic Wisteria Flowers. The commission required ten flowers, with an additional five thousand paid for each extra flower.

Cain remembered that the forest beside Magnolia had this kind of flower.

After registering, Cain headed for the nearby forest.

Magic Wisteria Flowers were purple flowers that grew on Magic Wisteria Vines. Perfume made from these flowers had layered fragrances that lingered for a long time.

As a result, they were extremely popular among upper-class ladies.

Cain also knew that Magic Wisteria Flowers could be used to make the illegal drug hallucinogen. As for whether the client intended to make perfume or hallucinogens, that was none of his business.

But if he discovered that they were making illegal drugs, he could report them and earn another income. Perfect.

"I remember it being around here."

Cain looked around as he tried to recall. He only knew about this place thanks to Laxus, who had once brought him and Cana here to play an exploration game.

When Makarov found out later, the three of them had been severely scolded.

"Found them." Cain quickly spotted a patch of purple hidden among the green leaves.

"One, two, three... ten. Mm, exactly ten, not one more or one less."

Cain happily placed the ten Magic Wisteria Flowers into a container he had prepared beforehand. He had earned fifty thousand in no time at all. Not bad.

Now he only needed to hand the Magic Wisteria Flowers to the client and retrieve the commission voucher, and the job would be complete. Easy.

Following the details from the commission, Cain arrived at a perfume shop called Noblewoman.

After entering, Cain got straight to the point. "Hello, I'm a Mage from Fairy Tail. The commission you posted to collect Magic Wisteria Flowers has been completed."

As he spoke, he showed the guild mark on his arm and the Magic Wisteria Flowers he had collected.

The clerk had initially been somewhat doubtful, but after seeing the guild mark and the Magic Wisteria Flowers, they no longer questioned him.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the Magic Wisteria Flowers, the clerk handed the commission voucher to Cain.

After returning to the guild and submitting the voucher, Cain quickly received the reward for his first ten-thousand commission.

That very day, Cain treated Cana and Gray to a good meal to celebrate. Unfortunately, Laxus was away on a commission. Otherwise, it would have been even livelier with all four of them together.