A New Mission

X779

Qian Guang Residence

"779, 780, 781..." Qian Guang was doing push-ups in the backyard with a massive boulder strapped to his back.

More than a month had passed since the S-Class exam. Fairy Tail had welcomed a new year, and Qian Guang was no longer as lazy as before. He had set aside part of the time he usually spent researching potions for training.

Now he understood why Laxus had been so desperate to become S-Class. If Erza and Mira competed with him this year, he would have to give it everything too. Getting surpassed would be far too embarrassing.

Qian Guang was not just training himself. He had also dragged over Elfman, who had been drawing, under the noble excuse that a real man had to be cultivated from a young age. The little stone beside them had been prepared for Elfman.

"Elfman! Don't lie there! Keep going, and remember—you're a man!"

"Y-Yes! I... I got it!" The frail Elfman was having a miserable time. That little stone was not light at all. Besides, he remembered that he had been drawing that kitty just a moment ago. How had it suddenly turned into training?

Not far away, Lisanna was holding the kitty and practicing Take Over Magic under Mirajane's guidance. Watching the two of them train, her eyes filled with admiration. "Wow, my brothers are amazing. Lisanna can't lose to them either."

Mirajane rested her cheek on her right hand and smiled. "Ah, Elfman has grown up too. He's not a sniveling little brat anymore. That idiot is useful once in a while."

"997, 998, 999, 1000!" Qian Guang was bare-chested. His sturdy physique might not have had the oversized muscles of a bodybuilding coach, but it was more balanced and aesthetically pleasing. And if he punched a bodybuilding coach, the man would cry for a long time.

"Elfman! You're not allowed to stop until you reach 1,000." Qian Guang put down his own boulder and leisurely slipped into a loose, comfortable outer robe resembling ancient Chinese clothing.

"Mirajane, I'm exhausted. I want juice!" Qian Guang stuffed his hands into his pockets and put on an arrogant expression.

Mirajane immediately picked up a stone and threw it at him. Bang! A direct hit. "Get lost! You look like juice to me! We're out anyway, so go buy some. Get some milk while you're at it."

After everyone teased Mirajane last time, she had been absentminded for the rest of the day. During dinner that evening, she suddenly seemed to remember something, her face turned crimson, and she flung Qian Guang away. That night, Qian Guang concluded that Magnolia's nighttime security was excellent. No one wandered the streets at night except him.

"Ah, that hurts, that hurts! What are you doing?! I'm an injured man! I still need to know about Elf—Excuse me, Miss Mira, what brand of milk would you like? Butler Qian Guang is at your service!"

He had originally wanted to argue, but the moment he saw Mirajane's gloomy expression, he immediately backed down. Was that time of the month coming? Sure enough, that thing did not care about countries or worlds. It was all the same everywhere.

"The same as before."

"Right away, please wait!" Qian Guang flew off using wind magic. Fine, he would let her have her way for a few days. One day, he would show her who the head of the household was. Then he would make her buy a bottle of milk in the east of town and another in the west!

Fairy Tail

"Ugh, I don't want to take a job." After buying milk, Qian Guang came to the guild with Mirajane. Lisanna was supervising Elfman, and judging from her serious expression, Elfman definitely would not be able to slack off.

Poor Elfman had only done around 250 by the time Qian Guang left. That kid was truly miserable.

Qian Guang did not want to take jobs. They were too troublesome. He did not need to run himself ragged for the S-Class exam, and he was not short on money. Still, aside from the guild staff, everyone had to complete a certain amount of work.

Also, first-time job takers had to be led by veteran members. Back then, because they were dealing with wild boars and were short-handed, Qian Guang had become an exception.

Originally, the guild master had wanted to pair Mirajane and Erza with Qian Guang, but the two of them could start arguing within five minutes of being together. That was absolutely impossible!

So Qian Guang ended up taking Mirajane, while Laxus took Erza. Poor Laxus. Qian Guang remembered that he had only returned yesterday.

"Huh? What kind of jobs are these? Gathering herbs? Treating illnesses? Protecting a kingdom official? Isn't there anything more difficult and combat-oriented?" Mirajane stared at the nearly empty job board in frustration.

"It's all your fault! You got up so late! You dawdled until the afternoon!" Seeing no jobs she liked, Mirajane shamelessly pushed the blame onto Qian Guang.

"Yeah, yeah, it's all my fault. I was so excited about taking my first job last night that I couldn't sleep, so I didn't get up until noon." Qian Guang expressionlessly took a sip of milk and exposed Mirajane.

Mirajane instantly turned into a boiling kettle. "Shut up!"

Luckily, Erza had chosen a job and left early in the morning. Otherwise, those two would have started arguing again.

"Actually, I think treating illnesses and gathering herbs are both pretty good. I happen to be out of herbs for experiments, and I can also take a look at some difficult cases. Why don't we take both? They pay 200,000."

Qian Guang found both jobs quite appealing. They suited his profession perfectly, and he would not have to go around fighting people.

"No! How can Mirajane's first job be something like this? It's only a little better than your wild boar hunt."

"What's wrong with wild boars?! You liked eating that hind leg too! Besides, I even ran into a blond-haired boar!"

Mirajane immediately hurled a cup at him.

Bang!

Peace at last.

"Hahahaha, Qian Guang, life won't be easy for you from now on." Macao mocked him while smoking.

"Bastard! I'm doing much better than a wife-fearing guy like you!" Qian Guang rubbed his reddened forehead and roared at the unserious man.

"Well, this old man is giving you advice."

"By the way, this is a guild, right? Why are there jobs like gathering herbs and treating illnesses?" Mirajane could not understand it. She thought jobs should involve fighting magical beasts, dark guilds, and the like.

Qian Guang refilled his glass of milk. It would help him grow taller. He was far too much shorter than Laxus, and last time, he had suffered because his arms were shorter.

"There isn't that much fighting and killing. Look carefully. That herb-gathering job has powerful magical beasts guarding the herbs, and that illness is related to some kind of curse. Don't just read the titles."

"Shut up! I don't want either of those jobs anyway!"

"Fine, fine. Hurry up, then. Don't drag this out until nighttime."

"There's a new request here. Do you want to take a look, Mira?" Seeing Mirajane still hovering around the board, the guild master brought over a new request form.

"Find the missing son of a wealthy merchant. Location: Ancient Moon Forest."

Mirajane hesitated. It did not seem much different from the herb-gathering and treatment jobs, but it paid more. And since it was in a forest, they could gather some herbs for Qian Guang. There were not many other jobs left anyway, since most had already been taken.

"Huh? Why do we have to find some rich brat? If he ran off and needs someone else to clean up after him, just let him fend for himself." Qian Guang did not think much about it. The moment he heard they had to look for someone, he found it troublesome. Ancient Moon Forest was so huge that they might not even find him.

Mirajane looked at the reward and said to Qian Guang, "Fine. What a pity about that 1,000,000 reward."

Mirajane was about to pull Qian Guang over to carefully study the other jobs when she discovered that he had suddenly vanished. Even Gray beside her was staring wide-eyed.

At the guild entrance—

"Yo, Mira! What are you waiting for? Let's go! Don't let my brother from another father and another mother get hurt!" Qian Guang had already packed up and was ready to set off with a huge bag on his back.

"Didn't you say it was troublesome?!"

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands—bro, dad, grandpa! That's worth a whole father! Is it easy for me to support all of you? You don't know how expensive life is until you run a household!"

Mirajane's face instantly darkened as she looked at this shameless man. She spread her Demon Wings and charged at him.

"Go be with your dad! Go die!"

"Bastard! What are you doing?!"

Qian Guang flew away, taking Lisanna and Elfman with him. The two had only come over out of curiosity to see why Qian Guang had rushed home at light speed to pack.