Year 779
Qian Guang Residence
"779, 780, 781..." Qian Guang was doing push-ups in the backyard with a massive stone on his back.
More than a month had passed since the S-Class exam. Fairy Tail had entered a new year, and Qian Guang was no longer as lazy as before. He had carved out some of the time he used for researching potions and devoted it to training.
Now he understood why Laxus had been so desperate to become S-Class. If Erza, Mira, and he competed this year, he would have to go all out too. It would be too embarrassing to get surpassed.
Qian Guang was not only training himself; he had also dragged over Elfman, who had been drawing. Under the noble banner of "a man must be raised right from childhood," he had prepared the small stone beside them specifically for Elfman.
"Elfman! Don't lie there! Keep going. Remember, you're a man!"
"Y-Yes! I... I got it!" The frail Elfman was miserable. This little stone was not light either. Besides, he remembered that he had been drawing that kitty just moments ago. How had it suddenly turned into training?
Not far away, Lisanna was practicing Take Over Magic while holding the kitty under Mirajane's guidance. Watching the two of them train, Lisanna's eyes were full of admiration. "Wow, Big Brother and the others are amazing. Lisanna can't lose to them either."
Mirajane propped her cheek with her right hand and smiled. "Ah, Elfman's grown up too. He's not that sniveling little brat anymore. That idiot is useful once in a while."
"997, 998, 999, 1000!" Qian Guang was bare-chested. Though his muscles were not as large as a bodybuilding coach's, his physique was more balanced and aesthetically pleasing. Besides, one punch from him would make a bodybuilding coach cry for a long time.
"Elfman! You're not allowed to stop until you reach 1,000." Qian Guang put down his stone and slowly put on his loose, comfortable robe-like outer garment, similar to ancient Chinese clothing.
"Mirajane, I'm exhausted. I want juice!" Qian Guang shoved both hands into his pockets and struck an arrogant pose.
Mirajane immediately picked up a stone and threw it at him. Bang! Bullseye. "Get lost! You look like juice to me! We're out at home, so go buy some. Pick up some milk while you're at it."
After everyone had teased Mirajane last time, she had remained dazed all day. During dinner that night, she suddenly remembered something, her face turned bright red, and she flung Qian Guang away. That night, Qian Guang had concluded that Magnolia's nighttime security was quite good—because aside from him, nobody was wandering around outside.
"Ah, ow, ow, ow! What are you doing?! I'm injured! I still need to know about Elf... 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 dark expression, he immediately caved. Had that time come for her? Sure enough, it did not care about national borders or even worlds. It was all the same.
"The same as before."
"Right away, please wait!" Qian Guang flew out on the wind. Damn it, he would let her have her way for a few days. One day, he would show her who was the head of the household. Then he would make her buy a bottle of milk from both the east and west sides of town!
Fairy Tail
"Ugh, I don't want to take a job." After buying the milk, Qian Guang and Mirajane arrived at the guild. Lisanna was supervising Elfman, and judging by her stern expression, Elfman definitely would not be able to slack off.
Poor Elfman had only done around 250 when Qian Guang left. That kid was really miserable.
Qian Guang did not want to take jobs. They were too troublesome. He did not need to rush around for the S-Class exam, nor was he short on money, but aside from staff members, everyone in the guild had a required job quota.
Furthermore, first-time jobs had to be led by veteran members. Back then, because they had been dealing with wild boars and were short on people, Qian Guang had become an exception.
Originally, the Guild Master had wanted to pair both 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 it became Qian Guang leading Mirajane, while Laxus led Erza. Poor Laxus. Qian Guang remembered that he had only returned yesterday.
"Huh? What kind of jobs are these? Gathering herbs? Treating illnesses? Protecting kingdom officials? Isn't there anything combat-related and challenging?" 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 job she liked, Mirajane shamelessly pushed the blame onto Qian Guang.
"Yes, yes, it's all my fault. I was so excited about my first job last night that I couldn't sleep, so I didn't get up until noon." Qian Guang took a sip of milk expressionlessly, exposing Mirajane.
The moment Mirajane heard that, she turned into a boiling kettle. "Shut up!"
Good thing Erza had picked a job and left early in the morning. Otherwise, the two of them 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 my experiments, and I can also look at some difficult cases. How about we take both? They pay 200,000."
Qian Guang found both jobs quite tempting. They suited his specialty perfectly, and he would not have to fight and kill anyone.
"No! How can Mirajane's first job be something like this? It's only slightly better than your wild boar job."
"What's wrong with wild boars?! Didn't you like eating those hind legs too? Besides, I even ran into a yellow-haired wild boar!"
Mirajane directly threw a cup at him.
Bang!
Peace and quiet.
"Hahahaha, Qian Guang, your days are going to be rough from now on." Macao laughed at him while smoking.
"Bastard! I'm still better off than you, henpecked old man!" Qian Guang rubbed his reddened forehead and roared at the improper man.
"Well, this uncle's giving you advice."
"By the way, this is a guild, right? Why are there jobs for gathering herbs and treating illnesses?" Mirajane could not understand it. She thought jobs were supposed to involve fighting magical beasts, battling dark guilds, and the like.
Qian Guang refilled his glass with milk. It would help him grow taller. He was far shorter than Laxus, and last time, he had suffered because his arms were too short.
"There isn't that much fighting and killing. Look carefully. Powerful magical beasts guard that herb-gathering job, and that illness is connected to some kind of curse. Don't just read the titles."
"Shut up! I don't want either of those anyway!"
"Fine, fine. Hurry up, then. Don't drag this out until nighttime."
"Here's a new request. Want to take a look, Mira?" Seeing Mirajane still wandering around, the Guild Master brought over a new job sheet.
"Find the missing son of a wealthy merchant. Location: Ancient Moon Forest."
Mirajane hesitated. It did not look much different from gathering herbs or treating illnesses, but it paid well. 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 chosen.
"Huh? Why should we go looking for some rich brat? If he ran off and needs someone to clean up after him, let him fend for himself." Qian Guang did not think much about it. The moment he heard it involved finding someone, he felt it would be troublesome. Ancient Moon Forest was so big that they might not even find him.
Mirajane glanced at the reward and said to Qian Guang, "Fine, what a shame about the 1,000,000 reward."
Mirajane was about to pull Qian Guang over to carefully examine the other jobs when she discovered that he had suddenly vanished. Even Gray beside her had gone 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 mother get hurt!" Qian Guang had already packed up and was ready to leave 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—this is father-level money! 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 immediately darkened as she looked at this shameless man. She spread Demon Wings and charged at him.
"You can go be with your father! Go die!"
"Bastard! What are you doing?!"
Qian Guang was sent flying, taking Lisanna and Elfman with him. They had just come over out of curiosity to see why Qian Guang had rushed home at lightning speed to pack his things.
Before you continue