Kazu looked at Natsu in shock. "You don't know how to read?"
Natsu looked away, whistling. "It's not that big a deal. I know the alphabet."
Kazu narrowed his eyes. "Just knowing the alphabet is not enough. You need to know the words, too."
Natsu whined. "The thing is, I used to know how to read. But the language here is different. Therefore, it took considerable effort to relearn. I don't want to do that."
Kazu blinked. 'Right. I forgot, but this guy is from 400 years in the past.'
"How do you then read the mission quests and all that?"
Natsu pointed at Happy. "Happy does it. I just do whatever mission he picks up."
"Aye."
"...Right." 'So, the cat, which is not even 1 year old, learned to read the language.' Kazu stopped himself from saying that out loud.
First of all, he didn't want to discourage Natsu, and secondly, comparing him to a talking cat, who can speak fluently just a few months after being born, is too unfair.
He was not an asian relative of Natsu to do such a thing.
"Anyway, let's see... I will ask Erza to help you read. It's a fundamental skill that you need."
Natsu's face ashened. He shot him a betrayed look. "You can't do that."
Kazu nodded. "It would be pretty fast. I think." 'Fear would definitely make you learn quickly.'
"Anyway, what about you, Happy? Do you want to learn magic too?" Kazu changed the subject before Natsu could retort.
The blue cat tilted his head. "Some fish-catching magic would be nice."
Kazu clapped his hands. "Perfect. I know some magic that would be pretty useful for that. Let's go to the library later. We will also check if you have any affinity or not."
With that, the pinkhead and his cat's path started diverging from the Canon.
---
May x779
"You want me to go where?" Kazu looked at the old man with a baffled expression.
"I want you to accompany me to the Annual Guilds meeting that's happening next week."
Kazu raised an eyebrow. "And why do you want me to do that?"
"You have been too cooped up here for a while. Not taking any mission for a while. I think it's about time you go out. This is the perfect opportunity. You would be my bodyguard." Makarov smiled.
'What is this old man scheming?' Kazu's instincts were telling him that the reason wasn't as simple as that. Why will the overpowered old man need a weak boy like Kazu to be his bodyguard?
"Fine. How long will we out?" 'Well, I am bored. It would be fun seeing other guilds.'
"Perfect. We will be out for 3 days. One day for going. One for the meeting and one for returning."
Kazu nodded. "Kay. I will prepare accordingly."
---
"Why are we taking a carriage?"
"This is the shortest route. There's no train station in that city."
Kazu furrowed his eyebrows. "Then, why did they even take such a place?"
Makarov smiled. "You tell me."
'So, it's intentional. Let's see, why will they want to put a meeting in a less popular city?'
"Cause it would be better to do that, if a fight breaks out. Guild masters are powerful mages, so to reduce losses to a minimum." Kazu hypothesised.
"Not bad." Makarov nodded in approval. "But, you are thinking too much. The answer is pretty simple." He grinned.
"Why?"
"Because the people in charge of locating it are incompetent." Makarov laughed.
Kazu deadpanned. "The council is technically involved in this meeting, isn't it? No wonder. Why am I even shocked?"
"Hahaha. You really like to diss on the Council, don't you?" Makarov looked out of the window.
"They are just dissable." Kazu shrugged.
Suddenly, the air beside Makarov rippled — a distortion, like heat haze — then spat out a violet bullet.
Kazu's breath hitched — lungs locking mid-inhale.
'Can't reach. Need speed. Magic bullet—Constructive Interference—twenty-five per cent Ethernano.' Even knowing it was hopeless, he still fired.
Cyan light flared before him — his bullet screamed forward, tearing the air apart.
WHOOSH
For a split second, hope sparked—
Then his instincts killed it. Too slow.
THUMP THUMP THUMP
His pulse roared. The bullet was a hair's width from Makarov's skull.
THUD
A golden ripple flashed into existence—both bullets vanished in a soundless burst of light.
"Spatial magic? Now, that's rare. Perfect for assassinations." Makarov smirked.
Kazu stared, heart still hammering, as if watching someone walk away from their own death.
'Right. I forgot, but, old man is a Wizard Saint. He could beat me in his sleep.' Kazu's shoulders dropped as he sighed in relief.
'But, what if the old man was too slow to react? Isn't he old?' The thought gnawed at Kazu's mind. He was technically supposed to be the old man's bodyguard, yet...
He clenched his fist—veins standing out, red Ethernano seething beneath the skin.
'Calm down. The assassin is still out there.' He pushed down his emotions.
"Master, let me take care of those assassins." Kazu disappeared before Makarov could stop him.
"That boy...Does he even know the direction?" Makarov sighed. Despite Kazu being mostly calm, he seems to become like other guild members at such times.
---
Gelmund was having a pretty nice day. He was born to a noble family and lived in luxury. However, such a life eventually bored him.
His only enjoyment was learning magic, and his family had money to hire the best tutors. So, he lived up to their expectations and became a mage. However, life was rarely without any tragedies.
When he was away, his city was attacked by a beast tide, and he lost his family. Later, he joined a mercenary group, which was later labelled as dark guild.
Gelmund didn't leave. He had a pretty high position in the guild, and life was pretty good. His magic allowed him to escape easily.
His main affinity was bullet magic, which allowed him to do a lot of things with bullets. Paired with the right artefact gun, his combat power increased exponentially.
His secondary affinity was spatial magic, which he discovered later in life. It allowed him to create portals connecting two points in space. Anything could pass through it.
Both of them together were perfect for an assassination.
Today, Gelmund had taken the most difficult mission in his life.
Assassinate a Wizard Saint.
Makarov Dreyar.
He was allowed to fail as long as he didn't leave any trails.
So, he took a position according to the information he had gotten and waited. As expected, Makarov's carriage arrived according to his expectations.
BANG
He made a small portal directly near Makarov's head. However, Makarov easily blocked it.
"As expected. I guess, I would have to go with Plan B." Gelmund jumped back.
A black portal materialised, engulfing him.
He appeared in a completely different place—a mountain.
'I don't want to spend too much Ethernano. Let's finish this quickly.' He opened the scope of his gun and looked back in the carriage.
'Where is Kazu Sukerhiro? He was present just a moment ago there.' Plan B involved attacking Kazu directly to distract Makarov, which would create an opening for Gelmund.
He furrowed his eyebrows. 'Should I target Makarov again? Or should I look around for that boy?' He had gotten the information on the boy.
He was the secondary target to be eliminated, and his danger rating was to be a future S-rank. So, Gelmund hadn't dismissed him just as a kid.
'Well, if they are separated, then I can kill Kazu and use his body to make Makarov lose his composure.' With that in mind, Gelmund immediately got to work.
He looked around the area, trying to find Kazu for the next minute.
"Found you. Let's see if you can escape now." A voice came from behind, startling Gelmund.
Years of experience kicked in, and he quickly opened a portal in front of him without looking back.
"You really are fast, aren't you?" Before he could pass through the portal, a hand found its way to his neck, pulling Gelmund back.
Just as Gelmund was going to move the portal—
"If you move even an inch, you might lose your neck. Do you want to try?" As if to support the words, the grip tightened.
Gelmund immediately stopped whatever he was going to do. 'He must want something from me. I can still negotiate.' He immediately concluded, calming himself down.
The figure started moving around Gelmund until they came face-to-face, their hand still gripping the neck.
"Kazu Sukehiro," Gelmund said with a slightly shocked face.
"Oh? You know me. Guess you really are a professional assassin. I wonder if you would give out any information." Kazu smiled. Red ethernano was slowly leaking from his body.
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