Chapter 62: What Do You Think of Me?
Deep within a dilapidated, hidden guild hall, the air was thick with smoke and shadows. This was the headquarters of the Dark Guild, Eisenwald.
"Which guild is that armored woman from?" one of the grunts muttered, nursing a beer.
"I don't know. Never seen her."
"She's a good-looking woman, damn it. I should have tried to hit on her."
"You? You can't even talk to the barmaid," another sneered.
"What did you say?!"
Just then, a cold voice, sharp as a scythe, cut through the din. "Quiet. Has Kageyama not returned yet?"
The guild members flinched. The tall, white-haired man known as Erigor—the Shinigami—stood from his dark corner, his namesake scythe resting on his shoulder.
"That seal on Lullaby isn't so easy to break, Erigor-san," a subordinate said, trying not to tremble. "Let's just wait a bit longer."
"We are waiting," Erigor hissed. "Don't drag your feet. The timing is perfect now. All the old fools from the guild 'masters' have gone to their regular meeting. The nest is empty. We just need our key."
Magnolia Train Station
"Hey! Are you sure this is a good idea?" Lucy Heartfilia whispered, her back pressed against a stone pillar, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. "Isn't it bad for us to sneakily follow them like this?"
"Shhh! They'll hear you!" Natsu hissed back, not from the pillar with her, but from inside a nearby mail-sack.
"What are you doing in there?!"
"I'm being sneaky!" he whispered loudly. "And aren't you curious? What are Erza and Ren, those two monsters, going to do together? It's gotta be something huge!"
Curious! Of course, she was curious! She was very curious!
Yesterday, after Erza's dramatic appearance, Lucy had learned more detailed information from the guild's gossip mill. The "big event" that shook the entire Ishgar continent half a year ago—the one about the "Sword God" slaying a dragon—was something Ren and Erza did together.
After that, Natsu had invited her to go see what the two of them were up to, which instantly stirred Lucy's already insatiably curious heart. She wanted to know more about the guild's strongest members. She wanted to be a part of their world.
And so, as if possessed, she, Natsu, and Happy had followed them at a "safe" distance all the way to the train station.
"Wait! Erza is coming!" Happy warned, his small, blue-furred body hidden inside a potted plant.
The three of them immediately hid, their heads peeking out.
"Sorry... Have you been waiting long?"
Erza, now out of her armor and in a simple dress, walked towards Ren, pulling a cart piled high with an absolutely mountainous amount of luggage. There were at least a dozen large trunks.
Ren, who was standing patiently by the platform, was a bit speechless. He had seen it before, but every time he saw Erza leave with such a large amount of luggage, he couldn't help but want to complain. 'Does she really need all that? Her Requip magic stores her armor!'
"No, I just arrived not long ago," Ren replied, his voice calm.
"Then let's get on the train first."
"Okay."
Ren, ever the gentleman, helped Erza load the massive trunks into the cargo carriage, a feat that caused the baggage handlers to gawk at his casual strength. Then, the two of them went to a passenger carriage and sat down in a quiet, private compartment.
Just as the two of them boarded the train, three figures stealthily snuck onto the train, coming from an adjacent carriage to avoid being discovered by Erza's keen senses.
Choo-choo-choo—!
The train's whistle blew, and with a lurch and a hiss of steam, the train slowly began to move, gradually picking up speed as it left Magnolia.
"Ugh~~!"
As soon as the train started to rock, Natsu, who had just been vibrating with excitement, turned a sickly shade of green. His "sneaky" plan had one fatal flaw.
"You really do get sick as soon as you get on a vehicle!" Lucy sighed, exasperated. She was familiar with his problem of being utterly helpless against any form of transportation.
"It's so far... we can't... urrrp... hear what they're saying," Natsu moaned from the floor. "Let's... get closer."
"Aye!" Happy, who had flown out of the potted plant (much to the original owner's confusion), hit it off instantly with Lucy.
Rustle rustle! Rustle rustle!
The human and the cat, ignoring the green-faced Dragon Slayer, stealthily kept changing seats, ducking behind passengers and hiding behind newspapers, trying to get closer. Soon, they reached the seats in the row just behind Ren and Erza's compartment, where they could hear their conversation even if the train was noisy.
"It seems we haven't gone out together in a long time," Erza said, her voice softer than usual. She looked at the constantly receding scenery outside the window, and a nostalgic expression involuntarily appeared in her eyes.
"The last time we went out together was half a year ago, wasn't it? I'm... actually a bit nostalgic."
Since she joined the guild, she had always taken on missions alone. Although she later opened her heart and could get along well with guild members, it was different.
Due to her strict personality, she felt that she was somewhat disliked, or at least, feared. The number of people who could get along with her as equals was few, and Ren was one of them.
Moreover, Ren was the only man she had ever worked with on a serious mission. And that one time... it had felt... different. The feeling of having a truly reliable, competent companion by her side while working was still very good. It was a feeling of partnership she'd never had with Natsu or Gray.
"That's right!" Ren agreed, leaning back. "Back then, I was still a newbie, and the old man assigned me to accompany you on an S-Class mission. Or, well, what we thought was an S-Class mission."
Erza couldn't help but let out a small, rare laugh when she heard this. "I think you were very willing to go at that time, 'newbie' or not."
"Well~!" Ren rubbed his fingers together in the "money" gesture, a teasing smile on his face. "After all, it was an S-Class mission, and the reward was very generous! My share alone was 35 million Jewel!"
He definitely couldn't talk about the system; that was his secret. Besides the system's lottery draws, the generous reward from that SS-Class mission naturally accounted for part of the reason.
No one dislikes money, and Ren was no exception. Not only did he like money, he especially loved to save it. Every time he saw the constantly increasing balance on his bank's magic crystal card, he would feel very, very happy.
"You money grubber," Erza said, shaking her head, though she was smiling. "How much money have you saved now, anyway?"
Erza was very familiar with Ren and knew he had a hobby of saving money, just as she had a hobby of buying all kinds of beautiful clothes and armor (which she then stored in her Requip space).
"Hmm..." Ren tilted his head, as if doing the math. "Probably about 100 million J!"
The initial S-Class and SS-Class missions alone (from his newbie period and the dragon slaying) earned him nearly 40 million J. Later, he completed three more S-Class missions, each worth approximately 10 million J, which made it 70 million J. Besides S-Class missions, the various 'Subjugation' missions he took all started at 1 million J. Adding up all the various other tasks... yeah, it was roughly 100 million J.
"100 million?!"
Lucy and Happy, who were pressed against the wall of the compartment, nearly shouted out the number. They quickly clamped their hands (and paws) over each other's mouths, their eyes wide with shock.
'100,000,000 Jewel?!' Lucy screamed internally. 'My rent is 70,000 Jewel a month! 100 million... that's... that's 1,428 months! That's over 119 years of rent! He could pay my rent for the rest of my life and not even notice!'
Happy was just trying to calculate how many fish that was. He couldn't. It was too many.
Erza's eyes also widened in genuine shock. She knew Ren had earned a lot of money—after all, that one trip with her alone earned him 35 million J—but hearing that he had saved almost 100 million J still startled her.
"You... you... don't you spend money?!" she asked, flabbergasted.
As an S-Class Mage, her earning ability was also very strong. That one SS-Class mission, combined with the prize money from being a top-four finalist in the Swordsman Tournament, had earned her nearly 20 million J, which was a huge profit.
But... most of her money was spent on buying new weapons and armor. Her newest set of adamantite armor had cost 1.5 million alone. So, even though she had started working very early, she didn't have much savings.
"Spending money isn't as interesting as saving money," Ren said with a simple shrug.
"Spending money means less money. But saving money means the number will keep increasing."
Erza was a bit speechless when she heard Ren's words. "Isn't money meant to be spent? What on earth do you save all that money for?"
"What else can it be used for?" Ren said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course, it's for marrying a wife!"
"Marry... marry a wife?!"
Erza was a bit dumbfounded, not expecting that this would be the answer she heard from Ren. "You... you don't need to spend that much money to marry a wife."
"I'll spend it slowly," Ren said, his voice sincere. "I can't let her suffer with me, can I? After the Whitebeard memories, I've realized... a family is the most important thing. I need to be able to provide for them, no matter what."
"Uh..." Erza stared at him. "You really are... a good, family-oriented man!"
A rare, playful spark lit up in Erza's eyes. She suddenly had the urge to tease Ren. A mischievous, almost un-Erza-like smile spread on her face as she leaned in a little closer.
"Well... a handsome, powerful, and fabulously wealthy good man... What do you think of me, Ren? Why don't you marry me, and I'll help you spend the money."
From behind the seat, Lucy and Happy both froze, their eyes bugging out. 'Did she just...?!"
Ren looked at Erza, his expression completely serious. He considered her playful, half-joking proposal for one second.
"Okay."
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