Erza blinked. The first thing he thought about after waking up was money. But… she couldn't blame him. She had never seen a reward this big, either.
"You're right. We've been here a long time. It's time to go back. If we wait any longer, the Master will worry."
They went to the palace throne room.
The king was busy. The dragon attack had caught him off guard, and the city was badly damaged. But the people were safe, and rebuilding had already started.
Most importantly, the dragon was gone. The kingdom was finally safe.
A minister stepped forward. "Your Majesty! Mr. Kael and Miss Erza are here."
The king's head lifted immediately. His eyes lit up. "Mr. Kael is here! Send them in!"
Kael and Erza entered the throne room.
"Mr. Kael Vane! You're finally awake!" The king greeted them warmly, relief plain on his face.
"Sorry to make you worry, Your Majesty. I just used too much magic power. I'm fine now."
"Good! That's good!"
Kael didn't waste time. "Your Majesty, we've been away for a long time, and we're leaving."
"Leaving? So soon? You're welcome to stay longer!"
Erza gave a polite bow. "Thank you, Your Majesty, but if we stay, everyone at our guild will worry."
"I see."
The king fell quiet for a moment, weighing something. Then he spoke again, carefully.
"Mr. Kael, Miss Erza… have you ever thought about staying in the Sorbear Kingdom? If you stay, I can make you the Head and Vice-Head of the Swordsman Guild."
Kael and Erza were masters. Kael, especially, had the power to kill a dragon. If he stayed, the kingdom would be safe forever.
The king was offering them money, status, and fame.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I am a wizard of Fairy Tail," Kael Vane said, refusing without hesitation. He was bound to the Fairy Tail guild. He wouldn't stay, not for 100 million.
This mission had taught him something simple and brutal: in this world, power was far more important than money.
"That's a shame."
The king had expected this, but the disappointment still showed.
"Bring them!"
Soldiers carried in several large boxes.
The lids came up—and the room suddenly felt smaller.
Stacks and stacks of money filled the boxes.
Kael's eyes went wide. How much is that?
"This is 100,000,000 J. I know it's not enough to repay you for what you did, but the capital needs to be rebuilt. This is all I can offer right now."
Erza froze. 100,000,000 J. She had been a wizard for years, but she hadn't earned this much money in her entire life.
"No, no, that's too much. My prize money was 20,000,000 J, and the SS-Rank mission was 30,000,000 J. 50,000,000 J is enough."
"50,000,000 J was the original plan," the king said. "But then the monster horde and the dragon... that was far beyond SS-Rank. This reward is low for what you did."
The king was right. Just for the dragon, it should have been a 10-year quest. Those started at 500,000,000 J. And no one would have taken it.
Kael shook his head. "We accepted the mission, so we can't change the price. The extra trouble was part of the risk. We can't take the extra money."
"Kael is right. We accepted the job. Taking more would be against our guild's rules," Erza agreed.
The king studied them for a beat—then gave a small, resigned nod. He saw they wouldn't change their minds.
He had his men bring them the boxes with 50,000,000 J.
Kael took the boxes. They were heavy. The weight in his hands was satisfying in a way words couldn't quite match.
He was thrilled.
The work was hard, but getting paid made it all worth it.
"Your Majesty, we have to go."
The king knew it was time. "In that case, I won't keep you. I've had a carriage prepared. And please, you are always welcome in Sorbear. Our gates are always open to you."
"You're too kind, Your Majesty. If you ever have a job like this again, let me know. I'll give you a 20% discount," Kael joked, as if he were talking business.
"Pfft—! Hahaha!"
The king laughed, the tension finally breaking. "Alright, alright! If I do, I'll be sure to call you!"
A luxury carriage was waiting for them at the palace entrance. The king himself saw them off.
"Mr. Kael, Miss Erza, please come back and visit when the city is rebuilt!"
"We will!"
"Yah!"
The driver snapped the reins.
As they left the palace...
"It's Mr. Kael and Miss Erza!"
"Mr. Kael!"
"Miss Erza!"
Kael and Erza looked out the window. The streets were lined with people, packed tight on both sides.
They didn't know it, but even though the citizens were in the arena, the whole fight had been broadcast on the magic screens.
They had seen Kael Vane's personal show.
They had also seen him change from Yoriichi.
Kael Vane was the hero who had saved their kingdom.
Kael and Erza waved to the crowd, and the people cheered—loud enough that the carriage windows seemed to shake.
They followed the carriage all the way to the city gate.
"Mr. Kael, Miss Erza, please come back and visit," Arthur said.
"We will!"
After saying their goodbyes, they got back in the carriage.
Erza looked at Kael and smiled, amused. "How does it feel to be a hero?"
"It feels pretty good," Kael admitted. Then he sighed. "But I wish they weren't so loud. I'm actually pretty shy."
"..."
Erza was speechless. You didn't seem very shy at the tournament.
Kael leaned back, then looked at the boxes again. His mood flipped instantly.
"Alright, no one's around now. Time to split the money! Split the money!"