Kael Vane opened the box like it might bite him.
It didn't.
It just hit him with light—stacks and stacks of money packed so tight it almost looked unreal. For a second, he actually had to squint.
"…Wow."
He snapped out of it and immediately started counting.
He counted out 20,000,000 J and set it aside with care.
"This is my prize money from the tournament. I'll take this."
Then he counted out 15,000,000 J and pushed it toward Erza.
"This is the mission reward. Half for you, half for me!"
Erza stared at the neat stack. Then at him.
"Uh... why didn't you just count out 15,000,000 J in the first place?"
Kael waved a hand like she'd missed the obvious.
"Well! Splitting money! The process of splitting it is part of the fun, right?"
Erza hesitated, fingers hovering over the cash as if it might vanish.
Then she said it, quietly.
"Kael… you did all the work on this mission. You should take more."
Kael's smile dropped. Not angry—just tired of hearing it.
"See? Again? Elfman said the same thing. What's all this about who did what?" He leaned forward, voice firm. "We went out as a team, so we split it by person. Splitting it by work is an old-fashioned system. It's not good for a team!"
Erza went silent.
Then, after a beat, she nodded.
"…Thank you."
"Don't thank me." Kael's grin came right back. "I should thank you. Because of you, I made 35,000,000 J! 35,000,000!"
He said it like he still didn't believe it.
And the ridiculous happiness on his face was so honest that Erza finally relaxed, the tension easing out of her shoulders.
35,000,000 J… Kael thought, heat rising in his chest. If this were my old life, I could put this in the bank and be set for life.
Luckily, this world had banks, too. The interest wasn't high, only 3%. When he got back, he would deposit it. When he was old, he could live off the interest.
A perfect plan.
Just then, Erza shifted closer.
Close enough that Kael could see the light in her eyes, the faint warmth in her expression—serious, focused.
"Kael," she said, low. "I have something I want to ask you."
Gulp.
Kael swallowed.
Her face was too close.
Is she... is she going to confess? Does she want to date me? I'm not ready for this!
Do I say yes, say yes, or say yes? This is such a hard choice!
Erza looked him straight in the eye.
"Kael... Can I be your student?"
Pfft—!
Kael almost choked.
What?
Erza wants to be my student?
His eye twitched.
"W-Why?"
"To learn swordsmanship, of course!" Erza said, like it should've been obvious. "Kael, you're the strongest swordsman I've ever seen. You killed a dragon with just a sword. A legendary dragon!"
"None of our attacks worked on it. But you... you wounded it and killed it."
She took a breath, and when she spoke again, it came from somewhere deeper—admiration so sharp it was almost painful.
"Someone who doesn't know the sword can't understand what they're seeing," she said. "Someone who does know the sword just realizes how small they are."
Her eyes were shining as she said it.
She wouldn't have believed it from anyone else. But after seeing his skill, she knew it wasn't an exaggeration. It was a fact.
Kael felt a cold sweat crawl down his back.
Why did I have to say something so flashy back then?
"Uh... actually, my sword skills are pretty bad..."
"Bad?!" Erza shot back instantly. "If your skills are bad, then no one in the world knows how to use a sword!"
"Um... well, the truth is, I'm very weak. I'm probably just an average member of the guild." Kael raised both hands like he was surrendering. "The sword skills aren't mine. They belong to my Take Over Magic."
"But that's your magic, isn't it? How is it not yours?"
Erza had been fighting with Mirajane since they were children. She knew everything about Take Over. She knew that the abilities belonged to another person or monster.
But it was still Kael's magic.
"Well, yes..." Kael scratched the back of his head, choosing his words. "But the consciousness is still mine. I can use the skills, but I don't know how to teach them. And what works for me might not work for you."
He looked at her seriously.
"You're a swordsman, but not just a swordsman. The best style for you is one that fits you."
He really didn't want Erza following him around yelling "Master." That was too weird.
He wasn't lying. In the anime, Erza's magic was "The Knight."
If you want to learn, I can use Take Over and train with you sometime.
"Really?!" Erza's face lit up. "That's great!"
Kael wondered if that was her real goal all along.
...
Magnolia.
Fairy Tail Guild.
Thump!
Makarov threw a thick stack of newspapers onto the table in front of Kael and Erza.
The papers were all about the Sorbear Kingdom. Kael and Erza were on the front page.
They hadn't realized until they got back that the news had spread all over Ishgar.
A legendary dragon had appeared, and Kael Vane was now a "Dragon Slayer." This news wasn't going to die down for a long time.
Makarov's gaze cut into them.
"Explain. What happened?"
Kael Vane and Erza were kneeling in front of Makarov.
"Well... Master... we just went to do a mission. We didn't know we'd be so unlucky..." Kael started to argue, already feeling wronged.
"It was like this, Master..."
Erza immediately reported everything, including the king's plan and the fact that they had accepted an SS-Rank mission.
"Fools!"
Makarov's voice cracked like a whip.
"You two are fools!"
"An S-Rank mission is one thing, but you took an SS-Rank?! That's a dragon! A single dragon can destroy a country!"
He slammed his fist on the table.
The sound echoed.
Kael complained, "Master, it's not our fault! We hadn't even started the mission, and the target came to us! We couldn't just stand by and watch all those innocent people get killed!"
"You're still arguing! That's not what I'm talking about!"
Makarov slammed his fist again, harder.
Mirajane came over, quick and smooth, placing herself in the line of fire.
"Master, calm down. They came back safe, didn't they? It was wrong to take the mission, but it all turned out okay."
She leaned slightly toward Kael and Erza and gave them a small wink.
"You two, promise him it won't happen again."
They both understood immediately.
"Master! We promise! It will never happen again!"
Hearing Mira, Makarov's anger eased—just a little.
"Hmph! If there is a next time, I'll break both your legs. Now, get out of here!"
"Yes, sir!"