Following a long-standing Fairy Tail tradition, the guild threw a massive, raucous party to celebrate the arrival of a new comrade. And this time was certainly no exception.
The festivities stretched on for half the day. Throughout it all, the faces of the guild members were illuminated with genuine, joyful smiles. Over the course of those few hours, Night was able to get to know everyone present much better. This experience was vastly different from what he remembered from the anime—these were living, breathing people now, not just drawn characters on a screen. After all, no matter how intimately you knew a story's plot, nothing could ever truly compare to personal, real-life experience.
In turn, the guild members also formed a distinct impression of Night. To sum it up briefly, the general consensus was: "Incredibly strong, but terrifyingly sarcastic and cunning!"
Gray felt this more acutely than anyone else. When, in the middle of the party, a newly conscious Natsu charged at Night with a feral yell—only to be instantly knocked out cold with a single punch yet again—Gray's suspicions were entirely confirmed. This black-haired guy his own age was undeniably the most dangerous creature on the planet, far more terrifying than Erza herself!
…
The next day.
The Guildhall.
Night stood before the request board, carefully scrutinizing the flyers pinned to the wood. Judging by the slight furrow of his brow, not a single one of the jobs appealed to him.
"Night-kun, your first day in the guild and you're already itching for a fight? How hardworking!" a bright, girlish voice rang out, accompanied by the faint, unmistakable scent of alcohol.
Night turned his head to see Cana standing beside him. Her eyes were slightly glazed, and a rosy flush painted her cheeks—it was glaringly obvious that she had already polished off more than one barrel of wine.
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I found a great house yesterday evening. But my pockets are completely empty, so I need to take on some jobs to scrape together some cash!"
"Oh, Night-kun, then let's team up! Don't worry, I won't get in your way—my Card Magic is actually really strong!" Cana offered, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Inwardly, she was gleefully rubbing her hands together: if she took on jobs with Night, she would never have to worry about booze money ever again!
Night instantly saw right through her cunning little scheme. He found it amusing, but outwardly he simply replied, "I'm certainly not opposed to teaming up. It's just that the rewards for these jobs are way too low. Even if I completed every single one of them, I wouldn't even come close to having enough for that house! So I'm in a bit of a bind."
"What?!" Cana's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. She stared at the request board, then stammered in horror, "There are jobs here with a reward of 300,000 Jewels! Night-kun, just what kind of house are you planning to buy...?"
"That vacant mansion on the southern edge of town," Night answered calmly.
"...That mansion..." The corner of Cana's mouth twitched nervously. She frantically racked her brain, trying to recall which house on the southern edge of town he could possibly mean... "You don't mean that massive villa, do you?!" Cana's jaw dropped, practically hitting the floor.
The house on the southern edge of town was the most luxurious, extravagant villa in the entire city! Due to its astronomical price tag, it had sat empty for years. If her memory served her right, that mansion cost... one billion Jewels!!
"Yeah, that's the one," Night's tone remained completely unfazed, as if he hadn't even noticed Cana's sheer shock.
"..." Cana was utterly speechless. This new guy's appetite was... simply astronomical!
"The pay down here is way too low. But up there, the rewards have got to be much better..." Night muttered, casting a meaningful glance toward the guild's second floor.
Only S-Class Mages were permitted to set foot on the second floor. That was where the S-Class and higher-ranked requests were kept. Such missions often bordered on suicidal, and their sheer difficulty was far beyond the capabilities of ordinary wizards. To prevent mages from throwing their lives away on reckless endeavors, the guild had implemented a strict rule: access to the second floor was strictly forbidden to everyone except S-Class Mages.
"Catch!" a voice suddenly called out from the side.
The sharp whistle of something slicing through the air followed. Night raised his right hand and effortlessly caught the three flyers flying straight at him.
"Wow! And here I was wondering why there weren't any decent jobs on the board. Turns out you snatched up all the good stuff beforehand!" Night chuckled, glancing at the flyers before shooting an ironic look at the approaching Laxus.
Three jobs. All three were A+ rank subjugation missions. Two of them involved exterminating magical beasts, while the third was a mission to wipe out a dark guild. Subjugation missions were notoriously the most difficult, but they also paid the most. The rewards for these three missions were 2 million, 3 million, and 5 million Jewels, respectively!
"So, you want to tag along?" Laxus asked as he drew closer.
He had specifically handpicked these jobs, fully intending to complete them solo. But after Night's arrival, the thought of teaming up had crossed his mind. Before meeting Night, Laxus wouldn't have even considered bringing someone else along on a mission, not even in his wildest dreams.
"Since you're offering, why not!" Night rolled up the flyers and smiled.
Then, remembering Cana standing right beside him, he turned to her. "Cana, didn't you want to team up? We've got the jobs, ready to head out?"
"A-Ah?!" Cana, who had been frozen in a state of sheer terror ever since Laxus appeared, frantically waved her hands and stammered, "N-No, t-thanks, I c-changed my mind!!"
With that, she bolted out of the guildhall like a bat out of hell. Are you kidding me?! Those are subjugation missions! And with Laxus, no less! Cana decided that her life was worth far more than a few barrels of wine!
"Night, you really shouldn't associate with these weaklings so much. They'll only drag you down," Laxus frowned. At the word "weaklings," a flash of undisguised disgust flickered in his eyes.
"Oh, come on. Everyone in this world who's strong was once a weakling. Besides, if there weren't people you consider 'weaklings,' how would we even know what 'strong' is? Loosen up, Laxus!" Night shrugged, completely unfazed by the blonde's harsh words.
Hearing this, Laxus fell silent. One could only guess just how deeply Night's words had struck a chord within him.