— — — — — —
BOOM!
Before Cana could even react, Kazuma's attack was already underway. A beam of pure magic light shot out in an instant, streaking across the battlefield and slamming straight into its target.
"So fast!"
"With that kind of firepower, there's no way the other guy survived~ right?"
Cana pulled out a magical telescope from her deck of cards and peered toward where the signal flare had gone up.
What she saw made her eyes widen — a girl in a blue outfit, her chest blown open by a gaping hole.
But even with a wound like that, she wasn't dead. The injury dissolved into water, and her body quickly began to regenerate.
"She's fine?! What the hell is going on with this chick?"
"Wait a sec… that mark on her— that's the Phantom Lord guild emblem! They were the ones attacking your shadow soldiers earlier!"
Cana was stunned. That kind of direct hit should've vaporized anyone, yet somehow the girl was still standing. It had to be some kind of special magic.
"Water magic," Kazuma said coldly. "She can turn her body into water, letting her dodge most attacks. That means she's from Phantom Lord — Juvia the water mage."
"Phantom Lord, huh? Should've just blasted her from the start instead of talking."
"I knew it—doing things the civilized way is always wrong."
Cana rolled her eyes. "Are you for real? You never talked in the first place. You literally just pulled out your cannon and started shooting."
"Details, details," Kazuma replied casually.
He narrowed his eyes. Observation Haki — Future Vision — activated.
The future flickered before his eyes.
---
—) In the foresight (—
"Miss Juvia! Are you okay!?"
The client rushed over, pale-faced at the sight of the gaping hole in Juvia's chest.
"Don't come any closer!" Juvia choked out, coughing up blood. "There's a powerful mage in the distance— he's attacking!"
She forced herself to stay upright, her breath ragged. That blast had nearly killed her. Even turning into water to avoid the worst of it hadn't spared her from serious injury.
"Juvia really is unlucky," she muttered to herself, her voice trembling. "Trying to do one good deed, and this is how it ends."
The enemy's power was overwhelming. She couldn't even sense where the attack had come from, let alone fight back.
And those black shadow soldiers — they moved like living weapons, just like her guild master's magic. There was nowhere to hide.
"Guess this is it for Juvia… huh."
For the first time, Juvia felt a crushing helplessness. She'd always thought she was strong, but now… now she realized how weak she really was. She couldn't even withstand a single blow.
"The lady whose name Juvia doesn't even know," Juvia whispered softly, watching the next beam of light draw closer. "Can Juvia ask you something? Do you… like rainy days?"
The client blinked, startled. "Huh? Um, not really. No."
She was being honest — her job kept her constantly on the move, and rain just made everything harder.
Juvia smiled faintly. "Yeah… no one really likes the rain. And no one likes the one who brings it either. Even Juvia hates the rain sometimes."
Her voice grew faint, drowned beneath the roar of the oncoming energy. "But… Juvia never thought that in the end, all she'd see would be dark clouds again. Juvia… really wanted to see the sun shining just once."
Her umbrella was long gone. Her face was soaked — she couldn't even tell if it was rain or her own tears.
As the beam grew closer, she stopped resisting. There was no point anymore.
"Miss Juvia! Move!"
The client lunged forward, trying to push Juvia out of the way. But her body was already dissolving into water — the woman's hands slipped right through her.
And in the next instant, the blast engulfed them both in blinding light.
Nothing remained.
---
—) Future Vision ends — back to the present (—
Kazuma frowned. "...Am I really that bad? I wasn't even trying to kill her. The second shot was just to scare her — I even made it easy to dodge. So that's on her, not me. I'm not the villain here."
Then something clicked. "Wait… the other woman looks exactly like the client?"
Cana blinked. "Hold up — what?"
"Phantom Lord's even stealing my jobs now? That's low, even for them!"
Kazuma scowled. Something felt off. He'd already accepted this commission, and the Magic Council had approved it officially. There was no reason Phantom Lord should be interfering — it didn't make sense.
He summoned back his shadow soldiers and demanded a report.
The six shadow soldiers looked at each other awkwardly, then pulled something from the darkness — several severed monster heads — and held them out to him like trophies.
"...So they finished the job, brought back proof, and the client still didn't pay? Is that it?"
"Then she hired Phantom Lord to ambush Fairy Tail instead? That's crossing the line!"
"Do they really think Fairy Tail's just gonna take that lying down? Once I deal with this, I'll flatten Phantom Lord myself!"
He remembered everything Phantom Lord had done to Fairy Tail in the future and felt his anger boil over. So this wasn't the first time they'd played dirty — they'd just been covering their tracks.
"Not this time," he muttered. "They're not getting away with it."
Cana just stared. "Uh… what are you even talking about? And why are your soldiers waving monster heads around? Are they trying to scare someone?!"
Kazuma looked completely serious. "Scare? No, they're reporting. Look — the mission was to exterminate the monsters. They did that. Then they brought back the heads as proof to show the client. But on the way, they were attacked. Simple."
The shadow soldiers began gesturing wildly to reenact the events, and Kazuma nodded like it all made perfect sense.
Cana, meanwhile, looked like she had a headache. "I… don't think they're communicating what you think they are. That looked exactly like a threat display. Who shoves severed heads in someone's face to say hi?!"
Kazuma crossed his arms. "The way I see it, we've got three facts. One — the job wasn't paid. Two — the client's side attacked my soldiers. Three — Phantom Lord's involved. You still think this is a misunderstanding?"
"Maybe! Just… let me go talk to them first, okay? You've already got the upper hand. Just… let me try."
Before he could argue, Cana took off toward Juvia and the client. She raised her hands calmly as she approached.
"I'm from Fairy Tail," she said. "Name's Cana. Don't do anything rash — our S-Class mage already has you in his sights."
She gave a sheepish smile. "And, uh, fair warning — he's kind of got a short fuse. He's already said about ten times he wants to blast you."
Cana didn't move any closer. Their guilds didn't exactly have a friendly history, and Kazuma's suspicions — while a bit overblown — weren't completely unfounded.
"Fairy Tail… so that emblem really was Fairy Tail."
The client bowed her head slightly. "Miss Cana, we're deeply sorry for what happened earlier."
"I'll pay ten times the original reward," she said earnestly. "Just please, tell your companion to spare Miss Juvia."
Cana frowned. "That attitude doesn't fit the story we thought. Something's off."
"Ma'am," she said carefully, "you're the client, right? Maybe there's been a misunderstanding?"
"There's no misunderstanding," the woman said quickly. "I didn't pay enough before, and now I'll pay ten times more. Just please, don't hurt her."
Cana sighed. "No, there has to be a misunderstanding. Let me explain—"
After a long, careful talk, things finally started to click. They compared their sides of the story and realized the truth:
The entire mess had started because the shadow soldiers couldn't talk.
(The shadow soldiers froze. Wait—what? We're taking the blame for this?!)
Once Cana pieced it all together, she returned to Kazuma and explained everything. Then, with her at his side, they walked together toward the client and Juvia.
Kazuma crossed his arms, expression unreadable. "So it was a misunderstanding, huh? That's fine and all… but the fact you attacked my soldiers still stands. At this point, the reason doesn't matter."
"It was them who attacked Juvia first!" Juvia protested, clutching her chest. "Juvia only fought to protect herself!"
She could barely stand under the suffocating pressure rolling off of him. His magic wasn't just powerful—it weighed on the air, almost tangible. She'd thought closing the distance would make things easier, but now that she was this close, she realized just how out of her league he was.
From far away, she'd only sensed he was strong. Up close? It felt like standing before a dragon.
"Hmm…" Kazuma paused, narrowing his eyes. "Hold on a sec."
Normally, he would've just dismissed her words. But after everything that had happened, even he decided to be a bit cautious this time. He turned and asked his shadow soldiers again. After a few moments of silent glances, one of them pointed upward toward the sky.
Kazuma followed the gesture and muttered, "Ah. This cursed rainy weather again."
Then it clicked. The scene from his future-sight flashed through his mind—Juvia's final words.
He exhaled softly. "Guess it really was a misunderstanding."
Turning back to her, he added, "I won't take my payment for the job. And as for you, Juvia…"
Juvia blinked. "Juvia… doesn't need anything. She just wants to go home alive."
She wasn't about to ask for more from someone this unpredictable. The guy clearly had a few screws loose—one wrong word and he'd probably start another fight. Best to stay quiet and leave as soon as possible.
Kazuma's tone softened. "Relax. I'm not gonna hit you now."
She didn't relax.
He went on anyway. "Your dream is to see the sun and a clear blue sky, right? As an apology for the misunderstanding, I'll make that happen for you. No charge."
He said it so matter-of-factly that she almost didn't register it. For some reason, he'd just decided to grant her deepest wish—something she'd never told anyone.
Her eyes widened. "How do you… know that?"
"This is the first time Juvia's met you! How could you possibly know that!?"
He shrugged. "No, I'm not a mind reader."
"You—wait! You knew Juvia was gonna ask that before she even said it! You are a mind reader!"
Juvia's voice rose in disbelief. He'd answered her question before she could even ask it. What else could it be?
Kazuma sighed. "It's complicated, and explaining it would be a pain. So, how about this—let's just stick to the deal. You want clear skies or not?"
"Juvia… wants to," she murmured, voice trembling. "But it's impossible. Ever since Juvia was little, wherever she goes, the clouds follow. The rain never stops. Juvia's never seen the sun."
Her gaze drifted upward to the dull, endless gray above. The sky looked just like how she felt inside—heavy, cold, hopeless.
Kazuma frowned. "Why run from clouds when you can blast them apart?"
He raised his arm, and magic surged behind him. "You said yes, so I'll make it happen."
A magic cannon unfolded at his back—sleek, glowing, and deadly. The air itself vibrated as it charged to full power.
Cana's eyes went wide. "You're not seriously—!"
Too late.
The beam fired.
For a moment, it was like all sound had been erased. The light was blinding—pure white, burning brighter than the sun itself. Juvia stood frozen, eyes wide, finally realizing that the blast he'd used earlier… wasn't even full power.
If he'd fired that at her before, no magic could've saved her. She'd have been completely vaporized.
"It's… beautiful," she whispered, awestruck.
Cana couldn't hear her own thoughts anymore. The sheer pressure of the magic made her heart pound. Just standing beside Kazuma felt like being crushed under a mountain.
Then—boom!
The beam struck the clouds, exploding like a thunderclap that shook the sky.
The dark cloud tore apart. And sunlight poured through.
Golden rays scattered across the ground, warm and dazzling. Blue sky stretched endlessly overhead.
"It's… so beautiful…" Juvia breathed.
She stared upward, lost in the sight. So this was what it looked like—an open sky without clouds. The sun, bright and alive.
She lifted a trembling hand, trying to catch the light like raindrops. Of course, she couldn't. The warmth slipped right through her fingers—but it lingered on her skin, soft and gentle.
Something so ordinary for everyone else… was a miracle to her.
Kazuma watched her for a moment, then pulled something small from his coat—a little white charm with a smiling face.
"Here," he said, placing it in her hand. "It's a magic sunshine doll. Doesn't really do much, but it'll keep the rain away from you. Consider it a bonus gift."
Before she could reply, he turned to collect the payment from the client, then prepared to leave.
Juvia clutched the doll tightly. It looked silly, childish even—but somehow, her frozen heart started to thaw.
She didn't understand why. This man had been her enemy only moments ago, yet now she couldn't stop watching him walk away.
"U-Um…" she called out, her voice trembling. "Do you… like rainy days?"
Kazuma turned slightly. "They're fine, I guess, but I don't wish for them. I'm always doing jobs outside — getting soaked sucks, and umbrellas are a pain."
Juvia smiled faintly, looking down at the doll in her hands. Then, after a long pause, she lifted her head again.
"Then… then do you like Juvia?"
Her voice was soft, barely louder than a whisper—but it carried all her nervous hope.
The first time she'd ever met someone who didn't hate the rain… and somehow, she wanted him to like her too.
Cana watched from a few steps away, shaking her head with a sigh.
Looks like Fairy Tail just gained another lunatic.
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Every 200 PS = a bonus chapter