— — — — — —
The lively night finally came to an end. The celebration went on until midnight.
When the clock hit twelve, Fafnir and the others got ready to leave.
Before heading off, Fafnir called Kazuma outside. There were things he needed to say.
"As Tohru's friend, there's something I have to bring up. She really likes you… but humans and dragons are not the same."
"Tohru will have to return to our world eventually. If she stays among humans too long, she might not be able to go back to the dragons at all."
Fafnir stared at Kazuma with those dead-fish eyes of his, expression grim and tone unusually serious.
This wasn't him saying something because he despised humans—this time, he genuinely cared about Tohru.
"If she can't go back, then she won't. If dragons don't accept Tohru, then I will." Kazuma replied casually. Since they'd signed their contract, he would never waver. If this world had no place for Tohru, then Fairy Tail would be her final home. That would never change.
Fafnir shook his head slightly. "I'm glad you think that way. But humans live too short. Sure, while you're alive, you can accept Tohru."
"But after a hundred years? You'll die. Everyone she knows in this world will die too. She'll be alone again."
"And at that point, wearing that 'human disguise,' suppressing her true self as a dragon… she might not even have the choice of returning to dragonkind."
Fafnir stared hard into Kazuma's eyes, trying to find something—deceit, greed, desire.
But there was none. Kazuma's gaze was steady, calm, as if none of what Fafnir said was enough to make him waver even a little.
"What happens a hundred years from now can wait for a hundred years later. As long as I'm alive, this is Tohru's home."
"No matter who says what, no matter what happens—if Tohru wants to stay, she'll always have a place here."
Kazuma wasn't going to worry about whether he'd die in a century. He was alive now.
If he couldn't even handle what was right in front of him… If he started doubting himself here, then he'd never survive long enough to keep any promise.
"Kazuma… I love you the most!"
Tohru suddenly burst out from who-knows-where and threw herself into Kazuma's arms. She had heard everything.
Tears welled up in her eyes. This was probably the first time Kazuma had expressed his feelings for her so plainly.
Tohru was both happy and touched. Holding onto him, she turned her head toward Fafnir.
"Fafnir, thank you for worrying about me. But I won't regret my choice. Every moment I cherish right now…"
"When I lose it someday, it'll hurt terribly. But I still believe I'm making the right choice. Even if things fade… I lived them. Those memories will never disappear."
"Whether it's a hundred years, a thousand, or ten thousand—I'll remember everything that's happening right now."
She lifted her hands and cupped Kazuma's face, her big eyes locked onto his.
"I really don't get you," Fafnir muttered. "But since you've made up your mind, I can't say anything else. Human, take care of Tohru from now on."
He turned away. A magic circle appeared at his feet—his way back to the other world.
"Thanks for the party, Tohru-chan!" Lucoa waved with a bright smile. "It was really fun. But we've gotta go. Bye-bye!"
She took a few steps, then suddenly paused and looked back, hesitating for a moment. "Mm… one more thing. Tohru-chan, your dad seems to have found your location. He'll probably be here soon. You two should get ready."
She said only that much. Even though she was Tohru's friend and strong as hell, she was an observer.
She couldn't interfere in fights. Even if someone she treasured was in danger, she wasn't allowed to step in. That was the rule of their world.
"Thank you, Lucoa."
Tohru understood. She didn't blame her. In fact, she was grateful—being warned at all was already more help than Lucoa was supposed to give.
Lucoa wanted to say something more, but it turned into a sigh. Then she left.
"So… Father is coming."
Once everyone was gone, Tohru lowered her head. Her usual optimism vanished from her eyes, replaced by sadness and worry.
As the daughter of the Emperor of Demise, she knew exactly what her father was like. He always acted according to his own absolute principles.
If he arrived, he would definitely drag her back by force. And if she resisted… there was a real chance he'd simply erase Kazuma.
"Tohru, how strong is your old man?" Kazuma suddenly asked.
"Mm, very strong. Really strong. If he's serious, he could beat me in an instant."
But the moment she looked up, her sorrow disappeared like it had never been there, replaced with her usual cheerful smile.
"But don't worry! My dad's not that bad. I'll talk to him properly. It'll be fine."
"..." Kazuma didn't buy it.
"Tohru, dragons' eyes can see through lies. Mine can do the same. So don't force yourself to act all cheerful around me. And don't you dare think about sacrificing what you want."
"If you sneak off with your dad, I'll storm that world myself and drag you back."
"I've been working hard to get stronger to do whatever I want. If I can't even keep the person I care about the most, then what does that say about me? About my efforts? I'm not that useless."
"Tohru, leave your old man to me."
Kazuma reached out and patted Tohru's head. He knew the Emperor of Demise was probably terrifying and that he might not be able to win right now.
But compromise? Never. He'd rather die fighting than step back.
"No, don't say you'll handle it alone. We'll handle it together. I don't want to leave, so when my dad comes, we'll face him side by side." Tohru couldn't hold it in anymore.
Her father was the strongest, scariest dragon in her world.
Yet Kazuma didn't even hesitate to say he'd fight him for her. Hearing him call her the person he treasured most, his lover (yeah, the "lover" part was something she filled in herself), Tohru couldn't suppress her emotions one more second.
"Then training starts tomorrow. Hardcore training."
Kazuma made up his mind. He'd push himself as hard as possible, get stronger before the Emperor of Demise arrived.
"What about school?" Tohru asked.
"To hell with school. I'm about to fight a dragon so strong it's ridiculous. You think I have time to worry about these kids?"
Tohru hugged him again, this time with a genuinely happy smile.
---
The next morning, the special training began
"Old man! Hand over the protagonist cheat!"
Kazuma tracked down Ittosai, ready to learn how to better control his power. Asking directly was faster than fumbling around on his own.
"The what-now? I have no clue what you're talking about."
Ittosai blinked blankly. He was an old man — he didn't follow whatever weird terms kids came up with these days.
"It's simple. I want to get stronger. First step is learning better control over my power. So I'm here to ask you."
Ittosai scratched his head. "Getting stronger? Didn't you already deal with that whole Thirty-Four Pillar mess? Why the sudden rush?"
"That's handled. Now I've got a… small problem. Tohru's dad is coming."
"Oh? If you're worried about hospitality, I can personally help greet him. Since this is my dojo and I'm the oldest, it's more appropriate for me to take the lead."
Ittosai assumed Kazuma was nervous. Fair enough — he'd been a wreck when he met his father-in-law for the first time too.
"No, not 'greet him'. Tohru's dad is the Emperor of Demise, Damocles. The leader of the dragon chaos faction. And he's coming to drag Tohru back."
"So obviously I'm gonna fight him. Before that, I need to get stronger."
Ittosai took a sip of tea and immediately sprayed it everywhere.
"What did you just say?!"
He didn't know the Emperor of Demise personally, but he definitely knew about the chaos faction. A horde of battle-crazed dragons.
And their leader had to be a monster among monsters.
"I'm gonna fight the Emperor of Demise. Best case, kill him. Actually no, he's Tohru's dad, so I'll just beat him half to death. Enough so he knows who the real boss is."
Kazuma clenched his fists. If he fought, he fought to win. Going in scared was a guaranteed loss before the battle even started.
"You insane brat. Dragons are top-tier terrifying beings in any world. And that's just regular dragons — their elites are something else entirely."
"You're going to die. Seriously, you're going to die! Those Pillar guys you beat before are nothing. Dragons are on a completely different level!"
Ittosai couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kazuma always managed to stir up trouble. First demons, now dragons.
Was he not afraid of anything? How could he say he was going to fight the dragon leader so calmly?
"I know. Exactly because I know he's strong, I have to take this seriously and train."
Kazuma had already started digging through the GOB for anti-dragon artifacts, along with burning all his stored mission points to power himself up.
This fight would take everything he had.
Ittosai finally exhaled. "Kid… fine. With that kind of spirit, I'll help you."
Looking at Kazuma's fearless eyes reminded him of his own youth.
So what if it was a dragon? Humans would never submit. Demon, dragon, doesn't matter — if you come to the human world, you act properly.
.
.
.