The Dark Guild: Eisenwald.
"That armor girl... what guild is she from?"
"No idea."
"She was a real beauty. Dammit, I should have hit on her."
"She's out of your league."
"What did you say?!"
Just then, a cold voice cut in from the front. "Is Kageyama back yet?"
"That seal isn't easy to break. Just wait."
"Don't drag your feet. The timing is perfect. The old guild masters are all at the regular meeting."
Magnolia Station.
"Hey! Is it really okay for us to be sneaking around like this?" Lucy whispered from behind a pillar.
Natsu peeked out, eyes bright, toward Kael Vane. "Aren't you curious? What are those two monsters—Erza and Kael—up to?"
Curious? Of course she was. More than she wanted to admit.
She'd gotten more details from the guild yesterday. That major event that shook all of Ishgar half a year ago? It was a mission Kael and Erza did together.
Then Natsu invited her to come and see what they were doing—and Lucy's curiosity boiled over.
Somehow, she'd just followed Natsu and Happy.
"Wait! Erza's here!" Happy warned. The three of them quickly ducked back into hiding.
"Sorry... have you been waiting long?"
Erza walked toward Kael, pulling a massive cart piled high with luggage.
"..."
Kael was speechless. Every time Erza traveled, she brought a mountain with her.
"No, I just got here."
"Then let's get on the train."
"Alright."
Kael helped Erza move the luggage to the cargo car. Then the two of them went to a passenger car and sat down.
As they boarded, three figures tiptoed onto the train, slipping into an adjacent car to avoid being seen.
Choo choo—!!
The train whistle blew, and the train slowly began to move, gradually picking up speed.
"Ulrgh~~!"
The moment the train started moving, Natsu turned green with motion sickness.
"You really get sick the second you get on," Lucy said. After teaming up with Natsu, she'd learned his weakness for all forms of transportation the hard way.
"They're too far away. I can't hear what they're saying. Let's get closer."
"Aye!"
Lucy and Happy were in complete agreement.
Shuffle, shuffle!
The girl and the cat crept from seat to seat, inching forward. Soon, they were in the row right behind Kael and Erza. Even with the train's noise, they could hear them clearly from here.
"It feels like we haven't gone out together in a long time. The last time was half a year ago, wasn't it? It's kind of nostalgic," Erza said, watching the scenery slide past the window.
Ever since she joined the guild, she had always done missions alone. Even after she gradually opened up and became friends with the others, her personality still made it feel like she wasn't very well-liked.
A lot of people were afraid of her. The number of people she was close to could be counted on one hand. Kael was one of them.
And Kael was the only man she had ever gone on a mission with. Even though it was only once, it felt good to have a partner by her side.
"Yeah. Back then, I was still just a rookie, and the Master assigned me to go with you on an S-Class mission."
Erza giggled. "I seem to recall you were very happy about it."
"Well~! It was an S-Class mission. The reward was huge!" Kael said, rubbing his fingers together.
He could never talk about the System; that was his secret. But besides the gacha pulls, the massive S-Class reward was a big part of it.
No one disliked money, and Kael was no exception. He not only liked money—he loved saving it. Every time he saw the balance on his magic bank card go up, he felt a quiet, stubborn satisfaction.
"You miser. How much have you saved now?" Erza asked. She knew Kael had a hobby of saving money, the same way she had a hobby of buying new armor and clothes.
"Hmm... about 100 million J, I guess."
His first S-Class and SS-Class missions had earned him almost 40 million J. After that, he completed three more S-Class missions—about 10 million J each. That put him at around 70 million. Add in the 1-million-J extermination quests, plus the smaller payouts along the way... and it climbed to about 100 million J.
"100 million?!!"
Lucy and Happy almost screamed. They clapped their hands over their mouths at the same time.
They could both see the shock in each other's eyes.
Happy knew Kael was rich, but he didn't know he was this rich.
Lucy was shocked—and instantly envious. She was still worrying about her 70,000 J monthly rent, and Kael was already sitting on a fortune.
She'd heard he had only joined the guild half a year ago. Earning 100 million in half a year... was this how fast S-Class wizards made money? It was too much.
Erza's eyes were wide, too. She knew Kael made a lot of money—he made 35 million J on their one trip—but she was still stunned to hear he had saved 100 million.
"Do... do... do you not spend money?!"
She was an S-Class wizard and made good money too, though not as much as Kael. But that one SS-Class mission, plus the tournament prize, had earned her nearly 20 million J.
But she spent most of it buying weapons and armor. Even though she'd been working for a long time, she didn't have much saved.
"Saving money is more fun than spending it."
If you spend money, it's gone. If you save it, it only grows.
"..."
Erza was speechless. "Isn't money meant to be spent? What are you saving all that money for?"
"What else? To get married, of course!"
"Get... married?!"
Erza froze. She hadn't expected that answer.
"You don't need that much money to get married."
"You spend it slowly. I can't let my wife suffer with me, right?"
"Uh... You really are a good family man."
Erza suddenly had an idea. A teasing one. She put on a playful smile and leaned in just a little as she said, "What about me? Why don't you marry me, and I'll help you spend it."
"Sure."