Mira reached behind the counter and pulled out a sealed document pouch marked with a large, crimson "S."
Kael's eyes lit up at once. Daily life in the guild was fulfilling, but nothing got his blood pumping like the thrill of an S-Class request. He reached out and snatched it up before anyone else could notice.
"Mira! Has anyone else seen this yet?" He checked the wax seal—it was still perfectly intact.
"Not yet," Mira whispered, a playful glint in her eyes. "I just received it and ran straight over to give it to you."
Only after she said it did Mira realize she'd skipped several protocols. Normally, she was supposed to present the request to Makarov for official registration before posting it on the exclusive S-Class board upstairs. From there, any S-Class mage could choose to accept it.
But the moment she saw the rank, her first thought hadn't been the rules.
It had been Kael.
Kael looked at her, genuinely moved. On impulse, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and planted a firm kiss on her cheek.
"Mwah!"
"You're the best, Mira. Thanks!"
Kael turned and headed toward Makarov with the mission in hand.
Mira stood frozen, her brain briefly short-circuiting. When the reality of what had just happened caught up to her, her face turned a vivid scarlet. She frantically glanced around, hoping the guild's chaos had swallowed the moment.
She was wrong.
Nearly everyone was staring in stunned silence. Overwhelmed by embarrassment, she buried her face in her hands and bolted into the back room.
"So they really are together!"
"Winning Mira's heart that fast… is that the true power of an S-Class wizard?"
"What does power have to do with it? He's just smooth!"
"Yeah? Then you try flirting with a woman who can turn into a literal demon. If you aren't S-Class, you've got no business even trying!"
The gossip mill kicked into overdrive, though no one was truly surprised. Even without an official announcement, the way Mira looked at Kael—how her eyes softened whenever he spoke, how his favorite drink somehow appeared before he even sat down—had made their feelings an open secret.
Kael walked straight up to Makarov, who was nursing a drink at the far end of the bar.
"Master. I'm taking this job."
"Hmm?" Makarov peered over his spectacles. "I thought you were done working for the week. What changed your mind?"
His gaze dropped to the pouch with the big red "S." He nearly choked on his beer.
"Pfft—! Brat, where did you get that? I haven't even seen the new requests yet!"
"Mira gave it to me."
"Mira, huh?" Makarov sighed, shaking his head with a reluctant smile. "I suppose I can't keep that girl in the nest forever. Her wings are definitely pointing your way."
He broke the seal and pulled out the request form.
Mission Name: Save the Children!
Rank: S
Content: The children of the Elbaf Kingdom have been kidnapped by an unknown group of villains. The kingdom requests the aid of powerful mages to rescue them.
Reward: 15,000,000 Jewels.
Makarov's expression shifted instantly. The jovial mood vanished, replaced by a deep, pensive frown.
Noticing the change, Mira—who had peeked back out from the kitchen—asked anxiously, "Is something wrong, Master? Is the mission too dangerous?"
S-Class missions were always life-threatening, but if the Master looked this concerned, the risk was on a different scale. Kael was strong, but his magic reserves were his Achilles' heel. If he ran dry in hostile territory, he'd be a sitting duck.
Makarov shook his head. "It's not just the danger. It's the location. I'm quite familiar with that name… Elbaf."
"Elbaf?" Mira echoed. It wasn't a name she recognized from the standard maps of Fiore.
"It's not surprising you haven't heard of it," Makarov said. "Elbaf is a secretive, isolationist nation. They rarely deal with outsiders. But in the ancient texts, they're known by another name."
He paused, then looked Kael straight in the eye.
"The Kingdom of Giants."
The entire guild went dead silent.
"Giants?! You mean the legends are real?"
"I thought that was just a bedtime story!"
"Dragons were bedtime stories too," someone muttered, "until they weren't."
Makarov ignored the murmurs and continued. "The people of Elbaf are incredibly formidable. They don't typically use magic the way we do, but their sheer physical might surpasses most high-level wizards. A single giant is like me using Giant Magic at full power—and there's an entire nation of them."
He looked back down at the request. "For a kingdom like that to ask for outside help… whatever took those children must be terrifying. Kael, if you go, you can't just be 'cautious.' You have to be ready for the impossible."
[Ding! Successfully accepted S-Class mission: Please Save the Children!]
The system prompt rang in Kael's mind, sending a jolt of excitement through his veins.
"Don't worry, Master," Kael said lightly. "You know me—I'm the most careful guy in Fairy Tail."
"That's exactly what worries me," Makarov grumbled.
Kael turned to Mira and made a playful heart shape with his fingers. With a spring in his step, he headed for the door. "I'm off! Don't miss me too much!"
Mira couldn't help smiling, her heart fluttering as she watched him go.
Makarov glanced at her and huffed. "Next time, don't go opening the back door for that brat. There's a reason I check these missions first."
Mira stuck her tongue out in response. She knew she'd broken protocol—but in that moment, she'd only wanted to see Kael happy.
Kael made quick work of the logistics. He packed light, fueled by the excitement of a new S-Class adventure. The Kingdom of Giants lay on the far edge of the Ishgar continent—a journey that would take a merchant caravan more than a month.
Kael, however, wasn't a merchant.
He took a high-speed train to Hargeon Port, arriving late in the evening. After a night's rest, he headed to the docks and used a Take Over to summon Ace's striker—the small, fire-powered boat. He blazed across the coastal waters, reaching the Taliman Grand Canyon by the second day.
To cross the impassable terrain, he switched forms. Taking over Ulquiorra Cifer, he took to the skies—black wings slicing through the wind as he bypassed weeks of treacherous mountain climbing in a matter of hours.
By the third day, the horizon itself felt different.
Massive, towering structures emerged from the mist. Kael landed and returned to his human form, then stood before a gate so enormous it looked like it touched the clouds. The stone walls were weathered, yet they carried a majesty that made everything in Fiore feel like a dollhouse.
Kael stared up at the gargantuan architecture, letting out a low whistle.
"So… this is where the big guys live. Incredible."