Chapter 687 - 687: No Dog Food

Erza once again got to indulge her inner hellish instructor, while Ultear, unable to resist the urge herself, took over one of the introductory classes.

Seven children sat in front of her—four boys and three girls, all with different hair colors, making them look like some kind of miniature superhero squad.

None of them had any prior magical training, but all seven possessed clear aptitude, which was why Jellal intended to give them particular attention.

Ultear put on a pair of glasses and held a teaching ruler in one hand as she tapped the blackboard.

Written across it in large letters were the words:

[Common Magical Attributes]

It did not take long for the students' personalities to start showing.

A pale-blonde girl was taking notes with absolute seriousness.

A chubby boy was clearly suffering through every second of the lesson, scratching his head in frustration whenever Ultear introduced another concept.

Another child seemed to have mentally left the classroom entirely and was staring into the distance, lost in thoughts known only to himself.

Of course, struggling with basic theory was hardly the end of the world.

Natsu's grasp of classroom fundamentals was atrocious, and that had never stopped him from becoming terrifyingly good at fighting.

...

At lunchtime, Raizel got to experience school cafeteria food again for the first time in years.

Jellal had specifically arranged the menu and hired proper chefs, so the food was actually quite good.

Raizel felt confident declaring it the best cafeteria meal he had ever eaten.

The afternoon was devoted to practical training, split between meditation and combat exercises.

Mira, Lucy, and Capricorn temporarily took over the meditation class, guiding the entire student body through the basics inside one of the lecture halls.

Erza and Kagura transformed into merciless disciplinarians and patrolled the room to make sure no one slacked off.

Natsu eagerly volunteered for combat instruction.

Jellal immediately stopped him.

If Natsu actually took charge of a beginner combat class, there was a very real chance the school would disappear along with its students.

Raizel and the others therefore stayed out of the combat-training portion.

Jellal left it to the academy's instructors, along with Jura and Richard, who could also demonstrate proper sparring techniques for the students.

Now that Ishgar and Alakitasia had signed a peace treaty, both continents had become considerably more stable.

Without the three major guilds of the Balam Alliance leading them, the remaining Dark Guilds were scattered and disorganized.

The Black Magic cults had also nearly been wiped out in the previous crackdown, leaving only a few isolated remnants.

As a result, Jura, Richard, Sorano, and the others had far more free time than before.

Zeref had even sent Winter General Invel out to make a public statement at one point, the message essentially boiling down to:

[The Black Wizard Zeref does not possess some divine power capable of remaking the world. Go home, find something useful to do, and stop worshipping him.]

That had more or less killed any chance of the remaining cultists reorganizing into something substantial.

After all, when Zeref himself had personally come forward to deny the mythology surrounding him, it became considerably harder for people to keep using his name to deceive followers.

By the time the sun began to set, the academy's first full day of classes had come to an end.

Raizel gathered Ultear and the others and prepared to say goodbye to Jellal, Meredy, and Sorano.

"You're all welcome to visit whenever you like," Jellal told them. "I'm sure the students would be delighted."

Sorano had both arms around Yukino again and was enthusiastically rubbing her cheek against her little sister's.

"Yukino can come whenever she wants! Or I can just go find you instead!"

...

January 15th, X787.

Raizel's group had already been back in Magnolia for three weeks.

And yet...

They still showed absolutely no intention of returning to Guiltina to continue the Hundred Years Quest.

Several days earlier, Mavis had announced that she had something extremely important to reveal.

Nothing had come of it yet.

At the end of the previous year, because Raizel had taken Kagura, Wendy, Natsu, Lucy, and several others with him on the Hundred Years Quest, only a handful of Fairy Tail members had actually been available to participate in the annual S-Class promotion trial.

Gray.

Gajeel.

Fried.

Elfman.

And Kurnugi.

Makarov had seriously considered postponing the examination altogether.

Gray, Gajeel, and Elfman had nearly started a riot at the suggestion.

In their minds, Natsu's absence represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If one of them could rise above the others and earn the title of S-Class Mage first, they would finally gain permanent bragging rights whenever arguments or fights broke out.

Unfortunately, they had overlooked one person.

Kurnugi.

Most of the time, Kurnugi looked harmless enough.

He liked drinking, bragging, and wasting entire afternoons with Macao and Wakaba.

He appeared lazy.

That was because he was lazy.

But a dragon was still a dragon.

And even among dragons, Kurnugi possessed exceptional natural talent.

Given enough time to grow, there was no reason he could not someday approach the realm of the Six Dragon Gods.

Unsurprisingly, Kurnugi ultimately won the examination.

Gray and Gajeel had even teamed up against him, with Gray activating Ice Devil Slayer Magic while Gajeel entered Iron Shadow Dragon Mode.

It did not matter.

They simply could not beat him.

The now fully grown Kurnugi possessed absurd destructive power.

A single claw strike had nearly knocked Gajeel out of Iron Shadow Dragon Mode altogether.

Gray's prized Ice Devil Slayer Bow had managed to lodge an arrow between Kurnugi's scales, but even that failed to cause any truly serious damage.

As for Kagura, she had long since stopped caring about the S-Class title.

Actual strength mattered far more than a rank.

...

Raizel's house had also undergone a major renovation while he was away on the Hundred Years Quest.

Its floor space had been expanded to roughly three times its original size, and an additional story had been added.

Construction and furnishing had been completed some time ago, so once Raizel returned to Magnolia, he simply moved in with Ultear and the others.

His recent life could only be described as extravagantly comfortable.

It was not even seven in the morning when Raizel woke.

Ultear was still asleep beside him, her hair slightly disheveled from the night before.

The blanket covered most of her figure, leaving one smooth arm exposed.

The other side of the bed had already gone cold.

Whoever had been there had clearly gotten up some time ago.

"Good morning."

Raizel leaned down and gently kissed Ultear on the forehead.

She was sleeping too deeply to respond.

At most, she smacked her lips once, shifted into a more comfortable position, and continued sleeping.

Raizel put on his sleepwear and left the bedroom.

The moment he opened the door, he saw Mira, already washed and dressed in a simple house nightdress, preparing to make breakfast.

He quietly opened Erza's room next.

Erza was still sound asleep in pajamas, sprawled across the bed with her usual terrible sleeping posture.

She had even kicked off most of her blanket.

Fortunately, Raizel had installed underfloor heating during the renovation.

He stepped inside and gently pulled the blanket back over her before leaving.

Kagura was already awake as well.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Raizel could see her outside in the courtyard, dressed in training clothes and practicing her swordsmanship.

She sensed his gaze and stopped mid-swing.

Turning toward the window, Kagura narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled, her expression bright enough to rival the winter morning.

In the kitchen, Mira opened the refrigerator.

Like an ordinary wife deciding what to prepare for her family, she lightly rested one finger against her lips and studied the ingredients inside.

Her eyes widened slightly in thought.

Even without makeup, the small gesture and contemplative expression made her look effortlessly beautiful.

Then a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her waist from behind.

Mira seemed to have expected it.

She merely lifted one hand and gently patted the back of his.

"Why are you up so early?"

Raizel's voice was still slightly husky from sleep, low and warm against her ear.

Mira tilted her head toward the man resting his chin on her shoulder.

A soft, affectionate smile naturally appeared in her eyes.

"What about you? You're awake just as early."

Then her smile deepened.

"Weren't you tired after last night?"

Raizel froze.

He blinked several times, clearly not expecting Mira to be the one who suddenly took the conversation in that direction.

Then he grinned.

"Mm... not really."

He tightened his arms around her slightly.

"Honestly, I think I could skip breakfast and just have you instead."