— — — — — —
After taking care of every lingering threat, Kazuma stayed in the Black Bullet World for a few more days.
Only once he confirmed everyone was safe did he prepare to leave. And the farewell party they'd been planning forever was finally about to begin.
"Hey, really, you don't have to go so far. Everyone saying 'goodbye' together is enough. All this trouble is making me embarrassed."
"Preparing gifts, the cake, the streamers and decorations—and you even rehearsed performances? Isn't that a bit too much?"
He kept protesting as he dodged one loli after another trying to block his path, eventually slipping into the living room.
What greeted him was a collapsed cake, lolis already eating it, and decorations scattered everywhere like a battlefield.
"…Maybe I woke up wrong today. Should I go back to bed and restart the day?"
Only then did Kazuma understand why they'd tried so hard to stall him. What on earth happened here?
Weren't they supposed to be sending him off? Why did the place look like the celebration had already ended?
"S… s-surprise!"
Kayo stood there holding a balloon, clearly unsure how to explain the scene. Her brain short-circuited, and that's all she managed to say.
"What is this? I'm leaving and you're all this happy? You started celebrating early?"
"I treat you all pretty well, don't I? And this is how you repay me. Truly heartbreaking."
"..." x99
"Give me a bite at least. Mmm… cream, chocolate, strawberry—everything mixed together? That's ridiculously fancy."
Kazuma walked up, snatched the cake from Kayo's hands, took a big bite, and sighed.
"Alright, gifts. Bring out the gifts."
"And the performances too. Music, dance—keep it coming. Since it's already a mess, let's just combine my farewell party with your 'finally he is gone' party."
He had fully given up—fine, whatever, let the world burn.
"There is no performance. We didn't actually prepare that…"
Kayano walked over, apologetic.
They truly hadn't held the party early. They'd just run into a tiny accident, and everything spiraled into chaos.
Well… except the performance part. That one they simply forgot to prepare.
"Then the gifts? Don't tell me you forgot that too."
"We have them! This is the best, most heartfelt gift all of us worked on together. Once you see it, you'll definitely remember us."
Kayano hurriedly had someone bring it out. She and Enju grabbed the edges and pulled open the cloth covered in bright red handprints.
Kazuma stared at the dense cluster of bloody prints, and for a moment he seriously wondered if they were threatening him.
This was supposed to be a gift? Not a threat or a curse?
While he was thinking that, a tiny footprint in the top left corner caught his attention. One look and he knew exactly who made it.
"This one's yours, right, Enju?"
He couldn't help laughing.
"Hehehe, of course! My talent really is incredible. Out of everyone here, Onii-Chan noticed mine right away!"
Enju planted her hands on her hip, chin raised high, absolutely smug.
"It's not talent. It's just that only you would think to use your feet."
"And you still have paint on your toes. You didn't even wash them properly."
"Everyone else used their hands. You're the only one who stomped on it. It'd be harder not to notice."
Kazuma flicked her forehead, then carefully rolled up the piece the girls had made and stored it away in his Treasury.
"I'll accept your feelings. I'll keep this forever. Every time I see these little handprints, I'll remember all of you."
"Even though, technically, I'll be coming back every day, so it's not something to get emotional about… but still."
"I'm heading out."
He said it gently.
"Safe travels," Kayano replied, smiling.
And she wasn't standing alone anymore. Enju, Sanae, Midori, Tina, Rita, Kayo, Louise… all of them were smiling too.
Red eyes sparkled like jewels, filled with sincerity and hope for the future.
And standing before them was the one person who accepted them, taught them, and supported them.
They all waved their tiny hands to say goodbye—except for one little rascal who happily lifted a tiny foot instead.
Kazuma couldn't help smiling back. Under all their gazes, he stepped away and disappeared into the sunset. This wasn't the end of the story.
It was the beginning of something new. The future was no longer pitch black, but glowing red like the morning sun—full of hope.
— — —
Fairy Tail World
When Kazuma returned, it was still daytime here. The first thing he did was check a clock and a calendar.
"I spent several months over there, oh man, so I missed the picnic… I'll need to come up with an excuse when I get to the guild."
"What should I say? Maybe… 'I was out on a private mission, so I wasn't home.'"
"Yeah, that sounds believable."
As he settled on that plan, a string of messages popped up in the chat group.
『Kayano: Onii-Chan, did you arrive safely?』
『Kazuma: Just got here. Smooth trip, no accidents.』
『Enju: Everything's normal here too! I'm watching Anime and everyone else is relaxing.』
『Enju: But… but we kinda already miss you.』
『Kazuma: When I'm around you don't appreciate me. I leave for what, a short while, and now you all miss me?』
『Kazuma: The saying is true. People never cherish what they already have; they only long for what they can't.』
『Miko Yotsuya: Well, they are still little kids.』
『Kazuma: All of you, I'll be back soon.』
『Kazuma: And Miko, that goes for you too. I'll be checking whether you've been working properly.』
『Kazuma: And where's Yuria? Didn't I add her to the group? Is she too shy to talk?』
『Miko: No… she fainted from heatstroke during PE class.』
『Kazuma: Heatstroke… I honestly don't know whether to laugh or sigh. Make her do more exercise with you.』
『Kazuma: With that level of stamina, I'm afraid ghosts won't kill her—she'll die from exhaustion first.』
He had considered teaching Miko and Yuria the Six Powers. But after thinking it through, he gave up.
The biggest problem? Their physical condition wasn't even good enough to start training.
They couldn't handle the most basic steps. They'd be better off doing elementary workouts.
Seriously, students these days had terrible stamina.
『Miko: Got it. We'll exercise with Hana from now on.』
『Kayo: Yuria is the definition of a delinquent girl.』
『Sanae: Eh? B-but Yuria-chan is super cute and obedient. She doesn't seem delinquent at all…』
『Kayo: I meant she's a 'delinquent' as in under-nourished, under-developed, and in poor physical. A triple-threat delinquent.』
『Midori: That… actually makes a lot of sense!』
『Kayano: To make sure none of us end up like that, remember to drink milk every day, exercise, and go to bed early.』
『Kayano: That way, when we grow up, we won't turn into Yuria. We'll turn into Hana.』
At her words, everyone's minds instantly conjured two images: On one side, Yuria, technically a high schooler but built like a tiny loli. On the other, also a high schooler, but with a body that was… generously gifted, and bounced three times whenever she so much as breathed.
In that moment, everyone silently resolved to eat properly, sleep properly, and take care of themselves.
『Tina: Then what do I do? I sleep during the day and wake up at night.』
Tina carried owl genes, so her lifestyle matched an owl's. She slept in the day and was only active at night.
『Kayano: Then sleep a little earlier in the day and wake up a little earlier at night.』
『Yuria: I-I've actually been eating properly, drinking milk, and sleeping early every day…』
『Yuria: And… and I'm still young! I can still grow! I'll… I'll definitely develop more!』
『Kayo: Highly unlikely. At your age most development is already finished. There's not much chance of anything changing now.』
『Yuria: Uuuuuu… Kayo, you're so mean…』
Kayo raised her hand with a blank face and made a peace sign. Victory. She'd successfully made Yuria cry.
『Kazuma: Alright, as long as you're all having fun, I'm happy. Keep living well, keep working hard, and when I come back I'll bring souvenirs.』
---
He closed the chat and took a breath, then prepared to check over his current abilities.
"Okay, first I'll upgrade the Hidden Reserve Energy."
He raised it from level five to seven. His blue energy bars increased from five to eight.
"Huh? When did this show up?"
A new ability had appeared. He focused on it.
[Haki I: Contains Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki. Each level increases all three.]
[Armament Haki: Ryuo – Concentrate armament power and release it at range, striking directly into a target's interior to damage it.]
[Observation Haki: Future Vision – Predict a certain span of the near future using powerful sensory awareness.]
[Conqueror's Haki: Killing Aura – Convert one's aura and killing intent into physical force that coats the body and boosts attack power.]
[Killing aura increases intimidation based on the target's fear of death.]
[Haki I: Next upgrade requires 10,000 mission points.]
"…Wait. Didn't I just get scammed?"
"My Observation Haki used to cost a thousand points to upgrade. Now it suddenly costs way more? I totally got ripped off."
He did the math. Yeah, it looked like he got a bad deal… or maybe not.
First, both Armament and Conqueror's Haki were things he'd reverse-engineered himself. He'd hit the limit of what he could improve alone. Now that they were unified as Haki, he could just spend points to upgrade. That was a benefit.
Second, his versions of Armament and Conqueror's Haki are mainly magic, unlike the original.
"…Forget it. It's already done."
After a short complaint, he tossed the thought aside and kept reviewing his gains.
Eight full blue bars of energy. A fully loaded, fully sustained, wild endgame boss. Encounter him and surrender immediately.
No normal person could beat a pay-to-win player. Unless they were cheating too. And sorry, but his cheats came stacked on top of the pay-to-win.
Cheats plus P2W. Who was going to fight that? Just lie down and accept your fate.
Once he finished his checkup, he headed for the guild.
---
Standing before the familiar doors, he smiled.
"Feels like forever. Guess I kinda missed this place."
With that, he kicked the doors open and strode inside, calling out: "I'm home!"
"Welcome back. Could you leave again real quick?"
Mira approached with a radiant smile.
"Mira, I know skipping the picnic and bailing on everyone was bad, but I really had something important to do."
"If it's that big a deal, I'll pay for another picnic. You don't have to treat me like this."
"I just got back, and you're already kicking me out?"
He looked genuinely puzzled.
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean if you don't move, Natsu, Happy, and Loke are going to be crushed."
She pointed to the floor near the door. The three had been happily walking out together when his kick blasted the doors open and flattened them.
"Oh, Natsu, Happy, Loke… If you want to sleep, go home and sleep. Don't lie down at the front door."
"See? You got stepped on. Don't let it happen again."
He shook his head and stepped down from the door.
"You jerk!"
"We weren't sleeping! You kicked the door open and crushed us!"
"At least apologize! Telling us 'don't do it again' is too much!"
"Yeah!" Happy added. "Too much! And without one fish I absolutely cannot be consoled. I'll cry right now!"
Natsu and Loke stared at him like, Happy… seriously?
"Happy, you must be joking. You can't solve a serious problem like this with just one fish." Natsu said in a serious tone.
Loke nodded. Right. If a single fish fixed everything, they'd be dirt cheap emotionally.
"...I see."
"One isn't enough. Two at least. Three would be perfect."
Happy said this with total sincerity.
"…Happy… I suddenly feel bad for you. Natsu, are you starving him on purpose?" Kazuma looked at Happy with a strange look.
"Mira, three grilled fish. Giant-sized. My treat. Our Happy is so pitiful."
Looking at the skinny little cat, Kazuma couldn't help feeling pity. If three fish made him that happy, what about five or ten?
"Really? Kazuma, you're such a good person!"
Instantly cheered up, Happy started dancing around him. A cat had simple dreams. All he wanted was grilled fish.
Once he'd soothed Happy and the others, Kazuma sat at the bar.
"You know… it's actually a good thing you didn't come to the picnic. You have no idea. That picnic was… sigh… indescribable."
"I seriously regret going."
Mira looked exhausted as she pulled a news magazine from under the counter and handed it to him.
"You're exaggerating. Worst case you guys broke some stuff."
Laughing, Kazuma opened the magazine… and froze.
Inside was a huge rolling mass of… something. It looked like a giant dung ball being pushed along by a dung beetle.
And wedged right in the middle of it were several very recognizable members of Fairy Tail.
.
.
.