**Chapter 17: I Am a Man With a Dream**
Makarov roared in annoyance, "Stinky brat! Stop talking nonsense! Why would the Magic Council want to destroy Fairy Tail?!"
"How would I know? I'm not part of the Magic Council. Maybe the Guild Master offended someone?"
Makarov's teeth itched with anger at Kaito's words. This little bastard refused to take any responsibility. Offend someone? He was always kind and friendly to everyone—how could he possibly offend people?
"Since you won't admit it, I'll read it to you line by line."
"In Krokas City, citizens reported that you destroyed thirteen shops, over twenty houses, and several streets. Mrs. Trosa's beloved dog Alice also died because of it. The orchard farmers reported that five fruit trees were cut down."
The moment Kaito heard that, he jumped up and shouted, "Fake news! It's all fake news! There was clearly a group of robbers committing theft. I acted heroically to uphold justice and eliminated those robbers without regard for my own safety. I'm a great hero who saved the people!"
"Acting heroically is fine, but the Magic Council interrogated the criminals. They only wanted to rob some money. The properties could have been preserved, but because of you, although the money was recovered, everyone's livelihoods were completely destroyed."
Kaito pressed his palms together in prayer. "Sigh! It's truly pitiful to encounter such disaster, but as long as the people are alive, there is hope. Besides, they kept their money. If they bought commercial insurance, they would've made a huge profit. So Guild Master, you should buy some insurance too. You can put my name as the beneficiary. I guarantee I will lead Fairy Tail to become the strongest magic guild."
The corner of Makarov's mouth twitched. He really wanted to slap this brat. He angrily shouted at Kaito, "Stinky brat! I'm only 82 years old and in excellent health! I don't need insurance! I still have my own grandson alive! Why would the beneficiary be your name?! Don't you know you've already been blacklisted by every major insurance company?!"
"Tch~!" The old man was quite sharp despite his age. As for being blacklisted by insurance companies, that had happened half a year ago. After all, mages caused a lot of destruction, so almost every guild mage bought accidental damage insurance, just like mandatory car insurance.
However, there was no full coverage—only shared responsibility at different ratios, similar to health insurance. The higher the coverage ratio, the more expensive it was.
After all, insurance companies needed to make money too. No company could afford full coverage for mages who destroyed things at will.
Mages who didn't buy insurance were basically treated as high-risk or dark guild members. Except for Kaito.
Because of the massive destruction he caused and his repeat offenses, insurance companies wouldn't even offer him the lowest 50-50 split. As a result, after a whole year, his dream of becoming a landlord still hadn't come true.
"Mrs. Trosa's beloved dog Alice died?"
"It was crushed to death, but that has nothing to do with me." Kaito clearly remembered that expensive poodle. It had been right in front of him and died quite miserably, so the memory stuck.
"It says here the dog was so scared when it saw you that it curled up on the ground with its head in its paws and wouldn't move no matter what."
"I don't know anything about that. You can't scam people like this!"
"And the fruit trees in the orchard?"
"Uh… That's just a habit."
When Kaito got hungry and passed by the orchard filled with ripe fruit, as a village tyrant it felt just like being back home.
He used to go to his brothers' orchards to pick fruit all the time. Since climbing trees was too much trouble, he would just cut the trees down and eat to his heart's content. Who knew the trees actually belonged to someone?
Makarov had calmed down by now. He had experienced this kind of thing many times and was used to it. Getting scolded by the Magic Council and then scolding Kaito was the only way to make him feel better.
"Let's put that aside for now. What about the dark guild matter?" The words "dark guild" were always taken seriously in regular mage guilds.
After all, where there was light, there was also darkness. Dark guilds handled all the dirty work, such as assassinations. Regular guilds and dark guilds were eternal opposites.
"They tried to assassinate me. I don't know the exact reason. I've destroyed so many dark guilds—there must be a few relatives or something among them. Anyway, I don't care."
Makarov looked at Kaito's completely unconcerned expression. Although he knew this mindset was dangerous and one should never underestimate any enemy, this little brat's strength really did make him completely unafraid of any schemes from those small fries.
"Clack!" Kaito put down his utensils and pressed his palms together. "I'm full!"
All the food on the table had been completely devoured. Kaito then habitually popped a lollipop into his mouth—a habit from his time on Earth.
Because of his abnormal appetite and physique, Kaito always carried a large stash of candies in his bag to replenish his energy. That was why, during his first mission in Fairy Tail, he could casually pull out a handful of candies to give to the children.
Then Kaito stood up. Makarov asked, "Stinky brat, where are you going?"
"To work, of course! I am a man with a dream. One day I will definitely make my dream come true." Kaito's eyes were filled with determination.
The corner of Makarov's mouth twitched. He knew exactly what Kaito's dream was. Not only him—the entire guild knew. Every time Kaito mentioned his dream, Makarov wanted to beat him up badly.
Such a young and powerful mage, yet his biggest dream was to become a landlord and collect rent. When asked what he would do after becoming a landlord, Kaito answered that he would build more houses to collect even more rent. Simple, powerful, and extremely punchable.
"Don't go yet. There's a guild event in three days. It's about that time of year again."