The duel ended with Statiw's undeniable victory after Natsu was completely restrained on the ground and unable to escape. Although Natsu was not convinced, he had to admit that he had no means to free himself from the restrained state at that moment.
"Here, this is what you won." While Natsu was constantly challenging Statiw for a rematch, Mirajane, with a beaming smile, handed Statiw a thick stack of banknotes. This time, only Statiw, Mirajane, and Erza won the bet. The others sighed and flocked to the mission board to choose quests.
The mages of Fairy Tail typically only took on quests when they were short on money; when they had money, they would stay in the Guild, drinking and chatting with others. This bet left almost everyone completely broke, so the Guild became much quieter. Besides the underage children and the trio of Statiw, Mirajane, and Erza, only a few people who hadn't participated in the bet remained, sitting there, drinking, chatting, and openly mocking those who had lost.
Originally, Statiw was worried that all the quests would be taken by those who lost the bet, leading to a significant decrease in the number of quests available for a while, which would force him to postpone buying a house. However, after receiving the banknotes from Mirajane, he realized he no longer needed to take on quests, as he now had enough money to buy a house.
Although this money wasn't enough to buy a house in the city center, it was certainly enough to purchase a decent house on the outskirts of the city. Thinking of this, Statiw immediately stood up and walked out of the Guild.
"Hey, Statiw. Don't go, let's have another round." Seeing Statiw ignore him, Natsu, with Happy, quickly chased after him.
"Huh?" Mirajane, who was currently competing with Erza, heard Natsu's shout and turned her head to see Statiw already at the Guild's entrance. Curious about what he was going to do, Mirajane decisively gave up competing with Erza and turned to chase after him.
"Hmph, don't think you can run." Erza, seeing Mirajane chase after him, also became curious. She shouted, "Don't run!" but was already chasing after Statiw.
"Cana, Elfman, let's go see too." Seeing Natsu, Mirajane, and Erza chase after him, Lisanna, Elfman, and Cana, who were sitting nearby chatting, also had their curiosity piqued.
After leaving the Guild, Statiw hadn't gone far when Natsu and Happy ran up beside him and shouted, "Statiw, let's have another match! This time, I definitely won't lose!"
"That's right, Statiw, you're too stingy! Have another match with Natsu!" Happy also flew in mid-air and said.
"Sorry, Natsu, Happy. I have something to do right now." Statiw rolled his eyes, somewhat helplessly.
"Something to do? What is it? Is it some secret mission or special training?" Natsu's mind immediately started to wander upon hearing his words, occasionally throwing two punches at the air in front of him.
"Hey, Statiw. Why are you in such a hurry to leave the Guild? What are you going to do?" Then, after a few steps, Mirajane's voice came from behind him again.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Erza said, "Are you in such a hurry because there's something difficult you need help with? It's alright, tell us. As your Guild companions, I will definitely help you."
"Uh, no. Erza, I'm just about to..." Statiw saw both Mirajane and Erza chasing after him, scratched his head, and was about to explain.
Before he could finish, Lisanna, pulling Cana, and Elfman, who was rushing behind them, quickly ran over from a distance. Seeing this, Statiw simply stopped. He wanted to see how many more people would follow.
Running up to the group, Lisanna looked at everyone who had stopped to wait for the three of them, her face full of confusion, and asked Mirajane, "Sister, has something happened?"
"You'll have to ask him." Mirajane pointed at Statiw, then crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him.
"What do you mean, ask me?" Statiw looked speechlessly behind Lisanna and the other two, then began to explain, "I'm just planning to buy a house. I'm on my way to..."
"Buy a house? Why are you in such a hurry to buy a house? Isn't living in the Guild good enough?" Erza was startled upon hearing this and asked, somewhat puzzled.
"It's not that it's not good, it's just that a house is something you'll eventually buy. Buying it sooner will make things easier later on."
"That's true." Erza nodded in agreement with his statement, then suggested, "Since that's the case, we'll go with you to take a look. That way, we'll have some experience when we want to buy a house later."
"If you're willing to go, I certainly have no problem with it. However, I'm currently going to inquire and see if anyone is selling a house." Statiw had no objections to them accompanying him. He first explained the current situation to everyone.
"Didn't you inquire before buying a house?" Erza was startled and said seriously, "You should inquire about these things beforehand."
Statiw shrugged and explained, "Originally, I still needed to complete many quests to save enough money to buy a house. So I wasn't in a hurry to inquire about houses. However, I didn't expect to win so much in this bet, and I suddenly had enough money to buy a house. So..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Cana, who was nearby, suddenly said, "If that's the case, I might be able to help you a little."
"Oh?" When Cana spoke, everyone looked at her curiously, wondering what kind of help she was referring to.
"Did you forget? I can tell fortunes." Cana, seeing everyone looking at her, smiled softly and said, "I can help you divine a direction, which should save you a lot of walking."
"Hmm. That's a great idea, let's start quickly." Mirajane nodded at this point and immediately decided.
"So, Statiw. How much capital do you have? Where do you plan to buy a house?" Cana took out her cards, shuffling them while asking him relevant questions.
"I have 4.7 million. If I buy a house in a more peripheral area of Magnolia, it should be more than enough. However, since I'm buying in a more peripheral area of the city, I hope to buy it near the Guild." Statiw immediately answered her questions.
"Near the Guild?" Cana nodded, then, after shuffling the cards, handed them to Statiw and said, "Draw one from them."
After he drew a card, Cana took it and saw that the pattern on it was a rising sun. Below the sun was a forest, and at the edge of the forest was a riverbank.
"This is..." Cana looked at the pattern and said, "The house you're looking for is in the east where the sun rises, at the edge of a forest, near a river..."