While Erza was slaying the Green Wyvern, Mirajane, with the help of the newly arrived Gildarts, easily defeated the Thorny Lizard.
Gildarts then revealed that Erza had not been aimlessly wandering the forest as Mirajane had assumed, but had actually located the Dragon's lair before her.
Therefore, after entrusting Elfman—who was currently performing a Take Over on the Thorny Lizard—to Gildarts, Mirajane quickly rushed toward the Green Wyvern's lair.
Unfortunately, she was still a step too late.
By the time she arrived, Erza had already slain the Green Wyvern on the spot.
"Damn it, I'm a step too late!" Mirajane looked at the dead Green Wyvern and shouted in extreme frustration.
"Mirajane, are you ready?" Erza, whose mood was excellent after just slaying the Green Wyvern, heard the shout, turned her head, and addressed Mirajane with a mischievous smile.
"Ready for what?" Mirajane, currently annoyed, didn't think much of it and asked directly.
"Have you forgotten?" Cana, who had walked over from a distance to Erza's side, reminded her. "Didn't you two make a bet that the loser would unconditionally grant the winner one request?"
"What?" Mirajane's heart sank at the reminder, and she instantly recalled their wager.
---
While Mirajane and Erza were negotiating the terms of their bet, Statiw, Gray, Natsu, and Happy had already found the bandit camp.
It must be said that these bandits were indeed very well hidden.
Their lair was behind a waterfall, and to make the entrance even more concealed, they had positioned a movable boulder in front of it.
Looking at the huge stone before him, Gray's mouth twitched as he said, "These guys really know how to hide. No wonder the town's army couldn't find anyone during several sieges and had to return empty-handed. If Statiw wasn't here this time, Natsu and I alone wouldn't have been able to find them."
"Gray, you're too heartless, what about me?" As soon as Gray finished speaking, Happy, who was beside him, heard that he only mentioned Natsu and himself, and immediately flew in front of Gray to protest.
"Right, and you too," Gray nodded in acknowledgment.
"What do we do now?" At this moment, Natsu, who had been standing to the side, turned to look at Statiw.
Statiw pointed at the boulder and said to Natsu and Gray, "What else can we do? Of course, we move this boulder."
"Oh." Hearing Statiw speak, Natsu and Gray both came to the side of the boulder and pushed against it hard.
Seeing that they couldn't budge the stone with just their strength, Happy also flew over to help. However, they still couldn't move the huge rock.
"Hey, even though you're the captain of this operation, you can't just stand there and watch, can you? Hurry up and help us." After exerting himself for a long time to no avail, Gray complained to Statiw, who had been observing them.
"Got it." Seeing this, Statiw immediately walked next to Natsu, raised his hands, and pushed against the huge stone with force.
With the combined strength of the three, the huge stone was finally moved, rumbling as it was pushed aside.
What was revealed was a passage only a dozen meters long, and at the end of it was a huge cavern.
Just then, Natsu shouted excitedly, "Happy, let's go!"
"Aye~!" Happy responded and immediately flew behind Natsu, grabbing him and carrying him inside.
"Hey, you two…" By the time Statiw reacted and tried to call them back, the two had already flown far into the passage.
"Now, what are you going to do?" Gray said with a look as if he was watching Statiw make a fool of himself.
"Tch, what's the big deal?" Statiw said disdainfully. "I've already considered this situation."
Then, he glanced at Gray and instructed, "Gray, you guard the entrance. Don't let a single one escape. Remember not to kill them. The more of these guys we capture, the higher the reward will be."
"So that's it." Gray said with an expression of sudden understanding. "I was wondering why you were so adamant about not killing these bandits. So the fundamental reason is here. All that talk about a mage's qualifications being revoked was just talk, wasn't it?"
"Just know it in your heart," Statiw said, turning around to walk deeper into the bandits' lair.
However, what Statiw said was not without basis. In this world, if a mage kills too many people, their standing as a legitimate mage can indeed be revoked. But the fundamental reason for this rule is not solely about morality during missions.
One must know that this world is a high-magic world, with all manner of magical experiments emerging endlessly. Some of these experiments require human subjects. Using civilians for this is unthinkable and would cause a kingdom to collapse. It was this dilemma that brought bandits, robbers, and murderers into view. Capturing them alive served two purposes: it eliminated societal troublemakers and provided a source of test subjects for state-sanctioned magical research, all while maintaining a veneer of legality.
What Statiw had said about a higher reward for more captives was, in fact, a reflection of the bounty paid for live prisoners, issued through the official request system.
Watching Natsu causing a ruckus in the spacious hall at the center of the bandits' lair, Statiw gently shook his head, turned, and entered a side passage.
Not long after entering this passage, a bandit emerged from a corner at the other end, fastening his belt and grumbling.
Seeing this, Statiw immediately leaped in front of the man. Before the bandit could see clearly, Statiw executed a spinning two-kick combination.
The bandit, who had just been engaged in strenuous activity and was already irritated by the sudden noise from the hall, was caught completely off guard. A green shadow suddenly jumped up, and two spinning, heavy blows struck his head, instantly rendering him unconscious.
"It seems Natsu's shouting has alerted all the bandits," Statiw muttered upon landing. He glanced at the unconscious man, then turned the corner to see where the bandit had emerged from.
He opened the door to a small room and saw a group of young women inside, all in a state of undress. Discovering the door had been opened, the women huddled together, trembling in the corner, and looked at Statiw with terror.
Statiw, after suddenly pushing open the door, was momentarily stunned by the scene before him…