Seeing the situation inside the room clearly, Statiw sighed softly and turned to close the door.
Although he didn't say much to these women, an inexplicable anger rose in his heart. Driven by this fury, Statiw quickly searched through the entire bandits' lair. Every bandit he encountered was struck down with lightning speed.
While using his Pict Magic to create a strong, combat-ready body, even without the finesse of a true hand-to-hand expert, dealing with these ordinary bandits was still effortless for him.
By the time he had swept through the entire lair, tied up all the defeated bandits, and dragged them into the main hall, Natsu had also finished his part of the fight. Most of the bandits were knocked unconscious and tied up by Natsu. Of course, these guys were also thoroughly scorched by his flames in the process. The few bandits who had tried to flee were frozen in place by Gray, who was guarding the entrance.
After Statiw found enough clothes and delivered them to the captive women, then helped them leave, Happy flew in a small arc in the air and asked, "Statiw, what do we do now?"
"Happy, the fighting was for me, Natsu, and Gray. Now, it's your turn to shine." Statiw tossed the last bandit he was holding onto the pile with the others and said with a chuckle to the Exceed.
"Yes, sir! Please give your orders." Happy, hearing that he had a mission, immediately puffed out his chest and saluted Statiw.
Seeing Happy's eager appearance, Statiw also put on a serious face, clasped his hands behind his back, and commanded solemnly, "Communications recruit Happy, I now order you to notify the client at your fastest speed. Tell him to send the town guard here immediately to take all these bandits away. Proceed immediately."
"Aye, sir!" Happy saluted Statiw again, then turned and flew at top speed towards the town.
"What do we do now? Are we just going to wait here?" After Happy flew off, Natsu leaned in and asked Statiw.
"How is that possible? These bandits have robbed so many merchant caravans; they must have a stash of treasure. Let's go find it." He beckoned to Natsu with a finger, then walked towards a side passage off the main hall.
"Treasure? Haha, let the treasure hunt begin! Let's see who finds more!" Natsu immediately became excited at the prospect.
"You guys go search. I'll stay here and watch them to make sure none of these guys escape." Gray wasn't interested in the treasure hunt. After asking for directions to the kitchen, he got some wine and food and sat by the entrance, keeping watch.
Time passed quickly. While Statiw and Natsu were rummaging through the entire camp for valuables, Happy had already informed the client. The client, who was the captain of the town guard, then led a contingent of soldiers who followed Happy back to the bandits' lair.
Upon entering the lair, the soldiers immediately began roughly handling the bandits, their looks pure venom. They looked at the captives as if they were sworn enemies.
The reason was simple: the laws of this world stipulated that if a citizen was robbed, they could report it to the Town Guard. Unlike in some places, the Guard would then use its own funds to provide an initial compensation to the victim.
Of course, one might ask what would stop someone from falsely reporting or exaggerating a loss. However, in a high-magic world, such deception was nearly impossible. Anyone skilled enough to fool the magical verification methods used by the Guard would already possess enough personal power to live comfortably without resorting to fraud. As for those who tried and failed... their fate was not a pleasant one.
After the initial compensation was paid, the victim's involvement in the case ended. It became a matter solely between the Guard and the criminals. Whether the Guard could apprehend the criminals and recover the losses—or even turn a profit—depended entirely on the Guard's own capabilities.
Generally, however, the Guard operated at a loss on these cases. After all, most criminals spent their loot. This financial shortfall came directly out of the Guard's operational budget, which was funded by taxes and, ultimately, the soldiers' pay. It was no wonder, then, that these soldiers treated the bandits with such palpable hostility.
Just as the soldiers were manhandling the bandits, the client—the Guard Captain—entered the lair and immediately barked at his men, "Be careful! Don't damage the merchandise too badly!"
No sooner had he spoken than a subordinate came to report: "Sir! A total of fifty-eight bandits were captured. After a preliminary search of the entire camp, the total estimated value of the seized property is..."
As the soldier finished, the Captain first signed the official quest completion form, then did a quick calculation. "The base quest reward is 200,000 Jewels. Fifty-eight bandits at a 5,000 Jewel bounty per head, plus the quest reward, comes to a total of 490,000 Jewels."
Saying this, one of his subordinates behind him took out a thick stack of bills, pulled 10,000J back for the administrative fee noted on the form, and handed the rest to Statiw. Statiw said nothing, took the hefty reward, and left the bandits' lair with his team.
Returning to the small town, and as it was already late, the three mages and one Exceed decided to rest there for the night and return to the guild together the next morning.
When they arrived back at the guildhall, they immediately felt the atmosphere was completely wrong. The entire guild was eerily quiet. Even the usually rowdy members were either absent or sitting silently at tables, drinking nervously, afraid to make a sound.
"What's going on?" The three mages and one Exceed were full of questions, unsure what could have happened to cause this.
Just then, Cana, who was also sitting quietly at a nearby table, softly called out to them, "Statiw, Gray, Natsu, Happy."
They moved next to Cana, and the impatient Natsu was the first to speak, though a little too loudly. "What's wrong with everyone? Why is it so quiet?"
"Shh! Keep it down!" Cana, startled by Natsu's volume, immediately put a finger to her lips, then explained in a hushed tone, "Mirajane and Erza made a bet before the S-Class Mage Promotion Exam. The loser has to unconditionally grant the winner one request..."
Cana had just said this when Statiw and Gray already understood. With Mirajane and Erza, no matter which of them lost, the resulting tension and terrifying aura would be enough to cause the current situation.
"Really? So who won?" Natsu asked, his excitement barely contained to a whisper.
"Erza won. Mirajane lost," Cana whispered back, glancing around cautiously before speaking.
"So Erza won," Natsu said, immediately clenching his fists, a competitive fire in his eyes.
"What? Do you want to challenge Erza again?" Seeing Natsu's excited look, Gray asked with a deadpan expression.
"Challenge Erza?" Natsu shivered involuntarily at the thought, vividly remembering being thoroughly defeated by her not long ago. He shook his head vigorously. "No way!"
"I didn't expect even the single-minded Natsu to stop seeking death," Cana chuckled softly, taking a sip from her mug of beer.
After Cana put her drink down, Statiw asked curiously, "So, Cana, what was Erza's request?"
Cana was silent for a moment, then leaned in and told them in a low, dramatic whisper, "Erza asked Mirajane to be her personal maid... for an entire day."