[Quest "The First Pot of Gold!" has been completed. Please claim your quest reward!]
The column that originally listed three quests now had two grayed out, leaving only the S-Class quest uncompleted.
But what made Roland feel strange was...
"How did I complete this quest?"
He clearly hadn't accepted any quests; he had only crushed Laxus.
Just as he was wondering, a Shadowkhan ninja appeared silently beside him, knelt on one knee, and respectfully handed him a small bag of coins.
"..."
Taking the bag of money, Roland had a blank expression.
They didn't steal this, did they?
But he hadn't given any order to steal.
"That's their payment. After all, your shadow magic was a huge help, Roland."
Mirajane said with a smile, placing a glass of orange juice in front of him.
"They need to rest and eat too, right? In a way, it's similar to Celestial Spirit Magic."
No, it's completely different...
Although these Shadowkhan could work for a hundred years straight without eating or drinking and still not die, looking at the gentle smile on Mira's face, he didn't say it out loud.
If he said something like that, wouldn't he be a complete monster!?
Silently accepting the coins, Roland took a sip of the iced orange juice, the cool, sweet and sour taste spreading in his mouth.
"By the way, Mira, is the guild hiring servers?"
Roland asked thoughtfully, looking at the Shadowkhan bustling about their work in the guild.
In any case, since he could summon the Shadowkhan and there were no distance limitations, leaving two or three of them here to work and earn some extra cash would be a good idea.
"Eh? Are you planning to work part-time here, Roland?" Mirajane, clearly not expecting such a question, blinked in a daze.
Putting other things aside, with the strength he had just displayed, he could easily take on S-Class quests.
You have to understand, the minimum reward for an S-Class quest is seven or eight million J, which is equivalent to an ordinary person's annual salary.
"Currently, Miki and I are the only servers. When it's a holiday or we have a party, it does get a bit hectic."
Although she was confused, Mirajane answered seriously.
"It's just a part-time job. In a way, my magic is quite suitable for this kind of work."
Roland said with a light laugh.
"Well, that's true..."
Mirajane glanced at the diligently working Shadowkhan. After some thought, she held up a finger and kindly reminded him, "But the salary for this job is low, only two hundred thousand J."
After paying rent, that amount would barely be enough for daily expenses—as for buying magic items, that would be out of the question.
"No problem. Also, could I get a month's salary in advance?"
"Sure, you can, but... are you short on money?"
"Because he was scammed out of all his money yesterday morning."
Levy, who was quietly drinking her orange juice beside him, said in a small voice.
"He ran into a scammer?" Mirajane's eyes widened in surprise. Then, she thought of something and couldn't help but ask, "Then where did Roland stay last night..."
"Cough, cough—"
Before she could finish, Levy, knowing what was coming, became visibly flustered. In her panic, she choked on her drink and couldn't stop coughing, covering her mouth.
Noticing her intense reaction, a wild guess suddenly formed in Mirajane's mind. She looked at the two of them with a peculiar expression, her mouth slightly open, at a loss for words.
In the end, she could only give Levy a knowing smile.
I never thought the usually shy Levy would be so bold in such matters!
Bringing a man she'd known for less than a day back to her room, in the girls' dormitory no less.
What does that smile mean!?
"Mira!"
Levy's face was bright red as she glared, both embarrassed and angry, at Mirajane, who was covering her mouth and chuckling.
"Alright, alright, I'll go get little Roland next month's salary in advance."
Seeing the blue-haired girl's face was about to explode with redness, Mirajane stopped teasing, left that sentence, and walked towards the counter.
As the barmaid left, Levy slumped onto the table as if all life had left her. A young girl's shyness made her instinctively bury her face in her arms.
Roland couldn't help but chuckle at such a cute display.
"..."
Hearing the chuckle beside her, Levy tilted her head slightly, her moist eyes sneaking a peek at him.
"Want some xiaolongbao? My treat."
Roland said with a smile.
"Xiaolongbao?" A flicker of confusion appeared in Levy's eyes. She couldn't help but ask, "What's that?"
"It's a staple food from my hometown. If I had to describe it, it's kind of like the filled buns here."
"Are you going to make them?!"
Levy asked, blinking.
"No, it's a magic item I got during my travels. It can generate all kinds of food in unlimited quantities," Roland shook his head.
Hearing of such a magical item, Levy's curiosity was piqued.
Under her expectant gaze, Roland took out a pure white tablecloth with a symmetrical pattern from thin air and unhurriedly spread it on the table.
"Whatever you want to eat, just say it to this Gourmet Tablecloth."
"Then I want a strawberry cake!"
Hearing this, Levy gave it a try and called out.
The next moment, under her incredulous gaze, a huge strawberry cake suddenly appeared on the table.
"No way..."
Levy murmured in disbelief.
However, that sense of absurdity vanished completely after she tasted a bite of the cream.
"It's delicious! Compared to the strawberry cakes sold in cake shops, the texture and taste are just as good!"
Popping a strawberry into her mouth, Levy praised it subconsciously.
"If Erza knew about this item, she'd probably be pestering you for cake every day."
Erza... The Titania.
Roland propped his chin on one hand.
"Yo, Levy! I found a good quest, wanna go!?"
Just then, a cheerful voice called out from not too far away.
Roland looked up and saw a man with orange hair wearing a cowboy hat and a coat walking over, followed by another tall, slender figure.
"That's Jet and Droy. They're my teammates."
Levy wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth and quickly explained.
Her nervous expression seemed to show she was afraid he would misunderstand.