— — — — — —
"Juvia, since you moved over here… did you find a place to stay?"
Once they'd kissed their fill, they continued their walk, with Juvia holding on to him even more tightly.
"I stayed in an inn for the first few days, but recently Mira recommended the guild's women's dormitory. It's only a hundred thousand a month, and I checked the rooms and the facilities—they're all great."
"Each room has a private bath. There's a library downstairs and even a big public bathhouse. And best of all, it's super close to the guild."
"So I'm planning to move in soon," Juvia said.
Fairy Tail's women's dormitory was basically a fully equipped apartment complex. "Dormitory" was practically false advertising.
Everyone living there exercised… complete freedom.
Virgo had turned her room into a mini zoo.
Levy built a personal library inside hers.
And Erza—because she owned too many things—rented five rooms in a row and turned them into a small museum. She stored her clothes, weapons, and armors there; her Requip pocket dimension wasn't infinite, after all. The less-used gear stayed at home.
"Oh, I totally forgot our guild even had a women's dorm."
"I was actually thinking… if you didn't find a place, you could just move in with me. My house is huge anyway. But since you already did, pretend I didn't say anything."
Kazuma's house wasn't rented. He bought it after completing his first million-J mission. Not enormous, but definitely big enough for several people.
"No, no, I'll go! I'll go live at Kazuma's house!"
Juvia reacted instantly, eyes sparkling like two excited stars. A dorm full of girls couldn't compare to living with Kazuma.
"I can cook, I can clean, I can do laundry, massage your shoulders, warm the bed."
"I can even pay rent! A hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, a million—whatever you want!"
She was practically vibrating.
"No need for rent. Just cleaning and… well, all that stuff," Kazuma said. "We'll count it as rent."
He didn't need her help—the Shadow Corps could handle everything—but he knew she'd feel guilty doing nothing. Better to give her something to do.
"Juvia will work hard! I'll go move my things now!"
She actually owned quite a bit—typical girl stuff: clothes, plushies, umbrellas… more umbrellas... well, lots of umbrellas.
"I'll take care of it."
Kazuma snapped his fingers.
A swarm of shadow soldiers rose from the floor. "Go move her belongings."
...
Led by Juvia, they marched to the inn she was staying at, picked everything up, and vanished into the shadows with it.
Using the shadow realm for transport, everything was moved and neatly arranged inside Kazuma's house within minutes.
The ultimate utility squad truly lived up to their reputation.
"That magic is amazing."
"It's even more incredible than Shade magic. It doesn't just fight—it can do delicate work too."
Juvia had been impressed the first time she saw them.
"Are they… alive?" she asked curiously.
From what she knew, summoned soldiers were usually just dead constructs. They could fight, but they were stiff, mechanical, and followed simple commands. More complex tasks required the caster to split attention and manually control them.
But these shadow soldiers weren't like that at all.
They could cook. They could move delicately. They could appear in massive numbers. It was unbelievable.
"No, they're just made of shadows. If they're destroyed, they go back to being shadows."
Though they looked like intelligent summons, they were more like sentient darkness. The Shadowkhan.
"That's even more amazing! Normal summons eat up tons of mana, so you don't get many of them."
"Dead constructs require barely any energy, but they're rigid and can't do much."
"But your magic combines the intelligence and autonomy of summons with the quantity of constructs. It has all the strengths and none of the weaknesses. That basically qualifies as ancient magic."
"Not bad," Kazuma shrugged. "Only drawback is their individual strength is still lacking."
Recently, when he used natural energy to summon them, their bodies grew darker—not in color, but in density. Their shadow energy condensed, increasing their raw strength, speed, and defense.
He had a feeling this power still had room to grow. Maybe he should upgrade them using 100 points.
...
While chatting, they returned home and entered the empty spare room beside Kazuma's bedroom. It had already been set up nicely—Juvia's belongings arranged with care.
"Everything's in place. As for decorating… want to go pick out some furniture?"
The sky wasn't dark yet. Plenty of time to shop.
"No, no, Juvia can pick furniture on her own. We should go to the places you like."
She waved frantically. Today was a date. They should do things Kazuma enjoyed.
He looked at her. "Juvia, do you know my philosophy?"
"Eh? No…"
"My philosophy is: if someone gives me something, I should give back. You took me to places I like. Now it's my turn to take you to places you like."
"So come on. From here on, it's not you following me—it's me accompanying you."
Before she could respond, he took her hand and led her out.
"T-then… I'll be in your care."
Feeling his attention, his affection, Juvia couldn't stop herself—she leaned in and stole another kiss.
After another round of shopping, they brought home the furniture and arranged it. In moments, the once-empty room had transformed into Juvia's personal space.
Sky-blue curtains. A soft fluffy rug. A pretty desk by the window with a bookshelf beside it, filled with magic books and beginner guides.
A big princess bed covered in plush toys, pink sheets radiating pure girliness.
"This is Juvia's room…"
She looked around, and for the first time in a long while, her wandering heart felt like it had finally found a home.
"It's missing one thing."
Juvia walked to the window, removed her sunshine charm, and hung it on the hook.
The sun outside was already sinking. Warm orange light spilled into the room.
But even if the sun outside set and disappeared, her room—and her heart—would always have a sun that never went out.
Always warm. Always bright. Always chasing away the cold around Juvia.
"A… a nightlight?" Kazuma muttered.
The charm glowed faint golden light, and he instinctively associated it with a night-lamp.
"Kazuma, let's take a picture to remember this. I'll go buy a magic camera—"
"No need to buy one. I've got a camera right here."
Kazuma reached into his Treasury and pulled out a magic camera. It was an upgraded model, capable of capturing the mood of a moment perfectly.
"How do you want to take it?" he asked.
"We should stand by the window together. Lean in… yes, just like that. That angle is perfect."
They stood in front of the window, sunset glowing warmly behind them, the sunshine doll hanging above their heads.
"Alright, I'm taking it."
He let one of the floating drones hold the camera. Just as he triggered the shutter—
"Mm!"
Juvia rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. The camera captured the moment forever.
The picture developed quickly. Kazuma slipped it into a magical photo frame and handed it to her.
"This is Juvia's treasure. Juvia will protect it. Not even a scratch will be allowed," she declared.
In the photo, Kazuma wore a gentle smile, and she—blushing, shy, but clearly happy. Even the sunshine doll seemed to be smiling at her, almost like it was congratulating her on finding someone she liked.
The picture was alive, and there was a slight movement.
"You don't have to worry that much. The frame is magical too. Time won't damage it. Normal fire, water, even physical impact won't hurt it. Just leave it on your desk."
"And even if something happens, we can always take another one." Kazuma looked at her protectiveness and couldn't help smiling.
"I know… but I'll still keep it safe," Juvia said softly.
She placed the frame on her desk. From now on, every morning she woke up, she'd see this photo. And she'd remember today's happiness.
"Alright, everything's set. Time for dinner."
"Juvia will cook! Don't order takeout. Please leave it to Juvia!" She hurried to the kitchen, clearly determined to impress.
Kazuma shook his head and stepped out of the room. Right before closing the door, he paused, took out a plaque from his treasury, and hung it on the door.
"Juvia's Room."
Satisfied, he headed to dinner.
---
The next morning, right after breakfast, Kazuma received a new interworld mission request.
[Ding~]
[New mission received.]
[Destination: Beelzebub world (Soon to fuse with other anime universes)]
[Client: Ishiyama High Principal]
[Mission: The Principal's Plea]
[Client's Message: "Please, I don't care who you are, just save me!"]
...
"Alright, I accept."
He agreed automatically and was about to leave—when he suddenly remembered someone else was in the house.
"Juvia, I'm heading out for a mission. I might be gone a few days."
"Ok, stay safe." She stepped out of her room wearing glasses, reading guild postings to find a suitable mission for herself.
Kazuma paused and looked back.
He grinned. "Being sent off like this isn't a bad feeling."
He stepped outside—and the moment he was out of her sight, he crossed worlds. In an instant, he appeared in an office.
In front of him sat a very normal-looking old man dressed like a gardener… yet he was sitting in the principal's chair.
"You're the requester, right? I'm the one who came to help. Yes, I know it's shocking that I suddenly appeared, but that isn't important. Explain your request."
Kazuma waited.
"Ahem… I need a teacher."
"Our Ishiyama High School has a delinquent rate of one hundred and forty percent. Nobody wants to teach here."
"We had a new teacher recently, but he… isn't available anymore. So we need someone to fill in."
The old principal gave the weak, helpless smile of an average elderly man, yet he never questioned how Kazuma appeared out of nowhere. Anyone able to serve as principal in this school was definitely not normal.
"I'll take it. What do I need to do?"
"Teaching is up to you. I don't expect much. You can do anything you want."
"One term. About four months. Just show up every day and survive. Preferably without losing an arm or leg."
"Your salary will be several times higher than normal schools, of course. Mission payment is separate."
He didn't even need Kazuma to bring up payment; the old man volunteered it himself. Experience had taught him.
Kazuma did some quick mental math. "Salary plus mission reward… one million."
Reasonable for four months of work. And it was an interworld mission: money, mission points, achievements, and guild progress all came with it.
"Fine," he agreed.
"But you must survive. Also… you're the only teacher in the entire school. All classes may end up depending on you."
"I know it's unreasonable, but I'll increase your pay tenfold!"
In any normal school, that salary would be outrageous.
But in Ishiyama High, just having a teacher at all was a miracle. Having one survive to the next day was an even bigger miracle.
If this boy could endure four months, he'd be worth ten million easily.
"So I'm the only teacher. Meaning the whole school is basically mine. Whatever I say goes. As long as I don't accidentally kill the students, right? This job isn't as boring as I thought."
"Uh... sir I meant—" The principal was about to clarify, but Kazuma cut him off.
"Relax, Principal. I won't kill anyone. At most I'll beat them half dead."
Kazuma turned to leave. First day on the job—he needed to establish dominance.
...
"..."
"W-wait… I meant you, not the students…"
The principal stared at the empty doorway, sighed deeply, and muttered, "Never mind. I'll go pull weeds."
.
.
.
(A/N: Since Beelzebub is a lesser-known series, its world will soon merge with others to form a multi-anime crossover. Stay tuned.)