Chapter 113: The Kingdom of Giants, Elbaf
Mira pulled out a sealed, heavy parchment bag from behind the temporary counter. It was marked with a large, ominous, red 'S'.
Upon seeing it, Ren's face, which had been bored and listless, immediately lit up with a surprise and excitement that he couldn't hide.
Although working on the Fairy Tail Guild's reconstruction was fulfilling in its own way, this was what he had been waiting for. S-Class Quests were always more exciting. They were the key to his gacha pulls, the source of his true power.
Ren quickly took the bag from her, his fingers brushing hers. "Mira, have others not seen it yet?"
Ren saw that the wax seal on the bag was still intact, clearly unopened.
"This... I just got it from the delivery guild," Mira said, her cheeks flushing slightly. "And I... I immediately ran over to give it to you..."
Mira then remembered the normal procedure: she was supposed to show it to Makarov first, register it in the guild's ledger, and then post it on the S-Class Quest board on the second floor (which didn't even exist right now), where the S-Class Mages could choose whether to accept it.
But when she saw the 'S' rank, she had immediately thought of Ren and his obsessive, almost desperate, hunt for these missions. So, she had brought it directly to him.
Ren was deeply moved by Mira's gesture. He knew, better than anyone, what this meant. She had bypassed guild protocol for him.
He immediately leaned in, wrapped his arm around Mira's waist, and gave her a loud, resounding kiss on the cheek.
"Mwah!!!"
The sound echoed slightly in the noisy construction site.
"Thanks, Mira. You're the best."
Ren, his good mood completely restored, took the quest packet and went to find Makarov, leaving Mira standing there, completely stunned.
She was frozen for a moment by Ren's sudden, public action.
After she realized what had just happened, her face instantly turned a bright, furious red. She quickly looked around, her eyes wide, afraid that someone had seen them.
But as soon as she looked up, she saw... almost everyone in the Fairy Tail Guild. Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Macao, Wakaba, even Erza... all of them were staring at her, their hammers, saws, and (in Natsu's case) fists, frozen in mid-air.
The entire construction site had gone dead silent.
Clearly, everyone had seen it. This realization made Mira incredibly shy. She let out a small "eep!" and covered her face with her hands, running away to hide behind the temporary bar.
"Ren... and Mira... they... they kissed!"
"He just... in front of everyone!"
"He managed to win Mira-san over so quickly! Is this the power of an S-Class Mage?"
"What does this have to do with power, you idiot?!"
"If you're not even an S-Class Mage, what right do you have to pursue Mira-chan?"
"That's... actually true..."
The Fairy Tail Guild members who witnessed this scene weren't too surprised. Although nothing had been officially announced, everyone with eyes could tell what was going on from their daily interactions.
When Mira was at the Fairy Tail Guild, whether talking, chatting, or working, she always showed a bit of favoritism towards Ren.
The look in someone's eyes when they like another person cannot be hidden; their gaze is involuntarily drawn to the other person. And Mira... Mira rarely let Ren out of her sight.
Ren, oblivious to the chaos he had caused, took the request form directly to Makarov, who was overseeing the placement of a large support beam.
"Master, I want to take this job."
"Huh?"
Makarov was a bit surprised. He turned, looking at Ren.
'This kid,' he thought, 'he only does S-Class Quests. He's been sulking for days. Why has he suddenly changed his mind?'
He looked down at the packet in Ren's hand and saw the large, red 'S' written on it.
"Pfft—!" Makarov almost choked.
"You rascal! When did you get an S-Class Quest? The board is still empty!"
"Mira gave it to me," Ren said simply.
"Mira..." Makarov's eye twitched. "A daughter given away is like spilled water!" he grumbled under his breath.
Makarov shook his head helplessly. He knew Mira and Ren had something going on, but he didn't expect Mira to secretly give an S-Class Quest to Ren, even before he, the Guild Master, knew what the quest was about.
Makarov opened the file bag, broke the wax seal, and took out the request form inside. His expression immediately grew serious.
"Quest Name: Please Save the Children!"
"Quest Level: S!"
"Quest Content: The children of the Elbaf Kingdom have been abducted by villains. Please, powerful Mages, rescue the children."
"Quest Reward: 15,000,000 J!"
Makarov's expression changed slightly when he saw the quest location.
Mira, who had finally gathered her courage and walked over, saw Makarov's expression and couldn't help but ask with some concern, "What's wrong, Master? Is there a problem with this quest?"
If there was a problem, she would advise Ren not to go. S-Class Quests were very dangerous. No matter how strong Ren was, he was still just one person, and his magic power, as Erza had noted, was consumed very quickly in his stronger forms.
When his magic power was exhausted, a Mage was no different from an ordinary person, perhaps even worse.
"No," Makarov shook his head, "there's no 'problem' with the quest itself. Actually... I'm quite familiar with this Elbaf Kingdom."
[Akarin's Note: Elbaf is the legendary Kingdom of Giants from the One Piece series. It is renowned as the strongest country in the world, defended by its giant army.]
"Elbaf Kingdom?"
Mira was a bit puzzled; she hadn't heard that name. Most people in the Fairy Tail Guild, who had gathered around, hadn't either.
"Hmm... It's normal for you not to have heard of it," Makarov said, his voice grave. "Elbaf is an extremely mysterious and closed country, located on a remote island. They rarely interact with outsiders."
"But... they have an alias. An alias that I'm sure you have heard of."
"An alias?"
"The Kingdom of Giants!!!"
Makarov revealed the alias of the Elbaf Kingdom.
"Giant Kingdom!!!"
Everyone in the Fairy Tail Guild was startled.
"Giants? Are there really giants like in the legends?!"
"Aren't giants just myths?!"
"Giant Dragons are also legends, yet we've seen Giant Dragons!" Natsu yelled. "So it's normal for there to be giants too!"
Everyone in the Fairy Tail Guild started discussing animatedly upon hearing Makarov's words. Legends of giants had always circulated throughout the world, and even their Guild Master, Makarov, used Giant Magic.
"The Kingdom of Giants is incredibly powerful," Makarov continued, his voice serious. "Although giants typically cannot use magic, their inherent, raw combat strength is stronger than most Mages."
On this point, the members of the Fairy Tail Guild deeply agreed.
These giants were, in effect, almost equivalent to the Guild Master permanently using his Giant Magic.
Considering Giant Magic was an advanced, S-Class magic, just imagining the terrifying strength of so many people in the Kingdom of Giants was enough to boggle the mind.
"For even such a powerful kingdom to have encountered trouble they can't solve themselves..." Makarov said, looking at Ren. "This matter must not be simple. Ren, if you're going to take this quest, you must be extra careful. The people who would dare to abduct children from Elbaf... they are not to be underestimated."
[Ding! Successfully accepted S-Class Quest: Please Save the Children!]
Ren, however, was in a great mood when he heard the system prompt. His next ten-pull was secured.
"Don't worry, Master," he said with a confident grin. "I'm a very cautious person."
"Then I'll be off."
Ren, in his good mood, made a heart gesture with his hands at Mira, then skipped away, feeling invigorated after not doing an S-Class Quest for so long.
Mira couldn't help but smile slightly, her cheeks pink, as she saw the heart gesture from Ren.
Makarov gave Mira an exasperated look and said, "Next time, don't give this rascal special treatment again. At least let me read the quest first!"
Mira sheepishly stuck out her tongue.
She knew it wasn't appropriate, but at the time, she hadn't thought much about it. Upon seeing it was an S-Class Quest, her first instinct was to give it to Ren.
Actually, as she thought about it, it wouldn't have made a difference if she hadn't. Ren was, at the moment, the only S-Class Mage in the Fairy Tail Guild who was both present and looking for work (Erza was busy overseeing the reconstruction, Laxus was... Laxus, and Mystogan was gone). The quest would naturally have gone to him anyway.
She was just... too eager.
Ren went home, packed his luggage lightly—a change of clothes, some supplies, and his wallet—and set off.
This quest location was relatively far, almost on the other side of the Ishgar continent.
Ren first took a train to Hargeon Port, arriving in the afternoon. It was already late, so he rested overnight in a high-class inn, getting a full night's sleep.
The next day, he went to the port. He found a secluded area and activated his magic.
"Full Take Over: Ace!"
He materialized the Striker, Ace's fire-powered speedboat. He then sped across the ocean, traveling at an incredible speed, and arrived at the near-shore mouth opposite the Ishgar continent by nightfall.
After resting there for another night and fully recovering his condition and magic power, on the third day, he stood at the edge of a massive, thousand-mile-wide canyon that split the continent.
"Full Take Over: Ulquiorra!"
Black, demonic wings erupted from his back. Ren leaped into the air and used Ulquiorra's powerful flying ability to directly fly across the "Taliman Grand Canyon," a journey that would be impossible by any other means.
Ren completed this entire, trans-continental journey in less than three days. According to a normal itinerary, this journey, which involved a train, a long sea voyage, and a dangerous land route around the canyon, would have taken at least a month and a half.
At this moment, Ren, his wings folded, landed on a cliff overlooking the ocean. In the distance, he saw it.
He stood before the city walls of the Kingdom of Giants.
He couldn't help but exclaim, his voice filled with awe:
"So... big—!!!"
[Akarin Note:
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