Chapter 51: Good Fortune and Three Children

The final reward total for the entire "Iron Forest" guild amounted to 11 million J.

Among them, Guild Master Elygore alone was worth 8.5 million J, while all the other low-level members combined were only worth 2.5 million J.

There’s no helping it—reward amounts are set according to individual fame; Itachi must first be known before anyone will put a bounty on Itachi, just like pirate bounties in another world, where the more famous a person is on the same ship, the higher their bounty.

But for dark mages in dark guilds, a high bounty isn’t a good thing—being valuable but weak makes Itachi an easy target for bounty hunters.

Some morally upright mages make a living off this: where there’s a bounty, there are bounty hunters who hunt for it.

“Eleven million J—that’s a decent cut for everyone!”

Upon hearing Guild Master Macao announce this sum, everyone in the guild erupted in excitement; several older men immediately poured themselves extra drinks and ordered two more plates of meat, right there adding to their meal.

Watching this scene of people guzzling alcohol, gorging on meat, and dividing the gold like bandits, Mo En realized they truly resembled a bandit stronghold.

“Elygore was defeated by Mo En—that kid deserves a bigger share!”

Ma Kaou raised his hand, bringing up Mo En; since Elygore alone was worth 8.5 million J, and Mo En had directly defeated him, logically he should receive a larger portion.

The suggestion was instantly met with unanimous agreement; before money, the older men showed no hesitation—they all agreed Mo En should get more, with not a single objection.

“No need. It’s not like only I had the strength to defeat him; everyone saw I was young and let him go to me. The whole guild acted together, contributed together—everyone’s effort was equal!”

Mo En immediately stood up, speaking with righteous conviction; though his face was youthful, his level of awareness was top-notch.

“.”

Laxus watched from the side, his lips twitching; if it were him, he’d refuse too—but he could never say words like Mo En’s.

“Well said! Everyone in the guild contributed, everyone gave their all—so the reward should be split equally! Everyone in the guild deserves a share!”

Guild Master Macao slammed his fist on the table and declared decisively, a smile on his face—he was clearly delighted with the outcome.

“Ooooooooh!!!”

The guild members cheered wildly, shouting and whooping in delight.

In truth, after this division, each person’s share wasn’t that large—at least not by a mage’s standards.

But they were still happy, still joyful, and determined to throw a feast!

This was “Fairy Tail”—no hidden agendas, no pretense; like a family, they treated each other with honesty, free of any self-interest, always brimming with joy when together.

After the lively victory banquet, everyone dispersed; the guild hall was a mess. Ero, along with the guild’s new recruit Laqi, began cleaning up, and Mo En helped too.

“Mo En-ge, Itachi didn’t have to stay and help me.”

Watching Mo En beside her, clearing tables, Laqi’s cheeks flushed red, as if shy; she spoke softly, trying to urge him to go rest early.

“Huh?”

Mo En paused, glancing at her with mild confusion.

“But I’ve always helped Ero-jie and the others...”

Seeing Laqi’s flushed face, clearly misunderstanding something, Mo En hesitated slightly, then finally spoke the truth.

“Mm.”

The moment Mo En spoke, Laqi’s face turned even redder—like a boiling kettle, her temperature spiked rapidly, steam already rising from her body.

“Pfft~”

Ero, who was wiping the table nearby, burst out laughing; she couldn’t hold it back anymore. No wonder every time Mo En stayed to help, she’d noticed Laqi acting strangely—she’d been misinterpreting everything.

“Cough, uh, Ero-jie, I’ll head back now.”

Mo En cleared his throat and promptly bid Ero farewell; honestly, he felt a bit awkward—he’d never even considered this possibility.

This Laqi girl was surprisingly mature for her age—and not just mature, she seemed a bit self-absorbed too.

Laqi had actually believed Mo En stayed to help because of her.

That had never crossed Mo En’s mind; she hadn’t asked, hadn’t investigated—she’d just assumed it on her own.

If she’d only bothered to ask around, she’d have known Mo En always did this.

“Cough, of course I know! I just thought Itachi were exhausted after defeating Elygore—Itachi should rest early!”

After a moment of mental shutdown from her overheated state, Laqi finally snapped back to reality and hastily tried to explain.

“Laqi, little Mo En’s already gone.”

But the reply came from Ero, grinning mischievously.

Laqi looked around in confusion—where was Mo En? There was no trace of him in the hall.

“Mm.”

Laqi covered her face, on the verge of tears.

The next morning, Laqi encountered Mo En again in the guild.

“Good morning, Laqi.”

Mo En greeted her warmly, his face lit with his usual bright, sunny smile—as if he’d forgotten yesterday entirely; his smile always put people at ease.

“G-good morning, Mo En-ge.”

Laqi stammered out a reply; clearly, she couldn’t treat yesterday as if it never happened, the way Mo En did.

“Huh? What’s going on? Why does Laqi seem so weird?”

Across from him, Cana, who was carefully arranging Tarot cards, frowned slightly and asked in confusion.

“Beats me. Itachi should ask her, not me.”

Mo En smiled, then drew a Tarot card.

The card depicted a child with a youthful face and a sweet smile, riding a horse as it leapt over a gray wall, wearing a daisy wreath and a long red feather on his head, holding a red flag, with a large, radiant sun in the background.

“Looks like something good will happen today?”

Mo En raised an eyebrow and asked Cana.

“Correct. Everything will go smoothly.”

Cana nodded seriously in reply, while Bai Bai dozed off drowsily beside her.

“Thanks for the good luck.”

Mo En smiled and returned the Sun card; he’d had her read his fortune so many times, he was nearly memorizing what each card meant.

“Come in, don’t be afraid.”

Mo En had just stood up, preparing to look for a suitable mission, when a voice at the hall entrance caught his attention.

Guild Master Macao entered, accompanied by three children.

The one walking first was a girl wrapped in a robe; behind her followed two smaller children, presumably her younger brother and sister.

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(End of Chapter)