Capítulo 5: Chapter 5: That Mission?
The moment Kana heard the price, she sobered up immediately. She drained the remaining contents of the barrel in her hand and patted her well-developed chest. "That was close! I almost agreed..." she said with a mix of disbelief and frustration. Then, she shouted angrily, "500,000 J?! Why don't you just go and rob someone?! Do you even know how much I earn from one mission?"
Kira's thoughts briefly wandered. Robbing to earn money quickly—what a concept.
To understand the scale of 500,000 J, let's put it into perspective:
In the original story, Lucy's rent for her apartment was 70,000 J per month. Most ordinary missions ranged from a few thousand to tens of thousands of J in rewards.
The mission on Galuna Island, an S-level mission, had a reward of 7 million J along with a golden Celestial Spirit key. This means that the minimum payout for an S-level mission was typically several hundred thousand J.
By that logic, 500,000 J was equivalent to the reward for completing just a few tasks.
If Kana took half a month to complete one mission, buying Kira's card set would leave her "relatively" tight on funds for a considerable time. And that was assuming her missions succeeded.
"I haven't looked at the task board downstairs in years," Kira mused aloud. "Wasn't the rent for the girls' dormitory 100,000 J? What's the reward for one of your missions—300,000 J? Maybe 100,000 J? Could it be less than that?"
Kana and Gray exchanged a glance, their expressions screaming this guy deserves a beating.
"Why the angry faces?" Kira asked, feigning innocence. "This is a premium card set crafted by a genius prop master—me! My cards are leagues above the inferior junk on the market. I guarantee you'll be able to use this set for at least seven years! Seven years! So, 500,000 J for such longevity is a bargain, don't you think?"
Of course, Kira knew the cards wouldn't actually last seven years. Once Kana reached S-class, he could launch a new product line in a year or two. But he wasn't about to mention that.
Still, if Tenrou Island remained sealed for seven years, it wouldn't technically count as deceiving his customers.
"But," Gray interjected, "500,000 J for just 10 cards? Isn't that a bit much?"
Gray's comment made it clear that Kana's intellect far surpassed his own. The poor guy really didn't know much about magic items.
Kira fixed Gray with a patronizing look, the kind that screamed you're so clueless. "What do you know? For possession-based magicians, too much equipment slows them down in battle."
"Huh? Is that so?" Gray asked, scratching his head. "I thought the more equipment, the better. Doesn't Erza have loads of armor?"
Kira beamed, pleased at the chance to explain. "Ah, but everyone who plays cards knows that a deck needs to be simple to be powerful!"
Having sufficiently educated Gray, Kira turned back to Kana. "Do you understand now? Card magic isn't like Gray's or Natsu's ability-based magic. You need powerful cards to fight effectively! If you keep relying on weak cards, you'll never progress."
Kana burst out laughing, her frustration clear. "Oh, really? And the cards I'm using now—weren't they sold to me by you?"
Kira paused for two seconds, stunned into silence, before choosing to ignore the jab entirely. "Face the facts, Kana! From the very beginning, the only path to becoming stronger for you has been through money!"
"You're so annoying," Kana muttered, grabbing another barrel of wine and gulping it down in record time. Setting it down with a thud, she suddenly grinned mischievously. "Alright, how about this? Sell me the cards for 30,000 J, and I'll take a loss and go on a date with you."
Leaning forward, she emphasized her point by shaking her chest slightly. "You've never dated a girl before, have you? Want to give it a try?"
Gray pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing in exasperation. Not again...
Kira, however, wasn't buying it. He gently held Kana's head between his hands and turned it away. "Haha, nice try, but no. Poor folks like you can go back to your cheap bar. Talk to me when you've got some cash."
"Don't you claim to treat all your customers equally?"
"Yes—except for the poor!" Kira retorted smugly.
"You greedy profiteer!" Kana stormed off, cursing under her breath.
Kira turned his attention to Gray, who had removed his shirt at some point without realizing it. After a moment of contemplation, Kira spoke. "Hey, Gray. How about I modify your clothes and add some magic to help you locate them automatically?"
"Huh? Where did my shirt go?" Gray finally noticed his bare torso.
"Don't worry, I'll do it for free this time. Consider it a gift since you're so annoying."
"No, thanks. I think I'm fine as is," Gray replied hurriedly.
Kira gave him a look of disgust. "Huh. Exhibitionist as always."
Leaving Gray behind, Kira set off to find his next customer.
"Bisca! Alzack! You two seem so close these days. When's the wedding? By the way, I've developed some amazing magic guns that could really deepen your bond. Interested?"
Bisca blushed furiously. "We're not... at that stage yet..."
Alzack, equally flustered, avoided making eye contact.
Moving on, Kira approached another guildmate. "Reedus! You're such a talented artist. Don't you think it's time to upgrade your brush? I've got just the thing—"
"No, thank you. I'm quite happy with my current pen," Reedus replied politely.
Undeterred, Kira turned to Levy. "Levy! All that reading is tough on your eyes. How about a new pair of enchanted glasses? Specially priced for you!"
Levy, ever shy, looked down and said nothing.
No outright rejection? Kira thought, sensing an opportunity.
"Text magic is demanding," he continued. "You've been using the same pen for months, right? I've just finished crafting a cutting-edge magic pen. It's perfect for 3D text magic—writes smoothly and looks gorgeous. Want to give it a try? I can offer you a great deal—"
"You, stay away from Levy!" two voices shouted in unison.
Two overprotective guildmates leaped to her defense, dragging Kira away.
"What's your problem? I'm just selling... Let go of me!" Kira protested.
"Hmph. You two sycophants will die single!" Kira muttered as he climbed to the second floor.
Grumbling, he scanned the task board. "I don't get it. I'm helping them by offering top-quality gear at reasonable prices, and yet they all call me a profiteer!"
With a sigh, Kira added, "At least Erza knows how to appreciate good craftsmanship. Sure, she's demanding, but she always pays without complaint."
Tired of sales pitches for the day, Kira decided to pick a mission. Closing his eyes, he pointed at the task board randomly.
When he opened his eyes, he saw his finger resting on a familiar listing:
Remove the curse on Karna Island. Reward: 7 million J and a golden key.
"Huh? Isn't this...?" Kira paused, digging through his memories. "Oh, this is going to be interesting."
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