After half an hour of squishing hives, it look like we've successfully taken care of the infestation problem. "I think we're done here."
Erza walks over with a satisfied smile on her face. "It would seem so. Let's report back to the merchants' guild and tell them that their bee problem is dealt with."
Then an idea hits me. "Wait… first, I wanna try something." Erza watches me curiously as I go around to some of the bigger trees along the roadside. I rub up against them, scratching my skin a little. Beads of blood come to the surface, rubbing off on the bark of the trees.
"What are you doing…?" Erza stares at some of the blood, quite bewildered. "Natsu won't be happy if you hurt yourself."
"Don't worry, I'm fine." I finish getting my blood on the trees, making sure that I haven't missed any along the road. "Igneel used to do something like this. I don't have scales like he does, so I can't get scales stuck in the trees, but if I get my blood on them, then it should keep the bugs away. They don't like the smell of dragon blood, so maybe they won't like the smell of dragon slayer blood either."
"I see…" She touches one of the trees, running her hand over the marks. "That's a good idea. It will help the merchants if they don't have problems like this again. Now let's get back, we have a job to report and a reward to collect."
I nod eagerly, and I follow her out of the forest. I'm excited to report back to notify them of a job well done. I'd always hoped that my first job would go well, and it looks like I got that wish.
We walk back into the merchants' guild as the sun starts to set, and there are still staff and merchants milling about. Erza heads straight for the same counter as earlier, and taps on the glass. "Excuse me, we'd like to see the master again."
The same lady as earlier looks down at us and frowns. "Very well. I will go fetch him."
She disappears from behind the counter, returning a moment later with the same old man as earlier. He walks around the counter and approaches us with a confused expression on his face. "Back already? What about the bees?"
"All taken care of. The road through the forest is clear of bees, and the hives have also been destroyed." Erza sounds very confident in delivering her report to the master. "If you want proof…" She reaches into her armor and I nearly gag as she pulls out a gooey piece of the hive, with a few dead bees stuck in it. "Here's the one piece of hive that we didn't crush into goo."
The old man's eyes widen in surprise, and he gingerly takes the hive piece from her, setting it down on the counter. "I see… so it's done then. But the two of you managed to clear the road all by yourselves? How?"
"Well, I cut the hives down." She points back at me. "And then when the bees swarmed, she roared them right out of existence."
"Roared?" Now he looks even more confused. "Exactly what kind of magic do you use?"
Erza turns to me, so I swallow nervously. "Um… I use dragon slayer magic… I'm a Wind Dragon Slayer. So after we got rid of the bees, I put some marks on the trees that will hopefully keep the bees from getting near the road again. It's a dragon thing…"
"Dragon Slayer…?" Awe spreads across his face. "I've never heard of such magic. And I thought dragons were myths."
That doesn't surprise me too much. "Well, I've never heard of any dragon slayers other than me and my brother, so I guess we're just not around a whole lot. And we lived out in the wilderness with our dragon, so I guess it might be normal that you haven't ever seen one of us before."
"No doubt…" He walks back over to the counter and reaches behind it, picking out a small stack of money. "Well, since you completed the job, here's your money. And a little extra, since you got it done in a single day."
Erza takes the money and shuffles through it. "Two hundred thousand jewel? That's an extra forty thousand jewel. You are very generous."
"Well, that road is very important to us, it's one of our main trade routes. Something of a shortcut for our caravans. It reduces the cost of every trip, so a little extra money for such a quickly done job is nothing." And now, he gives us a gentle smile. "You've saved us more money than that, so it's the least I can do."
Erza divides up the money and hands me half of it. "Well, there's the money for your first job. Save as much of it as you can. The sooner you can get your own house, the better."
I nod, and the old man seems to approve. "Wise advice. And if the two of you are ever looking for an investment, we have several specialists here who can help you with that."
"Thank you for the advice." Erza puts on her best smile for the master. "Now, we should probably be getting back to the guild. If we hurry, then we can make it before it gets dark."
The old man looks a little worried, so I smile as well. "Don't worry, we're Fairy Tail wizards. We'll be okay!"
"I see… then be safe on your way home." A smile spreads on his face. "And the next time we have a problem, I'll be sure to ask Fairy Tail for help."
That warms my heart, and we wave back at them as we leave the merchants' guild. As we walk away, I turn to Erza with a grin. "That was fun! I want to go on even more jobs like that!"
She smiles back at me and pats me on the head. "Well, keep training, and you'll be going out on jobs all the time. But remember, going out on jobs is what gives you experience. So if I'm not around, and you want to go on a job, pick something in Magnolia, no matter how small. Every job counts, and you can use the small ones to work your way up to the big ones."
"Yeah!" Her encouragement makes me believe that even someone as weak as me can get strong someday. Natsu may protect me, but it's Erza who believes in me.
And I'm going to make everyone else believe in me too.