— — — — — —
"I do have a way," Kazuma said calmly. "But I'm not planning to fix it. A world without magic suits my needs just fine."
"T-Then… what you said earlier was just toying with me?!"
Despair filled Erza's eyes, followed immediately by rage. She looked up at Kazuma, teeth clenched as she spoke.
The hope she had only just managed to reignite was snuffed out in an instant. Did this man really think it was fun to play with her emotions like that?
"I wasn't toying with you," Kazuma replied evenly. "I was stating a fact. I've been to plenty of worlds without magic. People there live perfectly good lives."
"Let me show you something."
"This is called a phone. You can think of it as a magic crystal ball, a magic camera, a magic recorder, a magic clock…"
"It combines all of that, and more. And it doesn't rely on magic at all. It runs on a different kind of energy."
Kazuma reached into his Treasury and pulled out a smartphone. It might have looked ordinary, but it was a genuine treasure.
Infinite battery life. No need for signal towers. It could transmit and receive signals across vast distances, even across space itself.
In the Beelzebub world, he could use it to contact the demon world. In Fairy Tail, though, it couldn't directly connect to that world.
For that, he still needed the system's built-in guild chat.
"If it doesn't use magic, then what does it use?" Erza asked.
She took the phone from his hand and explored its features. The camera. The flashlight. Video recording.
Her eyes widened. After carefully checking it, she confirmed there really was no trace of magical energy at all.
"Electricity," Kazuma said. "How electricity is generated is a bit complicated. You just need to know it isn't produced by magic."
"Then what is the method behind making this?" Erza pressed. "And what else can it do?!"
She saw it clearly now. A possible way to resolve the world's crisis. She stared at Kazuma, unable to hide her urgency.
"Science. Technology," Kazuma replied. "Not just phones. Weapons, vehicles, a lot of what you use now can be replicated to some extent."
"Do you want to learn?"
He had floating cannons powered by technology, all kinds of advanced devices, and even access to tech blueprints from Black Bullet.
If he really wanted to, he could build a spatial teleportation device without magic.
"I can really learn?" Erza asked, hope blazing in her eyes once again.
In truth, this world had already started down the path of technology.
Combat dragon-type mechs. Magic weapons. Magic vehicles.
In essence, they weren't that different from steam engines in earlier eras.
But because magic hadn't fully disappeared, no one had bothered to develop new energy sources. That stagnation had completely halted industrial progress.
"You can," Kazuma said. "But only if you join me."
"Think carefully. Will you cling to your duty as part of the royal army?"
"Or will you bet your life on believing that I can save this world?"
Kazuma looked at her calmly. He could tell she was tempted.
A drowning person would grab even a single straw and believe it was salvation.
And he wasn't a straw. He was the Titanic.
"Betray the kingdom…" Erza hesitated. "No. There's another option."
"I can introduce you to the king. He'll definitely value someone like you. Whatever you want, His Majesty will grant it. We can work together to create a new world!"
"And Fairy Tail wouldn't need to stay a dark guild either. We could restore their official status."
After a long moment of conflicted thought, Erza finally offered what she believed was the best solution.
Cooperation.
"That's a great suggestion," Kazuma said. "But I refuse."
"Why?!" Erza blurted out. "Are you worried this is some kind of trap? It's not!"
"Yes, we oppose Fairy Tail, but that's only because they refused to follow the kingdom's orders and formed a dark guild on their own!"
"We're genuinely trying to protect this country's stability!"
She tried to explain, but Kazuma interrupted her before she could finish.
"You seem to have misunderstood something," he said with a smile. "I'm not worried that you're bad people."
"If anything, it's the other way around. You should be worried that I'm the bad guy."
"The reason I won't cooperate is simple."
"I want to be king. I want to rule this world."
Kazuma laughed.
In that moment, his smile looked exactly like that of a villain. A true demon king.
The Royal Army and Fairy Tail members alike felt a chill run down their spines.
Was this guy seriously that evil?
He just openly admitted he wanted to conquer the world!
That was ridiculous. This man was way too bad.
"Th-This…" Erza stared at him in shock.
Had she misunderstood something earlier?
Yes. She definitely had. She'd mistaken this man for someone who wanted to save the world.
"Erza, how about joining my new Fairy Army?" Kazuma said lightly. "I think you've got real potential."
As he spoke, figures began to appear behind him one by one.
"Kazuma-sama."
"Onee-chan."
"Oi, Kazuma-san."
"Guild Master."
"..."
Dragons. Demons. Humans. Even lolis.
During their conversation, Kazuma had already sent out a summons through the guild, posting a massive mission for anyone willing to visit another world.
Now, Fairy Tail members from every world were gathering.
.
.
.