Stuhl Town (Border of the Kingdom of Fiore)—
After meeting up with Natsu and Happy at the station, Raizel used Teleportation Magic to travel directly to the town near the mountain range following the location specified on the mission request.
This place was no longer within the borders of the Fiore Kingdom but sat on the frontier of the neighboring land.
The air here was thinner and significantly colder here.
The mission location was the Cooper Chamber of Commerce in the town center, and the client was the Chamber's President, John Bairloqi.
"We are Mages from Fairy Tail, here for the Stuhl Mountains mission."
Raizel knocked on the heavy oak door.
Moments later, it creaked open, and a massive figure appeared before them.
"Please come in! Please come in!"
The one who opened the door was a bald, muscular man around thirty years old.
He wasn't the type with chiseled, aesthetic muscles; rather, he was built like a strongman—a burly mountain of a man with fat layered over dense muscle, looking both sturdy and resilient to the cold climate.
After Raizel showed him the mission request, the man became very enthusiastic and quickly stepped aside.
Given his immense width, it would have been difficult for Raizel and the others to enter otherwise.
"Please have a seat. The President is on the second floor; I'll go get him right away. Quick, bring them drinks! Just say what you'd like—we have everything here!"
The burly man ushered Raizel and the others to a seating area, barked orders at a waiter, and the floorboards groaned as he hurried upstairs.
After ordering a cup of hot black tea, Raizel glanced around.
The Chamber of Commerce was surprisingly deserted. The few staff members present seemed listless and anxious.
Yet, the request offered a reward of 8,000,000 Jewels—an S-Class sum.
Raizel was a bit puzzled by the contrast between their wealth and their current state.
"Welcome, welcome! I'm John Bairloqi. I've been waiting for you!"
The President had a similar build to the bald bodyguard, though he was slightly shorter and wore finer clothes.
He hurried down from the second floor with the bald man, speaking as he descended.
Raizel, Natsu, and the others stood up, shook hands with John, introduced themselves, and then sat down.
"I've heard of all of you. To be honest, I specifically requested Fairy Tail for this mission." John wasn't just being polite; he had indeed heard of the "Knight" Raizel, the "Titania" Erza, and even the destructive "Salamander."
Raizel nodded politely. "No need for formalities, President John. Let's get straight to the point."
"Alright, I'll cut to the chase then. Originally, there weren't many Magic Beasts in the Stuhl Mountains—mostly herbivores. The environment was harsh, with rugged paths that made it difficult for ordinary people to traverse, but it was safe. Our Chamber of Commerce has always relied on merchant caravans traveling between both sides of the mountains to conduct business."
John leaned forward, his expression grave. "But over half a year ago, for some reason, a group of Minotaurs suddenly appeared in the mountains. They're about two meters tall, I think?"
John wasn't entirely sure and glanced at the burly man beside him for confirmation.
"At least two and a half meters tall. Much taller than me. The leader, the one carrying the heavy warhammer, is even bigger," the bald bodyguard, Brian, corrected with a nod.
Brian himself had to be at least 2.1 meters tall, Raizel had to look up slightly when he first saw him.
If the creatures dwarfed Brian, they were indeed massive.
'Minotaurs?'
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy simultaneously pictured Taurus, the Celestial Spirit of the Golden Bull.
'Moooo Lucy-san your breast is looking good today too!'
They shook the mental image away.
Brian continued, "We don't know the exact number, but they often attack merchant caravans in groups. The largest pack we've seen had over a dozen of them."
Brian let out a helpless sigh. "It's been six months, and our merchant caravan hasn't succeeded even once. Every time we're intercepted by them. The most frustrating part is we can't fight back. Fortunately, they only rob the goods; they don't kill."
Brian was a Mage who practiced Body Strengthening Magic, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he possessed immense physical strength.
Yet, against the leader of the bull-headed creatures, he was completely powerless, forced to retreat step by step.
In their last clash, the impact of the creature's hammer had split the skin between his thumb and index finger just from the vibration.
John continued, "Our guild originally hired many guards, but now they've all fled to other cities or kingdoms out of fear. Only Brian remains as our sole guard now."
Brian rubbed his bald head and grinned sheepishly. "I stayed voluntarily. The President has been kind to me, and I can't abandon him alone at a time like this."
"Do we know their motive for robbing the caravans? Can we communicate with them?" Raizel asked.
Brian shook his head firmly. "The motive isn't clear, but they can speak human language."
Brian recalled the terrifying voice of the leader.
"I heard him say: 'Take everything.'"
Raizel turned to John. "I've roughly understood the situation. It's quite simple. Since they appear every time a caravan passes through, we'll just make another trip."
"We don't need too many valuable goods—just cover the top layer of the wagons to lure them out. Can we depart tomorrow?"
After exchanging glances with John, Brian immediately stood up, his face set with determination.
"I'll prepare the carriages and the goods."
"Our Guild has many empty rooms, and we often host guests. You can all stay here tonight," John offered, pointing upstairs.
The building was five stories tall, and John lived on the second floor.
Raizel consulted Lucy's opinion since she was the only lady present.
After obtaining her consent, he turned to John.
"Alright, thank you, President John."
...
The Next Day—
"I leave it to you all." John saw them off at the warehouse entrance, looking anxious.
"Don't worry, President. We'll definitely complete the mission."
Raizel and Lucy each mounted horses flanking the cargo wagon.
Natsu and Happy didn't ride horses.
Instead, they sat on top of the goods in the wagon.
"Ugh... I shouldn't have... eaten breakfast..." Natsu groaned, his face turning a distinctive shade of blue as the wagon began to rumble forward.
Raizel's group traveled through a narrow valley in the Stuhl Mountains.
The biting cold wind blew through the canyon. Though it was midsummer, the temperature in the Stuhl Mountains was freezing.
One could only imagine how brutal the winter would be.
No wonder Brian and John had such sturdy builds—anyone without that physique would struggle to endure living here year-round.
...
Deep in the Stuhl Mountains—
Inside a large cave, a group of Minotaurs sat around a small fire.
One bull-headed creature spoke with a bitter expression.
"Chief, there are too few magical creatures here to hunt. With just the food obtained from that human, plus the sparse plants in the mountains, we can't hold out much longer. Caravans haven't appeared for a long time. Should we consider moving elsewhere?"
The Minotaur Chief, a massive beast with scarred horns, frowned deeply.
His voice was weary. "Is human food really that expensive? We always steal quite a lot of goods each time... why does he give us so little meat in return?"
He truly couldn't understand.
Is human life that expensive?
Why does the exchanged food amount to so little compared to the mountains of cloth and spices they handed over?
But they couldn't enter towns.
They were strong, yes, but there were only about a dozen of them.
Entering towns to oppose the Council and Mages would mean certain death.
They were forced to rely on a human intermediary to trade the stolen goods for food.
Another Minotaur sighed, scratching his snout. "It's been too long since caravans appeared. It seems humans have become afraid of being robbed by us. Actually, thinking about it, we probably shouldn't have robbed every single caravan... maybe we should have left one or two?"
But that's just how Minotaurs were—stubborn and not the brightest.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have ended up displaced and stranded in these freezing mountains in the first place.
"Let's cut back on rations for now and wait a little longer. If things don't improve, we'll have to move elsewhere."
Suddenly, thundering footsteps echoed from the tunnel entrance.
"Chief! A merchant caravan! A MERCHANT CARAVAN!"
A young Minotaur shouted excitedly as it rushed into the cave to deliver the news, drool dripping from its mouth.
"What? Fantastic! Grab your weapons, boys! We're heading out now! Meat is back on the menu!"