Fairy Tail: Becoming stronger by spending money.

"Gemini?"

In the Magic Council, Caesar examined the keys in front of him and immediately identified which one it was.

"Caesar, you defeated Serena. That's headline news," Crawford said with a grin, clearly excited.

After all, Caesar was closely tied to him. The stronger Caesar became, the more solid Crawford's position as Speaker of the Council.

"Do what you want. Just don't drag me into unnecessary trouble," Caesar replied, placing the Gemini key next to the Sagittarius one. He leaned back, watching Crawford. "So, what's the real reason you're keeping me here?"

"Of course," Crawford said, still smiling, as he placed a commission sheet on the table.

Caesar glanced at it, and instantly straightened up.

A century-old mission.

These were near-impossible S-class quests that had remained uncompleted for a hundred years. Missions of overwhelming difficulty.

If not for Acnologia's interference, Gildarts might have completed one. That alone showed how monstrous his strength was.

Now, what did it mean for Crawford to offer one to Caesar?

Was he actually being asked to complete this?

"...What's the meaning of this?" Caesar narrowed his eyes.

Crawford gave a confident smile. "This mission is the easiest of the century-old tasks—it's the most likely to succeed. If you complete it, and I support your promotion, you'll become the strongest among the Ten Wizard Saints. No one will be able to shake our positions."

"Not interested," Caesar replied immediately.

He understood his own situation too well.

Yes, his power was overwhelming. Yes, he could beat a Ten Wizard Saint in direct combat.

But even with the ability to restore magic by devouring space, Caesar's real issue was endurance.

In short:

His bursts were godlike, but he couldn't last long.

If the enemy withstood his initial attack, Caesar's combat ability would plummet, and he'd be at a disadvantage.

He had a high ceiling—and a very low floor.

That's why Caesar handled S-class bounty missions quickly: locate the target, deliver overwhelming force, and end it in one blow.

That efficiency earned him the nickname "Tyrant."

But century-old missions were not like S-class hunts. He knew that if he took one recklessly, unless the target was miraculously weak, he would almost certainly fail.

And if it was weak, it wouldn't be a century-old mission in the first place.

To summarize: he wasn't ready for that yet.

Crawford's smile disappeared. He frowned and tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Caesar, this puts me in a difficult position."

"Then don't do it."

Caesar leaned back, calm.

"I don't need to rush anything. My goal is stability. If you keep pushing, then consider this, Crawford—if I need to, I'll cut ties with you."

"Hahaha. If that's your choice, I won't force you."

Crawford gave a fake laugh and waved it off.

After Caesar left, Crawford's expression turned cold. He snorted, stood, and walked out of the office.

In the Council's infirmary, Crawford stood at Serena's bedside.

The Dragon Slayer was wrapped in bandages, clearly battered.

"Serena, how're you feeling? Getting better?" Crawford asked with a grin.

Serena snorted. He wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"I've found information on some Dragon Slayer Magic Crystals. Interested?"

Serena's eyes lit up immediately. But he wasn't naïve.

"What do you want?"

Crawford chuckled. "Simple. Join my camp... and contain Caesar."

"Heh. I thought Caesar was your guy?"

Serena sneered. He knew exactly what Crawford was thinking.

"We're just allies. But when one party becomes too powerful, the balance shifts.

With you in the mix—and my influence—we can keep Caesar under control."

He extended his hand.

"So? What's your answer?"

Serena laughed, slowly sitting up. His gauze turned crimson as wounds reopened.

"Like I have a choice?"

"So happy to work together."

"Happy to work with you."

Caesar returned to Magnolia.

On the way, he used Space Dragon Slayer Magic to travel, and also cycled through several take over cards, testing a few ideas.

"Space Dragon Slayer Magic really does patch some of my card weaknesses," Caesar noted.

He looked at the Shirai Kuroko card. Before, using it required heavy calculations to determine teleport points and landings, limiting how far he could jump.

But now, thanks to the spatial instincts granted by Dragon Slayer Magic, those calculations were reduced to muscle memory.

Combined with Shirai Kuroko's own calculations, Caesar could teleport up to three kilometers with less than 20 centimeters of error.

That was huge.

It also enhanced his other cards that relied on space, improving mobility, attack angles, and destructive capacity.

Even Jiro's Fist of Genes, which was difficult to control, could now be precisely locked and released through space manipulation.

The result?Its destructive power had become downright absurd.

"Seems like Crawford's getting a little too confident."

Caesar frowned, thinking back to their conversation.

"Time to pull back. If I get dragged in too deep, it'll become a mess."

He sighed and made up his mind. In the coming days, he would go low-profile and disappear from the spotlight for a while.

He had a potion commission anyway. No need to rush back into missions.

And if he got bored, he could always spar with Natsu and the others.

Once things calmed down, he'd shed the label of Crawford's ally.

As for what Crawford planned next?

He'd deal with it only if it got in his way.