It had been just two days since the gas mage went on his last D-rank request. He had been doing many of these chore-like requests because they had good pay for being such simple tasks. The main reason behind doing them though was because he was saving up for his trip to the holy capital, Crocus. He successfully managed to save up a load of jewels and this request might have been the last of the bunch. He prepared himself and packed all his stuff just before leaving the inn. He still left his huge backpack at home and went to do a request while the sun was still out. The spring had officially been rolling in by now and the weather was gradually getting warmer. The young apprentice laced his sporty shoes and took off. The city of Magnolia still hasn't seized to impress him. Day in and day out it was always a busy city no matter what the conditions were. He has done almost everything he wanted to in the city except for meet a Fairy Tail mage. It might just have to wait till next time when the mage actually pays the guild a visit.

He arrived at the city's request board and slowly took his time to analyze the requests hanging off the wooden board. His last request had to be one worth doing. After a while of reading descriptions, the gas mage decided to take the one that stood out the most to him. It had been about being a substitute teacher. He never really considered being a teacher even though he spends most of his time learning at such a young age. Most young learners had a passion for teaching. He might not have found his passion for it yet, but he was about to try it out for the first time now. He pulled the paper off the board and followed directions to Sandine's house which was meant to be the teacher who couldn't make it to the class. He was definitely expecting a shocked reaction by the teacher as he was only three or four years older than the children... He didn't mind anyways and prepared himself to meet her.

He arrived at her house and rang the doorbell. She opened the door in a panic and smiled when she realized it was a young boy. "Heya!" She said welcoming the young boy even though she was clearly panicking about something else. He immediately introduced himself by saying "I'm Ace Brookes... A member of the Rune Knights who got your request off the board. Here to teach the kids". Her face quickly changed to show more of a worried reaction as she replied saying "I was starting to get worried that no one might show up in time... Thank god you're here but, Ace, aren't you a bit too young to teach the kids?". He kept his straight face as he reassured the woman. "I know my way around basic maths way too well. Rest assured Mrs. Sandine" Ace said. She immediately calmed down upon hearing the boy's reply. She was clearly concerned about her students but she also had something else on her mind yet Ace refrained from asking in case it was personal. She then quickly explained how her mother is sick and how she needs his help in taking care of her students. He nodded and once again reassured the woman that everything should be taken care of. She thanked the mage and rushed off to pack her bags in order to catch a train.

Ace headed towards the school just twenty minutes before the students' class was meant to start. He believed he needed no preparation for this as it was such an easy topic for the knowledgeable mage. He went into the class and waited for the students to show up. They were typically quite when they walked in and didn't see their teacher Sandine. She already told Ace that she informed the kids about her absence a day before. They probably thought that Ace was a new student or something because even the kids knew je was way too young to be a teacher. It didn't even look right to the gas mage himself. Still, he warmly welcomed the class and said "I'm Ace Brookes, but you can just call me Ace. I'm here instead of Mrs Sandine for the day since she has an urgent matter to attend to". The kids looked at each other quietly as they listened to the substitute teacher. "So we're meant to do addition, subtraction, and a couple other things in this math class. Anyone know how we add and subtract?" He asked boldly. One of the girls put her hand up and answered Ace's question. He encouraged the girl and tried connecting with the younger children. Surprisingly, the class went smoother than Ace's expectations. There was a good amount of children that connected and engaged with Ace's teaching. It could have been due to the small age difference between them, but the children seemed comfortable unlike when they first walked in.

The class ended fairly quickly and before Ace knew it the bell went off. This meant that the students had a break now for half an hour before the next teacher took them on. He heard some of the kids' remarks and none of them seemed to be negative. They were just shocked that such a young boy would be their substitute teacher. The gas mage was surprised with himself too. After the break another teacher passed by and handed Ace his reward as he talked to him for a while. Just like most of the people who saw Ace as a teacher in the school today he was shocked. He asked a bit about the mage's background before letting him go. The gas mage shook his hand, said good bye to the kids and got on his way home. This was the last one. Central Fiore was waiting for the young mage's arrival. He picked his oversized backpack up and checked out.