"Wait! Don't—"
Marco immediately rose to his feet, his expression surprised.
He thought Mira had finally reached her limit and was about to confront Erza directly.
In Marco's opinion, given that Mira had just "laid down her weapons," enduring this long was already remarkable—it was Erza who had been lecturing for too long.
However, the situation unfolded quite differently from what Marco had imagined.
Mirajane approaching Erza wasn't to start a fight.
Under Marco's astonished gaze, Mirajane spread her arms and gave Erza a big hug.
This move stunned not only Marco but even Erza herself.
"This... this..."
Erza wanted to say something, but she stumbled over her words.
The girl cast a pleading glance toward the equally shocked Marco beside them.
"Erza, I know you're saying all this for my own good, but please, could you save me some face in front of the boy?"
Before Marco could speak, and before Erza could fully articulate her thoughts, Mirajane continued speaking.
Leaning close to Erza's ear, she spoke softly, with a hint of pleading.
"...Alright."
Erza was momentarily stunned.
She relaxed her stiffened body and placed her previously awkward hands on Mirajane's back, returning the hug to her "rival."
She had never heard Mirajane speak to her in such a tone before and felt quite unaccustomed to it.
It wasn't just the unfamiliar tone—Erza had never imagined a day would come when Mirajane would voluntarily hug her.
"This... is truly a historic reconciliation."
Watching the scene of Mira and Erza embracing before him, Marco's expression turned peculiar.
He too had never anticipated such a moment.
One could only say... nothing should surprise anyone at Fairy Tail.
"Wah!!"
"Elf-nii! Look! Look!"
"They're hugging!"
In the "rose field," Lisanna's eyes widened like copper bells.
Her mouth hung open as if she had witnessed something incredible.
She urgently called her brother over to see, partly to confirm she wasn't hallucinating.
"What do you mean hugging? Marco and Mira?"
Elfman, who was carrying a tree, looked puzzled, but after putting it down, he still went over to his sister who was shouting excitedly.
"Uh..."
Lisanna was momentarily speechless at Elfman's words.
Although she would love to see that happen, if she had to choose, the scene before her was far more shocking.
If it were Mira and Marco hugging instead, she wouldn't be this stunned.
"Is that... Mira and Erza?!"
Sure enough, Elfman thought the same way.
After witnessing that "century-long reconciliation," the big guy was completely dumbfounded, as if he thought he was dreaming.
Not just Lisanna and Elfman, the other guild members reacted similarly.
Even the newest of newcomers would be utterly shocked by this scene.
After all, everyone knew that Mirajane and Erza were sworn rivals!
Mirajane let go and released Erza.
It must be said that while making this move, she herself found it unbelievable.
But after actually hugging Erza, all those thoughts vanished completely.
For her, after embracing Erza, she felt she had truly reconciled with her past self and bid farewell to her former stubbornness.
Following that hug, Mirajane was surprised to discover she felt much lighter.
"Do you believe me now?" Mira asked Erza with a smile.
"Y-yes, I believe you." Erza replied, her expression still somewhat dazed, looking quite adorable, which made Marco shake his head with a chuckle.
It seemed that such a direct approach was quite effective against Erza?
Sometimes, Erza's personality could be a bit tsundere.
Confronting her directly would make her flustered and unsure how to respond.
"Alright, since you're here, Erza, why don't you come help too? And you, Marco, are you really not going to participate at all?" Mira smiled as she nudged the slightly dazed Erza toward the "rose field," while also glancing at Marco, inviting him to join the labor with everyone.
"I already paid for it..." Marco pointed at himself with a helpless expression.
"Even if you paid, you can still help out. Wouldn't that speed things up?" Mira said with a smile, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Really... making trouble for no reason."
Hearing Mira's words, Marco shook his head with a laugh.
But despite his words, he didn't remain seated.
Instead, he followed Mirajane and Erza into the field.
"Might as well treat it as exercise." Marco stretched his limbs.
Truthfully, he wasn't actually lazy.
It was just that the work had already been contracted out, and everyone was working hard for him.
If he suddenly jumped in and worked harder and faster than anyone else, how could they feel comfortable accepting payment when the job was done?
Marco's original intention in posting this mission was to give the newcomers a chance.
It was another way of providing subsidies while also getting to know these new guild members.
The actual labor was secondary.
But with the atmosphere already built up to this point—Mira and Erza's "century-long reconciliation," followed by everyone pitching in to help him—Marco truly felt too awkward to keep sitting idly by.
With the addition of Marco, Erza, and Mirajane—three S-class reinforcements—the cleanup of the "rose field" immediately sped up.
By evening, the entire project was nearly complete: a large plot of land, ready for planting, had been fully tilled, waiting only for Marco to sow the seeds.
"By the way, Marco, what exactly are you planning to plant?"
After finishing the work, a slightly dazed Erza finally asked.
She still had no idea what Marco intended to do with this newly cleared land.