Everyone from Fairy Tail returned to their familiar guild hall, and the building that had been empty and quiet for so long quickly became lively again.
"This familiar smell! This place really is the best!" Natsu shouted excitedly as he ran all over the hall, with Happy following behind him and yelling just as energetically, not seeming tired at all.
The fairies, who were practically starving ghosts reborn, soon had their stomachs rumbling.
But they had only just moved back into the guild, and many of the facilities still had not been brought back from the outskirts.
On top of that, because Fairy Tail had only just made its name known again, there were temporarily no jobs posted on the request board.
The master was planning to coordinate with the guild alliance to have Fairy Tail's request-taking rank restored to its former level.
So for now, aside from chatting and bickering in the hall, there really was nothing for everyone to do.
Ankh looked at his companions, who had just returned from the long trip, thought for a moment, and called out, "Everyone, come to my place tonight. We'll treat it as a welcome-home dinner for Fairy Tail!"
Preparing a welcome-home feast for himself…
That was certainly something only he would do.
Still, as long as everyone could gather together, who cared what the reason was? The fairies, who had suddenly returned to ordinary life after all the noise and excitement, were feeling a strong sense of emptiness.
The moment they heard someone was organizing a banquet, they immediately cheered in unison again.
Wendy asked with some concern, "Will it really be all right? There are so many of us. Won't it be troublesome?"
"It's fine. My house has an entire team of chefs," Ankh said proudly.
Although Ankh was not picky with food, he did have certain standards when it came to good cuisine.
And so, after the excitable crowd agreed to gather at Ankh's house that night, everyone went home to get ready.
Their first day back at the guild should be a rare peaceful day.
Apart from moving things, there probably would not be much else to do.
Once the master restored Fairy Tail's authority to take high-level requests in a few days, the large number of fans they had attracted from the Grand Magic Games would likely start sending in commissions very quickly.
That would be when things became busy.
...
Ankh also returned home first.
What surprised him was that Mirajane came with him.
"Don't you need to go home and rest for a bit?"
Mira held his hand, her little face filled with a satisfied smile.
"I want to live with you."
Ankh froze for a moment.
Then he understood and reached out, wrapping an arm around her slender waist as he replied, "Of course. I'd love that."
Mirajane's little calculations were rattling away at high speed in her heart, and she thought happily to herself.
This way, she could stay with Ankh every day.
Erza, Ultear, Sorano, and that princess…
Red hair, black hair, white hair, green hair—just a bunch of defeated bitches!
Lost in her own imagination, Mirajane lowered her head and let out a sneaky little giggle, completely failing to realize what living together with a man actually meant.
This move was basically like a clean little lamb delivering itself right to the door.
The wolf tail behind Ankh was practically wagging up into the sky…
After returning to the manor, Ankh instructed the kitchen to prepare a feast.
With nothing else to do, he chatted with Mirajane while waiting for everyone to arrive.
During their conversation, Mirajane revealed some of the reasons she wanted to live together.
Wanting to live with Ankh was one thing.
Another reason was that Elfman and Lisanna had both also brought up the idea of becoming independent.
Back when they lived in the dormitory, life had indeed been easy and comfortable with help from an older sister or older brother.
But after suffering the seven-year rent backstab, the two of them seemed to yearn deeply for a house of their own.
On top of that…
Elfman was about to be "married off."
They could not exactly let the young couple keep living in the dormitory.
So the two siblings planned to work hard.
Elfman and Evergreen had secretly formed a team, "abandoning" the Thunder God Tribe.
Lisanna, meanwhile, relied on her privilege as the younger sister and forced her tsundere big brother Laxus to agree to her request to join the Thunder God Tribe's team.
Mm…
Both siblings had bright futures ahead of them!
As Ankh listened to Mirajane talk about her family matters, he began thinking to himself.
Speaking of which, would there be potential if Ram Company got involved in the real estate business? Because of Ankh's sudden rise in fame, the company had accumulated a large amount of funds recently…
He did not understand business matters, so he would ask Jude about it later.
...
The sky gradually darkened, and soon, the hungry fairies began arriving for the appointment.
The first to arrive were naturally Ankh's teammates.
The moment Natsu entered, he drooled and charged straight toward the kitchen, only to be knocked unconscious by Erza's punch.
Only then did he quiet down.
Wendy looked at Ankh's manor with envy, while Gray also sighed and said, "Buying a house really is better. Seven years of rent… Just thinking about it gives me a headache."
Lucy was actually fine.
After all, her father Jude had paid her rent in advance. He was her real father anyway, so at worst, she could slowly pay him back later.
A short while later, the first guests to arrive were actually the members of Team Ram.
"I thought you weren't in Magnolia," Ankh said, somewhat surprised as he looked at Jellal, who had collapsed onto the sofa.
Jellal said tiredly, "Kagura chased us with a sword for a long time. We didn't dare go back to the company."
"To be precise, she was chasing you," Sorano corrected him very rigorously.
Then she said with a bitter face, "If it weren't for you, I would have liked to chat with them. We all stayed in the Tower of Heaven, after all."
"You even made us help you run away! I didn't have time to go see my little sister!"
Erik, Sawyer, and Macbeth all nodded in agreement.
Jellal showed an awkward smile.
Millianna hated Jellal for what he had made them experience back then.
Simon was fine now and had magnanimously forgiven Jellal, but as his younger sister, Kagura wanted nothing more than to cut down the man who had almost killed her brother.
Jellal sighed and said, "When the day comes that I should confess everything, I will stand before them and accept whatever judgment they give me."
As for now…
Ankh still needed him, so he could not die yet.
After Team Ram arrived, the little fairies came to Ankh's house one after another.
Everyone moved their chatting spot to the banquet hall, and the atmosphere quickly became noisy.
The members of Fairy Tail, who had fought alongside Team Ram through life-and-death battles many times, naturally no longer cared much about their identities.
As for being wanted criminals, or members of Oración Seis…
The past was the past. The present was the present!
Besides, Fairy Tail's style could sometimes be even more ruthless than those dark guilds…
Before long, the food was served one dish after another. The long table in the banquet hall was large enough for all the members to sit down and eat heartily.
Looking at his companions, who could not even have a peaceful meal without causing noise, Ankh could not help smiling.
Then…
He quietly shifted his gaze to the side, looking at Gajeel, whom he had deliberately arranged to sit beside him.
Then he raised his eyebrows at him.
Gajeel: (๑• . •๑)
Gajeel looked very steady on the surface, but in truth, he was panicking badly!
He seemed very busy, picking up a piece of paper now and then to wipe his forehead.
Ankh's voice sounded beside his ear like a little devil's whisper.
"Gajeel, how come Levy isn't here?"
"Mm…"
Gajeel seemed to turn into a vibrating machine.
After a long while, he finally mumbled, "She's too tired. Probably sleeping at home…"
"Oh~"
Ankh's voice seemed to twist through eighteen turns, making Gajeel feel uncomfortable all over.
He could now confirm it.
That night, Ankh had definitely noticed.
That night…
The two of them had happened to drink until they were slightly tipsy, reaching the point where emotions were easiest to stir.
It just so happened that they already had feelings for each other, and breaking through that final layer of paper was only a matter of minutes.
It just so happened that they went for a walk together to sober up and wandered into a secluded little forest with almost no people around…
How could there be so many coincidences in the world!
So the two of them simply followed the will of heaven and practiced the great harmonious art of life…
Terrified that Ankh's thirty-seven-degree mouth would say something else that made his face burn, Gajeel had a flash of inspiration and quickly changed the topic by shouting.
"Right! Everyone should still remember, yeah?! Our bet with Team A!"
"Whoever lost has to unconditionally obey the other side's orders!"
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