The more the two girls argued, the more explosive it got.
In the end they even grabbed each other's hands and started pushing against one another like two bulls locking horns.
Elfman and Lisanna tried to step in at first, but Mirajane, who had already decided Erza was taking advantage of Kabe, refused to listen to anything they said.
Likewise, Erza, who had spent the afternoon seriously lecturing Makarov and the others about not fighting with guildmates, was now a little fired up herself when faced with a punk girl who had come looking for trouble and was openly slandering her.
Only poor Kabe, tossed casually onto the floor, stared dumbly at the two girls squaring off, completely stunned.
What the hell. Erza and Mira's childhood rivalry… is actually my fault?
Admittedly, thinking that might have been a little shameless, but from now on Kabe could proudly declare one thing.
He was a man two beautiful girls fought over.
Seeing that a clash between their sister and Erza was now inevitable, Elfman and Lisanna finally gave up trying to mediate.
Only then did they remember the poor guy who had been thrown on the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"Ah, Big Brother Kabe!"
The siblings walked around the table and helped hoist Kabe.
Elfman very carefully pushed the strawberry cake to one side, then pulled over the roast chicken Kabe had been eyeing for so long and held it to his mouth.
"Elfman, Lisanna, you two really are the best."
Eyes misty, Kabe decided to stop dreaming and simply opened his jaws wide, tearing into the chicken with savage joy.
Lisanna stood beside him, gently rubbing his back, and together with her brother they served him from left and right like attentive attendants.
Over at the bar, Gildarts, his entire upper body wrapped in bandages and his right arm in a cast hanging against his chest, watched Kabe getting fought over by two cute girls, then watched him being lovingly fed by the Strauss siblings.
His eyes went red with jealousy on the spot.
"That brat is way too lucky. Master, how about you use your authority and kick that little punk out of the guild."
Makarov was just as envious. His first instinct was to nod along, but the scorching gaze that landed on him from somewhere nearby forced him to quickly change tone.
"What nonsense are you talking about. As the guild master, how could I ever do such a thing."
"That is right. The master's authority is not for you two to abuse in something like this."
Cana slammed a pot of freshly cooked magic beast stew from the kitchen down on the bar with a heavy thud.
After giving Gildarts a vicious glare, she picked up two small bowls and ladled out a portion for both Makarov and Gildarts.
"Thanks, little Cana. I always knew, out of all the kids in the guild, you are the cutest."
Gildarts grinned as he flattered her, reaching out to take the bowl from her hands.
Cana's heart gave a little jump at her father's approval, but when she saw his movement, her expression immediately turned serious. She slapped his hand away and dragged over a chair to sit beside him.
She scooped up a spoonful, blew it cool, then raised the spoon up to his lips.
"Stop pretending to be tough, you old man with one busted arm. Let me feed you."
Looking at her little face, stern yet full of expectation, lifted toward him as she waited for him to open his mouth, Gildarts suddenly thought of another woman he could never forget, who had fed him soup just like this, sharp-tongued yet gentle, when he was injured.
For a moment, the two faces overlapped. Gildarts' heart clenched tight and he lost control for a second, grabbing Cana's small hand that held the spoon.
"Cana, you… have we met somewhere a long time ago?"
Cana had been about to yelp from how hard he squeezed, but when she heard that question and saw the anxious face so close to hers, all the complicated feelings she had buried in her heart for years exploded at once.
Resentment, admiration, longing, everything surged up together and turned into hot tears that spilled from her eyes.
She nodded with a choked little "mm" and answered softly, full of nervous hope.
"In… in that little village of Leiro. Do you… still remember it?"
That was the village where her mother, Cornelia, had settled with Gildarts after they married.
If this man still remembered her mother, he would remember that village.
Gildarts looked like he had been struck by lightning.
Staring at Cana with a mix of shock, regret and guilt, he recalled the small figure that had always watched him from the sidelines.
Until now he had only ever thought Cana was a fan of his. It was only in this moment that he finally understood the truth.
He wrapped his good left arm tightly around the girl, pulling her into his chest. Tears and snot ran together down his face.
His voice, hoarse with confusion and remorse, trembled.
"Why did you not tell me sooner. Why did I not realize earlier."
Cana sank into the warm embrace she had longed for all these years, smiling through her tears.
"Because I could not say it… you idiot dad."
"…I am sorry, Cana. My daughter."
"…"
"Eh…?!"
On the side, completely ignored through this whole scene, Makarov was so shocked by this sudden, touching father–daughter reunion that he bounced straight up off the bar.
He stared in disbelief first at scruffy, unshaven, slob of a Gildarts, then at cute, well behaved Cana, who had been in the guild since she was little.
He blurted out, utterly flabbergasted.
"Cana, Gildarts, you, you two are father and daughter?! Blood related?!"
The other guild members had been too far away to hear their conversation.
It was only when Makarov shouted that everyone turned, stunned, to stare at the pair hugging and crying.
"Eh——!!!"*N
Hearing the chorus of exclamations, Gildarts, in an excellent mood after finally recognizing his daughter, decided to properly compensate her.
He scooped Cana up in one arm and, both proud and overjoyed, loudly announced to everyone.
"That is right. Cana is my daughter. You bastards better open your eyes and take a good look. How is it, my daughter is super cute, right!"
Cana, who had been deeply moved just a moment ago, watched Gildarts showing her off so stupidly and immediately shrank her head, burying her face into his chest in embarrassment.
"Idiot, do not do that, it is way too embarrassing."
Gildarts did not care in the slightest and continued showing off his girl to everyone without restraint.
"Hahaha, little Cana is shy. Too cute, just what you would expect of my daughter."