Remembering how she had spent almost the entire night awake from sheer tension, then looking at the infuriatingly smug smile on Kabe's face, Mirajane suddenly understood everything.
"You bastard, you used me!"
Kabe pressed one hand on her forehead to stop her from lunging at him and trying to strangle him, and patiently explained:
"You are misunderstanding me. When it comes down to it, the real purpose of this mission is to train you, the rookie. Every loss you suffer now is experience I painstakingly summarized from countless beatings in the past."
He let go and took a step back.
"Alright, today's little lesson is over. Get up, wash up. We cannot keep the client waiting."
Without his hand holding her back, Mirajane stumbled forward and fell face first onto the bed. She glared at him fiercely, then jumped down, bare feet hitting the floor as she ran into the bathroom with a rapid patter.
"Fine, I will settle this with you after the job is done!"
"Sure, do your best. I will be waiting."
After a quick round of washing and changing, the two of them left the room together.
At almost the same moment they stepped out, the Barth brothers came out of the room opposite theirs. The two groups paused for a beat when they met in the corridor, then the older brother, Bart, was the first to greet them.
"Good morning, Mr. Kabe, Miss Mirajane."
Kabe nodded back.
"Morning. Looks like you both slept well."
With that, the four of them moved side by side toward the dining room like they had agreed on it beforehand, chatting as they went and cautiously probing each other.
Kabe was the first to feign curiosity.
"Come to think of it, I forgot to ask yesterday. Which guild are you two from?"
Bart gave an apologetic little smile.
"It was our oversight not introducing ourselves properly. Let me do that again. We are mages from Giant's Nose. I am the elder brother, Bart, and this is my younger brother, Wright."
"So you are from Giant's Nose. Your guild is one of Fiore's older guilds. I will be counting on the two of you during today's mission."
"Not at all. We are only from a small, not very famous guild. Compared to Fairy Tail, we are far behind."
Bart kept that same gentle demeanor, and when he spoke about his own guild there was not the slightest hint of shame. There was no crack in his performance, no trace of a lie visible at all.
Kabe smiled faintly and chose not to expose it.
Mirajane, on the other hand, completely believed what he said. Curious, she tugged on Kabe's sleeve and asked him about Giant's Nose.
Giant's Nose did indeed exist. In the future, the fake Salamander Bora, who abducted and trafficked girls in Hargeon, came from that guild.
While Kabe gave Mirajane a quick explanation, Bart and Wright would occasionally chime in at the side, adding little details. It made them seem even more like genuine members of that guild, without a single flaw in the act.
Chatting like this, the four of them soon arrived at the same dining hall as last night.
By the time they entered, Karen was already seated and chatting with Babitt.
Judging by their cheerful smiles and lively conversation, they were getting along quite well.
Watching Karen's smile tinged with softness and flirtation, Kabe could not help wondering if this woman was planning more than just completing the mission. Maybe she was hoping to win over Babitt and snag herself a noble husband along the way.
"Oh, all four masters are here. Please, have a seat."
Babitt greeted them with even more enthusiasm than he had shown the night before.
Sure enough, as soon as they sat down, he could not wait to share the news.
"Everyone, my men brought word this morning. The mermaid has appeared again."
Kabe calmly picked up a slice of bread and spread jam over it.
"By the way, could you describe that mermaid for us? I am quite curious."
Deep down, he believed this so-called mermaid was nothing more than a smokescreen, but that did not stop him from listening to Babitt spin his tale. At worst, it was a free story.
At his question, Babitt immediately wore a nostalgic expression. He stared absently up at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling as he murmured:
"This might take a bit of explaining. The first time I saw her was three years ago, when I was returning from a vacation in a neighboring country."
Of course. Nobles really do go to other countries just to take a holiday.
Kabe stuffed the entire slice of bread into his mouth, grumbling inwardly.
"At the time, it was only a fleeting glimpse. I saw a beautiful figure on the waves. When I focused and looked again, all that was left on the surface was a fish tail half disappearing into the water in a hurry. Those scales, lined up neatly and shining like sapphires, were the most perfect work of art I had ever seen in my life.
"After that day, I was never able to forget that figure. In order to see her again, I ordered my men to keep watch over that stretch of sea around the clock. Eventually, we discovered the pattern of her appearances."
At this point, Babitt's voice suddenly rose in excitement.
Kabe stopped chewing for a moment and stared at Babitt, a figure beginning to surface in his mind.
"Around this time every year, in other words during the eighth and ninth months, the mermaid appears along the coast near Hargeon with the tides. She is a kind-hearted spirit. My men and I have seen her save drowning children from the sea more than once. For some reason, she seems especially fond of blond children."
Cold sweat started running down Kabe's back.
"But no matter what, her beauty and kindness deeply moved me. I swore that even if I had to resort to the most despicable methods, I would have her and keep her by my side. For that purpose, I spent another year making a detailed plan, then finally issued a request to the guilds."
By this point, Kabe was completely numb.
Leaving aside whether this guy was devoted or deranged, that "mermaid" he had been going on about was far too familiar.
Is that not Lucy's Celestial Spirit, one of the Zodiac, Aquarius?
The tides that accompanied every appearance were probably the tsunamis Aquarius used to drown Lucy whenever she was summoned in a bad mood.
As for saving drowning children, especially blond ones, that part could not be more obvious.
Because that would be Lucy, the blonde young lady from a rich family, the exact same girl Aquarius had just blasted into the ocean a moment earlier.
Add to that the timing, the eighth and ninth months, peak season for rich folk going to the seaside for vacations, and it was not hard to put the rest together.
Kabe could practically see it.
A wealthy young lady named Lucy, brought to the beach by her family in the summer holidays. She summons the Celestial Spirit who has watched over her since childhood, Aquarius, to play with her in the sea. Then they happen to be seen by a passing Babitt, who is instantly smitten in the most cliché, melodramatic way possible.
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