Laki tugged curiously at Kabe's sleeve, gossip practically shining in her eyes.
"So, so, Kabe, do you know who will be this year's S-Class mage candidates?"
"How would I know? That is all up to the master. When he gets back, you can ask him yourself."
Kabe lied smoothly, not mentioning at all that he was already basically preselected.
Mira watched him suspiciously, then suddenly asked,
"What about you? Why are you not going out on jobs?
Do you already know you will not be selected, so you gave up?"
"Heh, I have always worked hard, you know. I never slacked off.
If that old geezer had not used my age as an excuse the past two years to hold me back, I would already be an S-Class mage by now."
Just mentioning it filled Kabe with irritation.
His daily expenses were huge. The reward from a normal job often was not even enough to feed him for a few days.
To avoid starving, he had to keep taking missions nonstop.
S-Class missions were different. Each one paid several million at least.
That would be enough for Kabe to take a long break from work, and invest far more time into training.
But Makarov, that stubborn little old man who refused to adapt, insisted on using Kabe's age as a reason and stripped him of the chance to take the S-Class exam twice in a row.
This year though, his strength had finally been recognized.
From now on, he would not have to live that exhausting life of constant running around.
Just thinking about it made Kabe's eyes sting with almost-tears.
The others had no idea about his inner drama. When they heard he already had S-Class level strength, they all gasped in admiration.
Laki: "That is amazing, Big Brother Kabe."
Lisanna: "If it is Brother Kabe, I know it will work out."
Levy: "Kabe, if you get chosen, we will all be cheering for you."
Elfman: "Yeah. Brother Kabe, you can do it."
"Tch, you do not even know if he will be chosen yet, what are you all getting so excited for?"
Mira went against the mood on purpose.
Once she understood the situation, she immediately started barking orders.
"Since you are all here, do not just sit around. Levy, Laki, you two come help me wash the dishes."
"Eh, that is too much, Mira. We are guests, you know."
"Shut it. There are no guests in my house."
Under Mira's terrifying "authority," Levy and Laki reluctantly started cleaning up the battlefield of dishes that Kabe had left behind.
Elfman and Lisanna were already used to it. They each carried a tall stack of empty plates back into the kitchen like seasoned veterans.
Although having Mira cook was written into their rental agreement, Kabe still could not bring himself to just sit and watch the kids run around for him. At times like this, he always stepped in to help.
Watching Kabe and the Strauss siblings cooperate smoothly as they cleaned up the tableware, Laki could not hold back a mischievous grin.
"Ahh, this is nice. It looks exactly like a mom and dad with their two kids. You three are just like a real family."
...
Mira's face went red in an instant. She stammered and yelled at Laki,
"Wh-what are you talking about! Say that again and I will never let you come over again!"
"Tch, like I care. If I do not come over, I do not have to wash dishes."
Laki completely ignored Mira's threat. Instead she poked Levy with her elbow and asked in a loud, teasing whisper,
"Levy, do you think those two look like husband and wife?"
Levy paused, glanced at Kabe and Mira, then smiled.
"Yeah, super much."
"Y-you two... You actually teamed up to make fun of me.
Fine, we will see what happens when we get home tonight."
Furious, Mira marched straight to the door and locked it with a decisive click, swearing that tonight she would teach those two a lesson they would never forget.
Elfman and Lisanna just laughed themselves silly at the side. Clearly, they were very happy to see their big sister get flustered like this.
Only Kabe looked deeply unwilling, propping his cheek on one hand as he pouted.
"Hey, jokes are one thing, but do not drag me into it.
A free bird like me is not going to abandon an entire forest for one little sapling that has not even grown properly yet."
The words had barely left his mouth when a plate came flying and crashed squarely into his forehead.
The dish shattered into several pieces, and Kabe's head snapped back as he dropped limply to the floor.
At the same time, Mira's furious shout shook the whole house.
"You perverted brat! Who are you calling an undeveloped sapling?!"
Laki, Levy: "Hey, maybe focus on the important part here!"
Still, they were all just kids. Aside from Kabe, no one really took the teasing too seriously.
Once the dishes were washed and everything cleaned up, the four girls pushed and shoved each other playfully as they went upstairs, leaving the two "men" downstairs staring at each other.
"Big Brother Kabe."
Suddenly, Elfman spoke up a bit shyly.
"I have a question I want to ask you."
Without waiting for Kabe to answer, Elfman lowered his head and slowly clenched his hand into a fist.
"Since I joined the guild, I have been learning magic seriously with Big Sis Mira and Lisanna.
Big Sis Mira is amazing, she learns any magic instantly. Even Lisanna has managed to do partial Take Over sometimes.
Only me, I cannot even get close to the threshold.
So I was wondering, maybe I do not have any talent for magic at all.
I wanted to ask you about it, Big Brother Kabe."
"That is what you are worrying about?"
Hearing that this was the thing bothering him, Kabe casually patted Elfman on the shoulder.
"Listen, how long have you even been practicing magic? You are already doubting yourself?
You three are siblings. If your big sister and little sister can do it, then you can too."
As he spoke, Kabe's hand moved from Elfman's shoulder to his chest, tapping lightly over his heart.
"Like the master always says, magic is the power of the heart.
If you already started denying yourself in here, how can you expect magic to answer your call?"
Elfman nodded hesitantly, more or less understanding what Kabe meant.
"So what you are saying, Big Brother, is that I should let go of my doubts and move forward honestly?"
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