"Now hurry up and make me breakfast, or do not blame me if I smack your butts one by one!"
The three girls, who had just suffered heavy blows to their foreheads, heard Kabe's threat and instantly clutched their backsides in panic, scooting far away from him.
"You... fine, just you wait!"
As captain, Mira knew the difference in power between herself and the "enemy," so she wisely threw down a harsh line, then slipped into the kitchen in a flash.
Her two teammates instinctively followed along and, without really knowing how, found themselves joining in on breakfast duty.
...
Once the three had been driven off, Lisanna and Elfman, who had been quietly huddled together on a small sofa, could not hold back their smiles any longer.
Little Lisanna hopped down, her bare feet pattering across the floor as she ran over to Kabe. Hands tucked behind her back, her face was full of admiration.
"Big Brother Kabe, thank you so much for helping Elfman last night.
Whatever you want to eat for dinner, tell me, I will beg Big Sis Mira to cook it for you."
Kabe rubbed her smooth white hair with satisfaction and sighed softly.
"Our Lisanna really is the sensible one. Unlike a certain older white-haired person, who does not know how to say thank you and even wakes people up early in the morning."
Hearing Kabe's praise and that extremely pointed "hint," Lisanna giggled, then snuck a glance toward the kitchen.
She tiptoed up to Kabe's side, stood on her toes, and whispered,
"Do not be fooled by Big Sis's mouth. Last night, when she saw Elfman finally use magic, she was laughing and crying at the same time.
She praised you for ages right in front of us."
"Yeah?"
Kabe glanced suspiciously toward the kitchen, but his mood clearly brightened.
"Of course. I would never lie," Lisanna said, staring up at him with big honest eyes.
Kabe suddenly snorted a laugh and tapped her lightly on the head.
"You little schemer. Alright, big brother gets it. Go help your big sis. I am going to wash up."
"Got it, Big Brother Kabe!"
Lisanna snapped off a serious little salute, then turned and grabbed the still-half-asleep Elfman, dragging him into the kitchen.
Before long, laughter and lively chatter started floating out from behind the kitchen door again.
Kabe went back to his room to change and wash.
...
Over the next few days, Kabe continued the same dull, repetitive training routine.
Mira, Levy, and Laki did exactly as they had said and formed a team, heading out together on missions.
With Mira, the head chef, gone, breakfast and dinner duty fell to Sous Chef Elfman.
The taste was still a step below Mira's cooking, but it could still count as delicious.
As repayment for their hard work, Kabe taught them some physical training techniques.
This was the Fairy Tail world. Being a mage was not enough, their bodies and combat skills had to keep up as well.
...
Another half a month passed.
One after another, the guild members who had gone out on long jobs returned.
With Master Makarov also back, everyone gathered at the guild that day.
"He is here, he is here, the S-Class Promotion Exam!"
The exact moment Kabe stepped into the guild, he heard Natsu yelling at the top of his lungs.
"I have been working hard all year. This time Master will definitely recognize me and make me an S-Class mage!"
"Quit joking. You only joined a bit over a year ago. You are nowhere near ready to be S-Class."
Gray's mocking voice followed right behind.
As expected, Natsu, not willing to take that insult lying down, immediately launched himself at Gray and the two started brawling.
"Both of you, stop!"
With a face like a thundercloud, Erza, who had not been seen in a while, stepped forward and floored them both with a punch each, hands on hips as she scolded,
"Natsu, Gray, how many times have I told you? No fighting between comrades."
The two lying sprawled on the floor wanted to cry.
Clearly the one who hit her comrades the hardest was Erza herself.
Watching this familiar scene, Kabe walked over with a smile and called out,
"Yo, Erza, Gray, Natsu. Long time no see."
"Kabe!"
All three shouted his name in surprise.
Natsu planted his hands on the floor to climb up, but an armored boot stomped down firmly on his back and stepped over him to reach Kabe first.
"Kabe, as soon as I got back I heard your mission failed. What happened, are you hurt?"
Looking at Erza grabbing his hand and even reaching to pull up his shirt to check, Kabe caught her hands helplessly and explained,
"It has already been half a month. Even if I was hurt, I would be healed by now.
And it was not really a failure. The situation was special, but I handled it properly."
Erza gripped his hands tightly and, hearing that, finally let out a breath of relief.
"I see. I am glad you are alright.
But even if you are not injured physically, your heart might still be hurt.
After all, this is probably your first time failing a mission, right?
It is okay. If you do not feel good, you can talk to me about it as much as you like."
"Just so you remember, I am probably a year older than you. Do not lump me together with Natsu and Gray like I am a little kid."
Looking at Erza being overly concerned, almost radiating motherly warmth, Kabe felt touched and awkward at the same time.
Fortunately, at that moment the "battlefield" expanded.
"Hey, armor girl, what are you doing to Kabe?!"
Mira had just stepped into the guild with Levy, Laki, and her younger siblings when she saw Erza and Kabe standing hand in hand, looking way too close.
In an instant, the string called rationality snapped in her mind.
She roared and charged straight at Erza.
Erza smoothly stepped back, her body twisting just enough to avoid the attack.
But because of that, her hand separated from Kabe's.
Her brows knit in displeasure as she snapped at Mira,
"You again, that delinquent girl with the bare midriff.
From what I heard, Kabe's mission failed because he had to take care of you, right?
As a rookie, before you have properly mastered your magic, you should not be rushing to accept dangerous missions.
That is not only irresponsible to Kabe, it is irresponsible to your own life."
Mira had already been unhappy about how close Erza was standing to Kabe.
Hearing her use that lecturing, senior tone on top of that made Mira's temper explode.
"What are you babbling about? Do not think that just because you have known Kabe a few more years you can keep touching him like that.
I am warning you, Erza, that is not happening in front of me."
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