The moment they saw him coming down from upstairs, the girls all stopped chatting and turned to look at him.
Kabe slapped the request sheet down onto the table and said,
"Erza, the Master isn't here. When he gets back, remember to tell him for me."
Erza nodded, then curiously looked down at the commission he had taken.
Since she was sitting closest, Bisca saw the contents of the request sheet at a glance.
Then she covered her mouth in surprise.
"Eh? Going to... the western continent?!"
Only then did Kabe remember that Bisca herself was an immigrant from the western continent.
"Bisca, how much do you know about the Alvarez Empire?"
The moment that country was mentioned, disgust could not be hidden in Bisca's eyes.
"That country is a complete and total war machine.
Most of the immigrants from the western continent, me included, came to Ishgar because our original countries were conquered by the Alvarez Empire, and we refused to accept imperial rule.
The only thing I really know about it is that Alvarez is an extremely centralized country.
Power within the empire is almost entirely controlled by the emperor alone, giving it unmatched ability in coordination and deployment.
That was exactly how Alvarez managed to unify the entire western continent in such a short time and destroy every kingdom that originally existed there."
"That's the advantage of a centralized state."
Kabe nodded deeply, as though he understood all too well.
On that point, someone like him, who had been born in a great eastern country in his previous life, had the most right to speak.
The other girls did not know much about Alvarez, but after hearing Bisca describe it like that, they all understood how powerful that nation was.
Once they thought about Kabe going alone deep into enemy territory for reconnaissance, Erza, Juvia, Cana, and the others all showed worried expressions.
"Even the Council couldn't handle this mission. You absolutely must be careful."
Erza frowned as she gave her warning.
"Relax. I'm just taking a look around. If it really gets dangerous, I'll just run."
Kabe said it lightly and casually. Then he picked up the request sheet and tucked it into his pocket.
"That's it, then. I'm going home to pack up and leaving right away. This mission might take a while, so all of you take care of yourselves too."
After saying goodbye to the girls and greeting Macao and the others, Kabe wasted no time and headed straight back home.
After packing his things together with Aries, he dashed out of Magnolia at full speed.
...
Over the next few days, Kabe hurried nonstop until he reached Hargeon Port.
After buying a simple map of Alvarez from a local sea merchant, he jumped straight into the ocean by himself and began swimming all the way toward the western continent with long, powerful strokes.
And during the days he was away, the debate over whether he was qualified to become one of the Ten Wizard Saints continued to intensify.
Thanks to his looks, his age, and his past accomplishments, he had a huge number of fans among younger people, both face fans and strength fans, all of whom strongly supported him becoming a Wizard Saint.
The greatest basis for their support was Kabe's record of defeating José.
And it was precisely because of that that his supporters made up the majority of public opinion.
But no matter how outstanding Kabe was, it was impossible for everyone to like him.
More than that, he was simply too young.
Many middle-aged and elderly people who either disliked him or held rigid, old-fashioned views seized upon that point and furiously pushed back.
They especially believed that since Kabe had not yet made enough contribution to the world of magic, the Council should not grant him a title as honorable and glorious as the Ten Wizard Saints.
The two sides clashed endlessly, each holding fast to their own beliefs.
Newspapers and magazines from all over took ruthless advantage of the traffic and attention.
A few smarter outlets even tried to manufacture more discussion by interviewing Kabe directly.
Unfortunately, by the time they came looking for him, Kabe had already left the guild and "vanished without a trace."
Of course, the reason this whole matter had grown into such a massive uproar could not possibly be separated from Chairman Crawford's secret efforts behind the scenes.
Among both the supporters and the opponents, there were people he had bought who were deliberately stirring up the topic.
And the Kingdom of Fiore had not been idle in the background either. The royal family's hand could be seen behind quite a few of the groups and newspapers supporting Kabe.
As the heat around the topic continued to rise, it was only natural that the intelligence agents of Alvarez also learned of the matter.
Along with the news, Kabe's personal information was likewise sent back to the empire.
Even if Kabe thought until his head split open, he probably never would have imagined that before he had even investigated Alvarez's current state, his own information would be learned by them first.
...
Alvarez Empire, Capital, Vistarion.
A crimson-haired woman with four braids rested one elbow against the armrest of her chair, reclining slightly as she read the intelligence document her subordinate had delivered.
"God of Destruction Kabe? Judging from this report, achieving this much at the age of eighteen is indeed rather impressive...
But for someone like this to call himself a god is still far too arrogant."
After offering that brief comment, Irene Belserion set the report aside and spoke to the two girls who were fooling around in her office.
"He is at least someone worth paying attention to. From now on, make a copy of any information regarding him and keep it ready for me to review at any time."
Hearing Lady Irene say that, the girl in white with light-brown twin tails separated from her companion and tapped her cheek in surprise.
"Eh? For Lady Irene to actually care this much about a guy called Kabe... that's really rare."
On the other side, the girl in black, with blue hair tied into round buns and two loose strands hanging by her cheeks, folded her arms beneath her chest and said,
"Idiot, Juliet. Someone who can defeat a veteran Wizard Saint at that age is no ordinary person."
"Ah, Heine, you called me an idiot again! I was just a little surprised, that's all. Of course I know that much.
And I also know that no matter how young and outstanding this brat is, he could never possibly be a match for Lord Spriggan.
Right, Lady Irene~?"
Even while stubbornly talking back, Juliet did not forget to flatter Irene a little on the side.
That made Heine roll her eyes in irritation, and she muttered under her breath, "A horse's ass of a flatterer..."
Looking at the two creations of hers, one cold and one hot, always bickering with each other, Irene allowed a faint smile to curve across her lips.
"That's enough, both of you. Go and carry out the task I assigned you.
Make sure Ishgar's intelligence agents continue paying attention to the talented people on that continent.
If these outstanding young people can be recruited, then recruit them wherever possible.
If they cannot be recruited, then once the imperial army marches into Ishgar, they will be among the first targets that must be eliminated."
Juliet and Heine: "Understood, Lady Irene!"