"If you do not believe me, then go ask Irene. She knows about it too."
"Oh wow, I never thought the day would come when I would have a dragon as one of my sisters. This world really is amazing~~"
"Hey! Why did you believe it instantly the moment I mentioned Irene?! Are you asking to get beaten up?!"
Watching Mira immediately accept the idea, arms folded as she sighed in amazement, Kabe instantly felt his anger flare all over again.
No matter how much he explained, it still had less effect than simply dropping Irene's name. Exactly how little faith did these women have in their own man?
"All right, all right, do not be mad. Hearing something this shocking, it is only natural that we got a little emotional."
Erza patted his shoulder to comfort him, but Kabe felt absolutely none of that comfort.
"Then why is it that the second I mention Irene, all of you believe me completely?! Question me a little more, damn it!!"
"Honestly... you are so petty. Are you still a child?"
Mira let out a helpless sigh. Before Kabe could open his mouth to argue back, she pulled his head into her chest.
With that sweet, milky scent filling his nose, Kabe instantly felt that maybe he had overreacted after all. Full of remorse, he rubbed against her a few times to show his apology.
...
A few minutes later, once all five had calmed down, they sat back down properly.
After waving over a waitress for several drinks, Kabe bit down on his straw and glanced around the guild hall.
Seeing that only a scattered few members remained, he asked in confusion,
"Come to think of it, I have not seen Ultear, Sorano, or Bisca much lately.
They seem really busy these days. Are they preparing for something?"
The four girls seemed to have completely moved on from the earlier topic. Hearing Kabe ask, Levy smiled and explained,
"Them? Lately they have been working hard and taking on jobs to save up money..."
"Saving money?" Kabe looked baffled. "They are not lacking food, clothes, or a place to live, so what are they saving for?"
He genuinely did not understand. Most people in the guild lived by the rule of spend what you earn, regardless of whether they were men or women.
Even he himself had only really been in the habit of saving before he built his house.
Now that the new house was done, even he had started spending more freely.
"It has something to do with us too."
"How so?" Kabe pressed.
This time Cana took over and continued the explanation.
"It is mainly because so many of us moved out of the girls' dorm, so the place got a lot quieter.
And after seeing Irene and the others choose to build a new house right next to ours, Ultear and the rest started thinking that once they save enough, they will ask Levy to build them a new home nearby too.
That way, we can all still be neighbors. It will be livelier, and it will be more convenient when we want to hang out together."
"So even they are planning to move out now..."
Kabe sighed in amazement. Just as he lifted his drink and was about to take a sip, his hand suddenly froze midair.
"Wait. Build houses next to ours? Hold on, did I approve that?
How is it that just anyone can start building right beside my estate on my land?!"
Erza frowned at that and drove an elbow into him.
"They are all guildmates. There is no need to nitpick over something like that."
Clutching his left side where she had hit him, Kabe stared at her with wide eyes.
"I never said I would not agree. But the fact that none of you even bothered to ask me first is a little too much, isn't it?"
Erza answered with a cold snort, while Mira showed a thoroughly mischievous smile.
"Too much? We are doing it for your own good.
After all, if Ultear and the others live closer, that just makes it easier for you to make a move on them, doesn't it?
You have probably already got your eye on one of them... or maybe all of them."
Gulp.
Kabe suddenly fell silent and quietly took a big drink of juice instead.
"You..." Mira felt irritation rise in her chest the moment she saw that reaction.
Cana propped herself up on the table with one hand and said in a tone of complete certainty,
"All right, all right. If we really minded that sort of thing, we would never have let them move in nearby in the first place.
So, you should be satisfied now, right?"
Kabe nodded so hard it was almost frantic. He agreed at once and showered the four girls with all kinds of praise.
To thank them for all their generosity, Kabe took the initiative and offered to take them shopping, with every expense fully covered by him.
...
For quite a while after that, it was not just Ultear and the others who were hard to spot around town. Even Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and even lazy good-for-nothings like Macao and Wakaba started taking jobs frequently and were often absent from the guild.
At first, Kabe had thought these people were simply spending too much money at Irene's Magic Cottage or at Selene's hot spring district, and had finally been forced to work harder.
But once even Cana and Levy disappeared for a full week because they were out taking commissions, it finally dawned on him.
The year-end was drawing close, and with it, the annual S-Class Trial was about to begin once more.
Those lazy idiots who never worked properly under normal circumstances were now clearly in the middle of their final mad dash before the exam.