"You four need to put some limit on your wild guesses.
Even if you do not trust Selene, you should at least trust me.
I am not the kind of man who will take just anything if I get desperate."
Kabe had assumed that once he said this, the four girls would finally relax.
But to his surprise, the moment the words left his mouth, he was met by four equally complicated, deeply suspicious looks.
"The hell is with those expressions? Do you seriously think I am that kind of person?!
The only reason I wanted to go just now was to find Selene.
Not only do I have zero interest in the girls under her, they are not even in that line of work!"
Now that he had explained it so firmly, the four girls finally let the suspicion drop and stopped doubting him.
Erza smiled and hooked her arm around his as she spoke to comfort him.
"Sorry. We overthought it. Next time we meet her, we will apologize in person."
Mira rested her cheek on one hand and grumbled with clear irritation,
"And that is not entirely our fault.
You were the one who kept hiding her background and refusing to explain anything.
And on top of that, look at the kind of business she is running now. Of course we were going to assume the worst."
That immediately won strong agreement from Levy and Cana, both of whom felt that Kabe himself bore at least half the blame.
"You can twist it around like that too?"
Kabe looked thoroughly helpless, but after today's misunderstanding, he decided he might as well tell the four of them at least a little about Selene.
"Fine. Since you want to know, I will tell you a bit."
"Mm-hmm, hurry up and say it," Levy urged eagerly.
"The truth is, Selene is a dragon. She originally lived on the Ishgar continent too, but later moved to the northern continent, Guiltina, for certain reasons.
I first met her while Irene and I were on our way back to Ishgar.
Because we respected one another and acknowledged each other's strength, we formed an alliance together.
Then, because of this and that, things eventually turned into the relationship we have now."
The four girls: ...
The four of them looked at one another.
The table fell silent for quite a while before Cana finally broke it.
"So what you are saying is, Selene is a friend you and Irene met on the way back.
Then the two of you started liking each other, and now you are together. Is that it?"
"Uh... if you simplify it enough, then yes, that is basically right."
"If she is also a friend of Mom's, then I am relieved."
Erza trusted Irene unconditionally, so her opinion of Selene immediately improved a little.
Seeing that, Mira and Levy also stopped pressing the issue.
Now it was Kabe's turn to be confused.
"You all... do not have anything else you want to ask?"
"No. Knowing that much is enough to put us at ease. You can go have fun now. If you are not coming home tonight, just let us know in advance."
Erza's tone had completely lost its earlier severity. Instead, she gently reminded him like a thoughtful wife.
Mira and the other two also waved him off, clearly letting him go.
'No. Something is wrong. One million percent wrong!!
Even if Selene was just a misunderstanding, there is no way these four would let me off this easily!!'
Now fully aware that something was off, Kabe let his gaze sweep across each of their faces in turn.
"So... I can really go?" he asked tentatively, half rising from his seat.
Then Mira and Erza immediately put a hand each on his shoulders and shoved him back down.
"As if we would actually let you run!"
With that roar, Mira jumped up and grabbed Kabe by the collar, shaking him hard.
"You idiot, do you even realize what you just said?!"
The other three girls could not hold it in anymore either and started loudly demanding answers.
Erza: "Idiot, what exactly do you mean when you say dragon? Are you talking about the kind I know?!"
Levy: "You have to be lying to us, right? Aside from Natsu shouting about it all the time, who in this world has actually seen a dragon?!"
Cana: "Even if it is true, aren't you way too insane?!
At least think about basic differences between species and reproductive isolation!!"
It was obvious that Kabe's earlier confession had completely fried all four of their brains.
Their emotions were running wild, their voices were unusually loud, and they were practically talking over one another now.
"Waaah, you bastard. At first I only thought you were a little too flirtatious. I never imagined your tastes were messed up too.
A dragon? How could you even bring yourself to do that?"
Mira wiped at the corners of her eyes as she scolded him, sounding both heartbroken and disgusted.
Feeling that if she kept going, he was really about to be painted as some kind of reptile maniac, Kabe hurriedly tried to explain himself.
"Hey, hey, do not describe it like I just pounced on some giant lizard with wings.
You have seen Selene before, right? She is a perfectly gorgeous woman."
Mira's fake sobbing stopped instantly.
Then she grabbed both of Kabe's cheeks and yanked hard, gritting her teeth as she demanded,
"Exactly! So if you say she is a dragon, where is your proof?!"
"Ow, ow... how am I supposed to prove that? What, am I supposed to transform on the spot for you?"
With his cheeks being pinched, Kabe's words came out a little garbled.
After a pause, he pried Mira's hands off and decided to bring Irene into it.
"You want proof? Then ask Irene. She knows better than anyone."