Before Kabe could continue speculating, excited shouting had already erupted beside him.
"Hey, did you all hear that?! The king said he's holding an unprecedented grand gathering for mages!
And he's inviting our guild to participate too!!"
"What kind of gathering is it? A magic showcase? A wizard beauty contest? Or a martial tournament?"
"Whatever it is, if the royal family is organizing it, the scale definitely won't be small."
"January fifteenth... that's only a little over a month away. Hurry up already, I can't wait anymore!"
The guild members chattered nonstop, all filled with anticipation for the upcoming event.
Meanwhile, the smarter ones had already begun recommending themselves to Kabe.
"Kabe bro, you absolutely have to take me along this time."
A newcomer who had only recently joined the guild gazed at Kabe with eyes full of exaggerated sincerity.
Then, in the very next second, Macao launched a sneak attack from behind and kicked him flying out of the crowd.
"Kabe, don't listen to him. His Majesty asked for elites. Bringing a brat like that would only lower our guild's reputation.
For an important occasion like this, someone experienced like me, who has struggled in the magic world for years, should obviously go."
Before Kabe could respond, someone else immediately jumped out to refute him.
"You call yourself an elite? In terms of strength, you aren't even worth half my finger!"
"What did you say?! Even if I'm not an elite, beating trash like you is still more than enough!"
"Shut up, all of you. With a veteran like me who's been in the guild for fourteen years, you little punks should wait a few more years before talking."
"A washed-up old man who still isn't S-Class after ten years should stop embarrassing himself! This era belongs to us youngsters now!"
At this point, there was no point talking anymore.
The guild members who wanted to participate in the grand event all assumed fighting stances.
Clearly, they intended to punch their way into a qualification spot.
Kabe couldn't even be bothered stopping this pack of idiots. Right now, he had a stomach full of questions he wanted to confirm with Makarov.
Taking advantage of everyone's distraction, he quietly stood up and prepared to head back toward the library.
However, just as he reached the bar counter, someone blocked the guild entrance.
"Kabe, I need to ask you something."
Hearing that voice, both Kabe and the brawling Macao group instantly froze and turned toward the entrance.
"Irene?"
"Lady Irene!" ×N
Amid the guild's shocked cries, Irene slowly walked into Fairy Tail wearing a black long dress and high heels.
Without her witch hat and with her braided hair undone and cascading freely over her shoulders, she looked astonishingly similar to Erza.
So much so that even after recognizing her, the guild members subconsciously stopped fighting and loosened their grips on one another.
Even Kabe was briefly stunned by her new appearance.
Still, what intrigued him more was why this shut-in woman, who normally either stayed at her shop or hid at home researching Dragonification, had suddenly come to the guild looking for him.
"Irene, why are you here?"
After politely nodding toward the group of Fairy Tail members, whom she clearly viewed as potential customers, Irene looked toward the already-activated envelope in Kabe's hand.
She stopped walking, then raised an identical envelope between two fingers and gently waved it.
"Like you, I also received an invitation from the royal family.
Toma invited me to attend next year's grand gathering in the capital together with you."
Hearing that she had also been invited, Kabe immediately nodded in realization.
"So that's how it is. Though I guess that makes sense. If they held a massive event like this without inviting a Wizard Saint like you, it'd actually be strange.
So? Are you planning to go?"
"If it's only me, Brandish, and the others, it would probably be rather boring.
So I came to ask. If Fairy Tail intends to attend, then I don't mind accompanying you all for the trip."
The way Irene said it made her feel strangely like a child deciding whether to throw away a toy based on whether her friends were doing the same.
Just as Kabe was about to answer, another voice interrupted him again.
"Go? Of course Fairy Tail will go."
Makarov, who had previously been hiding in the library secretly reading gravure magazines, had apparently rushed out the moment he sensed Irene's familiar and overwhelming magic power.
"Lady Irene, it truly has been quite some time.
Thank you for taking such good care of our guild's children lately.
Thanks to your magical tools, the kids have much better protection while working outside."
The old man wore a shamelessly flattering smile, showing absolutely no restraint in praising this "great senior" who had been especially supportive toward Fairy Tail.
"Guild Master Makarov, magical tools are merely external aids. What is truly powerful are your guild members themselves."
Irene replied with simple politeness, causing Makarov to nod repeatedly in agreement.
Watching the guild master desperately buttering Irene up, Kabe finally lost patience. He grabbed Makarov by the shoulder and directly asked the questions that had been piling up inside him.
"Master, tell me honestly. You already knew the royal family was planning something huge, didn't you?
This sudden tournament... does it have something to do with this year's S-Class Trial?
And have you already decided who'll participate? Who are you planning to send?"
Makarov slapped Kabe's hand away and lightly coughed.
"I know you're anxious and have a lot you want to ask, but calm down first and listen to me slowly."
Ignoring Kabe's darkening face completely, Makarov first invited Irene to sit at the bar and even had one of the waitresses bring her a drink.
Only then did the old man leap onto the counter and begin explaining things to both Kabe and the remaining guild members.