At the long table, Kabe had his left arm wrapped around Lucky. After downing an entire glass of alcohol in one go, he slammed the empty cup heavily onto the table.
"So tell me, what's so good about keeping all those noble families in the kingdom?"
"Nearly thirty percent of the kingdom's land is controlled by them. On their own territories, their words carry more weight than the king himself.
Most importantly, they only pay a symbolic amount of tax to the royal family every year.
That little bit of money isn't even enough compared to the annual revenue of a single noble domain."
"So I suggested to the Queen that we reform the entire tax system. It doesn't matter if they are nobles or not, just tax them based on how much land they own.
Then, using my 'Enfeoffment Reduction Proposal', we split the great nobles into smaller nobles, then slowly turn the small nobles into commoners, and finally wipe them out completely to centralize power.
Tell me, isn't my idea absolutely brilliant?"
The only response he received was the muffled drunken murmurs of Marcus and Wallen, who had already collapsed face-first onto the table.
"Hey, wake up. I'm talking to you two."
Kabe frowned in dissatisfaction and pushed them, but the two of them showed no reaction at all.
Seeing that there were no more suitable drinking companions left, Kabe scanned the room with annoyance, searching for a new target.
But everywhere he looked, there were only drunkards lying or slumped over.
Almost the entire guild had been knocked out by alcohol, except for a few girls who had barely drunk.
"Tch, a bunch of trash. This is all they've got?"
He reached for a bottle on the table, intending to pour himself another drink.
But just as his hand touched it, two hands pressed down on his arm from both sides, stopping him from continuing.
"You are not drinking anymore. Go home and sleep."
Lucky snatched the bottle away and ordered him angrily.
On the other side, Sorano directly grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the chair.
"I'll take him back. Lucky, I'll leave this place to you."
Looking at the guild hall in complete chaos, Lucky rubbed her forehead helplessly.
"These idiots… when they wake up, I'm going to make them pay for cleaning fees."
Kabe, who had been pulled up by both arms the entire time, did not resist.
Although he was not drunk to the point of losing awareness, he had definitely drunk enough. It was time to go back and rest, and perhaps do something more beneficial for both body and mind.
"Do you need help, Sorano-nee?"
A voice suddenly drew the attention of the three of them.
Meredy walked forward with Lucy beside her, carefully stepping around the drunk bodies scattered across the floor.
Meredy looked at Kabe and curled her lips slightly in annoyance.
"Not back for even a month, and the moment you return you end up like this. You really are hopeless."
"Long time no see, Kabe-nii, Sorano-san."
Lucy greeted them somewhat nervously yet excitedly, waving her hand.
Seeing the pink and gold-haired pair, Kabe blinked in confusion for several seconds before speaking in surprise.
"Meredy, and Lucy?!
Am I seeing things? Why are you here?"
He had been drinking and boasting with Marcus and the others all this time, and Lucky had forgotten to tell him about it. Naturally, he had no idea that Lucy had joined the guild today.
Sorano, on the other hand, had almost not recognized her at first. Only after Kabe mentioned Lucy's name did she recall the faint impression of having seen her before.
"It's me, Kabe-nii. I've joined Fairy Tail!"
Lucy eagerly stretched out her right hand, revealing the Fairy Tail guild mark on the back of it.
She had been a little disappointed when she heard Kabe was not in the guild earlier.
She never expected that on her very first day joining Fairy Tail, she would meet him immediately.
Seeing the mark on her hand, Kabe also fell into a brief daze.
'Lucy has joined Fairy Tail… so that means the main storyline is about to begin?'
'Though honestly, the plot has already been completely messed up by me at this point.'
Pulling himself back from his wandering thoughts, he looked at Lucy who was still waiting expectantly and smiled.
"Welcome. From now on, we are comrades in the same guild."
"Yes!"
Lucy nodded heavily. All the happiness she felt today seemed to pale in comparison to those few words from him.
Only Sorano tilted her head in confusion, looking at Lucy's plain outfit.
"If I remember correctly, weren't you—"
"Ah! Hahaha! Sorano-nee, long time no see! You've become even more beautiful!"
Before she could finish, Lucy suddenly laughed exaggeratedly and interrupted her.
The more she did that, the more suspicious Sorano became. But noticing Lucy desperately winking and signaling at her, she eventually chose not to continue the topic.
"Mm-hm, and you too. It's been a few years… you've grown quite a lot."
Her eyes drifted without hesitation toward Lucy's chest as she spoke.
Even Kabe couldn't help but glance as well.
"Eh! Sorano-nee, what are you saying?!
And Kabe-nii, don't look too!"
Noticing their gazes, Lucy immediately turned red and hurriedly covered herself with both hands, puffing her cheeks in embarrassment.