Feeling that the surrounding air wasn't quite right, Makarov subconsciously took two steps back and took two deep gulps of his milk tea to calm his nerves.
Darwin was also realizing, albeit a bit late, that his move to borrow money just now had been too reckless.
However, even in the face of the interrogation from the two girls, he still chose to keep the matter of Zeref a secret.
"It's just an ordinary friend, not some little girl from another family."
"Really? That sounds very suspicious..."
Erza's body continued to lean in toward Darwin, her rising aura forcing him back against the request board. Then, she raised her right hand and, with a smack, pinned it against the board.
It happened!
The legendary "Kabedon"!!
Chris and Makarov screamed internally in excitement!
Crunch, crunch...
What was that sound?
The two turned around and suddenly noticed that the uncles not far away had stopped drinking at some point. They weren't chatting or blowing off steam anymore; they were staring straight over here.
Everyone had entered "melon-eating" (spectator) mode!
Chris had sharp ears and even heard some people whispering to each other:
"What happened?"
"I don't know!"
"She went straight for a Kabedon. Is Erza always this assertive?"
Among the crowd of excited wizards, only Reiya saw that the situation wasn't quite that simple.
"Wait! Something seems off! Normally, when a girl does a Kabedon, the guy should be thirty percent shy, thirty percent expectant, and forty percent nervous, right? But looking at Darwin, his expression is one hundred percent 'pure nerves'!"
The person next to him asked in confusion: "You're a single dog with zero experience; where on earth are you getting these romantic theoretical statistics?!"
Reiya tossed his flamboyant hair, struck a "dashing" pose, and said solemnly: "The data comes from rich practice, of course! I've simulated this exact scenario in my head countless times!"
The crowd: "...Suddenly, I feel very sorry for you."
"I did happen to overhear a few things just now!"
Hugh beckoned with his hands, signaling the crowd to gather around him. Once they were close, he whispered: "It seems Darwin met another girl outside and even gave her a phone as a gift, so Erza is jealous..."
"What?!"
The "melon-eaters" widened their eyes, the gossiping souls within them burning fiercely.
Stuart took a sharp breath: "That kid Darwin is pretty gutsy! As expected, he inherited his old man's genes. He might be excellent, but he's a playboy!"
Hugh followed up: "The brat has the right idea, but unfortunately, his situation is completely different from his father's!"
"Remember, Weston, Mavis, and Zera went through hardships together from childhood and supported each other all the way."
"But these two? They've had no worries about food or clothes since they were little, and they have parents watching over them!"
"With this kind of lifestyle, it's absolutely impossible for Darwin to replicate what happened back then!"
The people around him nodded in agreement.
"That makes a lot of sense!"
"Hit the nail right on the head!"
The guild's resident cat-girl, Sura, also tilted her head and squeezed her way in as if she had smelled boiled fish.
"Great job, Erza!"
As she spoke, she nudged her brother Morgan with her elbow: "Look at them. Even a little girl knows to grip 'love' tightly from a young age. You'd better start learning!"
The uncles nearby all had their eyes light up simultaneously.
"Oh? Morgan has a story too? Hurry up and tell us the details..."
"There are so many romantic 'melons' this morning, my wisdom teeth are getting inflamed from all this 'shipping'!"
Seeing the spotlight shift to him because of Sura's single sentence, Morgan grew anxious.
"Hey, why are you all looking at me?!"
"The focus right now should be Erza and Darwin!!"
The old "melon-eating" men looked at each other.
"True!"
"Though we want to eat both melons, we can't lose the forest for the trees!"
"That's not the right way to put it! Erza and Darwin are kids, while Morgan and his mysterious 'Lady Cat' are adults, so it should be 'we can't let the big melon distract us from the small one'!"
"Oh—makes sense, makes sense!"
To avoid the fire spreading to himself, Morgan continued to shift their gaze: "Speaking of which, that third party who stepped in between Darwin and Erza... whose daughter is she anyway?"
As expected, once Morgan asked this, the crowd stopped caring about his romantic drama and began thinking about girls in town who were around Darwin's age.
"I don't know. It's rare to see Darwin get close to other girls..."
"If we're being serious, I have a guess!"
"Brother, let's hear it!"
"It's Kristine, the one whose family owns the Magic Shop. I remember Darwin goes there to buy things often; they must have had a lot of contact!"
"Impossible! No matter how dense Darwin is, he wouldn't give a phone as a gift to a girl whose family owns a Magic Shop!"
Magic Phones were sold in Magic Shops as "Magic Items." A Magic Shop manager's daughter would have been around various models of phones since she was a toddler; why would she accept a gift like that?
It probably wasn't her!
With one option eliminated, someone else proposed three more.
"Could it be Beneve, the bakery owner's daughter? I remember she seemed a bit interested in Darwin? She blushes every time she sees him..."
"That little girl is just introverted and shy, that's all!"
"I think it's Rachel, the fruit shop owner's daughter. She's always so enthusiastic toward Darwin!"
"Please, that girl is just naturally cheerful, and her whole family is enthusiastic toward everyone, okay?! Otherwise, how would their fruit shop be so popular?"
"Are you all forgetting Laura from the Magic Bookstore? That girl is gentle, polite, well-read, and even has a bit of Mavis's aura! I've heard many boys like people who remind them of their mothers."
"If you put it that way..."
The group discussed for a long time, listing seven or eight names in one breath, but not a single conclusion could convince everyone.
Suddenly, the uncle who loved drama said: "Since it's none of these kids, is it possible it's not a local from town?"
The others were stunned: "If it's not a local, could it be an outsider? If they're an outsider, how did Darwin meet them? Impossible, impossible..."
"Is it impossible? Not necessarily!"
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"When I went to Grisha's Clinic yesterday to look at my injuries, I found he has a new apprentice. She's a young girl about the same age as Darwin and the others. And according to Grisha, Darwin and Erza were there yesterday too!"
There was a development like this?!
"You suspect..."
"Exactly!"
"Then we should..."
"Investigate separately!"