A sharp thunk rang out, followed immediately by Kabe's furious cursing from up in the sky.
"The hell?! Which bastard with zero manners put a damn barrier in the freaking sky, huh?!"
The four people below, "Uh, pretty sure the one with no manners… is you."
High above, Kabe rubbed the new bump on his head, staring speechlessly at the now-shattered layer of faint purple "sky."
Right… I think this did happen in the original.
And those demons… ah, crap, I almost forgot about them.
Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, he awkwardly waved down at the four on the ground, then turned around and flew back toward the island.
Lyon and the others couldn't be bothered to complain about his "wrong way" stunt anymore. Each of them started packing up and getting ready to leave.
But before going, Sherry pulled out her most treasured "Most Wanted Boyfriend" ranking list. With a completely blank face, she drew a line right through Kabe's name at the very top.
Sure enough… you should never actually meet your idols.
This too… is a kind of love~
Once Kabe found the local villagers, he politely—
…well, okay, not that politely—talked, bargained, and shook down his rightful reward for wiping out their "demon problem."
Then, without wasting time, he headed straight back to the guild.
When you really thought about it, even though he'd felt like he'd gone through a lot, from the moment he left to the time he returned to Magnolia, only about six or seven hours had passed.
The main reason it took that long was because he got hungry halfway through and dropped down to have a good, solid meal.
After rushing back to the guild, the first thing he did was track down Makarov and report on how the mission ended.
He trusted the old man completely, so he didn't hide anything.
From Ultear to Lyon, he laid out everything they'd done, every detail, start to finish.
Makarov hadn't expected it, but things really did line up with the Council's guess: a disciple of Ultear had stolen Deliora's remains.
Even though it hadn't been Gray, the old man still felt a twinge of guilt.
He swore to himself, The next self-critique letter I send to the Council, I'll write properly. I won't trick a guild member into ghostwriting it ever again!
As for Ultear and Lyon?
If it was something Kabe had handled personally, Makarov was willing to trust his judgment.
Since Kabe said the two of them were redeemable, Makarov naturally didn't insist on erasing them to "eliminate future problems."
Before any of that, though, he still had a lot to take care of.
He had to contact the right people to transport Deliora's frozen body back from Galuna Island, and he had to send word to his kids out on the road telling them it was safe to return home.
A few days later, once everything was settled, the guild members who'd been sent out started returning one after another,
and Fairy Tail soon went back to its usual noisy, chaotic liveliness.
Gray, meanwhile, was called down alone to the basement by Kabe, who had been waiting specifically for him.
"…That's pretty much how it went."
Kabe finished his explanation with a helpless shrug.
"Sorry, Gray. I finally ran into one of your blood relatives… and I still didn't manage to bring them back for you to see."
"What are you saying?"
Gray wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes—tears born from relief and joy, not grief—and looked at him with a bright, serious expression.
"Just knowing there's news about Lyon… and that Ultear is still alive… I'm already really happy.
Kabe, thank you. Really.
If it weren't for you, I don't know what other stupid things Lyon might've done.
He'd probably have kept being tricked and used.
Anyway… I really owe you for this."
Kabe was leaning on the table, propping his chin up with one hand. Seeing Gray suddenly stand and bow so solemnly, his eyes almost rolled clear into the back of his skull.
"I swear… do you have to make me nauseous right when I'm in a good mood? Cut it out already."
He stood up, and Gray also straightened seriously.
"One thing's separate from another. I'll remember this debt for Ultear's sake too.
If you ever need my help, come to me. I'll do everything I can."
"What about Lyon then? Did you eat your wonderful senior or something?"
Snarking as he spoke, Kabe threw an arm around Gray's neck and steered him toward the stairs.
"Relax. I'll definitely find a chance to use you later. I won't forget you."
Hearing that Kabe accepted his sentiment, Gray finally let out a breath of relief.
But almost immediately, he frowned, grinding his teeth.
"Kabe, I have another request.
If you get any news about Brain, tell me. I'm going to kill that bastard with my own hands."
"Ugh, you two really are master and disciples… even your threats sound exactly the same."
"What?! Lyon asked you the same thing?"
Gray exploded.
"No way. We're in the same guild. If you get information, you tell me first."
"Yeah, yeah. If I hear anything, I'll tell you.
But that guy's just like a rat—you never know which sewer he's hiding in."
By the time they finished talking, the two of them had already reached the guild's main hall.
As they stepped out, a clear voice called out cheerfully, "Kabe! And Gray! Long time no see!"
The two of them looked up.
A tan-skinned girl was running toward them, waving with a radiant grin on her face.
"Kana?!" they shouted in unison.
The girl skidded to a stop in front of them, hands on hips, smug grin in place.
"Hehe~ It's me. Surprised I suddenly came back, huh?"
As she spoke, Kana tipped her head back to look at Kabe and suddenly went up on tiptoe, measuring their heights.
"So tall! When Erza and the others told me, I thought they were exaggerating.
Didn't expect that in just a year or so, this little shorty would shoot up this much."
Hearing that, the faint warmth of reunion that had just kindled in Kabe's heart was instantly drowned in cold water.
He grabbed her head and viciously scrubbed her hair like a dog's, baring his teeth in a wicked grin.
"Shorty, huh? Why don't you open those eyes of yours and take a good look at who's the short one now?"
"Hands off the hair! Don't you know girls hate having their hair messed with?!"
Kana angrily slapped his hand away and accused him with hands on her waist.
"Look at Gray. Sure, he's a pervert who likes stripping naked at the drop of a hat, but at least he doesn't grope girls casually."
"Who are you calling a pervert? I'm still wearing my clothes right now," Gray protested indignantly.
After roasting each other back and forth, the three of them finally calmed down and really took a good look at each other.
Seeing the smiles they could no longer hide in one another's eyes, Kana was the first to break, her lips curling into a bright, bell-like laugh.
Kabe and Gray both followed, grinning wide as laughter burst out of them, warm and unrestrained.
"Kana—welcome home!!" they said together.