"Well? Any smell?"
"…Y yes, just a little."
"Hehe, now how are you going to laugh at me?"
Letting go, Mirajane crossed her arms proudly and puffed out her chest as she looked at Erza sprawled on the sofa, covering her face with her arm, completely unable to show herself to the world anymore.
But Mirajane's smugness did not last long.
Her gaze soon shifted to Ariès, who was sitting on the floor, a blush spreading from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears as she softly muttered apologies.
"Ariès, now it's your turn. Don't think that just because you helped me earlier, I've forgotten you were laughing at me too."
"Eh? Mira, we we agreed, didn't we?"
Startled, Ariès hurriedly scooted backward.
But Mirajane had no intention of letting her escape so easily. She hopped off the sofa with a mischievous grin and slowly reached out with her sinful little hands.
"Yahda~~"
Amid the little white sheep's imagination fueling scream, Mirajane caught her and began poking and squeezing her from top to bottom.
Watching Mirajane behave like a full blown perverted tease, Little Kabe snapped to attention on the spot and gave a salute.
Even Kabe himself swallowed hard, undoing the top two buttons of his shirt.
"Ahem. Well, uh, Mira, stop playing around for now.
We've been out all day and everyone's sweaty. I'll go run some water so we can all wash up together."
"Go on, hurry. Don't worry about me."
Mirajane was busy messing with Ariès and clearly had no time to care about him.
But Kabe's goal had never really been the bath.
He stood up immediately and scooped up Mirajane, who was tangled up and rolling on the floor, with one big arm.
Mirajane struggled indignantly at first, but when she felt the unknown object pressing against her lower back…
She seemed to suddenly understand something. Her eyes widened, her strength vanished instantly, and she was carried straight into the bedroom.
"Erza, help Ariès pick a room. Come find me later."
Leaving behind those words, Kabe darted into the bedroom and slammed the door shut with a bang.
On the sofa, Erza lowered her arm and stared blankly at the closed door, her gaze gradually turning unfocused.
Ariès, her face so red it looked like it might drip, carefully climbed up from the floor and said softly with her head lowered,
"E Erza, you don't need to worry about me. Just leave me any empty room."
"G go go… go find him? At a time like this?!"
Erza's cheeks burned as she stammered. She was not stupid. Of course she knew what Kabe was planning.
That kind of thing was bound to happen sooner or later, but her legs were trembling so badly she did not have the courage to join in.
Likewise, Ariès, who had already "seen the world" back at Karen's place, could more or less guess how the story would continue.
Seeing that Erza seemed hesitant, as Kabe's Celestial Spirit, she felt she should do something.
"Erza… Mira is in there right now.
You wouldn't want Master to be monopolized by Mira forever, would you?"
"Eek!"
Erza was jolted so hard she rolled off the sofa and sprang to her feet.
"Th then… your room is on the second floor, left hand side, first door.
You go up yourself. I I'll go see if they need help scrubbing backs."
With that, Erza stiffly walked toward the bedroom, her limbs moving awkwardly in unison.
After mustering all her courage, she pushed the door open and slipped inside.
Seeing this, Ariès hesitated for a moment, then chose not to go upstairs. She squeezed her legs together and sat back down on the sofa.
'To prevent Master from being disturbed, staying here to guard things… that's perfectly reasonable, right?'
Thinking that, she curled up slightly, but her ears quietly perked up.
That day, Kabe learned several new idioms.
Such as clearing grass to see the sun, luring a snake into its hole, rolling snowballs, overflowing pond waters, flesh serpents spitting…
Ahem. In short, his horizons were greatly expanded.
...
Three days later, a visibly slimmer Kabe stood at the front door, waving goodbye to Mirajane and Erza, who both looked radiant.
"I'm heading out. Remember to clean up the battlefield. Don't let Elfman and Lisanna notice anything when they get back."
Mirajane: "Mm hm, bye bye. Remember to come back early."
Erza: "I'll ask Laki to hurry and finish the new house. Th then… we'll continue."
Kabe's already haggard face went pale again when he heard that.
Still, he forced himself to nod, then turned and walked away quickly without another word.
Those two little demons squeezed him dry far too well. If he did not leave now, he feared his kidneys would not survive.
As his figure disappeared, the two women closed the door with smiling faces, only to immediately collapse weakly onto the floor, their expressions full of pain.
Mirajane: "N no… I can't take it anymore… I really thought I was going to die…"
Erza: "Th that bastard… how can he still mess around outside…"
Mirajane: "Enough talking. Ariès, where are you? Come help us up!"
Hearing the call, Ariès hurried out of the kitchen wearing an apron.
Looking at the two women, pale faced and clinging to each other on the floor, crying and groaning, Ariès pressed her lips together in awe.
Of course, who exactly she was admiring… that was anyone's guess.
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