"Thank you for accepting me, Erza."
Erza smiled brightly.
"I will keep a close eye on you, rookie."
Seeing Erza recruit such a strong new member for the guild, Kabe, who had been idling at the side, immediately took the lead and started clapping.
Clap, clap, clap.
"Welcome, welcome."
"Ultear, you finally came around."
"And you did great too, Erza."
"When we get back, I will ask the master to give you a recruitment bonus."
"There is no such thing as a recruitment bonus in the guild."
"Be careful, or the master will dock it straight out of your reward instead."
Erza rolled her eyes.
Recruiting talent for the guild was something she felt she should do anyway.
The stronger Fairy Tail became, the happier she was.
They had freed their friends from the Tower of Heaven and even gained Ultear as a new comrade.
In such a good mood, Erza took the initiative to suggest they have a few drinks to celebrate.
No one objected, of course.
Wally and Sho quickly headed out and came back lugging two wooden barrels and an assortment of bottles and jars of alcohol.
Ultear chose the weakest champagne she could find, pouring a glass each for Erza, Millianna, and herself.
Then she lifted her glass, looking a little embarrassed.
"Speaking of which… I actually want to bring another companion into the guild too."
"She is also from Grimoire Heart, but she is a very pure and kind child."
Erza, who had just raised her glass to take a sip, paused and set it back down.
"You are my comrade."
"Of course I trust you."
"If you want to bring her in, then bring her."
Ultear felt deeply moved by that unconditional trust.
So she stopped hiding anything and explained calmly,
"All right."
"I have already spoken with her before."
"If nothing goes wrong, she should arrive in Magnolia by the time we get back..."
"When that happens, I will introduce her to you."
"Okay, it is a promise then."
Erza, Ultear, and Millianna raised their glasses and clinked them together.
...
Kabe sipped his drink and listened to their conversation.
After thinking a bit, he quickly guessed who Ultear meant.
If he remembered correctly, it should be that pink haired little girl named Meredy, whose magic had something to do with linking senses and emotions.
At that moment, Sho on the side started asking him about the current state of the magic world.
Other than knowing about the Council, the Ten Wizard Saints, and other things even children often heard about, he and the others knew almost nothing of the wider world.
Kabe did not mind giving them a crash course.
He told them about the major guilds in the magical world, explained in detail how guild mages took jobs, and even talked about which kinds of magic, magic tools, and alchemical potions were currently popular.
He figured that whether they ultimately joined a guild or not, they would at least gain some skills to make a living.
At first, Sho, Simon, and Wally listened quite seriously.
But gradually, their attention began to wander.
One by one, they started staring past Kabe, eyes fixed on something behind him.
"Brother in law… wh what are they doing behind you?"
Sho swallowed nervously.
"Huh?"
"We only just started drinking."
"What could possibly be happening?"
Kabe did not take it seriously, but curiosity still made him turn his head.
What he saw made his eyelid twitch.
Erza had a bottle in one hand and flicked the cork off with her thumb.
Then she tilted her head back and started chugging straight from the neck.
As for Ultear and Millianna, both of their cheeks were flushed bright red.
Their eyes were spinning in circles as they lay sprawled over the table.
What the hell happened in the last five minutes?
How did it get to this point already?!
Utterly shocked, Kabe jumped to his feet, intending to grab the bottle from Erza's hand.
But before he could reach her, the entire bottle was already empty and in her stomach.
Hic.
She let out a drunk little hiccup.
Her head swayed, and her steps faltered.
She was about to fall over.
Kabe hurriedly reached out to catch her, but Erza's body swayed aside with an unexpected feint.
Not only did she dodge his arm, she hooked her own arm around his neck and yanked him in, locking him against her chest.
"Hey, Kabe… you got really jealous because I cared so much about Jellal, didn't you?"
Their faces were so close their noses almost touched.
As soon as Erza spoke, a dense wave of alcohol hit Kabe right in the face.
Before he could complain, Erza jerked her head and slammed her forehead into his.
"Bastard."
"You actually doubted my feelings for you."
"Do you have a death wish or what?!"
"Crap."
"I forgot."
"Drunk Erza has a full on rampaging mode setting."
With his nose stinging from the headbutt, Kabe suddenly remembered that detail.
Unfortunately, it was far too late.
With her brain already completely disconnected from reason, Erza dragged him toward the door, still shouting as she went,
"Come on, we are going back to the room."
"I will show you right now just how much I love you."
Kabe tried to pull away, but he was afraid of hurting her if he used too much force.
In the end, he could only kick helplessly at the floor as Erza hauled him out like a sack.
Just before they went out the door, he turned his head and shot a pleading look at Sho, Wally, and Simon.
The moment their eyes met, all three men immediately turned their heads away in unison, pretending they had seen absolutely nothing at all...