Under his burning gaze, one that seemed ready to devour her whole, Cana truly started to panic.
She had also drunk too much the night before, her head spinning from the alcohol. That was why, while Mira, Levy, and the others were all drunk, she had secretly whisked Kabe away into her own room.
It was not as though she had no feelings for Kabe herself. In fact, she did like him a little. But doing that kind of thing in broad daylight... was that not a bit too inappropriate?
That was what she thought, and she was also perfectly aware of what might happen next.
Yet when Kabe leaned in again, she only struggled faintly for a moment before finally giving in and obediently closing her eyes.
...
By noon, when Erza saw Kabe and Cana returning with bags and luggage in their hands, she revealed a satisfied smile that clearly said, "Just as expected."
"Come with me. I already reserved a room for you."
Cana, who was half-hiding behind Kabe and feeling more than a little guilty, froze on the spot the moment she heard that.
"Y-you're not blaming me?"
"Blaming you for what? I already told you before, if it's you, then I support it unconditionally."
As she said that, Erza stepped forward and took the luggage from Cana's hands herself.
"Besides, I wasn't drinking last night. If I had really wanted to stop you, I would have done it the moment I saw you two staggering off together."
Hearing that, and realizing that her sneaky act of leading someone else's boyfriend back to her room had been witnessed by Erza from start to finish, Cana's face instantly flushed bright red with embarrassment.
Leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded, Mira let out a cold snort as well.
"Idiot. Since when has anyone ever gotten drunk off fruit juice?"
Aside from taking a few sips of alcohol at the very beginning, Mira had spent the rest of the night drinking juice the whole time.
"Even you too, Mira..."
Cana was left speechless. Even Mira, who used to guard against her like a hawk, was reacting like this. It seemed all the worry she had been carrying around had truly been unnecessary.
But before she could fully relax, the sound of stifled sobbing reached everyone's ears.
"Uuu... this is so unfair. I was clearly here first. If anyone was going to do that kind of thing with him, it should've been me first..."
Levy directly burst into tears, looking utterly wronged.
She was also one of the later additions, so she had no objection to Cana joining them.
What she could not accept was this: she was clearly Kabe's third official girlfriend.
And yet she still had not gotten a taste of the "main course," while Cana, who came later, had somehow overtaken her.
Seeing how heartbroken she looked, Erza and Mira exchanged a glance, then both spread their hands toward Cana in helpless sympathy.
Cana had not expected that Levy had still not "eaten meat" yet either, but after thinking about everything Kabe had gone through during this period, she quickly understood.
At once, guilt welled up in her heart.
With a face full of apology, she hurried over, grabbed Levy's hand, and repeatedly apologized.
Kabe was also deeply ashamed. He immediately promised Levy that tonight, no matter what, he would definitely satisfy her.
And in return, he received a unified round of eye-rolls from all the women.
Kabe scratched his head and sighed inwardly.
Women really were too hard to understand.
And just like that, in a bewildering and muddled sort of way, Cana became the fourth mistress of "Saiyan Manor."
That was a name they had only just come up with.
But the women living in the manor were not limited to just the four of them.
Ultear had also been invited by Erza last night to stay there temporarily.
...
The moment Kabe saw Ultear in the living room looking at him with a strange expression, he suddenly frowned, folded his arms, and began stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Is... there something wrong with me?"
Being stared at by a man who kept four women in his house gave Ultear a distinctly uncomfortable feeling. Hugging a cushion protectively to her chest, she asked with clear caution in her voice.
Kabe paid no attention to those small defensive gestures. After thinking for a while, he finally spoke.
"No. I just suddenly remembered that you still haven't officially joined our guild yet."
"Hah? Amazing that you still managed to remember."
At that, Ultear immediately shot him an annoyed glare.
Back when they were in a hurry to settle things with Phantom Lord, that was one thing.
Then afterward, they had been detained by the Magic Council, so there had not really been a chance.
But yesterday, after they were finally released, she had thought that no matter what, it was finally time for her to receive Fairy Tail's mark and officially become one of them.
And yet this idiot had spent the entire day drinking, completely forgetting all about it.
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became, and she could not help complaining bitterly:
"You bastard, in the beginning it was you and Erza who invited me so seriously that I agreed.
In order to join Fairy Tail, even when the Magic Council found out a few days ago that I was a student at the Council Academy and tried to persuade me to continue my studies, I rejected them without the slightest hesitation.
And yet you damn bastard completely forgot about the whole thing!"
"There was even that? The Council is really that stingy? They won't even let someone from a guild go be an outstanding student at their school?"
Kabe made a joke, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere a little.
But under Ultear's fixed, unblinking glare, he could only raise his hands in surrender in the end.
"Alright, alright. My fault. I apologize."