"Ahem. Meredy, was it? Welcome to Fairy Tail.
I gave the guild stamp to Erza for safekeeping, so Ultear, just take her to her directly."
"Understood, Master."
"Thank you, Grandpa Master."
Ultear nodded in acknowledgment, and Meredy hurriedly followed with her own shy thanks.
Makarov stroked his beard with a smile and gave the two of them a gentle nod.
Just as they were about to turn and leave, Gray came over with a mischievous grin.
"Ultear, who's this little kid? Your daughter?"
"Yes. Meredy really is my daughter."
"Oh, so I actually guessed right."
Gray nodded with a look that practically said, I'm a genius.
But not even two seconds later, his eyes went wide and he jumped straight into the air.
"What?! Y-you-you... you already have a daughter?!"
Even Makarov, who had taken a moment longer to react, got so agitated that he yanked out a few strands of his own beard.
"You've got to be joking. How old are you? How could you possibly have a daughter?!"
As soon as he said that, Makarov's face turned dark as iron, and he clenched his fists tightly.
"Who is this child's father? I have a few things I'd like to discuss with him."
Gray's face twisted as well, and he let out a sinister little smile.
"Heh. I also have a small gift I'd like to give him."
Seeing that the two of them had completely misunderstood, Ultear rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Stop letting your imaginations run wild, you two idiots. Meredy is my adopted daughter, not my biological one."
She was an eighteen-year-old beauty. No matter how absurd things got, there was no way she could have an eleven-year-old daughter.
Just what exactly were these two idiots stuffing into their heads all day?
"Oh... so that's how it is?"
The anger instantly vanished from both their faces. Looking at Meredy, who had once again shrunk back behind Ultear and was now staring at them in fear, the two of them became awkward beyond belief.
"Damn it, Gray, why were you yelling nonsense like that? You made even me misunderstand!"
Makarov was the first to strike, immediately turning around and scolding Gray.
Gray awkwardly rubbed his nose, then crouched down in front of Meredy and forced out what he clearly thought was a friendly smile.
"Kid, I'm Gray. I'm your mother's mother's disciple, so that makes me your uncle.
If you run into trouble in the guild later, remember to use my name."
Little Meredy first shrank back a bit more. Then, seeing that Gray did not make any further moves, she finally gathered a tiny bit of courage and softly murmured,
"Okay... Gray... big brother."
"It's uncle."
Gray, who was only five years older than Meredy, put on a serious face and corrected her.
Meredy had no choice. Reluctantly, she called him uncle.
Only then was Gray satisfied. Looking very pleased with himself, he started searching through his pockets with both hands, and in the end he actually found a piece of candy, which he handed to Meredy.
"Thank you, Uncle Gray."
This time, Meredy sounded far more sincere.
Happily, she unwrapped the milk candy and popped it into her mouth. The sweet taste made her big eyes narrow blissfully in delight.
The sight of it made both Gray and Makarov smile as well.
...
"Oi, oi, what are you people huddling around here for? Slacking off, are we?"
From a distance, Kabe had seen Makarov and Gray with their backs turned toward him, gathered around Ultear for who knew what. The foreman, having just finished one round of inspection, immediately called out with clear displeasure.
At the sound of his voice, Gray and Makarov instinctively turned around.
And the moment they did, they exposed Meredy, who had been hidden behind them.
"Hm?"
Kabe let out a soft sound of surprise, recognizing this little girl, who looked even younger than she had in his memory.
He immediately quickened his pace and walked over. Completely ignoring Gray and Makarov, who looked like they wanted to explain something, he crouched down in front of Meredy and silently looked at her.
Seeing yet another unfamiliar older brother appear, Meredy, who had already tasted how nice it was to be doted on, lifted her bright, watery eyes toward him and sweetly greeted him with obvious expectation.
"Hello, uncle."
Unexpectedly, the moment Kabe heard that form of address, his brows immediately drew together.
"Don't call me uncle. If you really have to call me something, you can call me dad."
"..."
Meredy froze on the spot, her mouth falling open in stunned shock.
Ultear's cheeks instantly flushed bright red, and without the slightest hesitation, she kicked straight at him.
"Go die, you perverted lecher!"
A black high-heeled sandal struck Kabe solidly in the face.
Yet his body stayed rooted to the ground as though nailed there, not moving even slightly.
Calmly, he simply grabbed Ultear's fair ankle and lowered her leg back down.
"It was just a joke. No need to get so excited and reward me directly."
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