The place Kabe had arranged to meet Jude was a newly opened café on the shopping street.
Looking up at the sign, LuckyNook, Kabe guessed that this might simply be one of the Heartfilia Conglomerate's properties.
"Lucky Nook... opening a tiny café like this in Magnolia and even giving it a name like that.
So he's already preparing for Lucy to join the guild in the future.
Or maybe he wants to tell Lucy that even if she can't stay in the guild one day, she'll still have her own little nest back home.
Seriously... what exactly is he taking me and Fairy Tail for?"
Shaking his head, Kabe pushed open the café door and stepped inside.
"Welcome home, Master. Our boss is already waiting for you upstairs."
Looking at the beautiful young girl in a maid outfit bowing politely in front of him, Kabe raised a brow, and inside his head ten thousand wild horses instantly stampeded past.
Holy hell. So Jude, of all people, actually likes this whole maid café aesthetic?
That does not fit your serious, old-fashioned character at all, damn it!
While frantically complaining in his heart, Kabe kept a perfectly calm expression on the surface and nodded.
"Alright. Please lead the way."
"This way, please."
The girl revealed a proper, polished smile and turned slightly to invite him upstairs.
...
On the second floor, inside an office that was far more formal than the one from their last meeting, Kabe met Jude Heartfilia, who was currently flipping through a set of documents.
The moment he saw him, Jude immediately closed the file in his hands and rose warmly to greet him.
"You're here, Kabe. What would you like to drink?"
"Well, since this is a café, coffee makes the most sense."
As he spoke, he raised a finger toward the maid who had brought him up.
"One latte."
"Then I'll have the same."
Jude dismissed the maid to prepare the drinks, then walked around the desk and invited Kabe over to sit on the sofa in the office.
The moment Kabe sat down, he noticed several newspapers from different publishers laid out on the coffee table.
And their headlines were all strikingly similar.
Every single one was reporting on how he had defeated José.
From that alone, it was obvious just how huge a stir that battle with Phantom Lord had caused in the world of magic.
And the fact that Jude had deliberately placed those newspapers in such a visible spot made the meaning behind it rather interesting.
Jude openly picked up one of the papers. Looking at the headline, he could not hold back the excitement and admiration in his voice.
"At first, I thought there was some exaggeration when you claimed your strength ranked among the top five in Ishgar.
But this battle with Phantom Lord truly opened my eyes.
José Porla, ranked sixth among the Ten Wizard Saints, and rumored to stand on equal footing with Master Makarov...
And yet you defeated him without suffering a single scratch.
At this point, the only one who might be able to stand against you is probably the first seat of the Ten Wizard Saints, the one known as the Heavenly God, Selene."
"Selene, huh? That really would be a slightly troublesome opponent."
Kabe replied modestly, though in truth, his understanding of that person was not especially deep.
What remained in his impression was little more than twin tails, and the fact that she possessed multiple Dragon Slayer Lacrima.
As for whether he could defeat her, Kabe did not doubt it in the slightest.
Even if she really was absurdly powerful, he still had his ultimate trump card, transforming into a Great Ape.
Looking across the whole world, even against the Black Dragon Acnologia, he did not feel the least bit intimidated.
Jude, of course, had no idea what Kabe was thinking.
And in fact, he did not even need Kabe to be capable of defeating Selene.
It would be enough as long as he had the strength worthy of becoming one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
"Kabe, before we talk about investment, let me tell you about another plan of mine first."
Jude fixed Kabe with a burning gaze and slowly revealed the ambition in his heart.
"I want you to take José's place and become the seventh member of the Ten Wizard Saints."
Kabe tilted his head with a stunned expression, and a question mark practically appeared over him.
For a moment, he genuinely did not know whether Jude had lost his mind or whether his own ears had broken.
Did this man really think that just because he had money, he could do whatever he wanted?
He was a merchant who could not use magic, and who normally had no dealings with the magic world at all.
What gave him the confidence to say something like he could make someone into one of the Ten Wizard Saints?
As if he had seen the disbelief in Kabe's eyes, Jude smiled with visible satisfaction. Then he reached into his coat and placed a thumb-sized emblem on the table.
Kabe glanced at the emblem, and his brows instantly knit together, then relaxed.
"A golden iris. The royal emblem.
So this is actually the will of the Fiore royal family?"
"You could put it that way."
Jude nudged the emblem a little closer to Kabe, then explained with clear delight,
"Fiore proclaims itself a permanently neutral nation. But neutrality is not something others accept just because you say it.
The reason all nations acknowledge Fiore's neutral status is entirely because Fiore is a powerful magical country, rich in magical influence.
And within the kingdom, there are many first-rate mage guilds stationed throughout its lands, which forces others to acknowledge that reality whether they like it or not.
That is why the Fiore royal family has always placed great importance on cultivating and drawing in outstanding mages from within the kingdom."