"Good job, brat. I thought you didn't take the competition seriously.
I never expected that you would actually rely on sheer determination and force your way to first place."
The moment they stepped into the inn, Makarov's cheerful laughter entered everyone's ears.
Looking at the little old man happily walking toward them, the expressions of the group immediately turned cold.
They had not forgotten that he deliberately hid the information from them, causing them to be woken up in the middle of the night and dragged into participating in this competition.
The old man also noticed the change in the six people's expressions.
His footsteps immediately slowed down, and he hesitated without daring to approach.
Seeing that he had become cautious, Kabe clicked his tongue regretfully.
"Stop saying nonsense, old man. Just look at our team's lineup.
If we couldn't get first place with this kind of formation, we might as well smash our heads into tofu and die."
Ignoring Erza and Mirajane, who were already extremely powerful, Ultear herself possessed true S-Class level strength.
Cana and Juvia were slightly weaker compared to them, but they were still not opponents that ordinary S-Class mages from other guilds could casually compare with.
In this preliminary round, their victory came from the fact that the team's overall strength was outstanding, with no obvious weaknesses.
Unlike the teams from other guilds, even if their team leaders were strong, the quality of their teammates was often uneven.
The rules of the preliminary round required the entire team to reach the finish line before they could pass.
The team had to take care of the member with the lowest stamina.
Otherwise, why would Kabe bother going through all this trouble?
He could have simply released his full power and flown from Magnolia to the capital in just a few minutes.
"Alright, alright. Old man, go stay wherever it's cool. We've been exhausted all day and just want to take a bath and get a good night's sleep."
After saying that, Kabe ignored him and waved for everyone to follow the inn staff.
Leaving behind the ignored Makarov, who could only stand there blowing his beard and glaring at them while muttering complaints.
The organizers had arranged a shared suite for each participating team.
Outside the suite was a private hot spring pool.
Their intention was that members of the same team staying together would make communication easier.
However, Kabe's team was a little too special.
Aside from him, the team captain, every other member was female.
Even putting aside Erza, Mirajane, and Cana, who were his girlfriends, there were still Ultear and Juvia, two friends who had not reached that stage with him yet.
Of course, Juvia did not care about this at all.
In fact, she wished she could sleep together with Kabe and openly bathe with him in the hot spring.
The unfortunate one was Ultear.
Her relationship with Kabe could only be described as extremely close friends.
Although she did not dislike Kabe's occasional teasing and suggestive jokes, actually bathing together with him was a completely different matter.
Mirajane had already finished showering and skillfully tied up her hair, preparing to head to the hot spring.
Seeing Ultear still sitting on the sofa in a daze, she stopped and asked curiously.
"Why are you still sitting there? Even if you're tired and want to rest, at least take a shower first."
"I..."
Ultear lowered her head and opened her mouth, intending to share her troubles with her sister.
But the moment she raised her head, the rest of her sentence became stuck in her throat.
Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at Mirajane standing in front of her completely unconcerned.
Her mind went completely empty.
Mirajane followed her gaze downward in confusion.
Then she suddenly realized.
"Oh."
Without any panic, she calmly walked back to her room and returned with a bath towel, wrapping it around herself.
"Sorry, sorry. I got used to it from living in the guild."
"..."
Ultear stared at Mirajane, who did not seem embarrassed in the slightest.
She really wanted to open up Mirajane's head and see what exactly was inside.
Was this something a normal person would say?
Even if you two are dating and have a close relationship, isn't this way too open?!
But after remembering that the person in front of her was the same Mirajane who always acted like a rebellious girl, Ultear slowly accepted it.
"W-Wait a moment. After you all finish, I'll take my shower."
Hearing this answer, Mirajane's eyes immediately narrowed.
She carefully looked Ultear up and down several times.
Only after staring until Ultear began feeling uncomfortable did she suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, what is this?
So it turns out that the beautiful mature woman who looks so open-minded like you is actually this shy and reserved in private."
Mirajane sat down beside Ultear, who now had an embarrassed expression.
She reached out and pinched Ultear's well-developed figure teasingly.
"Little Ultear, how old are you already? Can you stop being so timid?"
"If you really can't relax, then just do what I do and wrap yourself in a towel.
All of us sisters are here. Are you really afraid that Kabe will suddenly lose control and eat you?"
As she spoke, Mirajane reached out and began pulling at Ultear's clothes.
"Come on. Big sister will check things out for Kabe first. Let me see how much you've grown."
Ultear was caught completely off guard and was pushed down by Mirajane.
Feeling those mischievous hands moving around, she immediately panicked.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Stop! You female pervert!!"