As the conversation went on, Lucy learned that Erza and the others had only gotten back to the guild themselves that same day. Nearly two months had passed since they'd first set out on the job, all the way back before Kabe had even taken up his post as Prince Regent.
"Two months, just to finish one job? How difficult could this thing possibly have been?"
Lucy had only joined the guild four days ago and had already completed two jobs herself, so the idea that Erza's team, all three of them working together, needed a full two months for one job told her right away that this had to be no ordinary assignment.
"Seriously, you've never even heard of a ten year job? Come on, you could've at least done a little homework before joining the guild."
Mirajane didn't even know how to respond to Lucy's cluelessness. Lucy wasn't some poorly educated orphan mage either. She was the young lady of the Heartfilia family, someone who by all rights should know more than the average person. And yet here she was, a total newcomer who didn't even know the basics.
"Let me explain," Ultear cut in, setting Meredy down from her arms and picking up the thread to walk Lucy through it herself. "Generally speaking, jobs fall into four broad tiers. There are Standard jobs, which anyone can take as long as they're a certified mage. Then there are S Class jobs, which require passing an exam to become an S Class Mage first. Above that are Ten Year jobs, jobs that have sat unfinished on the board for a decade, ones that even plenty of talented S Class mages haven't managed to complete. And at the very top, there are Century jobs, jobs that have gone unsolved for a hundred years since the guild's founding, still waiting for someone capable enough."
"Our job this time was posted by a kingdom in the eastern part of Ishgar. The goal was to defeat or drive off a powerful Beast King that had taken over the kingdom's capital twelve years ago."
Erza's expression turned grave the moment she started explaining the job.
"Dealing with it left every one of us with injuries, some worse than others. Out of the two months, about half of it went to travel, and the other half to recovering."
'Th, that dangerous? And this was the combined might of the Fairy Queen, the Demon, and the Ice Empress?'
Without a second thought, Lucy immediately filed Ten Year jobs under things she should never, ever attempt. But at the same time, her respect for the three of them only grew.
"That's amazing. Something other mages couldn't finish in ten years, and you three pulled it off. That's an incredible achievement by any standard across the continent."
"Ha, an incredible achievement, huh? If I told you this kind of high difficulty job could get treated like a daily errand in certain hands, you wouldn't be saying that."
Mirajane let out a self deprecating laugh, sighed, and propped her chin on her hand, looking a bit sulky.
"Wh, what? Is that even possible? Who could possibly be that strong..."
Before Lucy could even finish questioning it, one face immediately floated to the front of her mind.
"Kabe? If someone like that actually exists, he's the only one I can think of."
Sure enough, the others nodded in agreement without hesitation.
"Who else but that monster could rack up a record that ridiculous."
Even so, compared to Kabe, the three of them still fell noticeably short. But after years of taking that particular blow to their ego, Mirajane and the others had long since made their peace with it. Whatever the case, they'd successfully completed a Ten Year job, and that alone was an impressive credential in the eyes of the wider mage world.
What followed was Mirajane's turn to brag, painting a dramatic picture for Lucy, Sorano, and Meredy about just how terrifying and troublesome the Beast King had been, exaggerating her own contributions to the team along the way, occasionally bickering with Erza and Ultear over who'd performed the best and deserved the most credit. She also took the opportunity to tease Meredy, sharing a few embarrassing stories about Ultear's mishaps over the past two months, much to the little girl's indignant outrage as she loudly insisted her Ul would never make a mistake like that.
That evening at dinner, the three women finally reunited with Kabe, whom they hadn't seen in quite some time. Kabe, who'd apparently been off doing something all day, looked overjoyed to see them, sweeping each of them into a warm hug and a kiss.
It was in that moment that Lucy suddenly realized, with no small amount of shock, that the three women so admired and adored by countless men across the outside world were, in fact, all Kabe's girlfriends.
After a good stretch of time spent catching up with Erza and the others, and once he'd heard the full rundown of their job, Kabe gave his approval. Then his attention shifted, turning to Lucy and the other two.
"You three managed quite the feat yourselves this time, too. Hisui summoned me to the palace first thing this morning. We spent a long while going back and forth on what to actually do with Ebar before we settled on something."
"Th, that didn't cause you any trouble, did it?" Lucy asked, a knot of worry forming in her stomach.
Kabe waved a hand dismissively, his tone light.