Mira crossed her arms and reluctantly listed Rhodes' three biggest flaws. "Let's see… annoying, annoying, and… very annoying."
Rhodes leaned in with a smirk. "Oh? And who was it that..."
Before he could finish, Mira quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and shot him a threatening glare. But then she noticed her Edolas counterpart watching them, and the realization that they looked that close made her flustered. She hurried to push him away.
Edolas Mira simply giggled and pointed in another direction. "Don't worry about it. In our guild, there are couples way more over-the-top than you two."
Across the way, Alzack and Bisca were tending to their Edolas selves.
Meanwhile, Edolas Alzack looked at Edolas Bisca with eyes full of dramatic affection. "Bisca, Bisca~ how are you holding up?"
"Alzack, Alzack~ my heart is breaking seeing you hurt like this~"
"Don't say that, Bisca~ or my heart will break just like yours~"
"Alzack, Alzack~"
"Bisca, Bisca~"
They were only a couple of meters apart, yet the two of them stretched their arms toward each other like they were parting lovers, their gazes so overflowing with affection that even those watching couldn't help but blush.
The real Alzack and Bisca, who were helping apply bandages, had both frozen in place, their faces beet red.
'How can they say that stuff in public so shamelessly?' they both wondered.
Macao gave a heartfelt sigh. "Ah… young love."
Wakaba took a slower, more grumpy puff from his pipe. "They'll understand how rough it gets after marriage."
"Huh? Isn't marriage supposed to be a happy thing?" asked the elegant and refined Edolas Macao and Wakaba, genuinely confused by their counterparts' cynicism.
"You two actually…" Macao couldn't even finish his sentence, too envious to speak.
Wakaba looked off into the distance, his cigarette trembling slightly between his fingers. "I feel like I've been betrayed… by myself."
Edolas Wakaba cheerfully added, "Smoking's bad for your health, by the way!"
As the Fairy Tail members from both worlds mingled, they exchanged stories, each person grappling with their own burdens and cherishing their own pride.
But the biggest surprise of all came from Edolas Cana.
Unlike her Earth Land counterpart, Edolas Cana was dressed neatly and carried herself with refined grace. She frowned as she scolded Cana, "You really should dress more decently."
Cana took a long swig from her ever-present barrel of booze and waved her off. "Who cares about that? Comfort's what matters! Your clothes look like they'd choke me to death."
"That's ridiculous," Edolas Cana started to argue, only to notice that Cana's attention kept drifting off to the side.
Following her gaze, Edolas Cana's eyes widened in disbelief.
Gildarts had just walked by.
With a chuckle, he turned to the pair. "What's up, Cana? You two are like night and day, huh? It's pretty..."
"Father!" Edolas Cana cried out suddenly, her eyes brimming with tears as she interrupted him with a shout.
Cana's body trembled. She wanted to stop her Edolas self, but… she also didn't.
Gildarts's eyes widened in shock. "Huh?!"
"Father, you're alive!" Edolas Cana cried as she suddenly threw herself into Gildarts's arms. Tears streamed down her face. "I've dreamed of this moment for so long…"
Cana clamped a hand over her mouth. Tears welled up in her own eyes too.
She couldn't even describe what she was feeling. A part of her wanted to shove Edolas Cana aside and claim that spot for herself. Another part couldn't bring herself to do it.
Did… did her Edolas self lose her father?
Gildarts stood frozen, arms held awkwardly in the air, unsure of where to place them. He glanced around nervously. "Uh… this is…"
He'd certainly had his share of awkward encounters with women, but hearing the word Father from this young girl sent his brain into a tailspin. He assumed Edolas Cana must've mistaken him for her Gildarts.
A poor child, mistaking someone else for her dad… surely it wouldn't hurt to comfort her with a hug? Even if she wasn't his daughter, he could at least give her that much warmth…
But just as he was about to lower his arms, Gildarts suddenly froze. His gaze drifted to the other Cana whose eyes were also shimmering with tears.
In Edolas, Mira and Elfman were still siblings. Macao still had a son named Romeo. The parallels were uncanny.
If the Gildarts from Edolas was also Cana's father… could it really be just a coincidence?
And the name of the Guild Master's son in Edolas wasn't Jellal, either…
But looking at Cana's expression…
Gildarts felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him right through the brain. His whole mind went blank, buzzing with static. Not even the time he faced the Black Dragon had shaken him like this.
Around him, the Fairy Tail members from Earth Land erupted in shock.
"What?!"
"Cana is Gildarts's daughter?!"
"Since when did Gildarts have a kid?"
"Was that ever mentioned?"
"Wait, I do remember, he was married once!" someone blurted out.
The older members, like Macao and Wakaba, began digging into their memories. They remembered that Gildarts had indeed been married long ago, but his wife had divorced him because he was always off adventuring and never home.
Macao remembered that clearly… because his own wife had left him for pretty much the same reason.
Speaking of which, that woman... her name seemed to be Cornelia. Macao finally managed to recall this name he hadn't heard in at least eighteen years.
'Did Cornelia leave Gildarts a daughter?'
Rhodes also looked over in surprise. Come to think of it, Cana did seem to be quite concerned about Gildarts's whereabouts.
And at the Harvest Festival, she seemed to have specifically asked if Gildarts would be back.
And now, some subtle oddities about Cana's usual behavior seemed to have a bit of an explanation.
So why didn't she acknowledge Gildarts?
Rhodes looked at Mira and found that while others were shocked, she was smiling with relief.
She even knew about this?!
Rhodes realized he had underestimated Mira's intelligence (gossip) capabilities.
Cana met Gildarts's shocked gaze and also heard the various voices of her companions around her.
She bit her lip, turned, and was about to run.
"Cana, you---" Gildarts reached out to Cana, seemingly wanting to stop her from leaving.
Edolas Cana realized this wasn't her father and tearfully and silently released Gildarts.
Cana was determined to run away but was stopped by Mira: "Go, Cana, it's about time."
Cana grabbed Mira's arm, struggling, and said with a choked voice, "Let go of me, Mira, we agreed."
"Look over there, Cana." Mira pointed to the floating island in the distance, where everyone had been stored when they turned into magic crystals.
Mira hugged Cana, gently stroking her long hair: "Cana, we are Magicians. Even someone as powerful as Gildarts can disappear without a trace, like this time. If that happens---"
Cana's eyes widened, and she murmured, "If that happens, then forever---"
Mira looked gently into Cana's eyes: "Yes, so, now, while the misfortune has just passed, don't leave any regrets."
Cana released Mira's arm, lowering her head without speaking.
Mira gently turned Cana's body, helping her face him: "See? He's right there, not nearly as far away as you imagine."
"I---"
"Go." Mira gently pushed Cana.
Cana stumbled forward a few steps and then regained her balance.
She looked up. Gildarts's hand was still raised, and he was staring at her blankly.
"Fa---" Cana's mouth opened and closed, trying to utter the syllable she hadn't been able to say for 12 years.
She pounced and hugged Gildarts: "Father!"