"It's getting late today; let's go to bed first."
Ankh, who had checked into the love hotel, secretly went out to investigate again that night but still couldn't determine the room of the person in the photo.
However, this popular, ambiguous hotel became even more crowded with guests as the night went on, so Ankh and Mirajane had to stop their search to avoid being noticed.
The outskirts of this hotel were secretly monitored and protected by the Fiore army, so Ankh wasn't worried about the person escaping; he was only afraid that the design blueprint would be secretly handed over to his accomplices.
The two, who had been busy all night, returned to their room, and Mirajane said somewhat dejectedly, "We've searched for so long, and there's not even a shadow of him. Did Karteos make a mistake? Has this person already run off?"
Ankh, now at leisure, his fair, slender fingers unconsciously tapping the table, pondered:
"Not necessarily. According to the intelligence Karteos gave us, his informant saw the thief enter this hotel, and he was alone."
Mirajane heard him emphasize "alone" and, after a brief thought, understood the implication, exclaiming, "That's right! We all came in pairs of men and women. How could he come in alone and still not leave?"
Unless he was originally a hotel employee, such as a waiter or a bellboy.
In that case, the vigilant hotel staff would naturally not stop him.
Mirajane had just figured out the logic, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she said, "Since that's the case, we'll just go through the hotel staff, and it would be best to turn their dorms upside down too."
Although Ankh despised the young girl's crude approach, her words, though rough, held truth.
When there were fewer people during the day tomorrow, they could secretly find where that person lived, search it, and wouldn't they find it?
Ankh nodded, stifling a yawn as he said, "No rush. Anyway, the tracking magic on the design blueprint still has a full two days' validity. We'll act when it's light."
With that, Ankh lay directly on the comfortable double bed and refused to move.
On her first mission, Mirajane was anxious, and seeing the unhurried Ankh, a hint of confusion couldn't help but rise in her heart.
Everyone in the guild praised Ankh for being steady and cautious in his work, but why couldn't she see it?
If it were Mirajane, she would probably still be staying up all night trying to find that thief, but unfortunately, she was out with Ankh, so she had to listen to him in everything.
Mirajane sighed for a while, then saw Ankh stretch his arms, monopolizing the large bed, and was instantly petrified.
She had just remembered that Mirajane was apparently going to share a room with Ankh tonight!
And this scoundrel had even taken the bed when she wasn't paying attention.
You said you'd sleep on the sofa!
The enraged Mirajane looked at Ankh, who was like a dead fish, and helplessly turned and left the bedroom, taking a blanket with her... Meanwhile, on the bed, Ankh, feigning death, kept his eyes tightly closed, secretly thinking, 'Is it done?'
Seram's long-unheard deep voice echoed faintly in his mind:
"Rest assured, I have already locked onto the location of that tracking magic circle."
Indeed, with Seram, there were no surprises!
The stone in Ankh's heart settled firmly. He patted the pillow reassuringly, changed his position, and continued to sleep.
How much credit could finding the design blueprint bring? What Ankh was considering was following the clues to find the thief's accomplices and superiors.
Ever since Ankh's mind became free, Seram's perception ability was almost unparalleled. For Ankh, such requests to find people or objects, as long as there was magic power emanating, were small, money-making tasks!
Seeing Ankh prepare to sleep without a care, Seram, who was in his inner sea of consciousness, seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking again:
"Ankh, there's something I don't know if I should say."
Ankh paused. Why was even Seram starting to speak so hesitantly?
"Just say it. What can't we say to each other?" Ankh asked curiously in his mind.
"You probably don't know that you have a strange habit of sleepwalking when you fall asleep..."
He thought it was something serious, but it was just this... This problem wasn't new; Ankh had discovered it in his previous life when he slept alone.
He recalled that back then, every morning when Ankh opened his eyes, he would always find that he had moved from where he had fallen asleep.
The places he slept were quite bizarre: sometimes under the bed, sometimes on top of the refrigerator, and sometimes he even slept outside the door.
Ankh said to Seram in a relaxed tone, "It's fine, Mira won't hurt me."
Seram hesitated, but then, sensing the demonic magic power outside that he disliked, he simply stopped speaking.
Anyway, Ankh was a man and wouldn't suffer any loss, so let the young girl fend for herself... At midnight, the hotel room's soundproofing was excellent. Ankh contentedly fell into a deep sleep, while the small figure curled up on the living room sofa felt an indescribable unease.
Mirajane, covered by the sheet, hugged herself tightly, her gaze occasionally darting towards the bedroom door, fearing that the person inside would go wild and rush out.
However, her worries were destined to be unfounded. Although Mirajane was well-developed physically, she was still just a little kid, and Ankh had no such thoughts about her.
While Ankh also liked beautiful women, he preferred more mature ones. Girls like Mirajane and Erza probably needed a few more years to grow.
Mirajane saw that there was no longer any movement from the bedroom, and her mood was indescribably complex.
On one hand, she felt incredibly relieved by Ankh's "honesty," but on the other hand, it made Mirajane doubt her own beauty.
Was she really that unattractive?
After all, they were a single man and woman sharing a room, yet that guy didn't even bother to say anything ambiguous. Her attraction to Ankh was even less than that of a bed.
The more Mirajane thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, her little head filled with all sorts of jumbled thoughts. Gradually, her consciousness also began to blur, and she finally couldn't hold on, closing her eyes and drifting into a light sleep... Lisanna, Elfman, herself being slandered as a demon by the villagers, and... Ankh, who appeared like a savior from the sky.
Mirajane didn't know what good dream she was having; her tightly closed eyelids trembled slightly, a beautiful curve forming at the corner of her mouth, and she occasionally uttered dreamy murmurs.
"If only... we could always be together in the future... Huh?!"
Mirajane, who was intermittently talking in her sleep, suddenly sensed something was wrong. Why wasn't she on the sofa anymore?
Wait, why am I flying?!!
Mirajane completely woke up from her hazy dream, looking in horror at herself floating in the air. What was happening?
At the bedroom door, a tall figure stood blankly, a magic circle in his palm glowing faintly. Mirajane immediately felt that this magic was quite familiar.
Ankh, with a blank expression, controlled gravity out of thin air, bringing the stunned Mirajane before him. With very stiff movements, he picked her up in a princess carry.
Mirajane was completely dumbfounded.
What was this? Sleepwalking?
Your sleepwalking can use magic?!
Mirajane's little heart was on the verge of collapsing when she suddenly saw Ankh's tightly closed eyes slowly open a crack...
Before Mirajane could react, that intoxicating warm breath suddenly rushed over her, and the powerful masculine aura from Ankh aggressively enveloped the beauty... Hmm?!
Mirajane's beautiful eyes widened abruptly, but she stammered, unable to make any sound.
Her unspoken words were drowned in a hurried kiss. Mirajane instantly felt her body tighten, completely enveloped in a warm, strong embrace like a nest.
In this seemingly tender environment, Mirajane was caught off guard and forcibly kissed. At this moment, only two chaotic words remained in her heart... Holy crap!