Kabe had no desire to keep talking about that emotionally crippling topic, so he switched tracks at once.
"By the way, Erza, why did you come back together with the master yesterday?
Did you go with him to that regular council meeting?"
At the mention of that, the one who felt uncomfortable changed from Kabe to Erza.
It was as if she recalled some unpleasant images. She forced herself to answer.
"Yeah, I went with Master. It was a really boring topic. Mostly just the guild masters complaining, venting, and 'strengthening ties'."
Hearing that nothing interesting had happened, Kabe instantly lost interest.
"And you and Mira, you two..."
This time Erza did not even let him finish.
"That is between the two of us. You do not need to get involved."
"Right, got it, pretend I did not ask."
Erza's prickly tone made Kabe wisely shut his mouth.
After that, he simply stayed there chatting with her while slowly riding out his hangover.
As time went on, everyone else in the guild also woke up one after another.
Makarov had spent the night sleeping on the floor with everyone else as well.
Unlike youngsters like Kabe though, the moment the old man woke up he felt sore waist, aching back, every joint protesting.
Rubbing his stiff, iron-like lower back, Makarov decided he needed to go home and get some proper sleep.
But before that, he waved Kabe over. Erza, curious, followed along too.
Makarov wobbled up onto a chair and sat down, then pulled an envelope from his robes and handed it to Kabe.
"About the men's dorm, in the end it was me as guild master who failed to manage things properly.
This is your rent for this month, plus the guild's compensation.
Take the money and find yourself a place to rent in town.
If you do not know who to ask, go find Mira. I just helped the three Strauss siblings find a place, she knows which landlord you should talk to."
Even before he finished, Kabe had already opened the envelope and thumbed through it.
Not too much, not too little, exactly two hundred thousand J.
Which meant, after subtracting a hundred thousand for rent, the other hundred thousand was money Makarov had dug out of his own pocket to compensate him.
Kabe knew very well that all his real savings were safely stored in the Fiore National Bank.
What got destroyed were at most some cheap daily necessities, which did not add up to anywhere near this much.
Without even thinking about it, he pulled out a hundred thousand and stuffed it into his own pocket, then slapped the other hundred thousand and the envelope back into Makarov's hand.
Before the old man could even start persuading him, Kabe turned and walked off.
"Keep that money for yourself and buy more of your dirty magazines, old man.
Come on, Erza, help me go look at houses."
Erza answered softly and gave Makarov a little wave before trotting to catch up.
"This brat," Makarov murmured, looking at the envelope with a half helpless, half fond expression.
"Where did he even learn this bad habit of never taking advantage of a good deal, even when it is handed right to his face?"
He finished grumbling, then suddenly sneezed.
Makarov was startled and thought he must really not have rested well, hurriedly left the guild and went home to sleep.
...
On the other side, the just-awake and sleepy Strauss siblings rubbed their eyes and happened to see Kabe and Erza walking over side by side.
Mira rubbed at her eyes, then immediately ignored Kabe and locked eyes on Erza with open hostility.
"Hey, armor girl, what happened yesterday is not over. When are you going to settle this with me?"
Normally, Erza got along with everyone, but she and Mira were like oil and water from the start.
The moment she was provoked, the fangs came out.
"If it is a fight you want, midriff girl, I will accompany you any time.
But you have not even learned magic yet. If I beat you up now, everyone will just say I bullied a newcomer."
"Hah, to beat a weakling like you, my fists are more than enough."
A few short lines and sparks flew everywhere.
Seeing that the two of them were about to start swinging again, Kabe simply reached out and flicked each of them on the head.
They both yelped in unison, hands flying to their foreheads, eyes full of indignation as they stared at him.
"Seriously now," Kabe said, glaring particularly at Erza, "have you already forgotten what you said yourself yesterday?
And I came to find Mira because I need something from her. If you drag her off to fight again, what happens to my housing problem?"
Erza was speechless.
Thinking of how she had lectured Makarov and the others yesterday about not fighting guildmates, then turned around to make the same mistake herself today, she felt a wave of shame.
She lowered her head decisively and said to Mira,
"Sorry, I was being impulsive. Everyone in the guild is family, we should not be raising our fists at each other over a moment of anger."
"Tch, who is family with you," Mira started to snap back, only to be cut down by Kabe's sharp look.
"You can tone it down too. Where did that silent, obedient Mira Jane from before go?"
The mention of her "black history" sent a blush racing across Mira's face.
"Do not say that! Fine, fine, I will apologize too."
Muttering that, she grudgingly bowed her head and also squeezed out a "sorry" to Erza.
Seeing the two girls' conflict resolve so easily under his "mediation," Kabe felt deeply satisfied.
Even Elfman and Lisanna looked at him with shining eyes full of admiration.
Those looks clearly said: as expected of big brother Kabe, even sister Mira has to behave when he talks.
With the two of them temporarily "making peace," Kabe finally got to the main point.
"Mira, you should have heard already that the boys' dorm got destroyed, right?
Because of that, I have no place to live right now. The master told me you siblings just rented a place outside, so I wanted to ask you to take me to meet that housing agent."
Realizing why Kabe had come to her, Mira nodded immediately.
"Then you came to the right person. Master spent a whole day dragging us from agency to agency just to find a decent place for us."
Elfman, a little embarrassed, added honestly,
"Sis and Lisanna could have lived in the guild dorms, it was all for my sake that they bothered Master and made him and Sis run around with us for a whole day."
Mira really did not like hearing that kind of talk. She smacked Elfman on the shoulder.
The strength that came along with her awakened magic sent the big-bodied boy stumbling a step to the side.
"Stop saying things like that. There is no way Lisanna and I would leave you behind and let you live alone outside."
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