Once Kabe was out of the guild master's line of sight, he immediately reverted to being one of Fairy Tail's little tyrants.
He casually yanked two guys out of his way, then kicked Macao, who was sticking his butt in the air and pestering Levy with a barrage of questions.
After teaming up with Gray to chase off the disgusting old uncles, he finally stopped in front of the two little girls.
"Levy, long time no see. I did not think you would end up joining the guild too."
"Welcome to Fairy Tail. From today on, we are real comrades."
Gray smiled as he greeted her as well.
"Yeah, welcome. From now on we fight and drink together."
(Sarasuke and Droy: Hey, did you forget someone? We joined the guild too, you know!)
Levy was just as happy to be in the same guild as them. She grabbed both of their hands in excitement, then turned and carefully introduced the new girl beside her.
"Laki, these are the friends I told you about who are already in the guild.
From now on we are all Fairy Tail mages. If you have any questions, just ask them.
Right, Kabe, Gray?"
The two boys nodded without hesitation.
Even if Levy had not said anything, these seniors would have looked after the newcomers anyway.
"I understand. Thank you, Levy, and thank you, senpai."
Laki bent at the waist and bowed to them again.
Kabe and Gray quickly waved their hands, telling her not to be so formal.
At this point, Kabe finally remembered who exactly she was.
Laki Olietta, one of the original members who was still in the guild seven years later in the original story.
She barely showed up in the manga, so his only impression of her was that she would grow up with a pretty good figure, and that her magic was like the guy from the "other studio" who played with wood, just like Hashirama.
To confirm his memory, Kabe took the initiative to ask what magic Laki and Levy had learned so far.
"I will go first. This is the magic I carefully chose because it fits me best."
Levy confidently stepped forward to give the new friend a demonstration.
She pointed a finger, magic gathering at the tip, then quickly wrote a string of complicated characters in the air.
"Word Magic, Storm!"
Shuu.
A small gust of wind swept past.
Kabe smoothed the hem of his clothes, which had been ruffled by the breeze.
Gray also lifted a hand and tidied his hair, which the wind had puffed up.
They waited two full seconds, then asked in unison,
"That is it?"
"You two are so annoying. What kind of reaction is that?!
For someone who only just learned magic, this is already amazing, okay? At least act a little surprised!"
Levy's small face turned bright red with a mix of shame and frustration.
It was only after her complaint that the two boys suddenly "woke up", put on exaggerated fake smiles, and started clapping.
"Super impressive magic. You really opened my eyes."
"Levy, you are so smart. Word Magic suits you perfectly."
Even though both of them were clearly phoning it in, Levy still soaked up the praise and smiled sweetly.
Then she stepped aside and left the "stage" to Laki.
With Levy's example in front of her, Laki was not as nervous anymore.
"My magic is Wood-Make Magic. I only just learned it, so if it is not very flashy, please forgive me."
She crouched down as she spoke, pressing her palm against the wooden floor and letting her magic flow.
Now Kabe and Gray were truly interested, especially Gray.
The moment he heard that she used a molding magic similar to his Ice-Make, his eyes lit up.
"Wood-Make, Unrequited Love!"
What the heck is that?
Before Kabe could spit out his complaint about that ridiculous spell name, a ring of wooden bars with sharp spikes shot up from the floor.
In an instant, the cage snapped shut around Kabe and Gray.
Gray ran a hand over one of the spikes, then nodded in approval.
"Not bad. Two transformations in an instant.
You already have pretty good control over Molding Magic."
Laki calmly pushed her glasses up and added,
"I forgot to mention, those spikes are coated with a special poison.
It amplifies any pain you feel by about ten times."
"Huh?"
Gray barely managed to let out that confused syllable before his face twisted.
He clutched his bruised eye and howled like a dying animal.
Kabe silently pulled his own hand back, clearing his throat.
"Very effective. With this, any enemy you trap in there will find it even harder to escape.
All right, you can undo the spell now."
Laki completely ignored him.
Her hands cradled her cheeks, and she stared at Gray with an expression of pure appreciation.
"It is beautiful, that scream filled with pain and despair."
Kabe and Levy both fell silent.
Right, now he remembered the rest. This girl was the one who would turn her room into an interrogation chamber in the future.
Fairy Tail really was full of talent. They were all weirdos of the highest order.
...
In the end, Kabe had to blow the cage apart with his ki to rescue Gray, whose body was spasming from the amplified pain.
While Laki was busy treating Gray's "poison" in the corner, Kabe took Levy to what would undoubtedly become her favorite place, the guild's massive internal library.
The instant Levy saw the rows upon rows of books, her eyes went round and shiny.
"So many. This is heaven!"
To Levy, this really was a paradise.
To Kabe, it was not much different from hell.
Leading the wide eyed Levy inside, Kabe went straight to the three siblings who had been buried in books every spare moment lately, studying magic.
Mira, Elfman and Lisanna.
"Mira, Elfman, Lisanna, we have a new member."
He tossed out the greeting, then turned to introduce them to Levy.
"These three are also fairly new to the guild. The eldest is Mira, second is Elfman, and the youngest is Lisanna."
Levy nodded, then stepped forward and introduced herself politely.
Mira, once she heard she was talking to a newcomer, tamped down her usual wild temperament.
She smiled and welcomed Levy together with her younger brother and sister.
When he saw that they were getting along just fine, Kabe felt relieved and started backing away.
"Levy, go ahead and enjoy your paradise. I am heading upstairs."
Levy had absolutely no resistance to books.
After thanking him, she immediately dived into the shelves, picking out anything that looked interesting.
Elfman and Lisanna enthusiastically joined in to help her find more.
Only Mira's eyes moved.
She watched Kabe's retreating back, her pupils turning sly.
After murmuring a few words to her siblings, she quietly slipped out of the library and followed after him.