"You... what nonsense are you spouting, I am just worried about him!"
Erza's chest was heaving with anger as she snapped back,
"Then what exactly is your relationship with him? What gives you the right to criticize how we interact?"
Mira folded her arms proudly, lifted her chin and looked at Erza from the corner of her eye, her tone full of smugness.
"Hmph. We are roommates who spend every day together. That is way closer than some so-called 'friends' like you."
As she spoke, she turned her head, her pretty face slightly flushed as she winked at Kabe.
"Right, Kabe? Did you enjoy my service last night?"
"Ah, I..."
"See? He liked it so much he cannot even speak."
"Uh..."
Kabe was speechless.
He racked his brains and still could not figure out what exactly Mira had "served" him with last night.
Had she not just come home from a mission at dusk, eaten the dinner Elfman cooked, then gone upstairs early to rest?
But when those words reached Erza, who did not know the details, the flavor changed completely.
"S... service? You said service?! You delinquent girl, what exactly did you do to Kabe?!"
Erza screeched and charged straight at Mira.
Mira's slim body erupted with startling strength, and she met Erza's rush head on.
"Hehe, of course it is everything you are imagining."
Erza: "...!!!"
Completely provoked, Erza threw herself into the fight, and the long simmering dislike between her and Mira finally exploded into a full on brawl in the middle of the guild.
Meanwhile, the one at the center of the storm, Kabe, had hunched his shoulders and slipped away the moment the first punch flew.
Too scary. Girls these days are insane. Even a seasoned veteran like me who has watched countless shows thinks they are terrifying.
One of these days, if they ever team up and decide to chop me into pieces, I would not even be surprised.
Silently screaming in his heart, Kabe kept his head low and squeezed his way out of the crowd.
He had only taken two steps when he ran straight into someone.
"Where are you going, brat?"
He looked up and saw Makarov's face, eyes narrowed in suspicion, a faint pressure rolling off him.
To Kabe, it was like seeing a savior. He lit up instantly.
"Master, you finally made it back.
Settle my four point nine million first, then hurry up and announce the rules for the S-Class exam."
Makarov's gaze slid past him toward Erza and Mira, who were still fighting wildly while everyone tried to hold them back.
Then he looked down again at Kabe, who was holding out his hand toward him with a completely straight face, completely ignoring the chaos behind them.
For no particular reason, a vein throbbed on Makarov's temple.
He really could not understand what was so good about this shameless little brat.
What did he have that made two outstanding girls like Erza and Mira fight over him?
Kids these days really have terrible taste.
Grumbling in his heart, Makarov pulled a thick stack of envelopes from his jacket and slapped them into Kabe's hand.
"Take your money and get out of my face.
And after this, go separate Erza and Mira for me.
Honestly, fighting on the most important day of the year, the S-Class exam... you brats are completely out of control."
Ignoring the old man's nagging, Kabe eagerly tore open the envelope and started counting.
A moment later, his face went dark. He marched forward and bumped his forehead hard against Makarov's.
"Hey, old man, how come there is only four million in here? Where did the rest go? Did you embezzle my money?!"
Clutching the stack of cash that was far lighter than it should have been, Kabe glared at Makarov, his face practically shouting four big words: Give it back now.
Makarov pushed away his face in annoyance and scolded,
"Brat, do not go too far.
Bob's kids put in work on this too, so I split a hundred thousand their way.
Another hundred thousand I am setting aside for Mira."
"Huh? I can understand giving Mira a share, she is one of us. But why that greenhead?"
Kabe was clearly unhappy and pressed on.
"Stop being so greedy, brat.
When Bob heard about everything, he specially wrote and asked me to thank you.
He also invited you to visit Blue Pegasus sometime.
He promised that all your food and play expenses will be covered while you are there."
"An invitation to Blue Pegasus?"
Kabe's tone instantly softened.
Even if Blue Pegasus was a mage guild and the guild master was a greasy crossdressing uncle, their side business of host club and bar companion work was famous.
Just imagining himself sitting there, ordering three to five beautiful older sisters to pour drinks and chat with him as much as he wanted...
Suddenly, that hundred thousand did not seem like such a loss.
"Ahem, since Master Bob is so sincere, it would be rude of me to refuse."
With a perfectly straight face, Kabe gave himself a graceful excuse to let it go, then leaned in with a sly grin to ask,
"Master, you have been to Blue Pegasus, right? How is the, you know, quality of the members there?"
Makarov seemed to recall something. His old face flushed slightly red. He cleared his throat and muttered under his breath,
"Quite outstanding."
That was all Kabe needed to hear. His heart settled and he happily put away the cash, thumping his chest.
"Do not worry, Master. Next time I go, I will definitely bring you along."
"Spare me. With my face, I do not need you to drag me along anywhere."
Makarov snorted, not bothering to argue further. He turned and strode toward the stairs up to the second floor.
Seeing he was not getting anything more, Kabe stopped pestering him and focused on counting his money with a satisfied grin.
Before long, Makarov appeared on the second floor balcony, then jumped up onto the railing and raised his voice so everyone could hear.
"Quiet down, you brats!
I am about to announce the list of members qualified to take part in this year's S-Class Promotion Exam. So shut up and listen carefully."
The moment they heard that the list of S-Class candidates was about to be announced, all conversation in the guild died instantly.
Even Erza and Mira, who had been going at it tooth and nail, stopped at once and looked up at the second floor.
While everyone else raised their heads with tense, expectant eyes, waiting for Makarov to speak, Kabe, who had just tucked away his money, suddenly glanced around.
"Huh? Where are Gildarts and Laxus? Even Cana is not here.
On a day this important, they are really not coming back?"
He was still wondering that when Makarov's voice rang out again from above.
"In the past year, I have carefully observed your abilities, your minds, and your souls.
Among all of you, there are three who meet the conditions for taking the S-Class Promotion Exam."
Gulp.
Everyone below swallowed nervously at the same time.
On the one hand, they were shocked that there were only three exam slots this year.
On the other hand, all of them were hoping, just a little, that their name would be one of those three.