In an instant, a platinum magic circle flared to life in the middle of the room.
Out of it stepped a soft, timid girl with fluffy light pink hair tied up in a bun, a pair of small curled ram horns on her head, and a white off shoulder wool dress on her body.
The moment she appeared, Aries the White Ram bowed over and over, her voice already on the verge of tears.
"Sorry, I am so sorry. It must be because I am too useless that my master has not summoned me for more than a year.
"I am really, really sorry."
Seeing Aries react like this, Karen could not help feeling a stab of guilt and a wave of self blame for having neglected the feelings of her spirits.
"I should be the one saying sorry.
"Raise your head, Aries. I told you already, you do not have to apologize to me anymore."
Karen took hold of her shoulders and gently lifted her upright.
Aries looked uneasy.
Even though Karen had been treating the celestial spirits more and more kindly since four years ago, the naturally timid sheep was still instinctively afraid of the woman who used to constantly question and push them.
But when Aries was pulled up and finally saw what Karen looked like at the moment, all her fear and anxiety instantly turned into pure shock and embarrassment.
"Ka Karen, your clothes, where are your clothes?
"Hurry, hurry, put something on."
Aries went bright red from the base of her neck to the tips of her horns, steam practically hissing out of her head as she flailed her hands in panic.
For some reason, the first thing she did was grab the hem of her own fluffy wool skirt and try to pull it off to drape over Karen.
Karen chopped her lightly on the head with a hand knife.
"Idiot, we are both women. What is there to be so shy about?"
"Ah, r right. That that is true."
Aries only realized this after the fact, which earned her another helpless eye roll from Karen.
"All right, enough. This is not the time to talk about that."
Karen pulled her to the window in a hurry, drew the curtain open a crack, and pointed out at the man walking away with his back to them.
"Aries, my body is a bit unwell today.
"So I need you to do me a favor and help keep an eye on Kabe.
"Watch who he comes into contact with and tell me tonight which women he has been around."
"Wh what, you want me to spy on him?
"No, I cannot, I cannot. He will notice me."
Aries waved her hands frantically and shook her head.
"It is fine. Even if he does see you, it does not matter. He does not know you anyway.
"Just pretend you are a regular member of the guild and watch him from a distance."
"But I…"
Aries had absolutely no confidence in herself.
Her lips moved, searching for another refusal.
Seeing that, Karen tightened her grip on her shoulders and spoke with unusual seriousness.
"Please, Aries.
"This might be the last favor I ever ask of you."
"Huh? Karen, are you going to abandon me?"
Aries' eyes instantly filled with tears, so pitiful she looked like she might start sobbing any second.
"No, silly."
Karen sighed and wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her into a hug.
"I am not planning to be a celestial spirit mage anymore.
"When this is over, I am going to ask Kabe, the one I want you to watch.
"I will ask him to send you all to a mage who truly understands how to get along with celestial spirits.
"So, if nothing unexpected happens, this will be the last time I summon you, Aries."
Hearing Karen's confession, Aries' heart shook violently.
Why?
Things had finally gotten better between them.
Karen had finally started to accept them.
Why did it have to end here?
She could not understand.
She only knew she felt horribly wronged.
Her shoulders trembled, and she began to sob softly into Karen's chest.
Karen felt even more ashamed, murmuring "sorry" over and over as she gently patted the girl's back to comfort her.
A few minutes later, Aries finally gathered herself, wiped away her tears and nodded hard.
"I understand.
"As long as it is your request, I will definitely complete it, Karen."
Looking at the little ram forcing herself to be brave, Karen patted her head with aching fondness.
"I am counting on you, my friend."
"Achoo!"
Outside Blue Pegasus, Kabe suddenly let out a huge sneeze.
"What is this feeling… like someone is staring a hole in my back."
He rubbed his nose and glanced around the street suspiciously.
But after scanning for a while and seeing nothing unusual, he simply brushed it off.
Pushing open the doors of the guild that looked more like a nightclub than a proper mage hall, he stepped inside.
Even though it was still morning, the "club" already had plenty of customers.
Some of them did not look like they had left at all since last night.
"Kabe, you are here."
"Good morning, Kabe."
Several beautiful men and women, who clearly were either just starting their shifts or just ending them, greeted him enthusiastically.
Kabe flashed them a smile and nodded.
"Morning, everyone.
"Is Master Bob up yet, and what about my old man?"
"The master is still resting. As for Mister Makarov... please follow me."
A young girl with short chestnut hair looped her arm through his, leading him toward the massive VIP throne in the back.
As soon as they got close, a strong stench of alcohol hit Kabe in the face.
Wrinkling his nose, he walked up to the curved leather sofa of the private booth.
Wrapped in a blanket, Makarov was sprawled across the cushions, sound asleep, his face covered in lipstick marks.
Judging from the dozen or so empty bottles littered over the table, Kabe did not even need to think about what kind of night the old man had just enjoyed.
"This damn geezer. One of these days he really is going to drink himself into the grave."
He clicked his tongue, then turned to the chestnut haired girl.
"Forget about him.
"Go open a booth for me as well and send over a few good bottles.
"As for people, arrange whoever you think fits."
After saying that, he very naturally patted around on the old man's body and fished out two crisp banknotes, each worth ten thousand.
He stuffed them generously into the girl's hand.
"Consider this your tip."
"Yes, sir. I will arrange everything for you right away."
Delighted, the girl accepted the money and led him to a booth a good distance away from Makarov.
After seating him, she blew him a playful air kiss before turning away to make preparations.
At the same time, Aries was cautiously approaching the guild doors.
She peeked her little head around the frame, only half her face showing as she surveyed the inside.
"D do not be scared. You can do this, Aries."
She silently cheered herself on.
Only then did she summon up the courage to step into the guild and randomly stop a passing member.
"H hello. May I please ask, has a guest named Kabe just arrived here?"