From a distance, Kabe spotted Gray and Ultear standing outside his villa, frozen in place at the gate, and called out with amusement,
"What are you two doing just standing there?"
Gray and Ultear quickly turned around and saw Kabe walking over with Erza, Mira, and Laki, the four of them each carrying big and small bags of luggage.
Gray had just opened his mouth, ready to greet them, when he noticed all the luggage in their hands. He immediately changed his words, pointing in confusion at the bags and boxes they were holding.
"Why are you carrying so much stuff? Kabe, did you not already move in before?"
"It is not me, it is Laki. We just came back from the girls' dorm. All this is her stuff."
As he spoke, Kabe set down the suitcase in his right hand and casually put an arm around Laki's shoulders, saying proudly,
"Let me tell you some good news. This morning, Laki decided to be with me and join the little family that Erza, Mira, and I have built."
As his words fell, Laki, nestled against him, showed no hint of shyness. Instead, she smiled brightly at Gray and teased,
"Gray, you are late. We just finished a celebratory barbecue with Cana and the others at noon. If you had come earlier, you could have joined us."
"Oh, oh, congratulations, congrats… my ass."
Gray nodded blankly at first, offering them his congratulations. Halfway through the words, his brain finally caught up. His eyes went wide and he shouted in disbelief,
"What do you mean, be with you? Seriously, Kabe, how much do you intend to torment my poor friend circle?"
"And you two, Erza, Mira, you actually agreed to this. I really do not understand what is going on in your heads."
Gray truly could not wrap his mind around it. With how fiery Erza and Mira's personalities were, the fact that they could tolerate each other's existence at all was already a miracle.
So how had Kabe managed to talk them into accepting Laki on top of that?
"Heh, that is my skill. Someone like you, Gray, will never get it."
Other people's confusion and disbelief were the best proof of Kabe's ability.
As he said this, his back was straight and proud. That cocky, mocking tone made Gray's hand itch to slap him.
Ultear, who had been standing slightly behind with her head lowered, listened to their conversation and could not help lifting her gaze to look at the three women beside Kabe.
She had to admit that in terms of looks alone, none of them were inferior to her.
What was more, even she had heard the titles of Fairy Queen Erza and Demon Mirajane.
That only made Ultear more shocked. Where in the world did Kabe get that kind of charm, to conquer those two at the same time and make all three women live together peacefully?
Of course, shock was one thing. In her heart, she still spit hard in his direction, cursing him as scum.
As if he sensed her mentally cursing him, Kabe finished showing off to Gray, then finally shifted his gaze to Ultear, whose face was still hidden beneath her hood.
He put on an exaggerated expression of surprise, his tone deliberately provoking as he said,
"Well, well, if it is not Miss Ultear, who turned me down and refused to join our guild last time."
"What brings you to Magnolia, I wonder? Do not tell me you finally came to your senses and are planning to join Fairy Tail?"
"What a pity. The guild has taken in two very promising new members recently. I am afraid there is no spot left for you now."
"This bastard."
Listening to his yin yang tone, Ultear felt her anger rising again.
So the narrow minded little pest still remembered the day she rejected him.
And was her disguise really that bad? Why did everyone seem able to recognize her at a single glance?
Forcing down the flames in her chest, Ultear kept her face as calm as she could, took off her hood, and revealed the cold, beautiful face beneath it.
"Lord Kabe, it has been a long time. I did not expect you to recognize me so quickly."
"Ha, that is nothing hard. I already memorized your scent. I can smell you from eight hundred meters away."
For Kabe, something like that was completely trivial. For someone with developed ki sensing, it was hardly worth mentioning.
But when those words entered Ultear's ears, they sounded all kinds of wrong.
"Is this man a pervert? He memorized my body scent? Does that mean he has those kinds of thoughts about me too?"
After running wild with her own imagination, Ultear took a step back, shooting him a fierce, disgusted glare.
Kabe was stunned.
"What is with this woman and her tiny heart? I was just teasing her a little, is that expression really necessary?"
Thinking on completely different wavelengths, the two of them silently decided that the other one must have something wrong in the head.
Off to the side, Erza and Mira narrowed their eyes slightly at the way Kabe and this unfamiliar woman seemed to know each other, a faint hint of wariness rising in their hearts.
Only Laki was still floating in the happiness of successfully holding Kabe's hand, smiling as she cheerfully invited the two,
"Gray, and Miss Ultear, we have been standing out here long enough. Let us go inside."
"Oh right, Gray, this should be your first time seeing the house I helped design, right? Is it not impressive?"
Gray glanced back at the villa behind him, then nodded and shook his head at the same time.
"Compared to that, what really shocks me is that you actually agreed to move in and live with this guy."