After saying goodbye to a bewildered Elfman, the two of them headed home.
Drip, drop—
The crisp sound of rain suddenly began. A cool night breeze carried droplets of water that fell gently and slowly, splashing on the stone path.
For some reason, even though it wasn't the rainy season, a light rain had been falling inexplicably for the past two days.
Fortunately, it wasn't heavy.
"..."
Mirajane, wearing a newly changed dark red dress, stared at the back in front of her, a bit of nervousness rising in her heart.
After all, it was her first time... it would be strange if she wasn't nervous.
"A Slave Contract?"
Compared to the emotionally complex girl, Roland was much more relaxed, carefully observing the yellowed parchment scroll in his hand.
This was the reward he had received after completing the mission to restore Mirajane's power.
Although the characters inscribed on it were unfamiliar, the moment Roland held it, some strange knowledge appeared in his mind.
It was the method and limitations for using the Slave Contract.
The method was simple: he just needed to write the target's name in the bottom-left corner with their blood, and the contract would take effect.
Then, no matter what command was given, the enslaved person, no matter how unwilling, could only grit their teeth and obey.
As for the limitation—the target's magic power could not exceed Mirajane's total magic power.
Is this limitation here because it was a reward from Mirajane's mission?
Looking at the parchment scroll exuding a dark aura, Roland fell into thought.
Who should I use this on?
"Where are you going?"
At that moment, Mirajane's voice came from behind, causing Roland to subconsciously stop in his tracks.
When he turned around, he realized he had walked too far.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought," Roland said as he quickly walked back, taking a brass key from his pocket.
"What were you thinking about?"
"About you tonight, Mirajane..."
"Alright! Stop talking!"
Hearing her name, Mirajane instantly reacted and quickly cut him off.
Lowering her head to hide the blush of embarrassment, the poster girl pushed him firmly from behind and they quickly entered the house.
Warm light illuminated the spacious living room, giving it a very cozy feeling.
"Um, Mirajane... how about you go take a bath first?"
Looking at Mirajane following behind him, Roland took a deep breath, his gaze unconsciously shifting elsewhere.
It wasn't that he was shyly avoiding her gaze; the girl in front of him was simply too alluring—
Her silver-white hair was dotted with water droplets, and her soaked dress clung tightly to her body, her exquisite figure faintly visible.
It's impossible to control myself.
Roland thought subconsciously.
"..."
Following his gaze, Mirajane also noticed her own condition, and her face couldn't help but turn slightly red.
"Excuse me, where is the bathroom?" she asked in a shy, small voice.
"Opposite the bedroom on the second floor..."
There was no way they could shower together. Roland sat at the bedroom desk, boredly watching the drizzling rain outside the window.
The sound of the rain outside and the water in the bathroom intertwined, letting one's imagination run wild.
Glancing to the side, he could see the girl's graceful silhouette through the frosted glass—he had to admit, the landlord had some taste.
Roland watched the scene in the bathroom, propping his chin on his hand in appreciation.
Slide—
The glass door to the bathroom was pulled open, and Mirajane walked out wrapped in a sky-blue bath towel, her graceful figure enough to make one's heart skip a beat.
"Here, let me blow-dry your hair."
Roland coughed lightly and held up the hairdryer he had prepared.
"...Okay, thank you for the trouble."
Having already mentally prepared herself, Mirajane didn't seem so shy and embarrassed this time.
Her gentle smile returned as she sat quietly in front of Roland.
The warm breeze blew gently, and her rose-scented hair swayed in the air. Her usual vertical bangs were let down, making her look like a well-behaved girl from next door.
Very cute!
In terms of cuteness, she was almost on par with Levy.
"Mmm~"
Mirajane closed her eyes comfortably, resting her head lightly on Roland's lap, letting him play with her long hair.
After her damp hair was dry, Roland prepared to go to the bathroom for a shower himself.
"In the meantime, you should mentally prepare yourself, Mirajane."
"My preparations... were made a long time ago."
Watching Roland walk into the bathroom, Mirajane murmured, cupping her chin.
...
By the time Roland came out, it was already twelve o'clock at night.
Mirajane was sitting at his desk, distractedly looking at the copy of Weekly Sorcerer in her hands.
It was the latest issue that Levy had bought, and the cover model was Miss Jenny from Blue Pegasus.
"I remember Levy mentioning that in the 'Best Girlfriend' rankings, your name was always above hers."
Roland said with a slight smile as he dried his hair.
"That was about half a year ago. Jenny is number one now. I'm not popular anymore."
Mirajane shook her head nonchalantly, not caring about such rankings.
She had more important things on her mind right now... she had no mind to care about that Jenny.
"So, are we going to... do it—Mmph!"
Mirajane's words were cut short as her tender lips were covered, causing her to let out an involuntary, cute whimper.
Wait—this is too sudden!
Without giving her a chance to react, Roland lifted her princess-style and placed her on the soft bed.
The only sounds in the quiet bedroom were their rapid breathing and increasingly fast heartbeats.
A long while later, the two slowly parted. A thin, glistening silver thread was stretched between them before it finally broke under the strain.
"Roland..."
Mirajane's eyes grew hazy, and she took the initiative to kiss him again.
"...Wait a moment, I'll go turn off the light."
After they separated this time, Roland took a deep breath, then quickly turned off all the lights in the room, leaving only the bright moonlight from outside and the soft, hazy rain.
The night ahead was long.
[Today's Missions have been refreshed!]
[Special Mission Triggered: Demon's Ecstasy!]
Faintly, the system's notification seemed to ring out in the room, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of the rain outside.
The next morning.
A thin mist enveloped the entire town, and raindrops falling from the sky pattered lightly and irregularly against the window.
Continuous rainy days were common in August.
The crumpled bedsheets had been thrown onto the wooden floor, the sky-blue bath towel was tossed somewhere in front of the desk, and various things were scattered about.
"Another rainy day..."
Looking at the gloomy weather outside, Roland couldn't help but murmur softly.
It felt like half of his time in this world was spent in the rain.
It wasn't that he disliked rainy days, but the continuous rain was starting to get annoying—just like Juvia.
She probably hated this kind of weather.
"Forget it... I'll sleep a little longer."
Roland, who had been about to get out of bed to make breakfast, looked down at Mirajane still sleeping soundly, curled up in his arms, and instantly dismissed the idea.
This kind of weather was indeed better for sleeping in.
Pulling the soft blanket up, Roland buried his head in the girl's shoulder, inhaling the faint, elegant fragrance of her body, and comfortably closed his eyes.
When he woke up again, it was noon.
The light rain had gradually stopped, and sunlight like crushed gold quietly shone through the window, falling into the messy bedroom.
"Mmm..."
As if sensing the sunlight, Mirajane opened her eyes drowsily, a soft murmur escaping her lips.
So tired—and her whole body was sore.
It felt as if all her magic power had been drained, and she couldn't muster a shred of strength.
"..."
Remembering the embarrassing scenes from last night, the now-awake Mirajane bit her lower lip, an unnatural blush spreading across her cheeks.
"You're awake."
Feeling the movement in his arms, Roland opened his eyes and looked at the girl's face, which was as red as a ripe apple.
Just looking at it made one feel the tempting urge to take a bite.
"Good morning, Mirajane."
"...Morning."
Forcing herself to remain calm, Mirajane reached up and touched the beauty mark by her eye. Her familiar gentle smile returned to her lips as she replied softly, "Darling."
Darling...
Roland blinked, then couldn't help but chuckle.
"Want to get up, or sleep a little longer?"
Holding the small hand that was caressing his face, Roland smiled slightly.
It should be noon now; he could feel the magic power in his body growing immense.
"...Let's get up first. Levy could come back at any time, right?"
Mirajane thought for a moment, then looked at him with a hint of resentment.
She had finally found a man who made her heart flutter, only to have to share him with her best friend.
Although she was the one who came later, it didn't stop a feeling of displeasure from rising in her heart.
"You have a point."
Roland nodded.
Although he wanted Levy and Mirajane to get along, if Levy were to discover a scene like this, the two of them would probably break up for good.
Getting the two of them together... looked like it would take some time.
While Roland was lamenting, Mirajane had already slipped out of his arms and put on the red dress that had been washed and dried last night.
Only, she couldn't find the hair tie for her bangs, so she could only let them fall loose, giving her a straight-across bangs look.
After getting dressed, Mirajane headed to the bathroom to wash up.
With his pillow gone, Roland naturally had no choice but to get up as well.
"Two servings of spaghetti, two servings of french fries. Is there anything else you want to eat?"
Looking at the four plates of food that had appeared on the Gourmet Tablecloth, Mirajane touched a finger to her lips and thought carefully, "Two more cups of coffee, and a slice of strawberry cake should be enough."
Her appetite wasn't large. If it weren't for last night's exertions, she wouldn't have needed to order the strawberry cake.
"Eating strawberry cake for lunch too... Looks like you like sweets just as much as Erza."
Looking at the pink strawberry cake, Roland took a sip of his coffee and teased her with a smile.
"Is there anything wrong with girls liking sweets?"
Mirajane popped a strawberry into her mouth, a blissful smile on her face.
"Be careful, you'll get fat!"
"I watch my diet!"
After a simple breakfast—no, lunch—Mirajane began to eagerly prepare for their trip to Edolas, as well as a welcome-back gift for Lisanna.
Roland took the opportunity to check the system missions that had refreshed today.
[Mission One: Ox-Head Shinigami!]
[Mission Description: Kill ten Ox-Head monsters and let them know who the real Shinigami is!]
[Mission Reward: Soi Fon's Casual Outfit (from the world of "Bleach")]
...To be honest, he really wanted this mission reward.
If he had Mirajane or Levy wear it—
Roland carefully pictured the scene, and the anticipation in his heart grew stronger.
He would just send out the Samurai and Bat troops from the Shadowkhan. Dealing with ten Ox-Head monsters shouldn't be a problem.
After quietly assigning the mission, Roland continued to the next one.
[Mission Two: I Can't Protect Anything!]
[Mission Description: Without controlling your rampaging power, defeat all the Ten Wizard Saints!]
[Mission Reward: Zanpakuto Tobiume (from the world of "Bleach")]
Another reward from the world of Bleach?
Roland looked at the mission name and description, thought for a few seconds, and decisively chose to give up.
He remembered that Tobiume was Hinamori Momo's Zanpakuto, with the ability to shoot fireballs and cause explosions.
A completely useless Zanpakuto...
Shaking his head, Roland continued to look down.
[Mission Three: Demon's Ecstasy (Special Mission Complete!)]
[Mission Description: Welcome to the romance theater—please use all means to make Mirajane Strauss feel ecstasy!]
[Mission Reward: Character Template: Ulquiorra Cifer (from the world of "Bleach")]
Wait—what is this thing?!
Seeing this mission reward, Roland froze on the spot, his breathing gradually quickening.
A character template, an Ulquiorra template!?
"Did I poke the Bleach hornet's nest today?"
He couldn't help but remark.
Putting aside the first two missions, the last special mission was basically a freebie.
"I'll claim yesterday's reward first."
Suppressing his excitement, Roland took a deep breath and chose to claim yesterday's reward first.
He remembered there was a Pokémon egg he hadn't claimed.
As he spoke, a giant, pure white egg with strange patterns landed in front of him. It looked to be about fifty centimeters in size.
"No good, I can't tell what Pokémon it is just from its appearance."
After examining it carefully, Roland sighed slightly.
Looks like he would have to hatch it normally.
"Eh—that egg... it looks so familiar!"
At that moment, Mirajane, who was packing her luggage, walked over, looking at the giant egg on the table with a face full of surprise.
"Does it look like the egg Happy hatched from?"
Roland quickly guessed what she was referring to.
"That's right! Back then, Lisanna and Natsu were always carrying that egg around to hatch it. It brings back memories."
Mirajane reminisced about the past, a nostalgic smile on her face, before she blinked in a daze.
"...How did you know Happy was born from an egg?"
Are you some kind of dense beauty?
"The Exceed race are all born from eggs, so it was easy to guess."
"Oh, I see!"
Mirajane showed an expression of sudden realization, clearly believing his excuse.
"Is that egg an Exceed like Happy too?"
"No, this egg is a different creature. At least, I can't guess what it is right now."
Roland shook his head. Right now, he just hoped it wouldn't hatch into some strange Pokémon.
"It's so big, could it be a dragon egg?" Mirajane said thoughtfully. "I remember Natsu was always shouting about picking up a dragon egg or something."
"That's possible."
Roland propped his chin on one hand, staring intently at the giant Pokémon egg in front of him as he replied.
He should find someone to look after this egg first.
After all, he and Mirajane were going to Edolas for three days. They couldn't just bring a giant egg with them, could they?
"I should go find Levy. I can entrust both Little Doraemon and the egg to her care."
After making his arrangements, Roland stretched and decided to head out to the back hills first.
There was still a character template he hadn't claimed.
"Mirajane, I'm heading out for a bit. Let's meet at the guild later."
Roland turned to look at Mirajane, who was cleaning up the house, a slight smile on his lips.
Although it was the girl's first time, as a demon, her powerful constitution allowed her to adapt quickly—as for that bit of pain?
It was less painful than getting injured by a monster on a mission.
Walking out of the house, Roland looked up at the clearing sky, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
"Ulquiorra, huh..."
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