— — — — — —
After the two sisters finally cried it out, Mira walked up to Kazuma. Her eyes were still red, but they were filled with gratitude.
"Thank you… really. Thank you so much."
She didn't even know how to thank him properly. After just a couple of sentences, she felt like she might start crying all over again.
"Alright, alright, stop crying," Kazuma said. "Go make me something to eat. No fried rice. No chili. Make something else. No chili, I mean it."
He didn't bother comforting her much at all. Instead, he started ordering food, rattling off over a dozen dishes in one go, then sat down outside to wait.
"Okay. I'll get started right now," Mira turned and headed into the kitchen, and Lisanna quickly followed, eager to help.
The two sisters worked side by side, chatting as they cooked. Little by little, their emotions settled down.
"Mira… you've changed so much," Lisanna said softly.
She'd expected to see her old mischievous, devilish sister again. Instead, the Mirajane here was gentle in a way she'd never imagined.
"That's because of you," Mirajane replied with a smile. "But honestly, this isn't bad either. No more fighting every day. Living peacefully like this feels pretty nice."
After Lisanna disappeared, Mira had blamed herself. If she hadn't accepted that S-Class mission… if she hadn't been so proud and careless… maybe none of it would have happened.
Because of that guilt, she started rejecting her own power.
Over time, she became unable to use it at all. At first, it felt wrong and uncomfortable, but now she thought it was fine.
Especially now that Lisanna was back. She didn't want to be a mage anymore. She didn't want her family to be in danger ever again.
Lisanna looked at her and nodded. Mira had changed, sure, but some things were exactly the same.
Her love for her family. That had never changed, not then and not now.
Once the food was ready, they brought the dishes out to Kazuma. Mirajane also handed him the guild reports from the past month.
"This covers what's been happening in the guild and the kingdom of Fiore," she said. "The plans you set up before are moving along smoothly."
"Mm… and there's also a notice from the Magic Council," she continued calmly. "They want you to write self-reflection reports. Not many. Just over a hundred of them. About ten thousand words each."
"So… roughly a million words in total."
Mira smiled sweetly. "A special gift Grandpa Makarov prepared just for you."
"Let our dear Third Guild Master handle it," Kazuma said without hesitation. "He's good at that sort of thing. And if he refuses, I'll just pass it to the First Master instead. She should contribute to the guild too, right?"
"Heh, old man. Self-criticisms? No way I'm writing those."
"Hmm...." He flipped through the reports again, frowning. "And these progress reports… this is kind of slow. Three months and only three guilds have joined the Fairy Tail Great Alliance. Might as well delete 'Great.'"
As he spoke, he casually wrapped an arm around Mirajane's waist and pulled her into his lap.
In Edolas, whenever he wasn't dealing with official business, Mira was usually by his side. He'd gotten used to it.
"Eh—?! Um—th-that…!" Mira gasped.
She instinctively tried to pull away, but then remembered the huge risk Kazuma had taken because of her drunken words.
He'd crossed worlds and brought Lisanna back.
The strength left her arms. After a token struggle, she gave up and leaned against him.
"Well… you did say to take things slowly," she said quietly. "And you also said it was fine to absorb other guilds, just not too aggressively."
"So it's slower, but everything's improving steadily."
"Speed it up a bit," Kazuma replied. "Also, we should have a map of the kingdom of Fiore in the guild, right? Where is it? I want to take a look."
He knew the Dragon Graveyard was somewhere underneath the capital city of Fiore, but he didn't know the exact location. He needed a map to compare.
"It's in the cabinet over there," Mira said, pointing behind the bar.
"Hey! You might be the guild master, but don't push it!" Lisanna protested, puffing out her cheeks. "You already have a Mira over there. Isn't that enough?!"
"You're not allowed to steal this Mira too! This Mira is mine!"
She rushed forward and pulled Mirajane out of Kazuma's arms, clearly sulking.
"Ah… sorry," Kazuma said after a moment. "Habit."
He'd been in Edolas for a full year. Coming back so suddenly, he hadn't adjusted yet.
He stood up, walked behind the counter, and took out the map. He quickly found the royal capital and began checking the surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, Mira quietly asked Lisanna what she'd meant earlier. After hearing her explanation, Mira's face instantly turned red.
She leaned closer to Lisanna and whispered, "Really? Exactly the same? Even… your figure too?"
"Well… I thought it was just her face at first," Lisanna replied honestly. "But her personality became gentle too. Just like you over there."
"As for her figure… I don't really know. But I look the same as the me from that world."
Lisanna suddenly recalled some very unpleasant memories.
Memories of being harassed by her other self.
That version of her really was a mischievous little devil.
"Th-then that means…" Mira's thoughts ran wild.
Her face flushed bright red, steam practically rising from her head.
.
.
.