After receiving Jehfrit's explanation, the two girls felt reassured, and Lisanna left.
However, Mira remained by Jehfrit's side. She looked at his profile and said, "There's more to it than that, isn't there, Jehfrit?"
"Huh?" Jehfrit was momentarily stunned.
"What's your real purpose?" Mira gave him a look that said, 'I know you too well.'
"Cough, cough…" Jehfrit cleared his throat. "There's nothing else."
"You seem awfully guilty."
"…"
"But…" Mira smiled. "I trust you."
"…" Jehfrit glanced at the girl beside him. The wind tousled her long beautifull white hair, carrying her sweet scent toward him.
"Jehfrit," Miko suddenly spoke up.
"What?"
"Kiss her."
"You're not allowed to speak for the rest of the day!"
"…"
Night fell.
Everyone was searching through the forest.
"Elfman, where on earth did you go?" Evergreen grew increasingly anxious.
Unconsciously, she drifted away from the group.
When she finally snapped back to reality, she realized she was alone.
But she wasn't afraid. She wasn't some ordinary girl—she was a powerful mage ranked among the guild's strongest.
"You idiot…" Evergreen clenched her fists, her words a mix of complaint and worry. "Who apologizes while still angry? And it's not like I'm unreasonable. A simple gift would've been enough to make me happy."
"But you control Elfman's money. How could he afford to buy you a gift?" Her inner voice chimed in.
"I…" Evergreen was momentarily speechless. She defended herself, "I just didn't want him wasting money…"
Inner Voice: "But before you were together, you'd known him as a companion for years. Don't you already understand him?"
"I…" Evergreen had no answer.
Inner Voice: "You enjoy feeling like a queen because only Elfman lets you have your way. And let's not forget—you love basking in Lucy and the others' envious gazes. But are they really envious of how you treat Elfman? Would Lucy ever act that way with Natsu?"
"…" Evergreen snapped, "Stop distracting me! Finding Elfman is the priority right now!"
Inner Voice: "And once you find him, what then? Will anything change? Are you willing to change your personality for Elfman?"
Inner Voice: "You read those magazines all the time. They say relationships require compromise and personal growth. But since you've been with Elfman, you haven't changed at all—it's always been him adjusting and submitting to you."
Inner Voice: "And don't forget—originally, 'you' were the one who liked him first. You even tricked him into pursuing you. Elfman may be a fool, but you shouldn't forget these things."
Evergreen angrily shouted, "Stop overthinking everything! Finding Elfman is the most important thing right now!"
Inner Voice: "I'm just your subconscious thoughts… deep down, you already know the answers."
Inner Voice: "Once you find him, will you apologize? That's hard for you, isn't it?"
Evergreen: "…."
Inner Voice: "What if something happened to Elfman?"
Evergreen: "Impossible! He's strong—he won't get hurt!"
Inner Voice: "But… what if that last time you saw him was truly the final time…"
Evergreen: "Elfman is strong! Nothing bad will happen to him!"
Inner Voice: "…Just like Lisanna when she became a mage. Every mage knows this risk."
"Shut up!!!" Evergreen slammed her fist against a nearby tree trunk, drawing blood from her knuckles.
She shook her head fiercely, suppressing the whirlwind of thoughts. "Finding Elfman is the top priority. Everything else comes second!"
'Boom boom boom'
At that moment, she heard the sounds of battle ahead. Her heart tightened, and she rushed toward the noise.
It was Elfman, surrounded by several Beast , looking battered.
"…" Evergreen took a step forward, her mouth opening instinctively as she prepared to call out Elfman's name.
But…
Inner Voice: "If you approach him now, you'll lose."
Evergreen: "…."
Three seconds later…
"Relationships aren't about winning or losing!" Evergreen shouted. "I just want to be by Elfman's side right now!"
"Elfman!" She yelled, running toward him.
"Evergreen?" Elfman turned around in disbelief.
"Idiot, watch out!" Evergreen cried.
During a fight, you can't afford to be distracted. One of the Beast slapped Elfman, sending him flying.
Evergreen's eyes widened in fury. "Damn it!"
She unleashed her magic, scattering glittering scales that caused an explosion, temporarily halting the Beast's advance. Then, sprouting wings, she flew toward Elfman.
"Cough, cough…" Elfman stumbled out of the bushes, looking disheveled.
"Heh heh." Seeing Evergreen's worried expression, he grinned sheepishly.
"You idiot…" Evergreen raised her hand and smacked his shoulder before extending it to help him up.
"Evergreen, I'm sorry, I…" Elfman began to explain.
"Let's fight first," Evergreen interrupted.
"All right."
With their combined strength, they quickly defeated the Beast causing trouble for Elfman.
Elfman grinned. "My best partner is you, Evergreen."
"Hmph." Evergreen crossed her arms and sniffed. "Weren't you going to choose Lisanna instead?"
"Uh…" Elfman scratched his head. "Please don't be mad anymore. When Jehfrit said doing this would earn me more pocket money… Well, anyway, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."
Elfman stared into Evergreen's eyes, his voice sincere. "I only want to partner with 'you'."
"…" Evergreen abruptly turned away, fearing he'd see her tears.
After calming herself, she turned back, intending to proudly accept his apology. But the moment her eyes met his earnest, burning gaze, she crumbled.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
"Idiot! It's not your fault—it's mine!"
"I shouldn't have been so selfish, ignoring your feelings all the time. I shouldn't have…"
"Evergreen," Elfman embraced her, cutting her off.
"You don't need to… change yourself."
"The Evergreen I love is exactly like this."
"…" Evergreen couldn't speak anymore. She just cried.
After a while, both had calmed down.
"So…" Evergreen sat on Elfman's lap, snuggling close. "Jehfrit said you wanted to buy me a gift to apologize. Why did you come to the forest?"
"Oh yeah!" Elfman immediately stood up excitedly, accidentally knocking Evergreen over.
"Sorry, sorry!"
He quickly helped her up. "Come with me quickly—we don't have much time!"
With that, he grabbed Evergreen's hand and ran in a certain direction.
"Where are we going, Elfman?" Evergreen asked, puzzled.
"We're almost there, almost there!"
Elfman pushed aside a patch of tall grass, leading Evergreen out of the darkness. They emerged into the open and looked ahead.
Evergreen froze.
"It's beautiful…"
Before them was a small hill, dotted with twinkling lights that resembled fireflies—but brighter. As they flitted through the night sky, they left trails of photon afterimages that slowly faded away.
"They look like fairies, don't they?" Elfman said gently. "Fairy… tails."
Evergreen covered her mouth, tears cascading down her cheeks like a waterfall.
Elfman explained, "Jehfrit told me about the Green Crystal Bugs—they can be kept as pets. I thought you'd like them, but they're very expensive. All my money goes to you, so I couldn't afford them."
"I heard they might be here, so I came looking."
"You…" Evergreen started to say something.
"Wow, look—a shooting star!" Lisanna's voice rang out from nearby.
Evergreen turned to see Jehfrit and the others emerging from another direction out of the darkness.
Everyone spotted Evergreen and Elfman and sighed in relief.
Then they gazed ahead.
A meteor streaked across the sky.
On the ground, the Green Crystal Bugs danced, leaving behind glowing trails.
Everyone was captivated by the enchanting scene.
"Elfman," Evergreen tugged at him.
"What?" Elfman turned to her, only to see her suddenly lean in.
Then, he tasted something sweet.
Instinctively, he swallowed, but she pulled back after only a brief moment.
Elfman gritted his teeth, took the initiative, and leaned in again, catching her off guard.
"Mmm…"
Evergreen resisted symbolically, then closed her eyes.
"How cute…" Emily whispered softly.
"…" Wendy blushed furiously, steam practically rising from her head.
"You two, stop looking!" Erza quickly turned the two younger girls around.
"Natsu, Natsu, make a wish!" Happy called out.
"Oh, right!" Natsu snapped out of it.
"I hope Carla likes me!" Happy declared.
"Happy… saying your wish aloud makes it not come true," Lily deadpanned.
"Eh?!" Happy's eyes shot open in shock. He looked at Carla, who was closing her eyes to make a wish, and hurried over. "Carla, you didn't hear that, right? So it doesn't count as being said out loud."
"You idiot…" Carla rolled her eyes. Suddenly recalling her agreement with Jehfrit earlier, her face flushed as she murmured, "Happy-kun…"
Calling him "Mr. Cat"—a bit distant.
Referring to him as "Happy"—completely normal.
But that single "Happy-kun" carried a hint of intimacy.
Even someone as dense as Happy caught the unusual tone. "Eh?! Carla, what did you just say?!"
Damn you, Jehfrit!
Carla finally understood why Jehfrit had specified "say it twice."
"Happy… kun." Carla lowered her head. She was just keeping her promise!
"Ahh…" Happy collapsed, overwhelmed. "Carla is too cute—I'm dying of happiness!"
"Levy, what did you wish for?" Gajeel asked the girl beside him.
"I wished for Gajeel-san to stop helping me out of guilt," Levy replied.
"…" Gajeel was taken aback, then felt a pang of disappointment. Was this rejection?
"Isn't it better to interact without any burdens?" Levy smiled.
Gajeel froze, then, after a moment, said firmly, "I'll still protect you no matter what!"
His gaze and tone were deadly serious.
Levy beamed brightly. "Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Reliable."
'I hope I can become an S-Class mage. I hope I can… tell my idiot dad who I am.' Cana made her wish silently.
Bisca's gaze lingered on Cana's back before shifting to Alzack. Her face turned red.
Alzack was blushing too.
But after a moment, Alzack reached out and took Bisca's hand. "Bisca, what did you wish for?"
"…" Bisca lowered her head. "This moment."
"…" Alzack was stunned, then replied, "My wish is forever."
"…"
They didn't say anything more, but their grip on each other's hands tightened.
'I hope everyone stays together forever. I hope…' Lucy glanced at Happy and continued her wish. 'Happy gets together with Carla.' She then looked at Natsu and added, 'I hope Natsu finds his father and… stays by my side forever.'
"Lucy," Natsu leaned in and asked, "What did you wish for?"
"If I say it, it won't come true," Lucy blushed deeply.
"Fine," Natsu reluctantly looked at the Green Crystal Bugs. "I'll go check them out. I'm curious."
"Hey, wait! If you get too close, you'll scare them away!" Lucy quickly lunged forward and hugged Natsu.
"Heh heh," Natsu smirked triumphantly. "I made a bet with Jehfrit earlier."
"What was the bet?"
"Lucy gained weight compared to before."
He moved his arms, pulling Lucy closer. Lucy felt her curves pressed against him, but Natsu proudly declared, "I won. She's at least a pound heavier than last week."
"You're dead!" Lucy's embarrassment turned into rage, and she punched him flat on the ground.
"What an idiot," Gray muttered.
"Gray-sama, what did you wish for?" Juvia asked curiously.
"Nothing," Gray replied.
"Juvia wished…" Juvia began.
"Idiot, don't say it out loud!" Gray quickly stopped her.
"It's fine," Juvia smiled. "Because I'll make it come true with my own strength."
Gray stared at Juvia's radiant smile, mesmerized.
"What did you wish for, Laxus-nii?" Lisanna asked.
"I don't believe in this stuff," Laxus replied coldly.
"Oh," Lisanna nodded, then climbed onto Laxus's back. "Laxus, carry me."
"…" Laxus reached out and supported Lisanna's legs.
"My wish is halfway fulfilled," Lisanna said, leaning on Laxus's shoulder and whispering near his ear.
"Achoo!" Mira sneezed.
[So cute!!!]
Jehfrit glanced at her, removed his mage's cloak, and draped it over her shoulders.
As he drew closer, he caught the intoxicating scent of her hair.
"Thank you," Mira held the collar with both hands, smiling gently.
"…" Jehfrit looked ahead but heard Mira murmur, seemingly to herself yet directed at him: "The night, the Green Crystal Bugs, the shooting stars, the careful planning, the boy and the girl…"
"Isn't this the perfect moment, the perfect place yet?"
Jehfrit turned to look at her.
Mira stared ahead, using her pinky to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her flawless, glowing face.
A subtle wave of Deception Magic spread quietly.
Emily glanced at Jehfrit's back, the only one able to sense his magic. The next moment, she covered her eyes but couldn't resist peeking through her fingers.
Jehfrit approached, then stepped back.
Mira's ears instantly turned bright red.
But she continued staring ahead, as if oblivious.
Jehfrit also maintained a straight face, pretending nothing happened.
"Aww, they flew away," Wendy said, disappointed.
The Green Crystal Bugs soared into the sky, resembling shooting stars as they disappeared into the distance.
"800,000 J!" Elfman shouted, ready to chase after them.
"Forget it, Elfman," Evergreen held him back.
"But…"
"Freedom is the best thing for any living being," Evergreen said.
"You…" Elfman was stunned.
"Stockings… if you really want to see them…" Evergreen blushed slightly.
"Want to see!" Elfman answered decisively.
"…" Evergreen was momentarily taken aback, pouting. "Pervert."
"It's because it's you—I can't help myself!" Elfman replied.
"You…" Evergreen didn't know how to respond and could only nod. "You can look, but… no touching."
"All right," Elfman nodded excitedly, mentally repeating Jehfrit's mantra: 'Chasing girls requires taking every opportunity; patting starts from the back and works its way down!'
Jehfrit—undefeated!!!