Mirajane took her younger siblings home, feeling too embarrassed to stay.
Since their house was nearby, forcing herself to remain would make it seem like she really wanted to stay at Marco's place.
"Is it really not possible?" Lisanna pouted, wearing an earnest pleading expression.
She still wanted to spend the night with her friends, especially since she didn't live in the girls' dormitory—such opportunities were rare.
"Then you stay by yourself." Mirajane said sternly, cutting straight to the point.
Elfman was going back anyway.
All the boys had already returned to their own homes, so of course he wouldn't stay overnight here.
"..." Lisanna hesitated for a moment but ultimately followed them back.
"See you tomorrow." Marco, who had been watching the whole scene, smiled and bid them farewell.
He didn't interfere with Mira's way of managing her siblings—the three of them had a harmonious relationship and their own dynamic.
Most of the time, Mira's authority as the eldest sister worked perfectly well.
She was good at guiding her younger siblings—except when it came to academics.
Both Elfman and Lisanna struggled with studies, preferring to spend their time practicing magic instead.
"See you tomorrow." Mira waved goodbye to Marco and left with the two youngsters in tow.
When Marco returned home, he saw that the girls had already sorted out their room arrangements.
He didn't pry, letting them handle it themselves.
Erza had a room to herself.
Hisui and Lucy, as fellow disciples, shared a room.
Cana and Levy stayed together, while Wendy, Juvia, and Carla shared another.
Originally, Erza had wanted Juvia to stay with her, but Juvia insisted on being with Wendy.
Erza didn't force the issue, so she ended up alone in her room.
Marco didn't comment on this.
He knew Juvia didn't dislike Erza—she simply avoided complications.
Erza and Juvia were like polar opposites in personality.
One was a straightforward, no-nonsense leader type who spoke her mind, while the other was full of internal monologues but couldn't voice them out loud.
When they were together, Erza didn't see any issue, but Juvia would feel troubled.
Erza would "arrange" things for her, pushing her forward, and Juvia couldn't bring herself to refuse.
Naturally, Juvia preferred being with Wendy.
The gentle, adorable girl was impossible not to like.
Wendy was also shy and introverted, never making Juvia feel pressured.
As for Carla—the white cat who, despite being born only a few years ago, acted like Wendy's older sister or even mother—Juvia sometimes found her intriguing.
Carla often supervised and instructed Wendy on various matters.
Their dynamic almost made it seem like Carla was the human and Wendy the cat, with Carla acting as the "owner" guiding Wendy along.
Carla's behavior was worlds apart from the other cat in the guild.
Happy, by comparison, seemed rather silly.
Juvia's thoughts drifted as she quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, by the time everyone had freshened up and left their rooms, Marco had already returned from his morning training.
"..."
Looking at Marco, bathed in the morning glow and dewdrops, brimming with youthful energy, Juvia swallowed hard.
It wasn't for any particular reason—just the thought of having to wake up this early for training like Marco in the future made her head spin slightly.
But there was no helping it.
Who told her to impulsively agree yesterday? At least she wasn't alone—there was a whole group joining her.
"Everyone awake? Let's head out soon, then. We'll all go to Mira's place for breakfast."
Seeing the girls were already up, Marco spoke with a smile.
Back when he was staying at Laxus's place, he would always have breakfast at Mira's.
Now that he'd moved to "Fairy Home," there was no reason to change that habit.
Yesterday, Mirajane had even invited him to bring all the girls over for breakfast.
The girls exchanged glances, clearly surprised, but no one refused.
After all, it was breakfast cooked by Mirajane herself.
After getting ready, the group headed to Mira's place, where they enjoyed a lively and sumptuous breakfast—the first time Mira's home had ever hosted so many people for a morning meal.
"Marco-sama, did you come here every day?" Juvia asked in astonishment while washing dishes and tidying the dining area.
"Yep. It's just one more person to cook for, after all," Mirajane replied, sitting comfortably nearby.
With so many hands helping, she didn't need to lift a finger.
Under Marco's direction, the well-fed girls all pitched in to clean up the pots and pans.
There was no way they'd let Mirajane do more work.
Juvia's gaze lingered on Mirajane, instantly elevating her threat level to "extremely dangerous" in Juvia's mind.
"I'm so envious of Marco-san" Wendy said sincerely, resting her chin on the table.
Being the youngest, she wasn't expected to help, and the little girl was utterly won over by Mirajane's cooking—even Carla had nothing to say, equally conquered by Mirajane's culinary skills.
"Aero's cooking is amazing too," Mira chimed in.
Having her cooking praised so lavishly by her friends had kept Mirajane smiling nonstop these past two days.
"Aero might leave the guild in the next couple of years," Cana sighed at the mention of Aero.
This was hard for everyone to accept.
Aero had been the guild's "poster girl" since they were little, the caring big sister who'd always been there at the front desk of Fairy Tail since they joined.
If Aero left, it would truly hurt—it might even affect Fairy Tail's operations.
Aero was actively looking for a successor to minimize the impact on the guild.
"It's too early to be sad about this now. Sure, it might happen in the next couple of years, but she doesn't even have a boyfriend yet. Who knows how long it'll be before she actually goes back to get married and have kids? There'll be plenty of time to feel sad when there's actual news," Marco interjected with a laugh as he emerged from the kitchen.
He didn't think Aero would be leaving anytime soon.
After all, the prerequisite for "going home to be a wife and mother" was actually having a "husband" and "child" first.
"That's true."
Marco's words made everyone laugh.
Aero had quite a few suitors and wanted to get married and have children, but she just couldn't find the right boyfriend or partner.
It was something she worried about every day.