"Bye-bye, Brand. See you tomorrow."
After dinner, Lucy waved affectionately at Brandish as she said goodbye.
"Hmph, don't act so familiar," Brandish turned her face away, clearly dissatisfied with the nickname.
But after her brief tsundere remark, she still casually waved back at Lucy.
"Hehe."
With a silly smile, Lucy watched Brandish walk home alone, then turned around with Sorano and Meredy, preparing to return to their house for sleep.
After taking a few steps, she stopped and glanced back at the manor's tightly closed gate.
"By the way, why is Brandish going back alone? Does Lady Irene still have things to discuss with Kabe?"
Sorano, walking ahead, let out a cold snort when she heard this.
"If you put it that way, they do have some very important matters to deal with."
"…?"
Lucy tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what she had said wrong.
At that moment, Meredy secretly tugged on Lucy's sleeve and stood on tiptoe to whisper into her ear.
"It's the kind of thing only adults do. Sorano-nee might act like she doesn't care, but anyone can tell she's already interested in Kabe."
Even though Meredy spoke very softly, the senses of a powerful mage were far beyond ordinary people.
Sorano's already unpleasant expression darkened completely after realizing Meredy was gossiping about her.
"Meredy. You don't need to sleep tonight. Come to my room. I'll personally test your recent studies."
"Ehhh?!"
The little girl instantly showed a look of despair and pleaded with her eyes toward Sorano.
But Sorano had clearly decided to punish her. After entering the villa, she dragged Meredy upstairs to the third floor.
At the stairway, Meredy reached out toward Lucy as if trying to grab onto something while being taken away.
Lucy silently wished her luck, waved goodnight, and quickly ran back to her own room.
Bang.
She closed the door tightly and locked it, making sure Meredy would not come downstairs to settle accounts with her at night.
Only then did she sit on the bed and begin sorting through everything that had happened today.
Even though it was somewhat different from what she had imagined, it had still been a surprisingly smooth and successful day.
She successfully joined Fairy Tail, meeting guild seniors like Lucky, Cana, and Meredy.
She had a close-range interaction with Lady Irene and even received "support" in the form of her first living expenses and a magic item.
She also reunited with Kabe and Sorano after a long time and met the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar Brandish.
If there was anything she could call a regret, it would be Kabe's unclear relationships with the many women around him.
Sigh… I didn't expect even Lady Irene to be involved with Kabe…
With so many outstanding women around him, her own chances seemed to be getting smaller and smaller.
Thinking about how there might be some kind of inappropriate adult scene happening in the neighboring manor right now, Lucy felt her face heat up while also experiencing a subtle sense of loss.
Before coming here, she had imagined living in the same guild as Kabe.
She had imagined not only becoming a true mage, but also slowly developing feelings for him through long-term companionship.
A smooth route of both career and love, reaching the peak of life.
But reality was far harsher. On her very first day, she already discovered that the "main route" she had imagined seemed to have been cut in half.
For a young woman who had just come of age, that was quite a blow.
Sigh… I'll just take it one step at a time. I still haven't even solved my rent problem. Thinking about this is too early anyway.
Shaking off her worries, Lucy got up and rummaged through her small bag, finally pulling out neatly folded spare clothes from the bottom.
"No sleepwear either. If I don't get a suitable job tomorrow, I'll just go sell some things in the shopping street."
She muttered to herself and walked into the private bathroom holding her clothes.
Fortunately, although the guest room was unused, all necessary toiletries were fully prepared, so she did not need to go to the third floor to borrow anything from Sorano.
After taking a relaxing bath in the large tub and feeling refreshed, Lucy quickly dried her hair and slipped under the blanket.
Before long, sleepiness gradually overtook her, and she drifted into a deep sleep.
The next morning came quickly.
Having fallen asleep early, Lucy woke up feeling refreshed and in excellent condition.
It had been quite a while since she last had such high-quality sleep after leaving home, and her mood improved noticeably along with it.