'At this point, I can only tell the truth.' Kabe thought to himself. Then he prepared to come clean.
"To put it simply, Irene is actually..."
"Actually Erza's ancestor, right?!"
"...Huh?"
"You don't need to say it. I can figure that much out myself."
Wearing the wise expression of a man who believed he had already seen through everything, Makarov proudly stroked his beard and began his analysis.
"Similar hair color. Similar appearance. And if you combine that with the rumor from the Council that Irene is a native-born Ishgarian...
Then there is only one possible truth.
Irene must actually be Erza's ancestor from centuries ago.
Before going to the western continent, she must have left descendants behind in Ishgar.
And after generation upon generation of reproduction, even if her descendants have long since forgotten the name of their forebear, the bloodline itself cannot be erased.
The fact that they still look this similar after several hundred years is the clearest proof of all!!"
Kabe: ...
Around the hall, Macao, Gray, and the others, who had all secretly pricked up their ears, instantly showed expressions of sudden understanding.
Macao: "So that's it. Now it all makes sense!"
Gray: "I knew it. How could Erza possibly be directly connected to someone from centuries ago? So this was what it was."
Laxus: "Genes, huh... I hope my future descendants inherit more of mine. If they turn out like the old man, that'd be a disaster."
Natsu: "Eh? Why did everyone suddenly go quiet?"
As mages with exceptional ability, all of them had senses far sharper than ordinary people.
And Makarov and Kabe were only talking over by the bar, not far away at all.
Naturally, the entire nearby crowd had heard every word of the conversation.
Only Natsu, who was fully immersed in the lively atmosphere, failed to notice anything and just stood there looking blank and confused.
...
"My... ancestor."
Erza's body shook, and she murmured those words in a daze, her pupils unfocused.
Across from her, Irene slapped a hand over her forehead and was already too exhausted to keep watching.
'How did someone as brilliant as me give birth to such a foolish daughter!
No matter how strong the bloodline, after hundreds of years and dozens of generations, the ancestor and descendant should have ended up looking quite different by now, shouldn't they?!'
The Heartfilia family: ???
But Makarov still was not done. After producing his grand analysis, he continued to reason aloud.
"Kabe, you brat definitely noticed this too, didn't you? You must have told Lady Irene about Erza's existence, and that is what persuaded her to leave the western continent and come back."
"Well, I..."
Kabe opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but on second thought, Erza really had been one of the major reasons he was able to convince Irene.
The only problem was that it was not some nonsense about a descendant from countless generations later.
It was a real, direct mother and daughter relationship!
"Y-yeah, that did indeed have a lot to do with Erza..."
Hearing Kabe admit it with his own mouth, Makarov immediately burst into delighted laughter and slapped his shoulder hard.
"Hohoho! See? My brain still works just fine, doesn't it?
It was only because you happened to take the mission. If I had gone instead, I would have noticed the problem too and brought Lady Irene back successfully."
"...Mm-hmm. Yes, yes, everything you say is correct."
On the surface, Kabe nodded repeatedly with a look of deep admiration.
Inside, however, he was screaming.
'Correct my ass, you old geezer! You got the whole thing completely wrong!
What should have been a very simple matter has now become unbelievably complicated because of you!
How am I supposed to tell Erza now that Irene is actually your mother?!'
Feeling that the situation was spiraling out of control, Kabe immediately turned to look at Irene, hoping she would step forward and clear up their relationship herself.
"Yes. Exactly what Master Makarov said."
Irene answered Erza in a completely serious tone.
"Although calling me your ancestor makes me sound a little too old.
If you don't mind, then just treat me as your mother instead."
Pffft!!
A mouthful of blood nearly sprayed straight out of Kabe.
'I do mind! I mind a lot!
You're just chickening out, aren't you? Faced with the daughter you abandoned as a child, you still don't dare admit the truth properly!!
This is cheating! And do you take Erza for an idiot?
Who in their right mind goes from ancestor straight to mother? Anyone would realize something is wrong there!!'
Bang!
Under Kabe's desperate and hopeful stare, Erza suddenly slammed both hands onto the table and stood up.
Then, with tears already flowing, she lunged forward and buried her face straight into Irene's chest.
"Wuu... this is wonderful. I have family too now. Thank you, Mama Irene!"
...
Clap clap clap clap clap!
For a moment, the whole guild erupted into thunderous applause.
Everyone stood up on their own, eyes shining with tears as they gave Erza their heartfelt congratulations.
"That's wonderful, Erza."
"Congratulations on finding family, Erza."
"Waaah, this is so touching~~"
"Be happy, Erza~~"
And while blessing after blessing rained down from every direction, no one noticed that beneath the bar counter, a slowly graying corpse had just appeared.
'Is there a single normal person left in this guild?!!!'
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