The departure of Lady Irene together with Brandish and Kabe did not cause much of a stir within the Empire.
After all, no one would ever imagine that this departure was actually an act of defection. Everyone simply assumed it was another one of Lady Irene's routine inspections or perhaps a leisurely trip.
And so, the three of them made their way through the Empire without encountering the slightest obstruction, all the way to the border.
In the end, they boarded the Empire's newest large-scale magic airship and left the western continent behind.
Standing on the deck with the wind blowing across his face, Kabe could already imagine the look on Crawford and the others' faces when this colossal vessel arrived at the doorstep of the Magic Council.
Beside him, Irene stood gazing out over the sea. Her thoughts drifted far away as she slowly parted her red lips and said,
"With the great merit of persuading high-ranking Alvarez figures to defect, this time your position among the Ten Wizard Saints should be completely secured."
Kabe leaned lazily against the railing, watching the merchant ships below hurriedly change course because of the warship's arrival, and replied flatly,
"The Ten Wizard Saints are nothing. I am bringing the Council a powerhouse far beyond even the strongest of the Ten Wizard Saints. With a contribution like this, it would not be excessive for them to make me a council member."
"I am pleased that you hold me in such high regard. But if I were to truly face your so-called God Serena, I would still have to put in some effort."
Kabe glanced sideways at Irene, whose eyes had narrowed slightly, and directly rewarded her with a look of disdain.
"Put in effort doing what, making sure you do not accidentally step on him too hard?
Do not joke around. He is not even on the same level as you."
The woman before him was someone who could alter the structure of an entire continent with magic. Saying she could not defeat God Serena was as ridiculous as saying Kabe could not defeat Macao.
Irene gave no answer to that.
She turned and looked Kabe over from head to toe, her gaze lingering for a moment on the tail coiled around his waist before finally meeting his eyes.
"I wanted to ask you this earlier. The woman you mentioned, the one who has countless ties to me... who exactly is she?"
"You really do not know? In all of Ishgar right now, there are only a few people left who could possibly be connected to you."
Looking at that face of hers, which resembled Erza's by at least eighty percent, Kabe refused to believe she had not already guessed.
And Irene's reaction proved exactly that.
She lowered her head, and for a brief moment, a trace of conflict crossed her expression. But almost immediately, she raised her head again, having composed herself, and voiced her own guess.
"Erza, is it? Even from the western continent, I have heard that girl's name before.
I never thought that piece of trash I casually threw away back then would have grown up already."
"Hey, are you really going to keep talking like that?
If you truly had no feelings for her at all, you would have used enchantment magic to take over her body a long time ago.
There are only the two of us here. Stop pretending and admit it honestly.
Once we get back to Ishgar, the two of you are going to meet sooner or later anyway."
Kabe could not stand people like this, people who stubbornly refused to admit the truth and insisted on turning something simple into something complicated.
So he bluntly exposed Irene's true feelings, leaving her speechless.
"Y-you... you even know about that?!"
Irene could hardly believe it. Logically, those were things only she herself should know. Where exactly had this boy gotten such information from?
"Do not worry about that. Just know that I know."
Kabe did not bother explaining further. Instead, he directly instructed her,
"Listen carefully. No matter what you were thinking before, once we get back, treat Erza properly.
Do not keep putting on an act and making it look like you are carrying some bitter blood feud."
"Hmph. Brat, do not speak to me in that commanding tone. How I deal with her is my own business."
Irene showed no gratitude whatsoever. Her voice remained just as cold and detached as before.
But inwardly, she could not help feeling tangled and nervous, already beginning to imagine what her eventual meeting with Erza would be like.
"I am not saying all this from an outsider's point of view, either.
You probably do not know this yet, but Erza is my girlfriend."
"...What?"
Irene, who had already been internally conflicted enough, was completely wrecked by that single sentence.
She tilted her head and stared at Kabe with a surprisingly blank look.
In her memory, Erza was still that tiny little girl from years ago.
She had never imagined that now Erza was already grown up enough to have a boyfriend.
Immediately, the way she looked at Kabe changed.
Her gaze became far more critical as she thoroughly re-examined the young man in front of her.
But after looking for quite a while, she could not find too many flaws.
Young, handsome, powerful. At only eighteen years old, he had already become famous across Ishgar, so famous that even she, far away on the western continent, had heard of him.
No matter how she looked at it, he seemed like an extremely suitable choice for a boyfriend.
Of course, if only his gaze could stop wandering across her chest and thighs, that would have been even better.
That thought instantly made Irene both embarrassed and annoyed. She quickly pulled her cloak over herself, covering the alluring skin she had been exposing, and sharply rebuked him,
"Brat, knowing my relationship with Erza, you still dare to look around like that?!"
As the scenery vanished from view, Kabe inwardly sighed in regret, yet outwardly answered with perfect confidence,
"What is wrong with me taking a look? If you are dressed like that, is it not meant to be seen?"
That single sentence instantly drove Irene's already decent impression of him straight into the negatives.
'This lecherous brat is not worthy of Erza at all!!'
Furious, with a throbbing vein bulging on her forehead, Irene immediately decided to teach this boy, who clearly did not know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth, a proper lesson.
With a thought, she brought the warship to a halt in midair.
Then she raised her staff and pointed it straight at Kabe.
"Brat, let me test your strength and see whether your title as a War God truly lives up to its name."
Kabe scratched his head and looked blankly at Irene, who had suddenly decided she wanted to throw hands with him. His mind was filled with question marks.
'Damn it. This woman is really that petty? I cannot even say one sentence?'