Chapter 602 - 602: Black Moon Mountain, Beneath a Beautiful Moon

By the time the late-night banquet finally broke up, the exhausted mages had scattered back to the rooms Selene had arranged for them across Black Moon Mountain.

Ankh was no exception.

He climbed into bed, settled beneath the covers, and then abruptly paused.

For a moment, he almost sat back up.

After thinking better of it, however, he relaxed again.

The bed was suspiciously soft.

Far too soft.

And apparently…

he had another visitor.

Still lying on his back, Ankh slowly turned his head toward the window.

A shapely figure was currently trying to sneak inside.

"Mira?"

With his excellent night vision, Ankh had no trouble recognizing Mirajane the moment one of her pale legs swung over the windowsill.

The instant he called her name, her entire body jolted.

Mirajane froze halfway through the window.

After two awkward seconds, she scratched herself sheepishly and decided the only viable strategy left was to play dumb.

"Ehehe~"

"Don't tell me you climbed in through my window in the middle of the night just to show me your pajamas."

Ankh looked with obvious amusement at the little bear-patterned sleepwear stretched rather tightly across her chest.

"You're awful!"

Mirajane's face turned red.

Realizing there was no point pretending anymore, she quickly climbed the rest of the way inside, hurried across the room, and dove headfirst beneath the covers.

She curled herself as tightly as possible against Ankh, then let out a contented little sigh like a cat finding its favorite sleeping spot.

"This is much more comfortable…"

Ankh slipped an arm around her with practiced ease.

Then he leaned slightly closer and whispered into her ear,

"Larcade's magic still affecting you?"

Mirajane's entire face instantly turned scarlet.

She bit her lower lip, yanked the blanket over her head, and disappeared underneath it.

"None of your business…"

Soon, the covers began rustling violently.

Apparently, a certain explorer had begun a determined expedition into unknown territory.

Ankh calmly held the blanket in place, rested his head against one arm, and silently counted down.

'Three… two… one.'

"AH!"

An indignant cry came from beneath the covers exactly when expected.

Then Mirajane's startled voice followed.

"Erza?! Why are you in here?!"

Erza's reply was too muffled to make out clearly.

Whatever she said, however, apparently infuriated the great adventurer Mirajane, because the two women immediately began wrestling beneath the blanket.

Fortunately for Ankh, a wrestling match at that distance inevitably dragged him into the battlefield as well.

Mirajane was fiercely determined not to lose ground in the competition over Ankh's future family, while Erza had apparently concluded that strategic positions were meant to be seized early.

If Elicia was going to have an eldest-sister position someday, Erza clearly had no intention of giving it up without a fight.

...

Selene, being a true dragon, had no need for sleep.

So while most of Black Moon Mountain settled down for the night, she remained downstairs, leisurely enjoying a bottle of wine after dinner.

Unfortunately…

even after putting up a soundproofing magic circle, her highly sensitive hearing still picked up enough suspicious noise from upstairs to become irritating.

"Honestly…"

Selene took another drink.

"Choosing this as your method of experiencing human emotion. That really does suit you."

She suppressed the strange restlessness building in her body and lifted the bottle, intending to finish it in one go.

Then she turned around.

A small pink-haired girl was standing nearby, staring blankly.

What was her name again?

Meredy?

Ankh seemed very fond of the girl. She was Ultear's younger sister in everything but blood and, for all practical purposes, her adopted daughter.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

Selene asked casually.

Meredy scratched her head with an embarrassed smile.

"It's rare to visit a world with this much Magic Power, so I wanted to train a little longer."

"You're diligent."

Selene nodded absently.

"Where's your adoptive mother?"

Meredy thought for a moment.

"She's with Sorano-onee-san. I think they went to find Ankh-sama a little while ago to talk about Sorano-onee-san's family."

Selene stopped listening after one particular phrase.

'Went to find Ankh.'

Her expression froze.

'They went now?'

She slowly inhaled.

'Surely the timing isn't that perfect…'

Selene's expression became increasingly strange as she spread her magical senses across her own estate.

It didn't take long.

Outside a certain noisy room upstairs, two suspicious figures were indeed crouched near the door like thieves.

Selene stared into the distance.

"These people…"

She had lived for centuries and seen more absurd situations than most people could imagine.

Even she was impressed.

Then another thought suddenly occurred to her.

Selene turned toward Meredy.

A distinctly mischievous light entered her eyes.

"Meredy."

"Yes?"

"Your magic connects people's senses, doesn't it?"

Meredy nodded innocently.

"Yeah. It's called Maguilty Sense."

Selene's smile slowly widened.

She draped an arm around Meredy's shoulders and lowered her voice conspiratorially.

"I have an idea that might help Ultear and the others get a little closer to Ankh."

Meredy's eyes widened with curiosity.

"What idea?"

As the person closest to Ultear, Meredy naturally knew all about the feelings her adoptive mother was far too embarrassed to admit aloud.

Selene leaned close and whispered into her ear like a criminal planning a heist.

Meredy listened carefully.

Then her expression became skeptical.

"Would that really work? How could it?"

"Normally, maybe not."

Selene sounded completely certain.

"But tonight? Absolutely."

She urged Meredy on.

"Connect all five of them."

Faced with the absolute confidence of the mighty Moon Dragon God, Meredy decided she could probably trust the expert.

So she quietly activated her magic.

Connecting the senses of an enemy required Maguilty Sense to establish contact properly, but using it on people Meredy knew intimately was much easier.

And considerably more effective.

Thus began a night on Black Moon Mountain that somehow felt both very long and very short.

At some point, Selene fled the area with her face completely flushed.

Meredy eventually returned to her room utterly confused.

Ultear and Sorano, meanwhile, never came back at all.

And before anyone quite knew where the hours had gone—

morning arrived.

...

The sun had barely risen when Ankh stepped out of his room.

He stretched vigorously, looking remarkably refreshed.

There was something to be said for teamwork.

Apparently, having companions on the battlefield really did sharpen everyone's determination to win.

The competition had become fierce enough that Mira and the others had started bringing out techniques Ankh had never seen before.

Erza had even Requipped into a surprisingly bold set of clothing she had apparently kept hidden away.

Mirajane used her Seilah form.

Sorano leaned fully into her angelic appearance.

Ultear had experimented with a newly learned Time Magic trick that altered her appearance so dramatically that Ankh nearly jumped out of his skin before she changed back.

And then there had been Meredy's mysterious assistance halfway through the night.

Thinking about it now…

Selene had almost certainly been behind that.

Right on cue, Ankh spotted a voluptuous figure approaching from farther down the corridor.

He stared.

Selene somehow looked considerably more flushed and radiant than she had the previous evening.

Ankh's expression became peculiar.

"You got connected too?"

"Whah are yoo tawking abou—"

Selene immediately slapped a hand over her mouth.

She cleared her throat, carefully corrected herself, and then raised her chin with an air of absolute dignity while Ankh stared at her with dead, unimpressed eyes.

"Go wake your companions."

She turned away coolly.

"It's time to send everyone home."