— — — — — —
It didn't take long for Yakoda to show up, disguised from head to toe. She crept along the wall like a thief, oozing suspicious energy.
"…Yakoda, what exactly are you doing?"
Kazuma stared at her new outfit and the fake beard stuck to her face, genuinely at a loss for words.
"Y-you recognized me?!"Yakoda jumped, hurriedly patting her disguise. Everything was still there. How did he see through it?
"Miss Yakoda, your disguise itself is flawless," Kazuma said. "The problem is you."
"Yeah. What kind of normal person sneaks around in broad daylight? And your look gave you away."
Mira, the undisputed master of transformation magic, chimed in calmly. She could perfectly mimic appearances, voices, even someone's gaze and personality.
"My… eyes?" Yakoda pulled out a mirror in a panic and checked. Her colored contacts were fine. Her eyes looked normal, right?
"Not your eyes," Mira corrected. "Your look."
"Let me put it this way," Kazuma added. "Before I even called your name, you made at least eight strange eye movements. Your eyes are screaming 'I'm sus'."
"And your inner monologue is way too active."
Kazuma couldn't help laughing as he spoke.
"No way!" Yakoda protested. "I'm a professional! There's no way I'd mess up that badly."
"Oh? Then let me break it down for you."
"First look: walking down the street, terrified someone would notice you. So you hid."
"Second: remembering you're in disguise, getting confident, then immediately panicking again when you saw the crowd."
"Third: sneaking along the wall, full stealth mode."
"Fourth: the moment I called you, pure shock. You were thinking, 'How did he recognize me?'"
"Fifth: total blank. Brain shut down. No idea what to do next."
"Sixth—"
"Okay, okay, stop! Please stop!"
Yakoda hurriedly cut him off, staring at Kazuma like he was some kind of monster. She was just about to say something.
"Don't ask if I can read minds," Kazuma said first. "I can't. You're just really easy to read."
Yakoda froze, then instantly crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him in alarm. She hadn't even asked yet, and he already knew. That had to be mind reading!
"Why are you covering yourself?" Kazuma scoffed. "Do you even have anything to hide? An A-cup like yours isn't worth shielding."
He felt deeply offended on a spiritual level. I see plenty every day. I can't even be bothered to look at an A-cup.
Even Baby Beel's chubby cheeks are bigger than that!
"…So that means you like them big, huh?"
Mira crossed her arms and smiled, wearing a look that clearly said 'So that's your type,' her tone dripping with mischief.
Yakoda couldn't help staring at Mira's chest as it moved slightly with her gesture. Her gaze followed unconsciously.
Then she looked down at her own.
Instant emotional damage.
"Of course," Kazuma said flatly.
After spending so much time together, he was already used to Mira's occasional sly teasing.
"Yakoda, stop feeling sorry for yourself," he continued. "I'll tell you the news. You write it down. Let's get this done and published as fast as possible."
"Yes, sir!" Yakoda snapped to attention instantly. "Big News reporter Yakoda is at your service!"
She pulled out her little notebook and started recording every word seriously.
Kazuma quickly explained everything. Yakoda wrote it all down without missing a detail.
"Alright, got it," she said, closing her notebook. "I'll hand this to the editor-in-chief as soon as I'm back. It'll be out tomorrow."
"Anything else?" she asked. "If not, I'll get going."
"Nope. You're good," Kazuma replied.
Yakoda turned to leave, but after just a few steps, Mira called out to her.
"Yakoda, you're a girl. The differences between how girls and guys move and act are pretty obvious."
"Your disguise is excellent, but if your behavior doesn't match, people will still notice something's off."
"Let me adjust your makeup a bit. Something that suits you better."
As she spoke, Mira made a few small changes to Yakoda's makeup. Just like that, Yakoda looked like a young girl.
"Here." Mira popped two candies into Yakoda's mouth. "Keep them there. Don't chew."
The moment she did, Yakoda's cheeks puffed up slightly with baby fat.
"Whoa… that's amazing!"
Yakoda looked into the mirror. The reflection was completely different from before. It didn't look like her original appearance either.
And yet, the changes were actually minimal.
"Makeup is terrifying!"
Kazuma stared at Yakoda's instant transformation and felt the sheer power of makeup, one of the legendary dark arts.
"Thank you, Mira-san! Bye-bye!"
Yakoda bounced happily out the door. The moment she stepped outside, though, her posture shifted, turning timid and awkward again.
"Damn… that's impressive," Kazuma muttered as he watched her go.
Before, she'd looked sneaky and suspicious. Now she looked like a kid who'd wandered off without her parents, nervous about the outside world.
Same behavior, slight change in appearance, completely different impression.
"Makeup is a real art," Mira said with a smile.
Even though she could no longer fight with magic, her transformation skills were still top-tier in the guild.
If she turned into Happy, even the master wouldn't be able to tell right away which one was real.
"Terrifying stuff," Kazuma said, shaking his head. "Pour me another glass of juice."
He handed his cup over while carefully observing Mira, wondering if she was wearing makeup too.
"Stop staring," Mira said, smiling sweetly. "I'm not wearing any makeup today. This is all natural."
She reached out to take the cup, but then paused.
"…Kazuma, where's your guild mark?"
She looked at the back of his hand. His Fairy Tail emblem should've been there, but it was gone.
"The mark?" Kazuma glanced down. "Oh. When I fought a dragon earlier, my arms and legs got burned away by its breath. The mark went with them."
"Can you stamp it again for me?"
Only then did he realize that his regenerated arm didn't have the emblem yet.
"…Okay."
Mira watched him carefully. He sounded so casual about it.
She pulled out the stamp from under the table and gently took his hand. There was a trace of pain in her eyes.
He'd lost his limbs on a mission. And yet when he came back, he acted like nothing had happened. He even helped save Erza.
If she hadn't noticed the missing guild mark, he probably would've never mentioned it at all.
"It's done," Mira said softly after stamping it. "Next time… please be more careful."
"Don't push yourself so hard. If you die, everyone will be heartbroken."
People only saw how strong Kazuma had become. But who ever saw how much he'd paid to get there?
Every fight he fought was a gamble with his life.
.
.
.