After a spending spree, Aux bought Mirajane a lot of clothes, which finally made her forget about the 'caught in the act' incident.
Although Aux's money was all spent, at least the relationship between the two women didn't sour because of it.
It was this incident that made him realize that he couldn't be too intimate with Cana in front of Mirajane, and certainly couldn't be alone with her openly.
Back at the guild.
Mirajane resumed her waitress duties, but her gaze frequently fixated on the two of them, as if preventing them from secretly meeting again.
Aux was speechless, glumly taking his coffee to find a place to rest.
"This world is truly amazing..."
"Indeed, a strange letter can actually hypnotize people and make them leave home."
"Anyone who receives the letter is doomed."
"It has nothing to do with us; they probably wouldn't dare send us a letter, given the guild's reputation."
At the table next to Aux were Macao and Warcaba, two good buddies.
They were chatting excitedly, talking about some 'letter of death' and such, which piqued Aux's curiosity.
He pushed off with his foot, and his body moved to their side.
"Aux!" Macao greeted him.
Aux nodded, "What are you two chatting about? Writing letters to some mistress?"
Warcaba quickly waved his hand, "No mistresses, we're talking about a recent rumor... it's purely to scare people."
Is that so?
Hearing it was just a low-grade rumor, he wasn't particularly interested in learning more.
"Aux, you should listen too..."
Macao grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
Aux's mouth twitched.
He reluctantly put down his coffee and listened attentively. To be honest, he'd rather tell them stories from his previous life than listen to gossip.
"This rumor is called: The Devil's Envelope!"
The name sounded quite intimidating, Aux thought to himself.
"I heard that in an unknown space, there lives an evil horned demon. He was sealed by a legendary Mage and needs human flesh to recover from his severe injuries."
"But due to being sealed, he can't break free and enter the human world to eat people. For this, he came up with a plan."
"That is an invitation from the demon. He uses magic to invite humans with greed in their hearts. Once they open the envelope, they will be controlled by the demon's power within the letter."
"They will go to a designated location, and then the demon will open a spatial rift to devour the humans, thereby restoring his strength!"
Macao narrated in a hushed tone, occasionally adding strange exclamations, using his eyes and gestures to enhance the story's immersion.
Aux stopped drinking his coffee, watching the two of them speechlessly.
"Isn't it scary? This is the Devil's Envelope. If you receive a letter, whatever you do, don't open it!" Warcaba said.
He and Macao were purely trying to scare him like a child.
If it scared him, great; if not, no big deal.
"Nonsense!" Aux retorted.
This story was full of plot holes; his urge to complain was about to explode.
How ridiculous must someone be to believe this?
A demon in another dimension, such an existence would at least be Dragon-level in strength, right?
How could he be sealed?
And if he was severely injured, why didn't the great Mage just kill him? Why use such an inferior seal?
Could it be that the Mage fell in love with the demon?
Or the demon fell in love with the Mage, willingly submitting to the seal?
Also... why didn't the great Mage reinforce the seal? Even if he was nearing his end, he must have had disciples or something.
To just watch the demon constantly tempt humans, isn't that even more absurd?
And if he can devour humans through the seal, then why can't he escape? Is he treating the seal as his lair?
Using an envelope to tempt... someone suddenly finds a letter in their unfamiliar home, and they don't find it strange at all?
What if they don't open the letter?
Anyway, there were too many loopholes, and he couldn't even begin to unravel the logic of this story.
"Hahaha... believe it and it exists, don't believe it and it doesn't!"
Warcaba laughed, ending the topic like that.
It was just a rumor, not to be taken seriously, just for fun.
Aux didn't argue.
After sitting until evening, he yawned and left the guild, intending to meet Cana.
But who would have thought...
He turned his head and found Mirajane following him, smiling silently.
This startled him.
"You scared me to death!" Aux caught his breath, "Mirajane, shouldn't you be going to the girls' dormitory?"
Mirajane smiled, "Aux, aren't you going back to sleep? Why did you suddenly think of turning? That's the girls' dormitory, isn't it?"
Oh my... Aux felt a bit guilty. He couldn't exactly say he was going to meet Cana, could he?
"No... I'm definitely not going to the girls' dormitory. Mira, you should go back early."
He said, walking straight to the boys' dormitory.
It wasn't until he went upstairs and opened his door that he realized Mirajane was standing right at the entrance.
Not intending to enter, nor intending to leave.
"Sleeping with me tonight?"
Aux wanted to use a rogue remark to drive her away, but Mirajane, after hearing him, indeed walked into the room.
This sudden situation caught him off guard.
She was giving herself to him!
He locked the door, gestured for Mirajane to sit on the living room sofa, and then sat down next to Mirajane.
Looking at her face so close, he really wanted to... "You get some rest. I'm sleeping on the sofa tonight. If you try anything, watch out, I'll pickle you!" Mirajane said.
No, I wouldn't dare!"
Aux chickened out, quickly putting distance between them.
"The boys' dormitory supervisor didn't even stop you. It seems the security here needs improvement," Aux chatted.
Mirajane retorted, "The boys' dormitory doesn't have that many rules. The girls' dormitory is managed very strictly..."
So that's how it is!
It seemed the old supervisor was also a man of passion, knowing to give the boys enough privacy.
However... if Mirajane was sleeping here, didn't that mean he couldn't hope to meet Cana tonight?
That was truly a bit regrettable!
Cana must be waiting for him somewhere, but alas, tonight she was destined to wait in vain.
"Oh, by the way, today Macao and Warcaba told me a story. It sounds quite interesting. I'll tell it to you," Aux said.
He wanted to see if he could scare Mirajane away.
Or scare her into hiding in his arms, either way, he could accept it.
Preferably the former... after all, Cana was still waiting for him outside; he couldn't let her wait for nothing.
"Are you talking about the Devil's Envelope? I've heard that story many times; it's all just nonsense..." Mirajane said.
Aux raised an eyebrow, speechless.
It seemed that story had been circulating for a long time, otherwise she wouldn't have said she'd heard it many times.
Thus, his plan to scare Mirajane away failed.
Perhaps he should bring out ghost stories from his previous life.
"I'll pour you a glass of water, then I'll tell you the stories I know..." Aux said.
He got up to prepare tea for both of them.
Returning to the sofa, just as he placed the tea on the table in front of them,
Aux's gaze stopped on the tabletop.
Next to him, Mirajane followed his gaze to the table... and saw,
a folded white paper, a letter with faint magical power emanating from it, lying there on the table.
It didn't move!