Mira's True Nature Exposed?

When Aibo was forced to "reveal his true form" under the pincer attack of the two people beside him.

Seeing the well-behaved, adorable little boy before them, who clearly looked only seven or eight, the two sisters sitting opposite him both stared wide-eyed.

Elfman's fingers trembled nonstop as "Ah... ah... ah..." kept slipping from his mouth, as though he had temporarily lost the ability to speak.

Aibo gave an awkward, dry laugh.

"Um... haha... what if I said I'm actually an adult who was made smaller by magic... would you believe me?"

"Huh!? So Aibo is cursed too?"

"Lisanna!"

Mirajane was the first to react. She smacked her clear-headed yet foolish little sister and felt her entire face about to turn red.

"So! You're just a seven- or eight-year-old brat!? And you, you actually tricked us into calling you Big Brother!? You...! I...!"

"Um, you were the ones who started calling me that..."

"..."

Mirajane's face alternated between red and white in a spectacular display. She wanted to get angry, but this person was her benefactor. She wanted to curse and throw a tantrum, but Aibo was clearly a child even younger than her siblings.

The thought that she had called him Big Brother several times—and that it had become smoother and more natural each time—made her feel more embarrassed than she had ever been in her life. She would probably never be able to hold her head up again. She had no face left to meet anyone. She did not even want to go to that guild anymore. Just destroy everything already, ah!!!

Though Mirajane was too angry to speak, the voice in her heart was astonishingly loud. Aibo had no idea what to do. Actually, he found it rather amusing too, but he had received professional training and would not laugh out loud so easily.

"Um, there's no need for that, really... Even though I'm young, my mental age is older, after all. I wouldn't mind if you kept calling me Big Brother in the future."

"Stop talking already!!!"

Mirajane wrapped herself entirely in her black cloak, then pounced on Lisanna and buried herself in her little sister's arms, intending to play ostrich.

"Don't talk to me! Let me calm down!"

Lisanna, on the other hand, blinked innocently. She cared the least about it all. Hugging her sister tightly, she giggled.

"My sister is just a little easily embarrassed. She'll be fine after a while. But I never expected Aibo to be younger than us! Aibo is so amazing despite being so little. That's really incredible."

The two people who had been holding back their laughter finally stopped pretending. Cana even clutched her stomach as she convulsed with laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! You have no idea how hard it was for me to hold it in when you called Aibo Big Brother! I have to tell Erza about this, ha ha ha!"

"Aibo is the youngest wizard in our guild. Sorry, I really didn't want to laugh, but his reaction when he was called Big Brother was just too adorable. Ha ha ha."

"Not really... I was only a tiny bit happy..."

"Oh, please. Your grin was practically reaching your ears~"

Seeing how cheerful everyone was, Elfman and Lisanna started laughing as well. They did not really care that they had called Aibo Big Brother. After all, Aibo had indeed seemed very dependable at the time.

Only Mirajane, who still refused to accept reality and felt too ashamed to face anyone, remained curled into a ball in her sister's arms. Aibo felt that her toes beneath her sandals could have dug out a four-bedroom apartment.

The atmosphere in the carriage grew increasingly harmonious afterward. Cana and Levy kept sharing amusing stories about Fairy Tail; they could talk about that subject all day without repeating themselves.

Fire-breathing Natsu, perverted Gray, the fake-serious muscle gorilla Erza... Before they had even entered the guild, the two sisters had already gotten to know several of its members.

Lisanna, meanwhile, kept "selling out" her sister, saying that although her sister was usually fierce, she was actually very kind. Despite wielding the power of a demon, she had never used it against the villagers and had always endured things for their sake. She was the best sister in the world.

Those words left Mirajane stuck between a rock and a hard place. She pretended to sleep the entire time and did not dare say a word, but everyone could see her reddened ears, which only made them laugh harder.

Happy times always passed quickly. Near dusk, the group finally returned to Magnolia.

Even when the carriage stopped, Mirajane did not emerge from her sister's arms, but Aibo knew she had been listening carefully to their conversation the whole time.

"Get off, get off! I can't believe our first commission wasn't completed. Aibo, don't you think that's a shame?"

"Wrong. We never even met the client, so we never accepted the job. Later, we'll quietly put the commission notice back on the board and pretend we never saw it."

"That's a great idea! Aibo, you really are smart!"

"..."

The carriage had stopped, and Mirajane could no longer pretend to sleep. She climbed down with a blank expression, as though she had already forgotten everything that had happened earlier.

As long as I pretend I don't remember, it won't be embarrassing. Right, I never said anything about Big Brother. I'm not angry at all...

Aibo could not help finding it funny. This girl was really interesting, so he kindly reminded her.

"Don't be angry anymore, Sister Mirajane. Welcome to Magnolia. You'll come to like this place."

"You—!"

Mirajane had intended to sweep him with a "fierce" glare, but when she heard Aibo call her Sister, she suddenly felt a current run through her body, leaving her completely tingly!

"You, you bad little kid!" But he called me Sister!

"Though I admit you're a little impressive, one thing is one thing!" He called me Sister~

"Hmph! I'll remember how you pretended to be an adult and fooled me! Just you wait, this isn't over yet!" Since I'm the older sister, I have no choice. I forgive him~♪‎✧٩(ˊωˋ)و✧*

"Pfft~ Cough, cough. Okay, thank you, Sister Mira."

"Huh!? Did you not hear me? I said this isn't over!" This little brother seems a bit cuter than Elfman~

"Mhm, okay, okay."

Mirajane actually had a tsundere side. She really was adorable.

Lisanna suddenly grabbed Mirajane, pointed into the distance, and cried out repeatedly.

"Big Sister, look! What's that?! Such a huge rock, and there are little houses in the sky!"

Cana enthusiastically introduced it.

"That's Magnolia's new landmark, Ninja Amusement Park~ It's a Fairy Tail guild business!"

"An amusement park!? What's that? It sounds like so much fun!"

"Of course it is~ As long as you become a member of our guild, you can get one free ticket every month. You'll see how fun it is once you go in!"

Levy smiled and pushed Aibo forward.

"I'll tell you a secret: Aibo is the owner of the amusement park. If you want tickets, just ask Aibo!"

"Huh!??"

"Cough, cough, keep it low-key. I'm only a shareholder. Since the guild owns thirty percent of the amusement park, theoretically everyone in our guild is an owner. But Sister Levy's suggestion is a good one..."

Aibo took three tickets from his personal storage space and handed them to Mirajane.

"Once you're settled in, find some time to go have fun. Forget the misfortunes of the past and welcome a new beginning."

"Wait... we can't..."

"Consider them an apology for our earlier misunderstanding. Take them. They're nothing to me."

"This... th-thank you."

Mirajane was a little dazed. By the time she came to her senses, she realized she had already accepted the tickets.

I-I was taken care of again. Honestly, he's clearly just a little brother...

"Now that you've accepted the gift, how about we let bygones be bygones over the unpleasantness earlier? Sister Mira? Hmm?"

Mirajane's old face reddened. She turned her head away.

"G-got it! You sly little brat, I've completely forgotten about what happened before! And I'll repay the kindness you've shown us someday!" I really don't know what to do with this child, but I am his older sister...

Levy and Cana whispered to each other nearby.

"Mira seems a little dishonest with herself~"

"Definitely, definitely. Maybe all older sisters are like that. They have to act strong so they can protect their younger siblings~ I get it, I get it!"

"Hey! You two! I heard all of that!"

"Oh no! Run! Ha ha ha!"

The children chased and played, quickly arriving before the guild's entrance.

Cana ran ahead with a rapid patter of footsteps, leapt up, and kicked the front doors open. Aibo vaguely caught sight of a naked, spiky-haired person flying backward behind the door.

"Ta-da! Welcome to Fairy Tail!!"

"Cana!!! You bastard!"