Following in Secret...

Lisanna secretly followed behind Ed and Mira, trying to figure out what exactly was going on between them.

"Why is Sister Mira out shopping with Ed? Could it be... a date!" Lisanna felt like she had guessed the truth and crept a little closer, trying to hear what the two of them were saying.

"Come to think of it, Mira, did you tell your brother and sister about inviting me to join this mission? Do they agree too?" Ed casually asked Mira.

"Not yet, but they should accept it. After all, your magic is very important for this mission of mine. If it really comes down to it, the two of them just won't come along this time. With you here, if we run into trouble, you can just take our client and run." Mira wore an expression that said, I've already thought this through, so don't butt in.

"Anyway, hurry up and finish shopping so we can go back. Remember, we're meeting at the station the morning after tomorrow!"

"Sure, sure~" Ed had Zero objections.

Because Lisanna was tailing them, she had not gotten too close. She only vaguely caught a few snippets of their conversation: "Mira... and me... together... brother and sister... agree," and "Haven't told them... should accept... if not... don't bring them... can still... run together... meeting at the station the day after tomorrow..."

Lisanna felt as though the sky had fallen. Not only was her sister apparently in love, but if she and Elfman disagreed, Mira even planned to abandon the two of them and elope!

Lisanna instantly panicked. Forgetting all about continuing to follow them, she hurried home to find her brother.

"This is bad! Brother Elfman! Sister Mira... Sister Mira, she!" Lisanna ran home, panting heavily, and shouted at Elfman, who was still waiting for the two of them to return.

"What happened to Sister?! Hurry up and tell me, Lisanna!" Elfman immediately panicked as well and rushed out. Grabbing Lisanna by the shoulders, he anxiously demanded an answer.

"Sister Mira... she's in love!" "What?! How dare she fall in lo—wait? In love? Sister Mira? With who? Why are you so worried about Sister Mira being in love?" Elfman had been about to fly into a rage, but then he suddenly realized Mira was not in danger. He calmed down and asked Lisanna in detail what exactly she had seen.

"You mean Sister was out shopping with that Ed, and then you overheard them talking. That Ed asked Sister Mira whether we agreed with her being together with him, and Sister Mira said that if we didn't agree, they would take a train and elope together!" Elfman successfully reached the same conclusion as Lisanna.

"How could she do this?! What does Sister Mira take us for?! If she wants to pursue happiness, we definitely won't stop her! Right, Lisanna?" Elfman was somewhat beside himself. After all, it hurt to be so distrusted by his own sister.

"Mm-hmm, I think so too. When Sister comes back, we'll talk her into it together. We won't oppose her pursuing happiness," Lisanna hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"And if they run away, where will they live? What about living expenses?... Won't they end up destitute in the future..." Lisanna resolved to talk Mira out of her decision to "elope."

"By the way, where are we staying when we go out? Camping, or does the client provide accommodation? Who's paying for meals?... Why is this thing so expensive..." Ed stared at the small Spatial Bag in front of him, which had roughly one cubic meter of capacity and a price tag of 600,000 J, and sighed like a poor man.

"Two million J from the last mission, one million to repay my debt, 300,000 for custom kunai... If this thing costs 600,000, won't I only have 100,000 left?... After deducting food expenses, that won't even cover next month's rent! Was I really this destitute..."

"Ed seems to still have more than ten million in debt. Sister Mira isn't planning to use her own money to support the two of them, is she..." Elfman was worried.

"Who told you to make such a huge mess fighting Gray? I still have some money here. Do you need to borrow any?" Mira could not help saying as she watched Ed stare at the Spatial Bag while rubbing his wallet and shaking his head with a sigh.

"No matter what, when Sister Mira comes back, we have to talk her out of it. We're family! As long as they're serious, we'll definitely agree!" Lisanna and Elfman looked at each other. The two family members, now in complete agreement, could not help smiling.

Watching Ed grit his teeth and buy the bag, Mira said, "All right, I'll head back now. I still need to tell Lisanna and Elfman about us teaming up." "The three of you used to do missions together, right? Will they agree to adding me this time?" Ed casually asked.

"Of course. We're family!" Thinking of the two family members who had supported one another as they grew up, Mira could not help smiling.

After parting with Ed, Mira returned home cheerfully, only to see Lisanna and Elfman sitting at the dining table with serious expressions, apparently deep in thought.

"I'm back! What are you two doing? Thinking about what to have for dinner?" Mira sat down as well and curiously asked them.

I can't bring myself to ask! Brother Elfman! Hurry! You ask! Lisanna frantically blinked at Elfman. Receiving Lisanna's plea for help, Elfman cleared his throat and said, "Sister, we can talk about dinner later. Don't you have something to tell us?"

"Huh? You already know?" Mira was a little confused, but she was ready to explain things clearly. "It's just that I plan to team up with that Ed..."

"Ah... Lisanna saw you two with Zero intention. So it really was Ed..." Elfman was shocked that it was true and directly interrupted Mira. "Then what do you think, Sister?"

"Me? I think it's pretty good. He's a great fit too." Mira thought for a moment and said it outright.

"I-is that so... A great fit... Then what about us? We'll always be together, right?!" Lisanna could not help interrupting at this point, shouting loudly.

"Of course, but if you don't agree, then we'll just have to..."

"We're family! How could we possibly disagree?!" Elfman was a little angry. "Sister, you're underestimating us too much. As long as you're happy, we can completely accept it!"

"Ah... Huh? Is that so? Then it's fine if you can accept it..." Mira felt that something was off, but she could not put her finger on it.

"By the way, Sister Mira, when did you two start?" Seeing that the main issue had been resolved, Lisanna's gossiping heart began to burn again.

"When did what start?" Mira looked utterly confused.

"You and Ed!" Lisanna hurriedly said, her face written all over with I'm so curious! Although Elfman said nothing, the way he leaned forward and perked up his ears made it clear that he also desperately wanted to know when his sister had fallen so far.

"This morning. I ran into him at the guild and asked whether he agreed. He hesitated for a moment, then agreed." Mira kept it brief.

"This morning?? And Sister Mira, you were the one who took the initiative?? He even hesitated??" Lisanna and Elfman exclaimed in unison.

"?" Mira was even more confused.

"Sister!" Elfman could not hold it in anymore. He slapped the table and stood up. "Lisanna and I don't oppose you pursuing happiness, but isn't it a little too fast to consider eloping after just one day?!"

"??...!!!"

All right, now Mira could not hold it in anymore.