After a series of utterly inhumane—strike that—horrific—strike that—warm and friendly sisterly conversations, Mira finally figured out where the problem lay.
"So, because you were following me and were afraid of being discovered, you only heard things vaguely, guessed the whole story on your own, told Elfman, and then this happened. Is that right, Li... San... Na?!" Mira's face flushed red with anger as she glared fiercely at her younger sister, who was kneeling calmly on the floor.
"I'm sorry, Mira..." Lisanna knew she was in the wrong. She did not dare act cute at all and obediently admitted defeat.
"Honestly, Lisanna, you need to be more careful about this sort of thing next time." Elfman, who had suffered an undeserved disaster, voiced his dissatisfaction as well.
Lisanna sat even more properly on her knees. "Sorry, Elfman. Next time, I'll make sure I have the facts straight before telling you."
"You still want there to be a next time?!" Mira erupted in anger again, reaching out and grabbing both sides of Lisanna's cheeks before pulling hard.
"Wah... It hurts! I'm sorry, I know I was wrong! >.<" Lisanna immediately begged for mercy.
"Ha..." Mira felt exhausted, but what else could she do? Lisanna was her only little sister, so she could only let her go.
"If something like this happens again, just ask me directly." Mira paused, seeming a little embarrassed. "Even... even if I start dating someone, I won't hide it from you two. We're family, after all."
"Mira..." With tears in her eyes, Lisanna pounced on her. "You're the best, Mira~"
"W-Wait, let go! I can't breathe!" The Mira family returned to their usual lively and bustling dynamic.
Meanwhile, after parting ways with Mira, Ed headed straight to the guild. After paying back his debt, ordering custom kunai, and buying a Spatial Bag, Ed successfully returned to the ranks of the desperately poor.
Looking at the pitifully small amount of cash in his wallet, Ed's heart bled. He immediately decided to look for delivery jobs or something similar during the days before departure.
At the very least, he had to make sure next month's rent was covered. Leaving aside how long he would be away on a mission with Mira, even an S-Class Mission could fail.
As Ed transformed into a delivery guy and frantically hauled packages around, the agreed departure day arrived. Early in the morning, Ed packed the luggage he needed and headed to the best blacksmith in town.
"Morning, boss. I'm here to pick up my order~" Ed greeted him.
"Oh, morning, kid. It's all here." Townsmith carried out a box about the size of a slightly larger suitcase and set it in front of Ed. "Whew, it's pretty heavy. So, kid, how are you planning to take it? Need me to arrange delivery? Only 10,000 J~" Townsmith looked from the box to Ed.
"No need to worry. I came prepared." Ed activated his Spatial Bag and packed away all the kunai, then handed over the money. "Here's the payment. Want to count it?"
After counting it, Townsmith said to Ed, "You're already a regular customer. How could I not trust you? All right, I'll take the payment. Come find me again next time you need something. I'm the best blacksmith in town!"
"Then don't count it before saying that!" Ed quipped. He shook his head and prepared to head to the station to wait for Mira and the others. "All right, I'm off. I'll come commission you again if I need anything." "Sure!"
When Ed arrived at the station, he checked the time. There was still a while until ten, so he planned to go inside and find a seat to wait. But the moment he entered, he spotted Mira and her siblings.
"Yo, Mira. Morning!" Ed called out.
"Ah, oh, morning, Ed." Remembering the misunderstanding Lisanna had caused a couple of days ago, Mira blushed slightly as she looked at him. "?" Ed was completely baffled by Mira suddenly blushing.
"Um... Morning, Ed. We've met before, but we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Lisanna, and this is Elfman. We're Mira's younger sister and brother." Lisanna greeted him and introduced herself alongside Elfman.
"Mm, morning to you two too." Ed looked at Mira in confusion, but did not think too much about it. Turning to greet Lisanna and Elfman, he continued, "I'm joining you on this mission. Mira told you, right? If you run into danger, just get in front of me right away."
"Mm-hm, I know, Ed." "Mm-hm." Lisanna and Elfman nodded repeatedly.
"All right, everyone's here, so let's get going. We still have a full day on the road." With a wave of her little hand, Mira led everyone aboard the train.
After everyone boarded and took their seats, Ed took the kunai from his bag and began placing Flying Thunder God Marks on them. Watching him, Mira asked, "Isn't it a little early to put the marks on now?"
"Let me tell you a secret: Flying Thunder God Marks never disappear~ So it's better to prepare them in advance, just in case something happens," Ed explained.
"Oh! That's amazing. As expected of such rare spatial magic." Mira sounded a little envious. Ed casually handed her a marked kunai and said, "Then take this. The mark's already on it. As long as you pour magic power into it, I'll be able to sense it. No matter where you are, I'll immediately rush to your side." Ed casually confessed while he was at it.
"I don't need that!" The words "eloping with Ed" that Elfman had said two days ago suddenly flashed through Mira's mind, and she became embarrassed.
"Oh, Mira, just take it. It's a token of Ed's feelings, and it'll help with this mission too, right?" Lisanna winked at Ed and tried to persuade Mira. Elfman was not good with words, so he merely chimed in, "Mm, Lisanna's right!"
"Since you both say so... I'll take it. But! You are absolutely not allowed to suddenly teleport in front of me if there's no reason!" After thinking it over, Mira decided her siblings made sense. She put up a stubborn front, but honestly accepted it. For some reason, Elfman's remark about her eloping with Ed kept flashing through her mind, making her blush again.
Ed looked utterly confused and asked Lisanna, "What's wrong with Mira?" Lisanna looked a little awkward, while Elfman nearly could not stay seated.
"It's nothing, nothing. Mira just rarely goes on missions with other people, so she's a little unused to it. Oh, right, Ed, tell us about your last mission. I'm really curious how you dealt with an entire Dark Guild." Lisanna changed the subject and voiced her question to Ed.
"That? It was partly a coincidence, I suppose. At the time, I..." As Ed recounted his story, time slowly passed, and they gradually drew close to their destination.
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