What? Madam Yasulien Is a Man?

Hughes lifted the cage in his hand and pointed at the listless blue-nosed raccoon dog inside. "What if he really is Little Flower's biological father? Then we..."

Mira cut him off. "There are as many raccoon dogs as stray dogs on the streets. What are the chances that the first one we find just happens to be Little Flower's father?"

Hughes scratched his head. She had a point. He had never had that kind of luck in his life.

If Chopper really was Little Flower's biological father, Hughes would go on a date with Madam Yasulien tonight!

"But..." Mira stopped and pointed ahead.

"I think what you just suggested might actually be true, Hughes!"

"Oh, so you've learned to joke too, Mira. But that's not the kind of thing you should joke about. You..." Hughes followed her pointing finger, and his mouth fell open, his face full of shock.

A plump orange cat was striding toward them with a fierce look, its vicious eyes fixed on the cage in Hughes's hand.

There was a picture of Little Flower on the job request, so Hughes recognized the cat approaching them at once.

"Wait, we haven't reached the eastern forest yet, have we?"

"Maybe he picked up the raccoon dog's scent and followed it here!"

Hughes thought Mira had a point. He set the cage down, walked forward a few steps, and crouched, beckoning to Little Flower with his palm facing down.

"Here, kitty, kitty!" Although Little Flower had magical beast blood, he looked like an ordinary fat orange cat.

"Roar!"

"Meow!"

Hughes looked back at the cage in astonishment. The meow had actually come from the blue-nosed raccoon dog.

Little Flower, on the other hand, looked like an orange cat but had roared like a tiger. Those two were far too easy to mix up based on appearances.

Hughes shook his head. After grumbling to himself, he turned back around.

Little Flower's eyes looked even fiercer. He lifted and set down each paw lightly, yet carried himself with a proud, commanding stride.

He paid Hughes and Mira no attention, his eyes fixed solely on the blue-nosed raccoon dog. He crept closer, lowering his body, then sprang into the air.

Feeling ignored, Hughes reached out expressionlessly and caught him by the scruff of his neck in midair.

"You little punk, you think you can bite your daddy Chopper?" Hughes gave Little Flower a light slap to knock some sense into him, then shook him in the air.

The little thing couldn't read the situation and still thought he really was a magical beast. He had even tried to bite Hughes.

"We caught him that easily?"

"Yeah, what else? Did I have to play with him for a while first?" Hughes answered, lifting the cage in his left hand and holding Little Flower by the scruff in his right.

Wouldn't it be better to catch Little Flower quickly and go back to see the charming Madam Yasulien? Besides, he hadn't asked her for the 100,000 J yet!

Back at the guild, Macao, his face bruised and swollen from Makarov's beating, was taking bets again. "Come on, place your bets! Will Hughes show off to us when he gets back?"

"What? Hughes went to take care of Yasulien's job request? You people are awful! You didn't even tell him the truth!" Wakaba exclaimed in shock when he arrived at the guild.

"Wakaba, I saw it. The master didn't tell Hughes and Mira either!"

"Tsk... Then I bet 10,000 J that Yasulien invites Hughes to dinner tonight!" Wakaba pulled out 10,000 J and tossed it to Macao, then took a couple of puffs. "What if Hughes breaks down when he finds out the truth?"

Natsu, standing in the crowd, scratched his head. "Hughes is such a strong mage. He probably won't faint from fright like Macao did, right?"

"Damn it, Natsu, I did not faint from fright!"

Wakaba blew out a cloud of smoke and shaped it into two figures. "Macao, you kissed Yasulien back then, didn't you? I saw it!"

"Hahaha!"

"Reedus, don't draw them! It hurts to look at!"

"Bastards, you knew all along Yasulien was a man, and none of you told me back then!" Furious, Macao wreathed his hands in purple flames and began attacking everyone indiscriminately.

His rampage lasted only a few moments before everyone subdued him.

Wakaba sat on him and tapped him with his pipe. "Macao, Madam Yasulien was so seductive. Didn't you notice anything was off back then? You should know that only a man knows best how to seduce another man!"

Meanwhile, Hughes and Mira returned to Madam Yasulien's house and handed the now-docile Little Flower over to her.

To keep Little Flower from hurting the gentle and charming Madam Yasulien, Hughes had spent plenty of time taming him on the way back.

Madam Yasulien took Little Flower and tossed him onto the sofa without so much as a glance.

Under Hughes's startled gaze, Madam Yasulien took a banknote marked 100,000 J from the softness of her bosom and placed it in his hand.

"Thank you both. If you hadn't helped me find Little Flower, I would still have to check all the pet stalls every day to see whether they'd caught him and were mistreating him!"

Hughes couldn't tell whether his heart was racing because of the warmth of the banknote or because Madam Yasulien had happily wrapped herself around his arm, pressing it between her breasts, that soft sensation as they moved.

The delicate fragrance on Madam Yasulien's body entered Hughes's nose and mouth again. "Remember to come over tonight. I want to thank you both properly."

Her soft, sweet voice stirred Hughes's heart, but before he could answer, a demonic arm he knew well seized his other arm and dragged him back to the mortal world from heaven.

Y... Yamete!

"There's no need to trouble yourself, Madam Yasulien. We only did what the job request asked of us."

Without giving Hughes a chance to speak, Mira dragged him all the way back to the guild, paying no attention to the looks from passersby.

"Shh! Hughes is back. He's got exactly the same look on his face that Macao had back then!"

"Damn it, Wakaba, I told you not to bring that up again!"

"Ahem! Just watch the show. No fighting in a bit, especially you two, Natsu and Gray!"

"Creak, creak!" Mira pushed the guild doors open forcefully and didn't let go of Hughes until they were inside.

Mira walked up to the bar and reported to Makarov. "Master, we completed Madam Yasulien's job request!"

"Mm, good. By the way, is Hughes all right?"

"He's fine. He's delighted. Madam Yasulien even invited him to dinner tonight!" Mira answered with a dark expression.

"Ah, just as I thought! Yasulien did have ulterior motives for posting a request at the guild!"

Makarov's remark came out of nowhere, leaving Mira puzzled. She thought back carefully over the whole affair, but there really hadn't been anything wrong with it!

If anything was strange, it was Hughes's behavior throughout the whole affair, especially when he was facing Madam Yasulien.

Makarov knew Mira had only just entered the world of magic and hadn't seen much, so he beckoned her over and explained everything in a low voice.

Madam Yasulien's real name was Yasulien. He was a male mage who worked alone and had mastered Transformation Magic, Smell Magic, and Charm Magic.

He had a nasty habit of teasing the guild's male mages. What he liked best was revealing his true identity when things were about to get serious, then laughing at them. His behavior was utterly reprehensible.

The mages he had fooled would often sink into a slump and fail to recover for a long time.

After hearing Makarov's account, Mira wore an indescribable expression: disgust, revulsion, and the urge to throw up were all there.

She turned and looked back at Hughes, whose face was full of smiles.

"Master, don't tell Hughes. I'll make sure he goes to Yasulien's dinner tonight."

"Oh! Mira, you really are a thoughtful child!"