She walked over to wash her hands, then entered the house.
After a while, she came back with some tea.
Jehfrit took a couple of sips and continued working diligently.
In reality, Mirajane had already finished most of the work.
This made Jehfrit silently grumble in his mind: Where did he even need my help?
Soon, they wrapped up the final bits of work.
Mirajane was already walking over with two bags of soil that looked to weigh at least a hundred pounds each.
Watching this slender beauty with delicate hands and a graceful waist carry two heavy bags as if they were nothing, Jehfrit couldn't help but try lifting one himself. After a moment's hesitation, he slightly bent down and asked Miko for help to hoist one bag onto his shoulder. He then struggled to walk toward the pit.
*Thud* *Thud*
Mirajane tossed the two bags down like empty water bottles, turned to look at Jehfrit, made fists with both hands, widened her eyes slightly, and said with a cute smile, "Keep it up, Mr. Jehfrit!"
"..."
Jehfrit walked to the edge of the pit, planning to ask Miko for help, but Mirajane lifted it with one hand and threw it in.
"Let's go," Mirajane said with a smile, lightly pulling on Jehfrit's sleeve with both hands.
Jehfrit grumbled internally again: Seriously, where did I even need to help!
It was almost nightfall.
Finally, all the soil was replaced.
Next, they had to set up the frame.
Mirajane pulled out the blueprint, and the two leaned their heads together to examine it.
"It looks like it's not that simple," Mirajane said with a slight frown.
"I got it," Jehfrit said.
Thinking things through was his forte.
"So fast?" Mirajane was surprised.
Jehfrit waved his hand, activating his Deception Magic, and a semi-transparent prototype of the completed frame appeared.
"Now we can just match the parts and place them accordingly," Mirajane's eyes lit up. She looked at Jehfrit with admiration and said, "You only spent a minute, yet you memorized every detail and constructed it. Amazing, Mr. Jehfrit, you're a genius!"
"Hmm," Jehfrit tilted his head slightly, looking very pleased with himself.
Mirajane blinked, still smiling gently.
The two immediately got to work.
There was no need to worry about matching or comparing anymore.
The finished product was already perfectly constructed.
They just needed to find the corresponding parts, take them out, and fit them into the projection.
"Jehfrit, hold the pillar," Mirajane brought over a ladder, held nails between her lips, then climbed up with another rod.
"Wait, I forgot to bring the hammer," Jehfrit said.
"..." Mirajane didn't respond.
After embedding the rod into the pillar, she took out a nail, tapped it lightly into the pillar, then her arm exuded ominous magic energy, her fair hand transforming into a demon's sharp claw. With another strike,
*Bam*
A vibration shook through, making it hard for Jehfrit to keep holding the pillar steady, but the nail was successfully driven in.
"..." Jehfrit stayed silent.
Just then,
A gentle breeze blew past.
Mirajane's white hair fluttered.
She brushed her hair aside and smiled at Jehfrit.
"Beautiful," Jehfrit blurted out, then quickly corrected himself, "Ah, I mean, amazing."
"Oh dear, either way makes me happy," Mirajane's smile widened.
Night fell.
The frame was finally set up.
"All done," Jehfrit wiped his sweat, feeling that he hadn't done even a third of what Mirajane had accomplished, but he still appreciated his own efforts!
"Great, we finished it all in one day. Thanks to your help, if I were alone, it would have taken me two more days," Mirajane patted Jehfrit's shoulder, her voice full of gratitude. "Alright, let's rest for a bit. You can take a shower too. I'll make dinner, and we'll eat before heading back."
"Okay," Jehfrit nodded.
Mirajane led him to the bathroom.
Jehfrit looked at the various towels hanging on the rack and asked, "Which one should I use?"
"Any of them," Mirajane replied.
"What do you mean any? Can you give me a new one?"
"Use the pink one," Mirajane suggested.
"Is this the one you use to wipe your face?" Jehfrit picked it up, sniffed it, and smelled a pleasant fragrance.
"No, it's for wiping feet."
"..." Jehfrit dropped the towel and sternly said, "Get me a new one!"
"..." Mirajane covered her mouth and laughed, then stepped out.
After a while, she returned with an unopened towel.
Jehfrit gripped the door handle and said, "No peeking!"
With that, *Bang*, he closed the door.
Then, he began undressing.
*Click* The doorknob turned.
He quickly blocked the door and shouted, "Pervert!"
"Not here~ Didn't hear anything~" Mirajane's laughing voice came from outside.
*Creak*
Jehfrit locked the door.
He started bathing.
"Miko, help scrub my back."
"Okay," Miko obediently helped.
After finishing the bath, he came out.
Just in time, he saw Mirajane walking out of the kitchen with plates of Pea Sauce Noodles.
The aroma was really...
As soon as Jehfrit sat down, he devoured two bowls!
After eating, he bid farewell and left.
"Three days later, don't forget," Mirajane reminded him as she saw Jehfrit off at the gate.
"I know," Jehfrit nodded and said, "Go inside quickly, it's getting chilly."
"Alright, take care. Thank you so much for today," Mirajane said.
"Hope those grapes won't disappoint us," Jehfrit laughed.
"They definitely won't!" Mirajane affirmed, then added, "But if you want to drink wine, it will be years later."
"Yeah."
Jehfrit nodded and turned to leave.
Years later, huh?
From the perspective of time, who knows?
After all, Tenrou Island was also a classic plotline. Though the process wasn't clear, the outcome was roughly remembered.
By the way,
Seven years...
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, making Jehfrit shiver.
He felt that he and Mirajane might have worked in vain.
Walking along the road,
Jehfrit asked, "Miko, could you protect me if I'm in Acnologia's hands?"
"Acnologia?" Miko looked up at the sky and said, "That terrifying creature?"
"Yes."
"I can't beat him. He's like Zeref. But it's not easy for them to kill me either."
"You sound quite unsure saying that."
"I can't help it..." Miko's voice was full of grievances. "Besides being able to withstand hits, I don't have many other strengths."
"But your Magic Reflection is pretty strong."
"That still hurts..."
"..."
"But protecting you from them isn't a problem." Miko confirmed. "No matter how painful their magic is, I'll protect you!"
"What about protecting many people? Including Natsu and them?"
"That's impossible." Miko shook his head. "Not enough scales."
"Perhaps you could have done it before." Jehfrit sighed.
If it were the legendary Miko who transformed herself into a demon using Alchemy, reaching the level of gods, she must have been one of the top powerhouses.
She certainly had many ways to deal with it.
But now, Miko...
She was just a timid little demon.
Zero combat skills, merely possessing great strength.
Her magic mainly consisted of Reflection — though it was quite powerful, as seen when Nirvana tried to change Jehfrit's mind, and she deflected it.
"I'm sorry, Jehfrit." Miko said guiltily.
"No, there's no need." Jehfrit said. "I'll think of a way."
"For now..." Jehfrit twirled his staff, "there's no need to worry too much."
Back home.
Ikuto and Emily were still there.
The two were in the yard; Emily was lying in Ikuto's arms, listening to her tell stories.
"Mr. Jehfrit, you're back." Seeing Jehfrit return, Ikuto greeted him promptly.
"Master." Emily got down from Ikuto and ran over to hug Jehfrit's waist.
"You've been at Miss Mirajane's place all day," Emily innocently commented, "Are you two dating?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I was just helping out, and besides, there was payment involved," Jehfrit said.
He took out the discount card and explained the whole situation.
"Oh...," Ikuto was somewhat speechless, pulled out three cards, and said, "But everyone has one..."
"What?"
"Previously, Mr. Edward sent them," Ikuto explained, "Fairy Tail helped rebuild the town of Fiore, and Mr. Edward and Mr. Jude, to express their thanks, gave everyone a discount card."
"You guys went on missions before and weren't aware. I meant to tell you when I got them, but I didn't get the chance."
Yesterday, Jehfrit looked exhausted, and Ikuto was preoccupied with concerns, so she put it aside.
This morning, she wanted to mention it, but Jehfrit hurried off to Mirajane's place.
"So... was I tricked?" Jehfrit realized.
"Not exactly..." As a girl, Ikuto already sensed Mirajane's "sinister intentions" and couldn't help but admire how resourceful Mirajane was. If she were considered competition, it felt like she wouldn't stand a chance!
However, she didn't slander Mirajane. She said, "Didn't you earn a gift too?"
"But I was still tricked."
Jehfrit wasn't petty, but...
Mr. Jehfrit was rather calculating, Ikuto felt she made a mistake—she might have caused trouble for Mirajane, so she thought of remedying it by saying, "But isn't shopping with Mirajane a good thing? Such a beautiful woman..."
"Shopping counts as a good thing?" Jehfrit tilted his head and looked at her, "I'd rather go fishing."
"..." Ikuto fell silent.
She recalled the girls' private conversations.
Referring to her, Lucy, Juvia, Levy, Bisca, and other girls, who occasionally read the "Love Advice" columns in magazines and discussed romantic issues. Naturally, they talked about Natsu, Gray, Jehfrit, and others.
Lucy and the others said that despite Jehfrit appearing smart and sensitive, unlike shy, tsundere Gray or dense Natsu, ironically, such intelligence sometimes leads to mistakes. Otherwise, after all these years, why would he still be single? He was an exceptionally outstanding person, and there were no shortages of girls confessing to him.
When discussing this, they quietly glanced at Mirajane and whispered, "Jehfrit overanalyzes everything, which is why he doesn't notice girls' feelings. If he were a bit dumber, he probably would have succeeded long ago."
However, Bisca countered with a different opinion: "Lucy, Juvia, how can you be sure they aren't enjoying themselves? Let me tell you, the sweetest part of a relationship is the ambiguous period before officially dating."
"Maybe that's true for you and Alzack," Ikuto shook her head, which made Bisca blush deeply.
"That's right," Lucy and Juvia nodded, "Bisca, you're different from us."
"Ugh, I feel ostracized," Bisca lamented.
"Of course, you lucky thing!" Levy complained.
"Shut up!" Lucy and Juvia said in unison. This girl didn't know how good she had it.
"Jehfrit..." At this point, Evergreen, who was furthest along in her progress bar, spoke, "That guy is too smart, always weighing pros and cons, overly pure, extremely perfectionistic, and lazy in every sense. Laziness is his biggest flaw. Summary: A troublesome Virgo! It's like trying to find an assistant for a magician. He dragged it out for years, wanting but never acting, obsessing until finally, Ikuto came along."
"To deal with someone like that..."
"A direct approach won't work. As for what does..."
Evergreen looked at Lucy, Juvia, and the others' curious eyes, then at Ikuto's expectant gaze. She looked towards Mirajane and shook her head, saying, "I won't say."
"..."
Back to the topic.
Ikuto felt she understood Evergreen's meaning.
Mr. Jehfrit, when choosing between shopping with a girl and fishing, "smartly" chose the "correct answer."
Although the former could enhance their relationship, perhaps even lead to holding hands, while the latter was just sitting by the river all day and maybe catching a fish—or none at all.
But
From Jehfrit's perspective, the sense of accomplishment from catching a fish was clearly much higher than buying something with money.
After pondering, Ikuto decided not to say more.
The more she said, the more wrong it seemed.
In any aspect, if it were just a debate question, she could never win against Jehfrit.
Jehfrit didn't continue the conversation.
He quickly put it out of his mind.
It wasn't a big deal, and he wasn't someone who nitpicked.
He said, "It's late. You should go back to the dormitory."
"I'm also tired from the day and want to rest."
"Okay," Ikuto nodded, holding Emily's hand and said, "Goodnight, Mr. Jehfrit."
"Goodnight, Master," Emily waved.
"Alright, be safe," Jehfrit waved.
Ikuto took Emily back to the dormitory.
"Eh? Wendy-nee!" Emily saw Wendy and rushed over.
"Emily," Wendy was also delighted to see her. After all, it was rare to meet a younger girl, and Emily was adorable, like a little sister, allowing Wendy to indulge in the feeling of being an older sister.