Chapter 385: A Secret Goodbye and Unexpected Guests

"Thank you for everything these past few months!"

Elfman bowed his head low, his booming voice filled with sincere gratitude as he thanked Finn.

"We’ll be heading to the Grand Magic Games now. Try not to miss us too much, Lisanna," Cana smirked, shooting the younger girl a highly teasing glance.

"Geez, what are you talking about, Cana? I’m just stepping out for a bit to see you off. I still have to return to work at his place," Lisanna rolled her eyes, expertly feigning exasperation. She knew Cana was fishing, likely suspecting that Lisanna harbored a secret crush on Finn.

The reality, of course, was far beyond a simple crush. The two of them had already gone all the way. He had claimed her so thoroughly, filling her with so much of his naughty juice, that it genuinely wouldn’t be a surprise if her belly started growing nine months from now~! Frankly, it was an experience she was desperate to repeat, but she was forced to hold back because her fiercely protective older sister refused to let her out of her sight, leaving Lisanna feeling utterly helpless.

"Are you going to Crocus, too?" Mirajane asked, fixing her sharp gaze on Finn.

Finn raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by the direct question. "Hmm... I wonder..."

"You aren’t going?!" Lisanna blurted out, her composure slipping into genuine panic at the thought of not seeing him in Crocus. Realizing everyone was suddenly staring at her in confusion, she quickly tried to cover her tracks. "I—I mean, aren’t you the Chief of the Magic Council’s Fiore Branch? Why wouldn’t you go? You have to oversee it, right?"

"I might have attended in an official capacity in the past, just to observe," Finn explained smoothly. "But Fiore’s geopolitical problems extend far beyond the Grand Magic Games. At its core, this tournament is just a vanity project created by the royal family to have fun and boost tourism. It’s an important event, yes, and my subordinates will be stationed in the city, but..."

"But?" Mirajane prompted.

"The royalty insists on having their own soldiers handle the primary security," Finn replied.

"Huh? Why?" Elfman asked, scratching his head. Wouldn’t having the Magic Council’s backing make the event much safer?

"Most likely to save face. They would look incredibly weak if they admitted they couldn’t even secure their own capital and had to beg the Magic Council to babysit them," Finn shrugged, casually delivering the political reality. He conveniently left out the deeper, darker conspiracy brewing beneath the tournament arena—one initiated by the kingdom’s own royalty.

"..."

Everyone fell silent. Politics were complicated, but it made sense. Royalty operated on a completely different level of pride. If the royal family couldn’t even protect their own citizens during a festival, their political power and public trust would completely collapse.

"You don’t need to overthink it," Finn continued, his tone turning dismissive. "Just focus on your guild. If you fail to win this tournament, you won’t be able to pay back your massive debt."

"....."

Fairy Tail couldn’t argue with that. Looking at Finn’s calm demeanor, they realized the sheer scale of the problems he dealt with on a daily basis were far beyond their imagination.

"When the Games are over, I’ll come back and help Lisanna with her work here, too," Mirajane suddenly announced, her eyes narrowing slightly as she stared him down.

"....." Lisanna internally panicked.

"Sure," Finn replied, his expression remaining perfectly unbreakable. "Take care. See you later."

"Yeah..." Mirajane’s lips parted as if she wanted to say something else, but she held it back. "Let’s go."

"Ah, wait! I forgot something!" Lisanna suddenly gasped. "Hold on a second! Finn-sama, can you help me with something inside?"

Before Finn could even offer a response, Lisanna had already grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the estate.

"....." Cana and Mirajane stared at the empty doorway.

"Geez, how clumsy..." Elfman sighed, entirely oblivious, assuming his little sister was just being forgetful again.

"....." Mirajane’s eye twitched.

Inside the hallway, out of sight of the others, Lisanna looked up at Finn with big, teary eyes. The thought of being separated from him for days was unbearable. "Are you really not going to Crocus?"

"I’ll be there," Finn admitted quietly, choosing not to hide it from her, though he kept the details of his brand-new disguised guild—Heavenly Blue—a secret. "But I won’t be there as a Magic Council member. I’ll just be a private guest. I’ll send you my hotel room number later."

"Then I’ll be waiting for you there~!"

Lisanna’s mood did a complete 180. Beaming brightly, she stood on her tiptoes, kissed him deeply on the cheek, and boldly slipped her hand down to give his crotch a firm, naughty squeeze. Before he could react, she stuck her tongue out playfully and bolted back outside.

"...What a lewd woman," Finn sighed under his breath.

He wondered if all the women in Fairy Tail were this aggressively perverted behind closed doors. Because of her little parting gift, he was now nursing a massive erection, completely preventing him from stepping back outside to formally see them off.

"Where is he?" Mirajane demanded, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits the second Lisanna reappeared alone.

"Finn-sama is super busy right now. Anyway, let’s go! Everyone is waiting for us! We’re going to win that 30 million Jewels!"

Lisanna cheered, though secretly, part of her felt that even if they lost and couldn’t pay the debt, she could just offer herself to Finn permanently as collateral. In his eyes, a cutie like her had to be worth far more than 30 million Jewels, right? Heck, she was even generous enough to let him have a harem!

While Finn certainly wouldn’t deny the massive perks of Lisanna’s theoretical repayment plan, his mind was currently focused on the looming Grand Magic Games. He knew exactly what was about to happen. The tournament would gather the continent’s strongest mages, reveal a myriad of lost magics, and ultimately trigger a catastrophic crisis. The royal family’s foolish misuse of a certain ancient artifact was about to invite absolute ruin upon the kingdom.

It was the perfect stage.

Because he knew the plot, he could theoretically march into Crocus right now and stop the disaster before it even started. But who would believe him? The royal family would just accuse him of treason, claiming the Magic Council was trying to sabotage their kingdom’s prosperity. It was far better to let them unleash the calamity themselves, so he could step in at the perfect moment to save the day—and subsequently claim total dominion over Fiore.

"Finn-sama, are you alright?"

Flare, who couldn’t care less that the Fairy Tail mages had finally left, quickly approached him in the hallway. She tilted her head, observing his tense posture. "You didn’t go back out to see that girl off."

"I’m fine. I just need a moment to calm down," Finn muttered.

"Oh?"

Flare’s eyes immediately dropped, noticing the heavy, prominent bulge straining against his slacks. A deep blush spread across her cheeks. Without a word, she stepped closer and dropped to her knees in front of him.

"...What are you doing?" Finn asked, not making a single move to stop her.

"Unlike Lisanna, I am always right here by your side, Finn-sama," Flare murmured, gazing up at him with utter devotion. "Please, let me comfort you."

As her hands deftly undid his belt, she freed his immense length. Parting her soft lips, she leaned in while her magical crimson hair began to writhe and wrap around him, initiating a complex, wildly lewd sensory experience that defied all logic.

Meanwhile, waiting in the adjacent room, Sorano stood in stunned silence. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but she could hear exactly what was happening in the hall. She wisely chose not to interrupt them.

Still, her face was burning hot. Having seen how incredibly satisfied both Bisca and Flare always looked—and strongly suspecting that Lisanna had also been thoroughly devoured by him—Sorano couldn’t help but want a taste for herself.

Just as she was debating whether to boldly walk out there and join them, the front doorbell chimed softly.

Knowing Finn and Flare were absolutely not in a position to answer the door, Sorano sighed, adjusted her clothes, and went to open it. She expected to see Lisanna running back for another forgotten item, or perhaps Bisca sneaking over for a quick visit.

Instead, she opened the door to find two women hidden beneath heavy travel cloaks. Despite their attempts at concealment, Sorano instantly recognized them. Given their shared backgrounds in the dark underworld, it was impossible not to.

"Angel? From the Oración Seis?" Ultear gasped, utterly dumbfounded.

"The one from the Dark Guild?" Meredy echoed, her jaw dropping. Why on earth was she casually answering the door at the Magic Council Chief’s private estate?

"..."

Sorano stared at the two Crime Sorciere fugitives. She took a slow, deep breath, accepting the sheer absurdity of her current life.

"Come in," Sorano said, stepping aside and gesturing for them to enter. "You’ll have to wait in the parlor for a bit. Finn-sama is currently... tied up with something important."

Yes, Finn was very busy at the moment. And judging by the fact that two more beautiful, high-tier women had just arrived at his doorstep, it seemed his schedule was only going to get busier.