Chapter 132: It's Like This Again
"That's not you!"
The System couldn't stand Ren's narcissism anymore and couldn't help but retort.
"What are you talking about?! Isn't this me?! If you don't believe me, call his name 'Ren' and see if he responds."
"..."
The System was defeated by Ren's shamelessness.
Ren, still in his Gojo Satoru form, felt the thrum of a new kind of power. He wanted to test it. He pushed open the window of his room, the cool night air of Magnolia washing over him.
Whoosh—!
The next moment, Ren's vision pulled the world toward him. He didn't move; the space between him and his destination compressed. He instantly teleported outside Mira's house, his feet landing silently on the grass in her yard.
Ren had already experienced true teleportation when he received the Fourth Hokage, Minato. That was the Flying Thunder God Technique, an instantaneous jump between two marked points.
This... this was different. This was Gojo Satoru's Cursed Technique: Blue (Cang). Teleportation was just one of its derivative uses. The principle was to compress the spatial distance between his current location and the destination, achieving an effect similar to instantaneous movement, somewhat like the legendary 'Shrinking the Ground into an Inch'.
The advantage of this move is that it doesn't require a pre-placed mark. The disadvantage is that it requires his own vision—enhanced by the Six Eyes—for precise targeting and takes a fraction of a second to activate, unlike the Flying Thunder God Technique which can be activated instantly, allowing for ever-changing, unpredictable tactics.
Mira, who was in her house getting ready for bed, suddenly paused. She seemed to sense a gaze and looked outside her window.
Then she saw nothing. Just an empty, moonlit yard.
"Strange? How did I seem to... see Ren?" she murmured, shaking her head and closing the curtains.
Whoosh—!
Ren instantly teleported back to his own home, reappearing in his room with a silent thud.
Then Ren released Gojo Satoru's received state.
Although there were still many moves he hadn't used—Red (Gyaku), Hollow Purple (Kyoshiki: Murasaki), and of course, Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void—it was getting late. It wasn't good to disturb others late at night. Moreover, his battle with the Celestial Spirit King had consumed a lot of magic power, and if he continued to consume magic power, he would also be very tired.
In fact, all of Gojo Satoru's information and intelligence had been imprinted into his mind the moment he received the card. Even if he didn't use them, he knew what the effects would be.
But to test them accurately, it was best to fight an enemy. Only then could Gojo Satoru's true power be seen.
The next day, when Ren arrived at the Guild, he saw Cana happily drinking wine while hugging a barrel, even though it was barely 10 AM.
"Mira," Ren called out, "get Cana ten more barrels of wine and put it on my tab."
"Alright!" Mira responded with a smile. Knowing Ren as she did, and seeing the satisfied, smug look on his face, she knew that he must have summoned another powerful Heroic Spirit last night.
Cana, however, was startled. She spat out her wine. "What are you going to do?! Is your target my body? Take it! Take it! Take it all! Take it away!"
At this moment, she felt very guilty. She had gotten many, many barrels of wine from Ren during this time, which made her feel uneasy.
Although her fortune-telling was somewhat useful, such things were hit-or-miss, and she herself didn't really believe in them. She just said whatever felt right.
If Ren found out one day that she had been fooling him a lot of the time, he wouldn't just kill her, would he?
She couldn't afford these wine bills, so the only thing she could repay him with was her own body. 'If it came down to it,' she thought, 'I'd just give it to him. Anyway, I wouldn't lose out, and maybe I'd even secure a long-term meal ticket later...'
Bang!
"Ouch!"
Ren flicked Cana's forehead, hard.
"Are you getting muddled from drinking too much recently? Your brain is filled with nothing but booze."
He was a man with a girlfriend now and would never make a principled mistake.
"Ren."
Makarov's voice called Ren's name.
Ren walked over. "What is it, Master?"
"You handled the Loki matter very well. Thank you for your hard work."
Makarov naturally knew about Loki's situation. Although Loki was a Celestial Spirit, in Makarov's eyes, Loki's identity didn't matter. As long as he joined the Fairy Tail Guild, he was his child.
Ren, in order to help Loki, had actually fought the legendary Celestial Spirit King. He also felt that his judgment—his choice of Ren as a successor—was not wrong.
"It's nothing. Loki is a guild companion; it's only right for me to save him."
At this moment, Loki walked over, looking healthier and more solid than he had in months. The golden light of the Celestial Spirit Realm had restored him.
"Ren, thank you for last night. If it weren't for you, I might be dead by now."
Loki was very grateful to Ren. That was his most desperate moment, and it was Ren who descended from the sky and saved him.
Ren waved his hand and said, "We're all guild companions, no need to be polite. Has your body recovered?"
Loki nodded. "Yes, it's almost fully recovered. But... I heard from Gray that I... uh... disturbed your good time with Mira because of me. To make amends, please accept this."
Loki said, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to Ren.
Ren took the note. "What is this?"
"This is an invitation ticket for a resort hotel at Akane Resort. I originally planned to take my girlfriend... well, a girlfriend... but I can't stay in the human world for long now, so I'll use this as a thank-you gift. You and Mira should have a good time."
Then Loki leaned close to Ren's ear and whispered, "It's a double room, you know."
Ren secretly gave Loki a thumbs-up, thinking to himself: 'Brother, I didn't save you for nothing.'
Ren looked at Mira, who was cleaning the bar. Mira was naturally very tempted. She hadn't been to the beach in a long time, especially not with Ren.
Mira looked at Makarov, as if asking for permission to take time off.
Makarov waved his hand, his expression a mix of fondness and exasperation. "Go on! Go on! Alas! Girls grow up and can't be kept at home!"
He also really wanted to go to the beach. There were many beautiful girls in swimsuits there. Thinking of this, he wanted to retire again.
Hearing Makarov's words, Mira couldn't help but blush.
At this moment, Erza's voice rang out from the entrance.
"You two, what are you dawdling for? Do you want us to leave you behind?"
Ren looked up and saw that Erza, Natsu, Lucy, and Gray had all packed and were ready to depart.
Ren couldn't help but complain to Loki: "Just how many girlfriends have you had?! You bought tickets for the whole guild?!"
"I... I like to be prepared?" Loki stammered.
Akane Beach
The scenery here is pleasant, with beautiful sandy beaches and crystal-clear, turquoise waters. The climate is very pleasant all year round, making it a famous holiday resort in the Kingdom of Fiore.
"Oh, the sea—!!" Lucy shouted, running toward the water.
The sun was just right at this time, and people were coming and going on the beach. Boys were wearing beach shorts, and girls were wearing cute and sexy swimsuits.
The appearance of Mira, Erza, and Lucy attracted the attention of almost everyone.
Beautiful women as cute as Lucy were already quite rare, and those with the stunning, mature figures of Mira and Erza were even more scarce. The appearance of three such beautiful and sexy girls together naturally attracted a lot of attention.
Mira, wearing a modest but perfectly-fitting dark purple bikini, spun around in front of Ren. "How... how is it? Does it look good?"
Ren's eyes were glued. "It's really beautiful!"
As a former cover model for Weekly Sorcerer, Mira's figure was naturally impeccable.
Hearing Ren's praise, Mira was also very happy. Girls, after all, care a lot about their looks and figure.
Then the group started playing on the beach. Natsu and Gray were, of course, competing. They had surfing contests, swimming races, and sandcastle-building competitions (which Natsu kept melting).
Erza, Ren, Lucy, and Mira played beach volleyball, and they all had a blast, with everyone laughing joyfully. Ren hadn't enjoyed such pure, simple happiness in a long time either.
Happy times always fly by quickly. Before they knew it, the sun had set on the western coastline, painting the sky in shades of orange, purple, and gold.
They were all in the resort's luxurious room, the one Loki had booked. It had a magnificent balcony overlooking the ocean. Ren and Mira were standing out on it, watching the last sliver of sun disappear.
"What a wonderful day," Mira said, looking at Ren, her eyes reflecting the twilight. "Since... Lisanna's accident two years ago, I had never been so relaxed. It was Ren's appearance that helped me emerge from the shadow of Lisanna's incident, allowing me to laugh like this now."
Ren said with a complex gaze: "Yes! I haven't been this happy in a long time either!"
Ren and Mira's gazes met. The sound of the waves crashing below and the joyful shouts of Natsu and the others inside the room seemed to fade away. Both their heartbeats began to quicken, their breathing becoming slightly more rapid.
Mira slowly closed her eyes.
Ren also wrapped his arm around Mira's slender waist, his other hand coming up to cup her cheek. His hand became restless, his thumb gently stroking her soft skin.
Ren leaned in to kiss Mira's red lips. It was just millimeters away. This was it.
Suddenly!
The balcony door was slammed open, and Natsu and Happy appeared at the doorway, shouting excitedly:
"Ren! I heard there's an underground casino! Let's go check it out!"
"..."
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