It was not difficult to guess where Selene's suspicion came from.
This sort of thing happened often enough.
"I was four," Enny answered. "Luso was three."
'As expected. Memories from that age are extremely easy to tamper with, and Ignia is certainly capable of something like that.'
Raizel had been quietly monitoring the sisters with Archive Magic the entire time, watching for any sign that they were lying.
There had been none.
Their breathing and heartbeats had remained steady throughout the conversation, and Enny's expression had barely changed from its usual poker face.
Selene nodded.
"I suspect the dragon that destroyed your village may have been one of Ignia's own subordinates. And he..."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"I've dealt with Ignia several times. Believe me, he is absolutely capable of doing something like that."
"I understand him rather well, because I used to be that kind of person myself."
Her meaning was obvious.
There was a very real possibility that Ignia had orchestrated the entire tragedy himself, then lied to the sisters afterward and manipulated them into serving him.
Enny and Luso fell silent for a long time.
The thought had crossed their minds before.
But even if it were true, what could they have done?
Neither of them was remotely strong enough to oppose Ignia.
"So what are you planning to do now?" Lucy asked.
"We don't know."
The sisters exchanged a glance before shaking their heads.
Selene tilted her chin toward them.
"Then why not come with me? We have one final target in common anyway—Ignia."
Irene frowned.
"Didn't you just take Misaki and Kiria under your wing?"
After Selene killed Georg Reizen, the former master of Diabolos, both Misaki and Kiria had decided to follow her.
Selene no longer had attendants like the Moonlight Divinities serving her, so she had accepted them without much hesitation.
For the moment, however, the two women were still staying with Diabolos.
They intended to remain there until Selene returned to Ishgar, at which point they would leave with her.
Diabolos itself had been handed over to Kirin, the Yellow Dragon.
From then on, the guild would accept ordinary commissions instead of dedicating itself solely to hunting dragons.
Selene looked completely unbothered by Irene's objection.
"Isn't more company better? The castle has plenty of empty rooms."
The enormous castle was currently occupied by little more than Irene, Selene, and Juliet and Heine, whom Irene had created through Personality Enchant.
Taking in the Signario Sisters was partly a whim.
They were both beautiful, too.
Even if they did nothing more than return to the castle and work as maids, Selene thought they would at least make the place more pleasant to look at.
Although, in her opinion, Misaki probably had more of a proper butler's temperament.
Irene sighed helplessly.
"Do whatever you like, but you should probably ask whether they actually want to go with you."
Even Irene had to admit that the castle was far too empty and lacked any real sense of life.
It only became lively around lunch and dinner, when Raizel, Erza, and the others occasionally came over to eat.
Of course, Irene would have preferred it if they were not quite so loud.
She still liked a little peace and quiet.
Selene's eyes brightened again as she leaned forward with renewed enthusiasm.
"Well? Want to come with me?"
Enny and Luso exchanged another look.
Then both nodded.
"All right."
They had nowhere else to go anyway.
Following Selene might actually be a good choice, especially since Raizel, Selene, and the others were probably the only people capable of defeating Ignia in the first place.
Athena looked genuinely happy for them.
"That's wonderful, Enny-sama! Luso-sama!"
Among everyone Athena had known during her time at Gold Owl, the Signario Sisters had been two of the very few people she could actually speak with and reasonably consider friends.
Athena herself already had somewhere to go.
She intended to return to Magia Dragon.
Once Fairy Tail completed the Hundred Years Quest and left Guiltina, Athena planned to remain there with Elefseria, helping preserve the continent's stability and eliminating dragons that threatened humanity.
Raizel had not expected Selene to be this good at collecting followers.
First she had quietly picked up Misaki, the Azure Dragon, and Kiria, the Blade Dragon.
Now she had added the Signario Sisters as well.
'Of course you did, Selene.'
Natsu suddenly slapped both hands against the table.
"Everything worked out! Let's have a party!"
"OOOH!!! As expected of Natsu-san!"
Sting enthusiastically slammed the table even harder.
"What exactly is 'as expected' about that?!" Lucy demanded.
Enny and Luso stared at Fairy Tail and Sabertooth as both groups immediately erupted into cheers.
The sisters blinked at each other in disbelief.
How had the atmosphere changed this quickly?!
And why were these people trusting them so easily?!
Shouldn't there at least be some kind of interrogation first?!
...
After saying goodbye to Fairy Tail, Sting, Rogue, and Minerva resumed their travels through Guiltina.
That left Raizel and the others with one final problem.
Finding Ignia.
Enny had already told them that Ignia had not returned to the City of the Fire God for a long time.
Guiltina was even larger than Ishgar, and they were still unfamiliar with much of the continent.
Searching for a single dragon who did not want to be found would be extremely difficult.
Raizel turned toward Selene.
"By the way, what do you make of the 'plan' Ignia and Dogramag kept talking about?"
Before Dogramag died, he had claimed that the seeds had already been planted and that their plan had succeeded.
Ignia had also told Natsu, before leaving the Dogramag Labyrinth, that he hoped Natsu would get to see the world he intended to create.
Selene lightly tapped her folded fan against her chin.
"That was his way of putting it, but I honestly have no idea what he means. If Ignia truly has some larger plan, the only thing I can think of is that he intends to start another Dragon King Festival and ignite a new war between dragons and humans."
Ultear offered her own theory.
"Ignia also seemed extremely fixated on Acnologia whenever he spoke. Could his plan have something to do with the Black Dragon?"
When Ignia first appeared before Natsu, he had openly admitted that Acnologia had always been his ultimate target.
Now that Acnologia was dead, Ignia had shifted his attention to Natsu instead, insisting that he wanted a battle where only one of them would be left standing afterward.
Raizel had absolutely no evidence for it, but he seriously suspected Ignia was jealous.
Why else would he be so obsessed with Natsu?
Raizel found both Selene's and Ultear's theories plausible.
Another Dragon King Festival was possible.
So was some method of reviving Acnologia.
Perhaps Ignia intended to use the Eclipse Gate to summon the Black Dragon at his peak from four hundred years ago.
Raizel's imagination only went so far, after all.
And if the Eclipse Gate really was involved...
One still existed in this world.
It was located in Crocus, the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore.
Normally, opening it required the twelve Zodiac Keys, though Raizel had no idea whether Ignia and Dogramag had learned some alternative method from Elefseria's stolen heart.
Erza eventually gave up trying to guess.
She slumped forward onto the table.
"At this point, I almost hope Ignia's plan really is just a war between humans and dragons. At least that would be simple."
Raizel could not disagree.
He had no idea what Ignia was planning either.
Mira lightly tapped one finger against her cheek.
"I actually think Ignia might be more worried than we are."
Everyone looked toward her.
"No matter what his plan is, his only confirmed ally, Dogramag, is already dead. Meanwhile, our side has everyone sitting here, plus Mercphobia."
In other words—
It was a group against one.
The advantage was clearly theirs.
Of course, whether Dogramag had truly been Ignia's only ally was another question entirely.