【Re:Freezing】 | Gray Fullbuster x OC

43. Scabs

He swore to himself that once it was all over, he would do it.

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He frowned to himself.

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After enduring interviews from Jason from Sorcerer Weekly for the rest of the day, Karissa decided to head to Hargeon again the next day. Her destination? The Landervilles' bakery. It just felt good to be out and away from the guild. Also, she wanted to grab some goods from the bakery to share with her siblings. The stingy part of herself when it came to money seemed already quite displeased with her consecutive spending.

After one last confident smile to the mirror, she set off for Hargeon with her headphones on her head.

But when she got there, she stumbled upon Arthur arguing with his daughter, Stella, while Noelia tried to diffuse the situation. When her eyes landed on Stella, she was surprised to see that the girl she knew as 4'8 was now about her height (Karissa wasn't exactly as tall as Erza to begin with anyway...). Still, it was surprising because this was a person she knew as a child. Now, Stella had to be at least fourteen if her birthday had already passed.

Curious about what was happening, Karissa casually walked up to them with her hands in her hoodie's pockets. Noelia had heard her intentionally loud footsteps, and turned around to see if it was a customer.

"Oh, Karissa. You're here again?" Noelia smiled sheepishly.

"Mhm. I thought I should buy some more bakery-stuff for the family. Pandora and Van would like it."

"Aw, that's sweet of you. Hold on, I'll be done in just a second..." Noelia turned to her family and put her hands on her hips. "You two, stop it! You shouldn't be arguing outside like this! It's bad for business!"

"If dad would just back off, then we wouldn't be doing this!"

"I'm not letting my daughter go into a lion's den!"

"You're overreacting! Just gimme! I'll deliver it for you!"

Karissa's eyes slid away from the two and landed on two rather large boxes situated near the door inside the bakery. Casually, she slipped past the family and entered the bakery as if to wait for Noelia inside. But she was actually driven by curiosity to discreetly peek at the box's attachment. Karissa stood awkwardly on the side with her head angled slightly to the side to cause her bangs to drift into her sight, hiding her eyes from the Landervilles, to be able to read the attachment.

Looks like a shipment for Blue Pegasus.

The door of the bakery flew open, causing Karissa to yelp and back away in fright. It was Arthur. He was walking towards her with a panicked look on his face. "Can I request the help of a Fairy Tail mage?!"

Well, this is unexpected.

"Uh... you can submit a request by going to the—"

"No, I need one right now. It's urgent! Will you help me, Karissa?!"

"Did you say Karissa?"

Stella peeked into the bakery to look at the owner for the name. Karissa must have completely slipped past her sight if she was really caught up in the argument with her father. The Fairy Tail mage tipped her head to look at the younger girl.

Stella Landerville was a young fourteen year old girl, the only child of Noelia and Arthur. She had her mother's long ash blond hair and her father's crystal green eyes. Her skin was fair as well, making her seem somewhat delicate. She was currently wearing a midthigh light green dress with white straps that fell to her shoulders and knotted in a knot in the back. She also had white bell sleeves on her arms. And in contrast to light colours of her top, she wore black knee socks with brown boots.