Without much else to discuss, Mirajane suggested something Cobra dreaded. "Why don't we investigate the other side again and see what we can find?" The others nodded. Cobra stifled a groan. He knew it was coming, but that didn't mean he wanted to go there. Unfortunately, standing guard would look even more suspicious, and staying behind wasn't an option.
So the group made their way over to the other end. Along the way, Mirajane approached him, "Cobra, would there be any way for you to track the people you met those past times…?"
The hearing mage snorted. "I hope you're not expecting any miracles. I tried doing that the other day and was shut out. Once I lose a trail, it's difficult to pick up again unless I know the person well. Never mind the fact that there are so many other people with their loud thoughts here."
She sighed. "Worth a shot."
When they arrived at the front half, Mirajane held up a pen that interacted with the runes on the front, taking away one of the letters. The rest of the runes fell away and she undid the chords tying the entrance together. "Freed lent me a pen. They were simple runes, but I would have known if someone had broken in this way." The group made their way inside.
Inside wasn't half as terrible as he'd imagined. Instead, there was an admittedly welcoming atmosphere, the interior dim, a soft glow of the fairy lights keeping it cozy and not spooky. A lacrima sat on a table, its glow also illuminating the room, and he was conflicted to find the reported tip jar nearly half full. The only other thing in the room was a simple chair, the same chair that reportedly gave off the odd magical energy. He moved towards the chair and crouched beside it.
He hesitantly touched it. There was no feeling of pain, but no mental inhibitions either. He heard a breath draw behind him.
"What are you doing!" Lucy screeched. "We don't know how that thing is activated!"
"It's ok," he replied, and not just as a platitude, "I don't think that was enough to do anything. The victims sat for decent periods of time, so I think the connection needs to be for longer than a few seconds."
Fairy lights cast shadows on her scowl. "I still don't think it's a great idea…"
"Tell you what, if I start behaving wildly out of character, then you can say 'told you so' when this is all done."
She stopped talking, instead scootching down to crouch beside him. It was hard to make out her eyes in the dark, but he could hear the pleading tone in her voice. "Please don't do anything stupid…or rather, too stupid."
A part of him felt the need to argue about her word choice…the other was too busy nodding to notice.
