"Thank you," Rhodes expressed his gratitude to Mira for her kindness. "Now I understand why Laki said that no one has seen Mystogan's true face."
Mira still looked a bit worried but followed his lead and said, "Yes, he's always so mysterious; perhaps he has his own reasons."
"Huh? Even Erza got affected?" Rhodes noticed that the entire guild was in disarray. "Does that mean Mystogan is much stronger than Erza?"
"No, strength isn't something that can be compared so simply," Mira explained.
"If they were to fight head-on, Erza would have ways to defend against that kind of sleep magic. You can't determine such things without seriously fighting a match."
"Is that so?" Rhodes nodded.
Miss Mira... She claims she's not good at fighting, but whenever she talks about battles, she always seems well-informed.
Is it because she understands her companions well? Or has she just watched too many fights?
Many people in the guild were also talking about Mystogan. Some didn't care and went about their business.
Some were proud to have such a powerful mage in the guild, showing expressions of admiration.
Others felt annoyed, shouting that they'd beat him up sooner or later.
The way Fairy Tail guild members interacted was roughly like this: freely expressing their personalities while tolerating others' actions.
If they couldn't tolerate it, they'd resolve conflicts with a fight, and if that didn't work, they'd find another chance to fight again.
After fighting, they'd still be family.
Just like Mira said, they could express what they liked and disliked directly.
"Alright, I hate Mystogan now. In the future, I'm going to beat him up with multiple hands and feet," Rhodes said.
Such words were in line with the guild's style, though it might be a bit difficult to achieve.
"Well... you have to work hard then," Mira smiled. "Also, that expression 'multiple hands and feet'..."
"Did I use it incorrectly?" Rhodes quickly replied. "My magic is definitely for group fighting, so when I beat him up, it won't be just 'multiple hands and feet.'"
Mira showed a helpless expression.
"Enough! Mystogan has his reasons for doing this, and he'll explain to you all in the future. Then..."
Makarov spoke up to stop the guild members from criticizing, and he secretly glanced at Rhodes from the corner of his eye.
Seeing that Mira was talking to him, the guild master felt relieved. He glared and shouted, "Gray!"
"Yes!" Gray straightened up instinctively when called.
"Look at what you've done! You've made the Council members nag me again!"
"I'm s-sorry!" Gray averted his gaze, not daring to look at the master, looking guilty.
At this moment, Natsu returned to the guild, huffing and puffing after failing to catch up with Mystogan.
But when he saw Gray's state, he burst into laughter, laughing so hard that others could almost see the flames in his throat:
"Ahahaha! Gray, you're getting scolded again!"
"Tsk..." Gray gritted his teeth. "That bastard Natsu..."
Being mocked by Natsu bothered him more than being scolded by the master.
"You too, Natsu!" However, Makarov turned to yell at Natsu as well.
"Why did a mission to capture a wild boar end up burning several acres of someone's crops? You even dried up the water in the rice paddies!"
Natsu and Gray stood side by side, sweat starting to form on their faces.
"Idiots! The farmland you destroyed is almost more than what the wild boar itself ruined!"
The guild master scolded the two for several minutes, getting so angry that he used magic to enlarge his head, shouting at them with a mouth big enough to swallow them both.
Natsu and Gray were almost blown away.
However, despite scolding them for so long, the master didn't say anything about changing their bad habits or impose any substantial punishment.
After venting his anger, the master went back to continue writing apology letters.
The damages Natsu caused to the farmland were compensated on the spot with his reward, so that wasn't a concern.
Gray's apology to the client was also sincere. Of course, the promise of "I won't do it again" could be ignored. Next time there's an escort mission involving ladies, it's best not to assign Gray.
Makarov glanced at a handsome guy on the stairs, who was chatting with two beauties in his arms—Loke couldn't be assigned either.
That guy had made moves on female entertainers from a production company that had issued a request before, and they had filed a complaint.
Makarov sighed, "None of them give me any peace of mind..."
But seeing the kids being so noisy, lively, and energetic, he couldn't help but feel happy.
Troubles of happiness.
Mira timely brought up some tea and snacks, making Makarov feel a bit comforted.
He pushed his luck: "It'd be better if you replaced the tea with alcohol."
"No way, Master," Mira said, putting her hands on her hips. "You drank a lot yesterday; you can't overindulge today. You should take care of yourself!"
"Yes..." Makarov replied listlessly.
He himself was someone who didn't give others peace of mind.
"Of course there are magazines."
During the afternoon break, Laki responded to Rhodes's question, pulling out a book from behind the counter.
"Weekly 'Sorcerer'—currently the most popular mage magazine. I bought this one a few weeks ago and forgot to take it home."
Rhodes took it and looked at it. On the cover were three handsome guys; one of them was Mr. Hibiki, who had helped him load the language pack.
The other two had their own characteristics, but the pose the three struck together reminded him of Team Rocket.
"They're mages from Blue Pegasus?" Rhodes asked.
Laki nodded, "Yes, this issue's theme is Blue Pegasus, a guild with many handsome guys."
Rhodes had reason to suspect that Laki wanted to look at handsome men and had left it here, forgetting to take it back.
Opening the magazine, the first page was a photo of Hibiki, followed by his age, magic, hobbies, marital status, and other information.
Next were two others from his guild and team, in a similar format.
"Ichiya of 'Holy Night,' Hibiki of 'Hundred Nights,' and Ren of 'Sky Night'—the three of them together form Blue Pegasus's signature team, Tri-Men."
In the subsequent interview section, it mentioned that they had a powerful mage as their captain and mentor.
All three said that he was a very manly mage, their admired big brother and teacher.
He was Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, known as the strongest man in Blue Pegasus.
Unfortunately, Mr. Ichiya learned that the magazine's space was limited, so to take care of his juniors, he specially gave up his chance to appear, which was touching.
"He's a good man," Rhodes continued flipping pages.
Following that was a very obvious advertisement page. This issue's main featured product was the 'Magic Mosquito Repellent Potion'—a light spray keeps mosquitoes and insects away.
Judging by the advertisement, its effectiveness seemed much better than mosquito coils or floral water.
The advertiser even spent extra money on special effects.
Because Rhodes stayed on the advertisement page long enough, the magazine emitted light, projecting a 3D image in mid-air to demonstrate how to use the potion.
With professional voice-over and quality advertising slogans, even a poor guy like Rhodes couldn't help wanting to buy a bottle.