"Oh, Jenny, what a coincidence."
As they left their room, Rhodes and Mira ran into Jenny again.
This time, she was dressed in an elegant gown, with her bangs adjusted—likely to cover the red mark on her forehead.
This time, Rhodes didn't pull out his grenade, mainly because he didn't have his bag with him.
"Tonight's performance, make sure to watch closely. The most popular one will be... hmph!"
Halfway through her words, Jenny lifted her gown and hurried downstairs, suddenly remembering that Mira wasn't really interested in tonight's performance, so saying anything more would be pointless.
Rhodes asked, "How hard did you flick her forehead anyway? She might hold a grudge for a long time."
"I only used a tiny bit of strength." Mira made a small dismissive gesture. "She's probably just upset about losing the competition. It's fine."
The guests tonight weren't just Mira and Jenny; there were also some lesser-known models in attendance.
Each of them, with striking looks, was dressed in styles ranging from charming to sexy to cute, each with her own uniqueness, seemingly all intending to shine tonight.
Apart from the models, there were also actors, singers, and others who had previously promoted in "Sorcery Weekly," gradually making their entrance.
Rhodes had a basic understanding of the entertainment industry in this world. There were magical crystals specifically for screening movies, which were widely popular.
Therefore, talented movie actors also enjoyed a significant amount of admiration.
Loke even once got reported by an entertainment agency for hitting on female celebrities—or so Mira said.
The spacious banquet hall was fully decorated, adorned with celebratory banners like "Celebrating the 15th Anniversary."
At the front of the hall was a semi-circular stage, with a large red curtain separating the front from backstage.
Inside the hall, a dozen large round tables were set up, filled with exquisite food and various drinks, but no chairs were provided—likely so the attendees could move around and socialize freely.
Mira and Rhodes entered the hall together without drawing much attention since she wasn't the only one bringing a male companion.
The banquet hall was already filled with small cliques, and people only left their groups if they were interested in meeting someone or admired someone enough to go greet them.
"Over there are the journalists and editors, mostly quite talkative. Those over there are the novelists—some might be a bit eccentric. And those socialites might be a bit difficult to talk to..."
Mira introduced a few groups to Rhodes before heading backstage to prepare for her performance.
Rhodes couldn't follow her backstage; otherwise, he'd risk being seen as a creep and thrown out.
Not being particularly interested in the actors or singers present, he planned to find an inconspicuous spot to quietly enjoy some food until Mira's performance ended.
However, it seemed someone had other plans for him.
"Hello, I'm Raper Ter, a reporter for 'Sorcery Weekly.' May I ask if you're from Fairy Tail?"
A man wearing glasses with a side-parted hairstyle, a camera hanging around his neck, and a notebook in his hand approached Rhodes.
Rhodes carefully sensed him for any unusual magical fluctuations, finding none, so he cautiously replied, "Yes."
"Great!" Raper Ter seemed excited.
"To be honest, I had the opportunity to visit Fairy Tail a few months ago. I don't remember seeing you there. Are you new?"
A fan of our guild? Rhodes nodded, "Yes, I'm new—just joined less than two months ago."
"Fantastic! I knew it!" Raper Ter was ecstatic.
"So, are you interested in giving me an interview? Appearing in 'Sorcery Weekly' could help boost your reputation significantly!"
Fame = public information.
That was far too unsafe, so Rhodes planned to decline politely, "I'm sorry, but I'm really not interested in fame..."
"Oh, how unfortunate!" Raper Ter ruffled his hair in frustration.
"I've already been rejected seven times today, and if I can't spend the remaining 10,000J interview fee, the editor-in-chief will scold me for not trying hard enough!"
Interview fee?
Does this prestigious magazine actually pay interviewees?
Wait, that's not the main point—10,000J?
Rhodes was a bit short on cash lately.
"Well, what I meant was, I have no interest in fame, but I do admire such a hardworking journalist, so... I suppose I could help out."
What's there to fear from public information? Just release false information.
10,000J—enough to properly return Mira's favor.
"That's... wonderful! Thank you very much!" Raper Ter was overjoyed.
Thus, before the celebration officially began, a simple little interview quietly took place.
First, it was just basic information like name and age, nothing really worth hiding.
Then the questions shifted to magic.
"I use summoning magic to summon unique creatures to assist in my work."
Rhodes summoned Worm to make an appearance, and Raper Ter took several photos with his camera.
"So cute! Then, could you tell me where your strength stands within the guild?"
"I can't really compare with the veteran members, but among the newcomers, I'm definitely the strongest."
There hadn't been any new members joining in the past few months, so Rhodes, being the strongest newcomer, wasn't inaccurate.
"That's amazing! 'The Strongest Newcomer in the Strongest Guild'—a great headline! The editor-in-chief will love it!"
Raper Ter continued with his questions, "That summon just now looks cute. So, what's your most powerful magic?"
"That would have to be the strongest summon I conquered last month—the Swift Canyon Crab.
"In an extremely dangerous canyon, there's an unfathomably deep river, and living there..."
Rhodes exaggeratedly described the habitat of the river crab, emphasizing that it was a powerful beast he had acquired last month, far surpassing any of his previous summons.
He hadn't told a single lie.
At the end of the interview, Raper Ter requested to see the powerful crab.
Rhodes took him to the hotel courtyard to demonstrate.
Fortunately, the crab was large enough and ugly enough—its giant pincers, long antennae, and the spiky protrusions on its shell were all quite intimidating.
Raper Ter took several close-ups of the crab's pincers, and Rhodes pocketed 10,000J.
"He's such a good guy."
The interviewer and the interviewee both made the same comment.
...
The celebration opened with a dance performance by fifteen beautiful women. The lively music and vibrant dance moves quickly energized the entire venue.
Raper Ter had intended to go back and organize his notes, but an event like this wasn't one to miss, so he stayed and ended up hosting Rhodes as well.
However, as soon as the performance began, he became engrossed in it, exclaiming in admiration while snapping pictures with his camera.
Rhodes wondered if his film would run out—or, wait, did cameras here use film or magic crystals?
Shrugging off his curiosity, Rhodes focused on eating while watching—mostly eating, really. After a day of running around, he needed to replenish his energy.
Between shoveling food into his mouth, he made sure to clap along with the rest of the audience.
After the opening dance, the president of the magazine gave a speech, which was mostly celebratory and full of motivation and gratitude.
Since he didn't know the speaker nor cared for the content, Rhodes quietly continued eating.
When the speech ended, the stage lights shifted, focusing on the center—Mira's turn to perform had arrived.
Rhodes put down his utensils and wiped his mouth. Eating wasn't really all that urgent right now.