Mira casually found an excuse to send Laki and the others away, then quietly asked Rhodes,
"If you're treating me, what about your rent?"
She hadn't forgotten that the reason Rhodes wanted to take on missions was to cover his expenses.
Rhodes pulled a face,
"I'll take another mission in the next couple of days... Please help keep an eye out, I'll also see if anyone is looking for a teammate."
Mira smiled,
"Alright~"
Rhodes was indeed making progress—there was no need for the guild master to worry too much.
With plenty of time before the guild closed, Rhodes headed to the backyard to lift weights and throw punches. Not having stretched his muscles properly these past two days felt uncomfortable.
After exercising for a while, he stopped to take a shower in the guild's bathroom, and then returned to the pub to chat with Marcus and the others.
Today they had plenty of hands, so Rhodes only needed to lend a hand occasionally.
With Rhodes there, it was natural for the conversation to veer towards his solo outing with Mira.
But Rhodes's main purpose was to remind everyone to be extra cautious when working outside, so he tried hard to steer the conversation toward the Phantom Lord incident.
"Those Phantom Lord guys actually did something like that!" Alzack was a bit angry, but then also somewhat envious,
"But protecting someone you care about perfectly during a team mission—isn't that pretty cool?"
He wanted to invite Bisca to team up with him, and then protect her well, and if he could...
Rhodes looked at Alzack's expression and quietly reflected on whether he had ever shown such a dumb look.
"Phantom Lord's guys are indeed irritating." Nab condemned Phantom Lord, then tried to reassure,
"But it should be a rare incident. The chances of mages from different guilds running into each other are not high."
Rhodes glanced at the one who spoke, carefully saying,
"Nab, hearing that from you is hard to believe."
Nab was taken aback,
"Huh?"
Marcus laughed heartily,
"Exactly, Nab. At least complete one or two missions before saying something like that!"
"Rhodes, this is for you." Lidas suddenly handed a piece of paper to Rhodes.
Rhodes took it—it was a drawing of him and Mira when they left for Crocus.
It showed everyone waving cheerfully to them, while the pub was noisy with people. Laki and some others were gathered, covering their mouths, laughing, while others looked on in either surprise or envy.
In the picture, Rhodes and Mira had just stepped out of the guild's front door, looking back at each other, saying something.
The smiles on their faces were as bright as the morning sun that day.
Lidas said,
"I thought it was such a beautiful scene at the time, so I drew it. Take it as a memento of your first work mission."
"It's amazing, Lidas!" Rhodes was full of delight,
"I'll treasure it!"
Lidas was also happy—Rhodes' expression upon seeing the drawing was the best compliment he could receive.
Nab, who had been arguing with Marcus, saying that he wasn't avoiding work, just waiting for something only he could do, stopped mid-argument when he saw such a great drawing.
"Lidas, I come in and out of the guild every day—why don't I have a drawing?"
Lidas adjusted his hat brim, and said calmly,
"If you decide to go to work, I'll draw as many as you want."
Nab slammed his hand on the table,
"You're underestimating me too much! I'm going to look at the request board right now!"
Rhodes couldn't help but warn,
"Don't be rash, choose carefully!"
Lidas said,
"No need to be nervous. I bet Nab will be back in ten minutes."
Marcus laughed,
"No, the request board has a lot today, maybe twenty minutes."
Famous Scene in Fairy Tail: Nab looks at the request board.
Nonexistent Scene in Fairy Tail: Nab actually goes to work.
"..." Rhodes still couldn't understand what psychological issue Nab had—he clearly wasn't weak.
His Spirit Summon magic—the Bear Spirit—allowed Nab to possess the strength of a bear, and one punch from him packed a real punch.
If Rhodes wanted to beat him, he'd need to summon quite a few creatures to help.
Even though it was less than two days, after returning from a long trip, everything seemed more comforting.
It wasn't just in the guild—his home felt that way too.
The familiar tables and chairs, the familiar bed, the familiar punching bag…
Seeing the punching bag, Rhodes gave it a few punches.
Training and meditation couldn't be neglected, nor could exploring Summoner's Rift.
At his current pace, he should be able to summon a Red or Blue creature in a few days. He wasn't far from summoning a little dragon.
…
The next morning, Rhodes headed to the guild as usual.
After handling some chores, he went to check the request board.
The highest-paying requests were generally monster hunting or apprehending dangerous criminals. Many of these had rewards in the hundreds of thousands.
But these missions were almost at S-rank level—Rhodes could take them, but Mira would certainly reject them.
The lower-paying ones were more mixed—most were missions within Magnolia or nearby villages.
Things like irrigating fields, gathering rare herbs, catching perverts, finding lost items…
From things affecting a village's livelihood to helping teenagers through adolescence.
Rhodes looked at them one by one, and they were either not in his area of expertise, or the pay wasn't enough to cover the effort.
This kind of frustration was common for anyone trying to find the right job.
As he focused on the board, a hand wearing a ring reached out, tearing down a "Catch the Pervert" request.
Rhodes turned and saw a handsome man,
"Loke?"
"Huh? You… hello?" Loke had barely said hello before retreating five meters away.
Rhodes was displeased—being treated like something dirty wasn't pleasant.
"I thought you'd know by now—my magic isn't the same as Celestial Spirit Magic."
"Uh, yeah, sorry. It's just a habit." Loke, holding the request, awkwardly made his way to the counter.
"Wanna team up? I'm good at searching…"
Whoosh—Loke seemed to fast-forward instantly, appearing right in front of Mira,
"Solo mission—request to catch and tail the suspicious person harassing the client."
Mira looked at the request and nodded, but before she could even say a word, Loke was gone like the wind.
Rhodes: "..."
Alright, inner conflicts aren't easily resolved—whatever they were.
Rhodes decided to practice magic in the backyard and wait to see if any new requests came in today.
Oh, he should send Worm to the kitchen to freeload some food.
…
Afternoon came, and the guild was as lively as ever.
Natsu had just finished devouring a special fire dish, satisfied, leaning back against the table.
Gray wasn't here today—it felt weird. He wanted to punch Gray in the face a couple of times.
Happy, having eaten two grilled fish, lay sprawled on the table, belly round,
"Natsu, looks like we're almost out of money."
"Huh?" Natsu opened his wallet, dumping its contents onto the table. A few coins clinked out, followed by a couple of light bills.
Altogether, it was less than 10,000 J—barely enough for him and Happy to eat for two or three days.
"Well, guess we gotta work!" Natsu stood up, punching his right fist into his left palm,
"Time to find a mission where we can fight to our heart's content!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy lifted a paw.