"Work, work!" Natsu energetically crashed into the request board.
"Hey, Natsu, don't push!" Nab was the one shoved aside by Natsu.
"It's fine, Nab," Happy flew over with his little wings spread. "You won't take any jobs anyway, so let Natsu check first."
Nab was indignant, "Darn it, today I'll definitely find the right job to show you!"
"Aye." Happy responded nonchalantly, knowing Nab would say the same thing tomorrow.
"Subjugate the rampaging beasts and the beast leader to protect the village. The reward is 300,000 J." Natsu tore the request from the board. "This one!"
A fight to be had, a high reward, and beasts that usually feared fire—this kind of request was perfect for Natsu.
"Mira, I want to take this mission."
"Subjugate the rampaging beasts and..." Mira considered it for a moment.
"The client mentioned that the beast horde was large. It could be tough for just one person. Why not form a team?"
Natsu responded naturally, "Happy and I are a team."
Happy raised his paw. "Aye!"
Mira smiled, "That counts too."
Happy drooped his head, "That's so unfair."
"Happy is a very good partner." Mira patted Happy's head. "But if you find another reliable companion, it would make things much easier."
"Team up?" Natsu thought about it seriously.
Mira wouldn't lie about something like this. If she said it was better to team up, then it must be true.
Happy looked around at their guildmates in the pub. "Who should we team up with? Macao? Wakaba?"
"No, no, no, no..." Natsu shook his head with a look of disdain. "They're reliable, sure, but they're also annoying."
"What about Cana?"
"She'd spend all the reward on booze."
"Marcus?"
"Too naggy."
"Then..." Happy suddenly realized everyone had troublesome personalities. Of course, Natsu himself was also troublesome.
"Hey, Mira, is there anyone suitable to team up with Natsu?"
Natsu, sensing something was off, was outraged. "Hey, Happy, don't make it sound like no one would want to team up with me!"
Happy covered his mouth with his paws, and in a low voice, whispered to Mira,
"It's because Natsu always causes destruction and gets our rewards docked. A lot of people don't want to team up with him."
"Happy!" Natsu pounced, grabbing Happy's cheeks.
Mira chuckled, letting them bicker for a bit before suggesting,
"Why don't you ask Rhodes? He's been looking for someone to team up with, though he's not too keen on subjugation missions."
Mira wasn't sure if Rhodes would want to do this mission, but teaming up with Natsu seemed... somewhat reassuring... maybe?
Natsu thought about it, "Rhodes recently seems to have summoned some interesting creatures."
Happy objected, "But he can't summon fish."
"Isn't there a crab?" Natsu clapped his hands and turned to leave. "Decided, let's go find Rhodes!"
Happy hurried to catch up, calling out, "Natsu! A crab isn't the same as a fish~~"
...
Fairy Tail Guild Tip: During break time, Rhodes is either in the backyard or the library. Finding him is easy.
"Rhodes! You in here? I can smell you!" Natsu's loud voice echoed in the library.
"Natsu? Stop shouting, this is the library."
Rhodes closed the Magic Encyclopedia he was reading and put it down on the table. "And what do you mean by 'smell me'? Do I smell that bad?"
Natsu answered matter-of-factly, "Smell is smell. Anyway, come team up with us!"
Happy added, "Natsu's nose is very sharp."
Rhodes recalled what Erza mentioned last time regarding Warren—Natsu's sense of smell was indeed quite good.
"Alright." He didn't dwell on it and asked, "What's this team-up about?"
"There's an interesting mission, and Mira said it would be better to have a reliable person to team up with."
"Aye! The most reliable mage still in the guild right now is Rhodes." Happy exaggeratedly said, "Even though you can't summon fish... mmph mmph..."
Natsu hugged Happy, covering his mouth. "Yeah, yeah, Rhodes is the most reliable!"
It felt good to be called reliable, but... something seemed fishy. Since when was Natsu this well-spoken?
"Oh well, since you guys say so, then I'll..." Rhodes looked at Natsu and Happy's expectant eyes, "I'll go ask Mira for the details."
Happy sighed in Natsu's arms. "How lame."
Natsu complained, "Happy, your strategy didn't work at all."
"It must be because Natsu wasn't sincere enough."
"No way, it's because you said he couldn't summon fish!"
"Hey~~ Pushing the blame on me, Natsu, that's too much!"
"I heard all of that, you two..." Rhodes couldn't help laughing.
Isn't Natsu supposed to be hot-blooded and impulsive? How come these two even used tricks to get someone to join their team?
And they were scheming right in front of him.
"I do want to try teaming up with you two... anyway, let me just confirm the mission details first."
Rhodes marked his page, closed the book, put it back, and then followed Natsu and Happy out.
...
"The mission location is in Dendrobium Village, also called Shihu Lan Village. It's a small mountain village less than half a day's carriage ride from Magnolia.
"I heard that in recent years, the village has had abundant harvests, but there are many ferocious beasts on the nearby mountain. Recently, these beasts have been coming down the mountain, charging and causing chaos.
"The hunters in the village can't handle these wild animals, making the villagers afraid to go out and harvest their crops. If it continues like this, the crops will rot, and the villagers will be in danger."
Mira explained while watching Rhodes's expression, and upon seeing no special reaction to the term "beast horde," she relaxed.
"So, what do you think? Are you taking this mission?"
Rhodes didn't rush to decide but instead asked,
"Are there only ordinary beasts in the horde?"
Mira answered,
"For now, yes. But villagers have seen a beast that looks like the leader of the horde giving orders on the mountain, although it hasn't come down."
Natsu urged impatiently,
"Rhodes, how long are you gonna keep asking? Beasts and all, just punch them all away, right!"
He was starting to think that Rhodes, like their other guildmates, had some strange quirks.
"Almost done."
Rhodes continued asking questions until Mira had shared everything she knew about Dendrobium Village. Only then did he stop.
He thought for a moment,
"Alright, I'll take it. Natsu! Natsu?"
"ZzzZ~" Natsu was sleeping soundly, leaning against the counter with his arms as a pillow.
Happy popped Natsu's snot bubble,
"Natsu, Rhodes agreed!"
Natsu jolted awake, jumping up from the stool,
"Alright, let's go!"
Rhodes was a bit envious—being able to wake up and instantly be energized was something to admire.
Mira registered the mission, handed the request sheet to Natsu,
"Be careful on the road. It's Rhodes's first time on a mission like this, so it'll be up to you and Happy to take care of him."
"Leave it to me!" Natsu accepted without hesitation. The guild master often entrusted newcomers to experienced mages for a while.
But Rhodes—joining the guild for almost two months and only going on one mission—was rare.
Happy looked at Mira, then at Rhodes, and whispered,
"They've got something going on (rolling tongue)."
"Happy?" Mira gave Happy a gentle smile.
"A...aye..." Happy hid behind Natsu, pretending to be scared, "Sorry..."
Rhodes: "?"
What's there to fear about Mira?