Humans are social creatures, and the love of watching the excitement might stem from that nature.
At first, it was just Mira wanting to show Rhodes the photo album, and Laki directly joined in when she found out.
Then Erza and Gray came over to see what was going on.
After that, Macao and Wakaba joined in—these two veteran members knew more about the guild than even Mira did.
After all, their entire youth was spent here.
The stories of these two older members attracted even more onlookers, and soon the counter area was surrounded, layer upon layer.
At first, it was all laughter and conversation, but when Macao revealed one of Wakaba's embarrassing moments, Rhodes instinctively felt something was off.
"Mira, let's sneak away quietly, okay?"
"Sneak away? Why?" Mira was hearing a lot of things she didn't know before and was finding it interesting.
Just then, Wakaba turned the tables and revealed one of Macao's embarrassing moments.
Rhodes immediately grabbed Mira's wrist, leading her quietly around the counter. "If we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"
"Rhodes?" Mira, being pulled by Rhodes, squeezed through the less crowded area.
When Rhodes looked back at her face, he suddenly had the feeling they were eloping.
After squeezing out of the crowd and arriving at the door to the guild's back hall, Mira looked back to see that the reminiscing had suddenly turned into an exchange of insults.
When the first person threw a punch, a chaotic brawl quickly ensued.
"Oh dear..." Mira put her right hand in front of her mouth. "Rhodes, do you have some kind of special ability to avoid trouble?"
"It's just a little bit of caution." Rhodes was intently watching the battlefield.
When a tray flew over, Rhodes immediately stepped in front of Mira, deftly catching it.
Mira noticed that Rhodes looked a bit cool at that moment.
A day full of energy began with a brawl.
If Natsu hadn't eaten lightning yesterday, it could've been even livelier.
It also would've given Erza more people to hit while trying to stop the fight.
Makarov had just walked into the guild with two old friends, only to see a group of people diligently repairing the guild.
Veins bulged on the old man's forehead. "You idiots, can't you behave for even one day?"
"I'm sorry, Master. I should've kept them in check." Though it was something that happened often, Erza had an expression of regret, as if she had committed some great mistake.
"Hahaha... The guild's still the same, eh, Makarov?" said an elderly man wearing sunglasses.
"Seems like you've got a lot of lively kids here, little Makarov," said another elderly man, about the same height as the guildmaster.
Makarov sighed helplessly, "I didn't bring you here just for this."
Erza recognized the two people the guildmaster had brought along. "You must be Goodman, the guildmaster of the Four Hounds, and Ajima, the Sixth Seat of the Council!"
Ajima smiled, "Hello. You must be Erza—just as beautiful and dependable as the rumors say."
Erza responded modestly, "You're too kind, sir. I still have much to improve."
Goodman added, "Ah, the Fairy Queen's reputation has even reached us. How about considering joining our guild?"
"Hey, don't poach in front of me!" Makarov's arm stretched out, patting Goodman's back.
Erza answered gracefully, "Thank you for the offer, but Fairy Tail is my home."
Mira also recognized the two men and led Rhodes over to greet them, "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Mr. Ajima and Mr. Goodman."
Seeing the three most reliable people standing together, Makarov beamed with pride. "Hahaha, aren't our guild members wonderful?"
Goodman said, "You've managed the guild splendidly, Makarov."
Ajima, seeing Makarov's ever more complacent smile, added:
"If they could cause less trouble, that would be even better. Once I retire and no one's left to speak for you in the council, you'll eventually be ordered to disband."
Makarov's smile froze. "Honestly, don't say such discouraging things at a time like this."
"Alright, alright. In that case, you can treat me to some Fairy Tail's special chashu ramen," Ajima said, spreading his arms. "With ten slices of pork, please."
Makarov shouted, "That's too much chashu!"
Ajima lowered his hands, "Make it twelve, then."
Makarov retorted, "Stop upping it on your own!"
Goodman chimed in, "I'll have the same, then."
Makarov's head enlarged comically as he leaned over to Goodman's ear, "You pay for it yourself!"
Erza, Mira, and Rhodes couldn't help but laugh. No wonder these people were friends of the guildmaster—they fit right in with Fairy Tail.
In the end, Makarov still treated his two old friends to ramen, each with twelve slices of chashu.
And out of spite, he added thirteen slices to his own.
The three elderly men sat at the counter, slurping noodles—a rare sight.
One couldn't help but wonder if they were like this when they were young—bickering non-stop, and whoever lost or got caught had to treat the others.
Friendship that lasts from youth to old age, from black hair to white—it's enviable.
"Fairy Tail's special ramen is indeed the best," Ajima praised. "Maybe after I retire, I'll open a ramen shop."
Goodman added, "Make sure to invite me when it opens. I'll definitely go and eat for free."
Ajima responded, "I'll invite Fairy Tail wizards to help me kick out freeloaders."
Makarov laughed, "No problem. I'll send the strongest team to deal with him!"
"Hahaha..."
The elderly men were having a great time chatting.
Ajima asked, "How's Porlyusica doing these days?"
Makarov said, "Still the same, living alone in the forest."
"That's too lonely. Haven't you thought about inviting her to move out?"
Goodman stuffed the last piece of chashu into his mouth and mumbled, "It's a pity you two never got married back then."
Hmm? This sounds like juicy gossip! Rhodes discreetly moved closer.
Mira was already standing in front of the three and didn't move, but her smile grew even wider.
Erza couldn't help but lean in, though her face turned slightly red at the mention of marriage.
Could it be that the guildmaster and Porlyusica were...
As Happy would say, "Involved?"
Makarov, oblivious to the actions of the three younger ones, complained, "That was ages ago. Why bring it up now?"
"Yeah, in a blink of an eye, so many years have passed," Ajima said. "Have you thought about who the next guildmaster might be?"
"The next one, huh..." Makarov looked troubled.
If there were a suitable candidate, he would have retired long ago.
Originally, Laxus was the perfect choice, but he was going through a rebellious phase.
Gildarts had enough power, but his personality was problematic, and now there was no news from him.
Mystogan's situation obviously wasn't suitable.
Erza... was still too young, and Mira had even bigger issues.
As for Cana, Natsu, Gray—he didn't even dare to imagine what they'd do as guildmaster.
As for other outstanding new members...
Makarov's gaze swept over Rhodes, who was eavesdropping on the gossip.
This kid was excellent in many ways, but he needed a few more years to grow in terms of power and reputation. As for his personality...
For a simple escort mission, not even an official one, he brought a backpack full of explosive lacrima.
That kind of personality could hardly be described as problem-free.
Perhaps after he traveled more and better understood the world, he would improve.
Overall, he had some potential.
Wait, Rhodes had been in the guild for three months already. How many missions had he done in total?
Thinking about Rhodes' daily activities, Makarov tugged at his mustache in frustration.
Was Rhodes planning to train himself to S-class before taking on regular missions?