Mira's eye-soothing service for Rhodes didn't last long.
Someone had come to take on a job request, and since the Master had once again handed things over to Mira, Rhodes had to do it himself.
"Can you eat the eggs after they're used for the eyes?" Rhodes had always wanted to ask this.
Mira replied, "It's best not to, but you could always try and see if it upsets your stomach."
Rhodes thought about it and decided that throwing them away was too wasteful, so he rinsed them off and stuffed them into Wurm's mouth.
After all, no matter what Wurm ate, it never had an upset stomach.
Wurm not only wasn't picky but also seemed thankful for it.
It even wanted two more.
"I'll give you more next time I get beat up," Rhodes tugged at Wurm's fluffy cheek and tossed it into the kitchen.
Mira warned, "Rhodes, Mr. Cook will get angry, you know."
Angering the cook could have dire consequences, so Rhodes whispered, "Don't tell him it was me; Wurm can't talk anyway."
"Hmm... well..." Mira pondered, then pushed the recent tavern bills toward him. "Unless you help me balance these accounts."
"I guarantee I won't get a single J off!" Rhodes adjusted the bills, picked up the pen, and began calculating.
After a moment, he paused, ran behind the counter, and sat down next to Mira.
Mira glanced at him and muttered softly, "Really..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Mira, this mission!" Jet put a job request form in front of Mira, looking urgent.
"Let me see." Mira glanced at it; the difficulty wasn't an issue. "Are you going alone? What about Levy and Troy?"
Troy also slammed a request form on the counter. "Mira, I want this mission, please hurry! Our Shadow Gear team is temporarily disbanded!"
"Oh right, it's that time already!"
"Damn, Jet and Troy sneaked off!"
"I need to get to work too!"
Suddenly, everyone who was lounging around rushed to the notice board.
"Move aside, Nab! You never work anyway!"
"Says who? I'm looking for a job only I can do."
"Who cares! Out of the way, out of the way!"
Poor Nab was lifted over everyone's heads and passed along until he was thrown outside.
"What the heck is going on all of a sudden?" Nab rubbed his butt, got up, and sat down beside Macao, who was still drinking.
Macao, in his usual old-hand manner, said, "Ah, ah, it's starting early this year, huh?"
"Young people really are full of energy," Wakaba echoed with a sigh. "By the way, Nab, shouldn't you make some effort too? It's the S-Class Exam, you know."
"Oh, it's the S-Class Exam! Of course, I..." Nab perked up, only to deflate immediately. "Without mission experience, it's impossible, right?"
Macao said, "Then get to work. Everyone else is scrambling to prove themselves, aren't they?"
Nab hesitated for a moment before saying determinedly, "No, I must find a job only I can do!"
Macao sighed. "You're so stubborn."
"Hahaha..." Wakaba laughed. "Isn't that the way with everyone in our guild?"
Mira and Rhodes found themselves gradually surrounded. Alzack, Warren, Marcus, Vijeeter—all of them rushed over, clamoring to take jobs.
"No wonder you said it was going to be busy for a while." Rhodes watched the surging crowd and naturally took on the responsibility of helping Mira with the paperwork.
Mira no longer had time to talk to him. "Don't rush—one at a time..."
"I was first!"
"No, I was!" "Mira, can we skip this step?"
"No." Mira immediately refused, especially for this. "You cannot leave without my confirmation."
Unable to pressure Mira, they turned their impatience on Rhodes.
"Then hurry up, Rhodes!"
"Yeah, who takes this long to fill in forms?"
Rhodes couldn't understand their behavior. "What's the rush? It's not like the exam is tomorrow."
"You don't get it! Every second counts at a time like this!"
"Yeah, you just don't understand, rookie!"
"Hurry up!"
With the noise driving him mad, Rhodes couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "Erza!"
The crowd fell silent for a moment.
Then, Erza's voice rang out, "Be quiet! Form a proper line!"
Whoosh!
The crowd quickly formed a long line. Though there was still some jostling, at least Rhodes had some peace.
Having a Disciplinary Maid (Vice President Enforcer) around was great.
After the chaos, those forced to the back of the line glared at Rhodes.
Seriously, calling Erza like that?
Rhodes dug at his ears and continued his work, realizing that if he didn't get stronger soon, his companions might beat him to death.
After finally dispatching this group of S-Class Exam hopefuls, Rhodes rubbed his wrist. "Are they like this every year?"
Mira thought for a moment. "More or less. They're starting a few days earlier this year."
Laki added, "It's because Jet tried to get a head start, and once everyone found out, it ended up like this."
Now, the tavern felt much emptier compared to usual. The people left were either those like Macao and Wakaba, who thought they were too old and lacked the potential, or those like Levy and Laki, who had little confidence in themselves and believed taking on more missions now wouldn't help.
Of course, Erza also didn't need to join in the rush. She simply stood with her hands on her hips, watching her companions scurry out, pleased with their hard work.
Aside from that, there was Natsu and Happy in the corner.
Happy sat quietly on the table, gnawing on a large fish, while Natsu leaned against the wall, snoring loudly.
Neither the brawl nor the scramble for missions earlier had affected him at all.
"Natsu...," Rhodes hesitated. "Should we take him to visit the church?"
"Natsu doesn't go there to pay respects." Mira gently shook her head. "But don't worry, they'll feel better tomorrow."
"Alright." Rhodes nodded, continuing to process the paperwork.
Erza's close friend had been invited by Alzack to form a team, so with no one to chat with, Erza sat at the counter.
Everyone else was thinking about taking on tasks alone to prove their abilities, while Alzack seemed determined to hold onto both hands. Still, it was good that the kid was opening up.
"Rhodes, aren't you going to take on some work?" Erza ordered a dessert and looked at Rhodes, who was helping Mira.
"I heard from the Master that your abilities are quite excellent. Bisca couldn't stop praising you. If you work hard, you might really become S-Class."
"My abilities still fall short, I'm just taking it easy," Rhodes replied. "By the way, what kind of tasks are in the S-Class Exam?"
"It's hard to say. The tasks change every year, but they're always quite challenging."
Erza clenched her fist, her expression serious to a rather odd degree. "But with enough determination, you'll definitely pass!"
Yeah, right. It almost sounded believable—almost.