Mira held the mission sheet, hesitating.
Rhodes leaned closer, whispering, "Finding Devotion Herb, reward 88,600J, mission location is the Galantos Snow Mountains. Is something wrong?"
"It's an ordinary mission, but the reward is a bit low for the difficulty level," Mira explained. "There are ferocious carnivorous magical beasts in Galantos. Generally, a mission with that risk should have a reward of at least 100,000J. Plus, they've marked it as urgent..."
Low pay, high risk, and urgent?
"Probably some deeper reason?" Rhodes guessed. "What's the Devotion Herb used for?"
"It was originally used to treat colds and fever, but because its growing environment is harsh and there are alternative medicines, it's not used much. Later, it was discovered to treat a certain kind of epidemic..." Mira flipped through some files, "Just as I thought, the client's family member has that epidemic and urgently needs the herb."
"They probably spent all their savings on treatment..." Rhodes looked at the reward amount, an oddly specific number, and pulled the mission sheet from Mira's hand.
"Rhodes?"
"You said those beasts... can Elfman and I handle them?"
"They're pack animals that like to attack in groups..." Mira glanced at Rhodes—maybe that wasn't too much of a problem. "The tricky part is that they have a way to trigger avalanches. In the snowy mountains, that's very dangerous."
"I'm not afraid of pack battles, and if there's an avalanche, we can fly away..."
Rhodes continued, "Let's take it then. It's not exactly a popular mission, so we can take care of it."
He wasn't sure if this counted as undermining the market rate, but since they'd have to meet the client, he could determine if they genuinely couldn't afford to pay more or were deliberately offering less.
"Alright." Mira nodded. Since Rhodes had decided, she didn't say more.
As for whether Elfman would care about the low pay, Mira didn't think so.
"Elfman~"
Elfman walked over from the notice board. "Sister?"
"The mission's picked out, take a look." Mira showed him the mission sheet, explaining the key points to note.
"No problem, Sister. A real man doesn't care about the pay at times like these!"
If it were anyone else, Rhodes would definitely quip, "Then I'll take your share," but since it was Elfman, he could only say, "Let's split up and prepare, then meet here in half an hour. Remember to bring enough winter clothes."
"A real man!" Since it was an urgent mission, Elfman just casually responded before running off.
Rhodes, on the other hand, skillfully headed to the warehouse and library, gathering the necessary items before heading home to prepare his gear.
Half an hour later, Mira looked at the two ready-to-go men, saying, "Elfman, remember to listen to Rhodes more."
"I got it, Sister." Elfman already wanted to spar with Rhodes again.
But it was also because of their frequent fights that he knew Rhodes was someone worth trusting.
Mira opened her mouth, wanting to say something to Rhodes, but in the end, she simply looked into his eyes and said, "Be careful on the way."
Rhodes smiled, "Got it. We're off."
...
They left in a rush this time, without much time to do anything, so Rhodes just brought a book to read on the carriage.
Elfman still wasn't familiar with Rhodes' usual mission processes. "What's that?"
"It's information about the Galantos Snow Mountains. It's always better to have more knowledge about the mission site." Rhodes showed him the book's cover and then handed a magic book to Elfman. "Take this; use it when needed."
"A real man's..."
Rhodes cut him off, "If you're a real man, you'll hold onto it properly and not make your sister worry."
"You... you really think of everything." Elfman thought for a moment, then asked, "So you're planning to go after my sister, huh?"
Rhodes pondered for a moment—Elfman seemed to prefer direct communication, but it wasn't quite time to admit anything outright.
So he gave a response that was both direct and vague.
"Well... I can't admit that just yet."
Elfman paused, then angrily replied, "What do you mean 'can't admit,' you jerk!"
"It's exactly as it sounds, and you'd better not mention this to Mira yet."
"Why should I listen to you?"
"Let's decide it like real men: whoever wins our next fight gets to decide."
"Deal, real man!" Elfman couldn't help but agree once he heard 'like real men.'
Then he remembered that massive golem he saw last night.
Should he insist that Rhodes not use that?
No, that wouldn't be a real man's fight!
Damn it, if only he could use Full-Body Take Over... Elfman's magic book slipped from his lap as he instinctively wanted to clutch his head.
Rhodes frowned. This kid had serious mental blocks. He said he wanted to move forward, but it wasn't that easy.
Back then, taking over the Beast King had been in an attempt to protect his family while facing certain doom—it hadn't been his fault at all.
But because it was his hands, though unconscious, that had caused the harm, he couldn't forgive himself.
"Elfman is a gentle kid," Mira had said.
Rhodes had also seen pictures of Elfman in the guild album, and indeed, his demeanor was completely different from now.
The gentler the heart, the harder it is to get past these things.
Rhodes patted Elfman on the shoulder, choosing not to offer words of comfort. If words alone could solve this, the Master would have healed him already.
Even if he wanted to talk him through it, it had to be the right time.
It took about two hours to travel from Magnolia to the village where the client lived.
"Elfman, get ready to get off."
"Huh?" Elfman responded, surprised. "How do you know?"
"Because my Canyon Swift Crab arrived long ago." Rhodes pointed to his eyes. "I can already see our carriage."
What a convenient magic.
Elfman put away the magic book and shouldered his climbing pack.
When they entered the village, Elfman's intimidating appearance scared off some children who were chasing each other on the street, making them run a wide circle around them.
Rhodes told Elfman to wait where he was while he approached an elderly man who looked kindly to ask for directions. "Excuse me, I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. Could you tell me where Mr. Karut and Mrs. Weiss live?"
"Karut? I see, you must be here to help with his illness. Poor lad, he looks like he's barely holding on. Just days ago, he was still full of energy, driving his cart to make deliveries out of town..." The old man rambled for a bit before finally pointing them in a direction. "Over there, the yard with a stable but no horse inside—that's the one."
What a peculiar way to give directions...
Rhodes thanked the old man and called Elfman to head to the house.
But on second thought, maybe Mr. Karut had even sold his horse to pay for the medical expenses?