Rhodes handed the mission slip and the IOU to Mira. "The mission was completed, but we couldn't get the reward."
Mira asked curiously, "What happened?"
Rhodes explained the situation of the client's family.
"Since you made that judgment, then there's no problem," Mira smiled. "Keep this IOU safe."
Rhodes waved his hand. "You can keep it. Keeping it in the guild is fine too—I'm afraid I'd lose it if I took it home."
"Alright." Mira didn't argue. "Mission confirmed as complete. Can you tell me about how it went?"
Elfman said, "Sis, I want to go home and rest first."
"Okay, I bought some apples and persimmons yesterday. They're in the living room."
"I know."
Mira watched Elfman leave, then asked Rhodes, "He seems really tired. Do you want to rest first too?"
"I don't need to." Rhodes hesitated. "Elfman... has a particular reason."
He had hoped the mission would cheer Elfman up, but instead, it left him dispirited—it felt like he owed Mira an explanation for her brother's condition.
Mira asked with concern, "Were you hurt?"
Rhodes shook his head. "No."
"That's good." Mira smiled. "Whatever happened, feel free to tell me."
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Natsu, full of energy, burst in through the guild doors. He slammed a mission slip on the counter. "Mira, I finished it!"
Happy flew over holding a new mission slip. "Aye! Next, we're taking this one!"
"Alright~" Mira registered their mission.
Rhodes asked, "Aren't you going to rest for a bit?"
"No time for rest! Huh? Rhodes, you're here?" Natsu seemed to only just notice him. "Completing missions, I won't lose to you!"
"I'm not even competing with you..."
"Let's go, Happy!" With Mira done registering the mission, Natsu dashed out again.
"Aye!"
Rhodes chuckled—at least they were still energetic. "By the way, Natsu didn't break anything again, did he?"
Mira thought for a moment. "Probably not? At this time of year, even Natsu would be careful."
So normally, he's careless on purpose?! Makarov wandered down from the second floor. "Rhodes, you're back. How did it go this time?"
"Not bad. Though there was a small issue, the client was quite satisfied with the outcome."
"That's good." Makarov nodded in satisfaction. Rhodes was a kid who was always reliable.
"By the way, Master, I brought back some herbs unique to the area. Could you help me hand them over to Polyushka?"
Recently, Rhodes decided not to give Grandma Polyushka any money for medical fees—he felt that bringing money to her would get him thrown out.
Instead, he'd bring her rare herbs or seeds whenever he traveled. Just like the bag of seeds he brought back from the Inn of Cat Spirits last time.
This way, it wouldn't be easily refused, it would meet the old lady's interests, and it could also contribute to the guild's medicine stock.
Perfect plan.
Mira finished her work and picked up her coat. "Rhodes, can you accompany me out for a bit?"
"Hmm... okay, but what about the guild?"
Mira looked at Makarov. "Master, we're heading out for a while. We'll leave things here in your care."
"Alright." Makarov jumped onto the counter, sitting cross-legged with his hand supporting his chin. He had the distinct feeling he shouldn't have come down.
With fewer people in the guild, Mira and Rhodes going out together became even more noticeable.
Wakaba said enviously, "Mira, how about considering a date with me sometime?"
"Doesn't your wife treat you well?" Mira smiled mischievously, raising a hand.
"No, no, no..." Wakaba quickly caught on to what she was about to do. "Please, don't turn into that!"
Mira stopped—she wasn't really in the mood to transform anyway.
Rhodes made a mental note to seek combat pointers from Wakaba another time.
Experienced mages like him could have valuable insights, and maybe he could help Rhodes quickly identify flaws in his own "wild creature swarm tactics."
The weather in Magnolia was getting colder, and winter was just around the corner.
The custom coat ordered from the tailor would take over a week to finish—just in time for the colder season.
Mira had only thrown a short jacket over her usual dress when she went out.
Rhodes couldn't quite understand this style. He suspected she might have some kind of magic specifically to keep her legs warm.
Thinking back to their time on the snowy mountain, it seemed like sufficient magic could enhance resistance to the cold? The businesses along the street didn't diminish with the cold weather. In fact, there were more stalls selling seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Winter clothing had been placed in the most prominent spots in clothing stores, while some magic shops were displaying various magic items for heating or heating water for the season.
Naturally, the hottest items were the ones recommended by the weekly Sorcerer Magazine.
Rhodes remembered today was Wednesday, the release day of a new edition of the "Sorcellerie" series. Also, it seemed like it had been a while since Mira had gone for a photo shoot.
To his surprise, he felt not just disappointed but a strange sense of satisfaction.
Ah, men.
"Do we need to buy anything?" Rhodes hadn't even asked about their purpose for coming out.
"Yes. One of the guild's lamps broke, the old heater wasn't working well, and I plan to get a new one. Then..."
Mira listed off what she needed—mostly little things, but she remembered every one of them.
She looked even more beautiful when she was being so meticulous.
As the assistant to the guild master, responsible for almost all administrative tasks, she was like a head housekeeper. To manage such a chaotic guild with everything running smoothly required a lot of her efforts.
Rhodes wondered who used to handle all of this before—Master Makarov?
"Seems like there's a lot to do before winter arrives."
"Of course." Mira paused. "Let's start from here."
"Alright...?" Rhodes looked up. Wasn't this the café?
"Didn't I say I'd treat you to coffee before?" Mira smiled. "Or would you rather come next time?"
"Might as well be today." Rhodes thought they were already there, so why not go along with her?
They found a place to sit and ordered their favorite coffee and desserts.
After some small gossip about the guild, Rhodes finally brought up Elfman.
Although he had promised not to tell anyone about Elfman crying... did Mira count as "anyone"? After a moment of hesitation, Rhodes decided to skip over that part—he'd save Elfman some face.
"So that's what happened." Mira thought carefully—it should be a good thing. "Thank you."
Rhodes smiled wryly. "I was still wondering how to explain this to you."
"This is an important process." Mira spoke sincerely. "Elfman and I both owe you gratitude."
Mira even suspected that he might have some kind of plan for helping Elfman.
Rhodes shook his head lightly—this time, it just happened to be a coincidence.
Mira asked with concern, "By the way, you mentioned wanting to earn some living expenses, right? Since you didn't get paid this time, what's next?"
Rhodes thought for a moment. "Maybe I'll try taking on some requests within Magnolia—seems like a nice change of pace occasionally."
4o with canvas