Natsu and Happy eventually made their way back to the guild.
Actually, by this time of year, the lake behind the guild had already begun to freeze over. When Natsu crashed into it, the thin layer of ice gave way and he plunged straight into the freezing water.
When he returned to the guild, he was completely soaked.
Out of sympathy, Rhodes asked, "Do you want to take a hot shower and change into dry clothes?"
"Huh?" Natsu blinked in confusion, then flames suddenly burst from his body like a Super Saiyan. In just a few seconds, his clothes and hair were completely dry.
Dragon Slayer magic really was convenient, no fear of heat in the summer or cold in the winter.
Rhodes waved his hand helplessly. "Forget I said anything."
"Natsu's the worst," Happy grumbled. "You were already in the water and you didn't even help us catch any fish!"
"..."
Rhodes was speechless. He thought Happy had chased after Natsu because he was worried about him, but apparently, he just wanted fresh fish.
"I didn't go into the water on purpose! It was Erza's fault..." Natsu muttered angrily, but guilt crept up on him quickly. Even if it wasn't intentional, he had still started it.
Then he looked at Rhodes with newfound respect. "You actually teamed up with Erza."
Mira, having finished her work, asked curiously, "Oh, right. How did it feel to team up with Erza?"
Rhodes suddenly remembered the scene from his nightmare where Mira slapped him into the Black Magic Cult's altar. Looking at the sweet smile on Mira's face now, he couldn't help but shudder.
By the way... wasn't Natsu's real-life experience just now eerily similar to that dream? If Erza could do it, Mira probably could too...
'No, no, no. He shook off the thought. That was impossible. Right?'
Rhodes collected himself and answered, "Overall, she's a very reliable partner, especially when it comes to fighting."
Natsu nodded vigorously. If Erza was fighting on your side, she was definitely someone you could count on.
Rhodes recalled the battle vividly. "Both her offense and defense are overwhelming. It feels like the fight ends before I even get the chance to do anything."
"Huh? That sounds awful!" Natsu gasped. To him, not being able to fight at all was basically torture.
Before Rhodes could figure out what was so awful about it, Natsu had already declared firmly, "I'm never teaming up with Erza!"
Mira giggled and asked, "But if Erza invites you, would you refuse?"
"Of course... Of course..." Natsu stammered, but the fear in his eyes gave him away. There was no way he would dare say no.
Watching this, Rhodes learned an important life lesson: if Mira could calm Natsu down in one sentence, she was definitely someone to be cautious of.
After Natsu and Happy left, Mira leaned in a little and asked with a smile, "Besides fighting, don't you think Erza's personality is actually really cute?"
"Not bad..." Rhodes thought for a moment, then smiled warmly. "But if I had to pick, teaming up with Miss Mirajane was still the most fun experience I've ever had."
"Is that so?" Mira said with a soft smile. "Then... would you like to team up with me again in the future?"
"Of course! It would be perfect if we teamed up for training after work today, went shopping as a team tomorrow, and had dinner together the day after that..."
Rhodes suddenly paused, blinking. "Wait a second. If you think about it, haven't we already been working together every day at the guild?"
Mira giggled. "I don't think that's exactly how the word 'team' is supposed to be used. Maybe you should look up what 'Team' means in the dictionary."
Mira covered her mouth and laughed, clearly enjoying herself.
Rhodes couldn't help but sigh internally. She must have picked up some bad habits from hanging around him too much. Now she even teased him the same way he used to joke.
Later that day, after finishing their tasks, Rhodes threw himself into training with a passion.
It definitely wasn't because Mira was there watching him.
It was just that he could genuinely feel the benefits of his magic power growing.
If he had enough magic reserves, maybe one day he could be like Erza, casually waving his hand to send hundreds of weapons flying at once. He could even play at having his own King's Treasury or Unlimited Blade Works using his Requip magic.
And those high-reward, high-risk missions were seriously tempting.
If he kept taking little missions worth just tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Jewels, who knew how many years it would take to buy a house and truly settle down in Magnolia?
But with missions worth millions, he could afford a nice house in just a few months.
Or he could just marry into the Strauss family. Mira already had a house, savings, and was basically a wealthy lady.
"What are you thinking about?" Mira suddenly asked, noticing his distracted expression.
"Just thinking about my next training goals."
Mira tilted her head. "Is it because you got a better sense of Erza's strength? Feeling more pressure now?" she teased gently. "You seem a lot more motivated today than usual."
"Maybe." Rhodes smiled a little. "Or maybe it's because I saw some ugly things recently."
He thought back to the villager who had been killed.
"I suddenly realized this world isn't as safe and simple as I thought. If I want to protect myself and everyone important to me, I need to become stronger."
At first, Rhodes had treated everything cautiously. He used to think the outside world was dangerous, that it was easy to get trampled by wild beasts if you left the safety of town. That made him reluctant to venture out.
Later, after learning magic and becoming much stronger, Rhodes started occasionally going out on quests. The cheerful atmosphere of the guild and the peaceful, prosperous life in Magnolia gradually made him feel that the outside world wasn't so dangerous after all.
Wasn't this world supposed to have a happy ending? Life here seemed far more peaceful compared to the worlds of pirates and ninjas he once knew.
However, after this mission involving the Black Magic Cult, the previous bandit suppression mission, and even the earlier dark guild arrest, Rhodes slowly realized something.
The reason Magnolia could enjoy such peace and stability was because of Fairy Tail's presence.
Those remote villages and small towns without the protection of wizard guilds weren't so lucky. Hidden in the shadows were many dangerous people—those willing to harm others or even sacrifice human lives just to summon demons.
Rhodes wasn't the type to dream about changing the whole world. That was something for main characters to worry about.
He just wanted to grow stronger, strong enough to protect the people he cared about.
Right now, there were about a hundred people Rhodes wished to protect, and he knew these same people had always been protecting him too.
...
The next morning, Rhodes arrived at the guild on time.
Mira, who was polishing a cup behind the counter, noticed he seemed a little down.
"What's wrong?" she asked, looking up.
Rhodes answered with a troubled face, "My son is dying."
Crack!
The wooden beer mug Mira was scrubbing split in half under her hands. She calmly set the cup down. "Son?"
"Yeah," Rhodes said, sighing heavily. "I have three potted plants on my balcony. I usually take care of them like my own sons. I even talk to them sometimes."
He continued miserably, "But I couldn't look after them these past few days. When I got home last night, they were all wilted."
"..."
Mira let out a soft breath, relieved.
It turned out he was talking about plants.
'Rhodes... actually had such a strange hobby.'
Well, taking care of plants wasn't strange at all. It was just the way he talked about them, calling them his sons, that sounded a little odd.
'Still, there really were people who treated their flowers and plants like family. It wasn't that weird... right?'
After thinking for a moment, Mira suggested kindly, "Should we ask Droy for help?"
"Good idea! He loves working with plants!" Rhodes brightened up instantly. "I'll go find him right now!"
With that, he bolted out of the guild.
Mira wrinkled her nose and pulled out the attendance sheet.
"Hmph, causing such a scare over a few sick plants, I'll mark him as absent."
But after a few seconds, she crossed out the record with a small smile.
After all, Rhodes had only stepped out for a little while. It wasn't really absenteeism.
Plus, he did tell her before leaving.
Well... she would let him off this time.
...
We're now fully caught up with the previous translation! From here on out, I'll be aiming to release 2 chapters per day and 4 if we hit those Power Stone goals! We hovered around 22–24th place last week, let's push a little harder this week and break into the top 20 together!
Thanks for all your support!
2 Bonus Chapter @ 400 PS 💎💎