The Thunder God Tribe recovered quickly from their injuries. After just two days of rest, they were already able to move around freely.
As long as they didn’t get into any serious battles, their condition wouldn’t be a problem.
Coincidentally, the bills for the damages they caused in the city had just arrived, and Rhodes had already done the math.
The three looked at the total amount and decided to start working imdiately.
"Why don’t you go help out at the church first?" Rhodes suggested. "There aren’t many high-paying jobs right now."
During the Harvest Festival, many guild mbers had spent all their savings. So even ended up in debt after picking fights on the streets.
Because of that, the high-paying missions were in high demand. For the Thunder God Tribe, small tasks worth only tens of thousands of Jewels weren’t worth their ti. But if they took on the million-Jewel jobs while still injured, it wouldn’t be safe either.
So, Rhodes suggested helping with reconstruction work. It was a good way to apologize to the townsfolk, and it gave them ti to rest at the guild and rebuild relationships with their comrades.
"What do you two think?" Freed asked Evergreen and Bickslow.
Evergreen looked away, clearly uncomfortable. "I... I have no objection."
"I’m fine with it too," Bickslow replied.
His five floating puppets chid in loudly, one after another:
"No problem!"
"No problem!"
"No problem!"
Rhodes winced. "Then hurry up and get going if you’ve decided. I’ll keep an eye out for better jobs for you later. Just take those noisy puppets with you."
He was blunt, as always. But in Fairy Tail, being disliked didn’t stop anyone from getting along. If that were the case, Lucy would have long stopped worrying about people barging into her house.
That morning, Lucy had arrived at the guild already complaining to Mira. Apparently, Natsu and Happy had wrecked her house again.
And just when she finally got them out, she bumped into Gray at the doorway, who then ran into Natsu.
The two started fighting imdiately.
"Oh dear... your place must be in chaos," Mira said, a bit worried the apartnt might get destroyed.
"It wasn’t completely wrecked," Lucy groaned. "But Natsu stole Gray’s pants and threw them out the window. Then Gray ran outside totally naked to get them back!"
She buried her face in her hands. A single girl like her having a naked guy running out of her house? What would her landlady even think?
Mira tried to look sympathetic, but she couldn’t help giggling behind her hand. "You’re quite the popular one, Lucy. Both Natsu and Gray love hanging around your place."
Lucy quickly glanced around to make sure Juvia wasn’t eavesdropping, then sighed in relief.
"It has nothing to do with popularity! Gray only ca over because he needed sothing from Loke. Are those two really that close?"
"Yeah. Gray used to team up with Loke a lot."
"Wait, so Loke’s leaving to join another team again?" Lucy looked around. "No wonder I haven’t seen either of them today."
The word "again" carried a bit too much weight. Despite being one of the strongest Celestial Spirit mages, Lucy often found herself left out when it ca to team-ups.
Mira flipped through the mission logbook. "Doesn’t look like they took any missions. Maybe they’re busy with sothing else."
Lucy frowned. "What if it’s sothing creepy? I’ve been feeling like soone’s watching lately..."
"Oh, I get that feeling all the ti," Mira said with a cheerful smile.
"That’s because soone is always watching you," Lucy grumbled. "Like a certain fiancé or one of your many admirers."
"Well, maybe..." Mira shrugged innocently.
Lucy crossed her arms. "I don’t even have a boyfriend. I’m not popular like Miss Mira, but I still feel eyes on every ti I walk through town."
"Aye!" Happy declared with glee. "That’s what we call excessive self-awareness!"
"No, it’s not!"
"Natsu, Lucy’s getting too self-aware!"
Natsu, surprisingly, wasn’t goofing off. He was seriously scanning the job board.
When Happy flew over and Lucy chased after him to explain herself, Natsu cut in with an unexpected comnt:
"You two are still chatting? Shouldn’t we get to work soon?"
Lucy and Happy stared at him in shock. "Did Natsu just ask to work?!"
"Why are you two so surprised?" Natsu asked, genuinely confused. "I’ve been working hard lately."
"Yeah, but recently it’s been Lucy stressing about rent or Erza dragging you and Gray out by force."
"I wasn’t dragged by Erza!"
"Aye," Happy chirped again, clearly not buying it.
"I’m only going because I want to work!"
"Aye," Happy quipped.
"Happy!" Natsu growled, ready to throw hands again.
Nearby, Nab, who was also looking at the request board, complained, "You guys are so noisy."
Lucy sighed and threw up her hands. "You’re hopeless, as always..." She decided to pick out a job herself.
As she browsed the task list one by one, she wasn’t in a hurry to decide. She knew Rhodes would be along soon to post fresh ones.
But instead of Rhodes, it was Max who appeared.
He had co to post the final rankings for the Fairy Tail Miss Contest.
Mira had won first place, just barely, by a margin of a few votes.
Erza ca in second, and Lucy took third.
Following them were Juvia, Cana, Bisca, and Levy.
In fact, Reedus had drawn a special poster for the winner that morning, featuring Mira in a bunny girl outfit playing the guitar. But the mont he finished it, Rhodes snatched it away.
"A masterpiece like this," he said, "belongs sowhere special, like my bedroom wall."
So in the end, only the rankings got posted in public.
Even though Lucy already knew the results, seeing them still left her disappointed. That 500,000 Jewel prize was clearly out of reach now.
A few minutes later, Rhodes showed up with a stack of new job requests and began pinning them on the board one by one.
Lucy read each one aloud as he posted them.
"Chasing a criminal... tracking a suspect... chasing another criminal... Why are there so many chase jobs?"
Rhodes explained, "A while ago, a bunch of prisoners escaped when the Magic Council went into disarray. The Council’s too overwheld to go after all of them, so local cities and towns have been asking guilds for help."
"If you’re interested, give one a try. All the jobs here are confird sightings with location data, so they’re not too hard to follow up on. I’ve got backup info on criminal records, known spells, that sort of thing. Just ask if you need details."
Apparently, so of the fugitives were either overconfident or just plain dumb, imdiately causing trouble like no one could stop them while the Council was in shambles.
Of course, so likely went into hiding and stayed quiet, which is why no one’s seen them.
Without hesitation, Natsu ripped down the highest-paying job from the board. "Let’s take this one! It’s a hunt for an escaped convict nad Belberno. The reward’s 2 million Jewels!"
"Two million?!" Lucy’s eyes sparkled. But when she saw the word DANGER stamped in bold red, she hesitated. "Do you think it’s too risky?"
Happy chid in confidently, "We’ve got Erza and Gray. We’ll be fine!"
Natsu imdiately snapped, "Hey! What about ? Aren’t we fine because I’m here too?!"
Lucy giggled, her nerves easing. "Alright, we’ll take it. I’ll talk to Erza, you find Gray. Let’s get everything ready today—tomorrow, we head out!"
Rhodes stamped their mission request without hesitation. For a team like theirs, tracking down a fugitive was no big deal.
What they weren’t sure about, though, was how much they’d actually earn.
"Oh, by the way," Rhodes asked suddenly, "wasn’t there supposed to be an award ceremony for that competition?"
"There wasn’t one last year either," Mira replied casually. "Once the results were in, the prize money was handed out directly."
"Who distributes it?"
"Obviously, I do."
"So informal..." Even though Mira was technically just doing her job, Rhodes couldn’t help but feel like this was so kind of rigged arrangent.
"What else do you want? Sothing like this?" Mira cleared her throat and put on a mock-formal voice. "Congratulations to Miss Mirajane for winning this year’s title. Now, let us welco Miss Mirajane to present the award to Miss Mirajane!"
She theatrically counted out fifty large bills and offered them forward with both hands. "Congratulations, Miss Mirajane."
Then she turned around, clasped her hands back together, and received the bills with exaggerated grace. "Thank you, Miss Mirajane."
She gave herself a dramatic bow, then turned back to Rhodes with a wink. "How was that?"
Rhodes was both touched and amused by her playful performance, but he exaggerated a worried expression. "Oh no... my fiancée has split personalities. What do I do? Wait—good thing she’s still just my fiancée. We haven’t actually married yet..."
Mira raised an eyebrow and gave him a mock-dangerous look. "And what exactly do you an by that?"
"I an," Rhodes said, gently taking her hand, "I’ll just have to love you twice as much. That way, every version of you stays happy."
"You’re good at this," Mira giggled, shaking the bills in her hand. "I’ll treat you to sothing nice for dinner."
True to her word, Mira picked a cozy restaurant that evening for a candlelit dinner date.
It wasn’t anything overly expensive, and maybe the food wasn’t quite as refined as what Mr. Cook could whip up, but the mood, the ambiance, the warmth... it was perfect.
They say moonlight makes beautiful won even more dazzling, and Mira, under the soft glow of the candles, looked ten tis more radiant than usual.
She’d clearly dressed up for the night: soft, glowing skin; delicate features; a bit of gloss on her lips; and that one loose strand of hair curling by her ear... Honestly, Rhodes felt half-full just looking at her, before dinner had even started.
"It’s already October," Mira murmured, resting her chin in her hand as she gazed at Rhodes with dreamy eyes.
"Yeah... and it’s nearly halfway through."
Rhodes wasn’t sure if Mira was also seeing him through rose-colored glasses at that mont, but he was sure of one thing: her eyes shimred like moonlit water, and her lips, under the candlelight, looked even more tempting.
They both smiled quietly, choosing to enjoy the silence rather than fill it with words.
After dinner, Rhodes walked Mira back to her house like he always did. But when they arrived at her doorstep, he wrapped an arm around her waist and said nothing. He just looked at her, his gaze burning softly.
Mira tilted her head with a teasing smile. "Why are you staring at like that?"
"I’m craving sothing sweet," Rhodes whispered.
"Didn’t we just eat?"
He leaned down, his voice a little lower. "But there’s sothing even sweeter right here..."
"Hmm."
...
The next morning, the strongest team gathered at the Fairy Tail guild.
Erza was already reviewing the criminal profile with her usual intensity, asking for every detail she could. Lucy stood beside her, listening closely and taking ntal notes.
anwhile, Natsu waited off to the side, looking bored, while Gray leaned against the doorway, frowning at the sky.
"Ugh... it’s raining again. So annoying," he muttered.
Juvia, standing nearby, perked up imdiately. "Gray-sama! Juvia... Juvia knows you’re disappointed we couldn’t team up this ti. But please know, Juvia has kept her magic under control! This rain is not Juvia’s doing!"
Gray replied offhandedly, "Huh? No one said it was your fault."
Juvia gasped, deeply moved. "Gray-sama is so kind! Juvia will go make a teru teru bozu right away!" And with that, she dashed off, leaving only a blue blur behind.
Gray sighed.
Happy flew past on Warm’s back. "There’s definitely sothing going on there."
Plue joined in. "Pru pru!"
Warm added cheerfully, "Hululu~!"
"You guys are so annoying..." Gray groaned. Then he glanced at Warm and added, "And why does it look like you’re growing bigger every day?"
"Hulu..." Warm’s little horns drooped in sadness. It was a problem. He couldn’t fit into the kitchen anymore. Back in the day, the cooks used to toss him treats through the serving hatch. Now? He couldn’t even squeeze through the door.
It wasn’t fair. Warm had just eaten a little bit... Why did he have to grow so fast?
Inside the guild, Rhodes handed Erza and Lucy the mission dossier.
"This one’s dangerous," he warned. "Make sure you don’t let your guard down."
"Understood," Erza nodded. "Natsu, Gray, let’s go."
"Ready anyti!" Natsu grinned.
"I’ve been waiting forever!" Gray added.
"Why does no one ever ask if I’m ready?" Happy grumbled.
Lucy, anwhile, was doing the math in her head. "Two million Jewels... split four ways, that’s 400,000 per person! That’s half a year’s rent!"
She shot a determined look at Natsu. ’This ti, I’m not letting him cause any trouble!’
"Oh, Gray—maybe put your clothes on first?"
"Huh?" Gray looked down and suddenly realized he was shirtless. "When did that happen?" He imdiately ran off through the guild, searching for sothing to wear.
Lucy sighed. "Unbelievable..."
As she turned to glance outside, she saw only the dense gray curtain of rain.
"Huh?" Rhodes suddenly narrowed his eyes. A figure had flashed by the entrance, suspicious, hiding under a tattered cloak. Without hesitation, he dashed out of the guild.
That person was sneaky. Shady, even. And Lucy had been saying for days that she felt like soone was following her. Maybe it was so creep who had seen her during the Miss Fairy Tail contest or the parade and beca obsessed.
But the guy was slow. Rhodes caught up in just a few steps and clamped a hand down on his shoulder.
The man was hunched over under the rain, wearing a ragged hooded cloak and carrying a worn satchel on his back. His leather shoes were falling apart, and his pant legs were soaked and torn.
The more Rhodes examined him, the more suspicious he seed—but... there was no magical energy.
Just an ordinary person. Or so it seed. Still, Rhodes stayed cautious.
"I’ve seen you hanging around here a few tis," Rhodes said, keeping his tone polite but firm. "Are you here to request a job?"
The man stiffened at first, then hesitated. After a few seconds, he seed to make a decision. Slowly, he pulled back his hood and turned to face them.
"I’m looking for Lucy," he said. "She’s in this guild, right? I’d like to speak with her... alone, if possible."
Rhodes’s eyes sharpened. ’He really was after Lucy!’
"Wait... hold on, you—"
Rhodes paused, his gaze locking on the man’s face. He looked strangely familiar, with long, unkempt blond hair and a thick beard. But with that disheveled appearance, it was hard to place where he’d seen him before.
Lucy had stepped outside too. As soon as she saw the man’s face, her breath caught in her throat.
"Dad?" she whispered.
She raised her hand to cover her mouth in disbelief, her voice trembling.
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