Hiding in the corner, hoping to enjoy so drama, Rhodes now felt like the "drama" wasn't so enjoyable anymore—Levy seed to be feeling uncomfortable.
It was obvious that she was probably worried that this would affect her friendship with Jet. After all, the three mbers of the Shadow Gear team had grown up together since childhood.
"Hey, Rhodes," Levy asked in a low voice, "Was I too blunt just now?
How would I know?! Rhodes had never had a childhood friend, let alone been confessed to by one.
All he could do was carefully reply, "When it cos to feelings, if you don't like soone, it's probably better to be clear about it like you were, right?"
"I know, but still..."
Levy understood this principle, which was why she rejected Jet so decisively. She didn't even touch the bouquet, wanting to avoid any misunderstandings.
She sighed, "I'm just worried that this might break up Shadow Gear. We've always been such good friends. I should've found a gentler way to say it."
"No matter how gently you put it, the aning is the sa. The longer you drag it out, the more painful it becos."
The situation had already happened, and no matter what the best choice was, Rhodes didn't want to say things like, "You did the wrong thing" or "You really didn't think this through."
That would only make Levy feel even more guilty, and it wouldn't help at all.
"The best choice is the one you just made," Rhodes thought it was important to make her believe that. Only then would she feel a little better.
Once she cald down, he could help her think about what to do next, if she needed that.
However, what happened next caught Rhodes completely off guard.
Just as Levy seed to recover a bit of her spirits, Droy showed up with a bouquet of flowers as well.
Compared to Jet, Droy's movents were a bit more awkward, but after taking two deep breaths, he gathered the courage to say the sa words that Jet had just said.
This ti, it only took Levy one second to reject Droy.
Droy, looking even more dejected than Jet, dropped the bouquet and left with a downcast expression.
Rhodes felt partly responsible—he had just encouraged Levy to believe that rejecting them decisively was the best option for everyone.
It took a while before Levy turned around, trying to control her emotions. "Let's continue practicing."
Rhodes did want to master magic quickly, but under these circumstances, dragging Levy into more lessons seed a bit;
He thought for a mont and said, "Actually, I've used up quite a bit of magic today. Maybe I should rest for a bit.
How about I treat you to a drink? Just to thank you for your help."
...
A few minutes later, Rhodes and Levy were sitting at the counter.
The two clinked their glasses lightly. Rhodes had barely taken a sip when Levy downed an entire glass like she was possessed by Cana, drinking heartily.
Thankfully, it was just regular beer.
Mira noticed Levy's red eyes and, pretending to be angry, placed her hands on her hips and asked, "Rhodes, did you bully Levy?"
"Absolutely not." Rhodes raised his hand as if swearing, "It's... kind of complicated. I don't even know how to explain."
"It's not Rhodes' fault. I just don't know what to do anymore," Levy mumbled, her face already flushed from just one beer, her alcohol tolerance clearly not great.
She spilled out her frustrations to Mira like a bamboo tube pouring beans, her speech clearly slurred from being tipsy.
"Don't worry, Levy," Mira said gently, "You three grew up together and are close friends from the sa guild.
No matter what happens, that bond won't break so easily. Jet and Droy will recover soon enough."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"In that case... another drink!"
After her second drink, Levy slumped over the counter and fell asleep, occasionally muttering in her sleep, her arms and legs twitching slightly.
If she ever improved her alcohol tolerance, she probably wouldn't be the best drinking companion.
Levy was wearing a sleeveless top, and the guild emblem on her left shoulder was quite prominent.
Although it was sumr, the ceiling fan was spinning above them. Rhodes wondered if he should cover Levy with sothing, but he didn't have anything at hand.
Mira, on the other hand, found a light blanket and gently draped it over Levy.
"Rhodes, you've been paying a lot of attention to Levy lately. Could it be that you also..." Mira began teasing again.
"It's not like that. Levy's cute, but she's not my type."
"Oh? Then what's your type?"
Mira's eyes glead, as if the flas of gossip were burning within them.
Rhodes almost wanted her to experience the discomfort of being the subject of gossip herself, but he knew that patience was important in the long run.
"Secret. Secrets make a man more mysterious," Rhodes borrowed a line from a detective ani.
Confessions aren't sothing you should rush into, especially not after what Jet and Droy had just done.
"Ah~ that sounds like sothing Loke would say." Mira chuckled. "Have you two gotten closer?"
"Not at all. If I get within five ters of him, he runs.
These days, when it's his turn to order sothing, he even asks Laki to place the order for him."
Rhodes was rather helpless in this regard. After their failed sparring session, all attempts to ease the tension between him and Loke had been futile.
Mira speculated that it had to do with a female Celestial Spirit mage, and knowing Loke's personality, it probably involved so kind of romantic entanglent.
However, she didn't know what kind of painful experience had made him avoid anything related to Celestial Spirit mages so desperately.
Rhodes' approach was simple: if it couldn't be solved, then don't solve it.
Even brothers don't always get along. In a guild this big, it was normal to have a few people you couldn't sh with.
As long as it was a fellow guild mber, Rhodes figured that when Loke needed help, he'd be there.
"Shadow Gear, unite!" Levy suddenly raised her fist and shouted in her sleep.
Rhodes readjusted the blanket that had slipped off her. "Looks like she's dreaming about the old days. When did the three of them start teaming up?"
"I'm not sure," Mira said thoughtfully. "I rember when I first joined the guild five years ago, they were already hanging out together a lot."
"Five years ago... you must have been twelve or thirteen?"
Joining the guild was practically equivalent to becoming independent, and she had brought her younger brother along... Rhodes felt a pang of sympathy as he listened.
"I was thirteen. It wasn't that early. Natsu joined the guild a year before , and Erza joined a year before that. Gray, Cana, and Levy joined even earlier."
Mira's expression softened with nostalgia. "We were all kids with nowhere to go. Joining the guild was the first ti we found stability.
By the way, I've never asked—what did you do before you ca here, Rhodes?"
"I... was a student," Rhodes replied. "From the ti I was five years old, right up until a little over a month ago, I was always in school."
"Just school for all those years?" Mira looked surprised. When Rhodes nodded, she asked,
"Could it be you were so kind of noble or prince?"
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