The captain ultimately accepted Rhodes’s suggestion and planned to contact a few fellow rchants to jointly commission the Magician Guild to investigate the ghost ship incident.
The rest of the voyage to Antirunemuna passed without a hitch. Upon arrival, the captain personally settled the reward at rmaid Heel, and most generously.
The paynt was equivalent to an S-rank mission’s worth. Rhodes couldn’t help marveling at how profitable sea transport must be.
Today, the Guild Master Méloe had chosen to appear as a lively blonde girl, bright-eyed, full of energy, and not shy at all about calling out, "Mira-nee!"
Mira, however, was less enthused. She was in her pri; being addressed as "big sister" by a woman who was clearly in her forties, at least biologically, felt a little strange.
But Méloe was a master of roles. In the five days they’d been here, neither Rhodes nor Mira had seen her true appearance once.
’If she wants to act like a teenager, let her,’ Mira thought with a resigned smile. ’Maybe I’ll learn a thing or two about acting from her while I’m at it.’
After the captain finished finalizing the rescue paperwork, he consulted Méloe about the new investigation request before hurrying off to the shipyard.
As soon as he left, Méloe sighed, crossing her arms like a pouting schoolgirl.
"Honestly, Mr. Rhodes, I’m happy you’re bringing the guild new business, but this request sounds super troubleso!"
Rhodes arched an eyebrow. "Isn’t solving problems what Magicians do? But if you don’t like it, I can always transfer the job to Fairy Tail. We don’t mind troubleso missions."
Méloe gasped, clutching her chest dramatically. "You’d just hand it off to another guild? How heartless! I thought a true gentleman, when faced with a cute girl’s complaint, would say, ’I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you sohow!’"
Rhodes gave her a flat look. ’You’re dreaming.’
And who exactly was she calling a gentleman?
He gestured toward Mira. "Cute girl? Are you talking about the most adorable Mirajane in the world, the one standing right beside ?"
Méloe turned to Mira with mock tears in her eyes. "Mira-nee~! Mr. Rhodes is bullying ~!"
Mira smiled sweetly. "Is that so? How exactly did he bully you? Go ahead, repeat every word to ."
Méloe froze mid-act, muttered under her breath, "Ugh... darn loving couple," and decided she didn’t feel like performing today after all.
After sharing a al at the guild, Rhodes ntioned, "By the way, we’ll be leaving tomorrow. Please help us say goodbye to Millianna, Kagura, and Araña."
The three had gone off days earlier on urgent missions, Araña’s team on a rushed commission, and Millianna dragging Kagura along after finding a mission involving "cat demons."
Their return dates were uncertain, so Rhodes and Mira couldn’t wait around to see them.
Méloe nodded. "Understood. Oh, and don’t forget, there’s a big celebration at rmaid Bay tonight. You must co. It’ll be lively!"
Mira’s eyes lit up. She’d already heard about the event. "Of course! We wouldn’t miss it."
That evening, starlight shimred across the waves and the sea breeze carried the scent of salt and firewood.
rmaid Bay, usually calm after dark, was alive tonight with laughter and music.
Bonfires dotted the beach, casting golden reflections across the sand. At the center stood a massive rmaid sculpture, over five ters tall, perched on a rocky pedestal, harp in hand and eyes gazing serenely toward the sea.
Rhodes and Mira arrived right on ti. Rhodes occasionally checked the pocket watch Elfman had given them, smiling at how punctual they’d beco.
When the hands reached eight o’clock, the harp in the sculpture’s hands began to glow.
A figure erged from the shadows beneath the statue, a beautiful woman with long, wavy black hair.
She leapt gracefully onto the pedestal, and as her feet touched the base, her legs shimred and transford into a silver-blue tail.
The harp strings thrumd of their own accord, releasing a cascade of pure notes that spread across the bay.
The crowd quieted instantly. All eyes turned to the center stage.
It was Méloe, this ti in her true form.
Her figure was flawless, her shell-style swimsuit gleaming like moonlight, her long hair rippling like ink in the sea breeze. She looked every bit a real rmaid sitting serenely by the shore, her song mingling with the waves.
Rhodes swallowed, feeling heat rise to his face. He wasn’t usually one to get flustered, but this, this was dangerous.
He tightened his arm around Mira’s waist, partly to steady her... but mostly to steady himself.
Mira herself fell briefly silent. Compared to the many faces she’d shown on magazine covers or in Fairy Tail’s photo books, the real beauty of Guild Master Méloe before her was sothing transcendent, beyond imagination.
Age, it seed, had not only spared her but had added to her allure, lending depth to her charm and radiance to her poise.
Mira felt Rhodes’s arm tighten faintly around her. She glanced up and quietly compared his gaze to those of the other n in the crowd staring at Méloe.
His look was different, warm, calm, unhungry. That realization made her smile in quiet satisfaction.
She decided she might reward him later, once this "special occasion" was over.
As the soft prelude faded into the hush of anticipation, Méloe began to sing.
"Under the starlight, the waves, I wish to share them with you.
The flickering bonfires illuminate, our most beautiful tis..."
Her gentle, lodious voice drifted across the sea breeze like the first breath of spring. It wrapped around everyone present, brushing against their hearts with invisible warmth.
So closed their eyes, smiles softening on their faces as if lulled by a dream. Méloe’s singing carried an almost tangible magic, a soothing resonance that made one’s burdens lt away.
The fatigue of body and spirit simply dissolved into her lody.
It was as though she sang magic itself.
Her voice was so captivating that it made people montarily forget her breathtaking appearance.
Rhodes closed his eyes, letting the song wash through him. Mira leaned against his chest, her cheek pressed to his heartbeat. The lody carried them back to mories of their first embrace, the warmth, the thrill, the unspoken promise of that mont.
Such peace. Such beauty.
But even the most beautiful song must end.
As the final note faded into the sound of waves, a collective sigh rose from the crowd, reluctant to let it go.
"So Guild Master Méloe is that good at singing," Mira murmured, still lost in the lingering echo. "No wonder they call her the Siren."
Rhodes nodded. "Yes. And now I know what kind of magic she specializes in."
Though the song had ended, the celebration had only just begun.
Méloe raised her hand toward the sea, and a spotlight of shimring magic illuminated the water’s surface.
A single rmaid leapt gracefully from the waves, then another, and another. One after another, they broke through the moonlit water in perfect rhythm, their movents weaving into a flowing pattern.
Soon, the ocean itself beca their stage.
Their tails flashed silver-blue under the starlight as they danced in synchronized arcs, their laughter mingling with the music. Each pose, each leap, painted a scene of joy and freedom.
Upon closer look, Rhodes realized that every "rmaid" was actually a Magician of rmaid Heel.
’Dancers of the Sea,’ he thought, smiling to himself.
But the thought was lost quickly to the rising cheers of the crowd. He let himself be swept up in the mont, the glittering water, the music, the magic, and Mira’s laughter beside him.
The rmaids danced and sang, giving everything they had to create the most dazzling performance imaginable. The cheers grew louder, rising like waves themselves, until the night reached its glorious peak.
When the music finally slowed, the rmaids swam toward shore. As their fins shimred and faded, they stepped onto the sand in human form, hand in hand, joining Méloe.
Together, they gathered everyone around the great bonfires, their voices bright with laughter and song.
This was the rmaid Party of rmaid Heel, the monthly festival that enchanted every visitor, making them forget ti and the world beyond the waves.
...
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