They left the village the next morning.
Cheetah was still lying in bed, so he couldn't co to see them off. Instead, Panther and Snow ca out to say goodbye.
Little Cloud ran in from outside, holding a large bunch of wildflowers she had picked for them. The petals were still damp with morning dew.
A child running around so early in the morning wasn't safe.
Rhodes decided not to say anything that would spoil the mood, instead smiling and accepting the flowers, and advising her to listen to her mother.
The implication was that her father was unreliable, and listening to her mother might be a bit better.
The village gate was wide open, with farrs occasionally driving carts and carrying tools out of the village. They would enthusiastically greet Rhodes and his companions as they passed by.
"Quack~ Quack~"
A few geese passed by, and their honking startled Rhodes, making him take a step back.
It took him a mont to rember that he was now a wizard, not a child whose combat power was less than that of a goose.
"Ahahaha... So Rhodes is afraid of geese!" Natsu, who had been trying to find Rhodes' weaknesses throughout the journey, finally had sothing to laugh about.
"No, I'm not."
Happy also joined in with a giggle, "Pfft! Rhodes is afraid of goose."
"I said I'm not..."
"Hahaha..." Natsu and Happy laughed together.
Rhodes had no coback. Fine, he's afraid. Let's see if they actually bring a geese to scare him—he'd cook it for sure.
Two minutes later, Natsu wasn't laughing anymore.
Because they had boarded the carriage for the return trip.
Rhodes pulled on Natsu's face and ruffled his hair, teasing, "Co on, Natsu, say it with : 'Rhodes is afraid of geese.'"
Natsu leaned back weakly against the side of the carriage. "I feel so sick..."
Happy, without any loyalty, joined in teasing Natsu with Rhodes.
"It hurts... Rhodes, call the crab..." Natsu groaned.
"No, actually, besides being afraid of geese, I'm also afraid of crabs."
"Liar... Let off. I want to walk back... please..."
"No, what if you get lost on your own? Since we're a team, I have to make sure you get back safely."
"Let off~!"
...
Driving the carriage back for Rhodes and his team were Bitt and Mastiff.
By noon, Rhodes had hauled Natsu off the carriage so that the drivers could make it back before nightfall.
The rest of the way wasn't far, and they could ride the Scuttle crab back, with a bit of sunlight not being much of an issue.
Before reaching Magnolia, Natsu regained his energy.
And when they finally saw the guild, Rhodes finally let out a sigh of relief, a smile unconsciously forming on his lips.
But before he could even savor the feeling, Natsu had already kicked open the door. "We're back!"
"Aye!"
"Oh~ it's Natsu!"
"What did you break this ti?"
"I heard you tead up with Rhodes. You must've given him quite a bit of trouble, huh?"
"Rhodes? Isn't he our guild's strongest newcor?"
As soon as Rhodes entered the guild, he heard soone ntion "strongest newcor."
By his estimation, yesterday was Wednesday, which ant the new issue of Sorcerer Weekly had just co out, and it was also an anniversary special.
Did that article really get published?
Natsu was arguing with the others about how "this ti we completed the mission perfectly."
Happy, anwhile, was secretly spreading the story of Rhodes' fear of goose.
Rhodes smiled and greeted everyone, telling them that what the magazine wrote was all nonsense.
Without stopping, he headed straight for the counter. "I'm back."
"Welco back." Mira greeted him with her usual smile. "How did the mission go?"
Rhodes handed her the mission sheet. "There were a few surprises, but overall, it went well."
"Surprises?"
"Yeah... it got sorted out, I'll tell you about it later."
"Oh my, that makes even more curious."
Mira finished logging the details. "But it's good that you made it back safely. I was worried you might not get along with Natsu."
"Natsu, well, he can be a bit of a headache at tis, but he's reliable."
Besides being a bit reckless, Rhodes found many of Natsu's qualities during this journey.
For instance, his strong convictions, sharp combat instincts, and his care for others' feelings.
As a companion, his reliability probably outweighed his tendency to cause trouble... right?
Rhodes caught the bench flying towards him from behind without looking back. Over there, Natsu had started another fight for so reason.
He threw the bench aside, turned around, and leaned his elbow on the counter.
"Um... what mindset did I have when I just said Natsu was reliable?"
Mira laughed. "Thank you for your hard work."
Rhodes turned his head to look at her. On the way back, he had thought about what attitude to use when facing her, but once he returned, it felt natural to act the sa as usual.
"What's wrong?" Mira noticed his gaze and rembered what Laki had told her before Rhodes set out, and she couldn't help but tuck her hair behind her ear.
"Nothing. Is the Master in?"
"The Master? He's probably upstairs writing a reflection."
"Again? Who ssed up this ti?"
The Fairy Tail guild was known for two iconic scenes: "Nab staring at the request board" and "The Master writing a reflection."
"This ti it's Elfman." Mira looked a bit embarrassed. "It seems he attacked the target he was supposed to protect during an escort mission."
"Huh?" Rhodes almost didn't understand. "The target to protect, not the one to fight?"
"Yes, the one to protect," Mira said. "Apparently, during a conversation, the target said the most important thing for a man is knowledge..."
"Manliness!" In the guild's bar, Elfman shouted his catchphrase as he punched Natsu, who then punched him back.
With her brother fighting, his sister watched on with amusent. "Whenever it's about being a 'real man,' Elfman just can't hold back."
"Haha... typical of him." Rhodes chuckled dryly, thinking that Elfman might've beco this way because of what happened with Lisanna.
Mira looked up at the railing on the second floor. "It's strange. With all this noise down here, the Master should've co down by now."
It wasn't until Nab got thrown by soone and crashed into the second-floor railing that a big hand reached out, grabbed him, and tossed him back down.
"Haven't you guys had enough!?" The Master stood on the railing, scanning the room until he imdiately pinpointed the culprit.
"Natsu, can't you co back peacefully just once?"
"Hehe!" Natsu stood proudly, hands on his hips, with a satisfied expression.
"Wait, wait, wait..." The Master jumped straight down from the second floor, landing smoothly. "With that look, what did you ss up this ti?"
The Master sighed, looking a bit resigned. "Tell now so I can just write both reflection letters in one go."
Suddenly, Rhodes felt a bit sorry for the Master.
"You're wrong, old man!" Natsu said proudly. "This ti we completed our mission perfectly!"
"How could that be...?" The Master paused, then pounded his fist into his palm in realization. "Oh, I see. You tead up with Rhodes this ti!"
"Hey, old man!" Natsu felt the Master was being as unfair as Happy, as if everyone thought he couldn't do anything right without supervision.
The Master ignored him and extended his arm, pulling Rhodes close, tears streaming down his face as he spoke emotionally.
"Rhodes, well done! And thank you—you're truly our strongest newcor!"
"So even you heard about that?" Rhodes said awkwardly, also adding,
"Master, could you please not wipe your snot on ?"
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