There were generally two sources for the randomly assigned tasks at the regular meetings.
One source was the Magic Council, which often needed to request assistance from guilds to make up for a lack of manpower or certain specialized skills.
Rhodes had already experienced this kind of task once. They were usually troublesome, with only average rewards, but the advantage was gaining favor with the Council.
For Fairy Tail, this was quite helpful, at the very least, it allowed Mr. Yajima to speak more confidently on Fairy Tail's behalf during Council sessions.
The other source was the smaller guilds.
Occasionally, small guilds would receive commissions beyond their abilities. Some would reject the jobs outright and help redirect the clients to bigger guilds. Others would attempt the task, and only after failing, pass it along to stronger guilds.
The regular meetings served as a convenient place to hand off these commissions.
Naturally, the guild masters allowed to participate in the draw were those recognized as capable enough to handle them, guilds like Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus.
And, of course, Fairy Tail, as one of Fiore's top guilds, had its responsibilities too.
Makarov hopped down from his chair, took a few steps forward, and suddenly turned back:
"Rhodes, you go for me."
"Me?" Rhodes blinked.
"Go on! My luck's terrible."
Makarov sighed. No matter how similar the difficulty of the tasks was, he somehow always ended up pulling the lowest-paying ones.
And every time he returned to the guild, the kids would tease him for never once drawing a good lot.
This time, Makarov wanted to confirm whether it was truly his bad luck, or if certain mischievous individuals like Goldmine were playing tricks on him.
Rhodes had no choice but to step forward to draw. The lot holder was a simple wooden box filled with bamboo sticks, looking very handmade, with no traces of magic.
Rhodes didn't intend to cheat. He simply reached in and drew one at random.
"Rhodes! You're too reliable!" Makarov shouted joyfully, nearly dancing with excitement.
At long last, he could see what a 'best' lot looked like!
Rhodes scratched his head, confused.
"Wait, I thought people were just joking when they said you drew 'bad-bad' lots. They actually write 'good-good' and 'bad-bad' on the sticks?"
"Yep!" Goldmine laughed without mercy.
"When we first came up with this system, Makarov thought it'd be funnier to label tasks of equal difficulty but different rewards with 'good-good' and 'bad-bad'.
And ever since then, he's always pulled 'bad-bad'!"
"But I just drew a good one!" Makarov was practically glowing with happiness.
Then he quickly grew aggrieved again.
Why was it that Rhodes managed to draw a good lot immediately Was his luck truly that bad?
With the lottery completed, the regular meeting came to a successful close.
That evening, a banquet was held as usual. Makarov eagerly went off to drink and chat with his old friends, pushing Rhodes to go socialize on his own and make some connections.
Rhodes suspected that the real reason was so no one would nag the Master about drinking too much.
Still, since the Master insisted, he wandered casually around the banquet hall.
After spending three days locked in the conference hall, seeing some familiar faces now didn't seem so bad.
One of the guild masters had brought along a beautiful young wizard. She shyly told Rhodes that she admired Mira and asked if she could get an autograph.
Rhodes thought about it and vaguely remembered seeing her in an issue of Sorcerer Weekly, but he couldn't recall much else.
He also didn't remember Mira being the type to hand out autographs, so he simply gave a perfunctory reply, saying he'd ask Mira about it when he got back.
Anyway, Rhodes didn't plan on attending the next regular meeting if he could help it.
Rhodes couldn't help but feel that the Master had shoved all the trouble onto him. From now on, when the next regular meeting rolled around, he figured he'd just grab a mission and make himself scarce.
That night, Rhodes once again had to take care of the drunken old man.
The next morning, the presidents said their goodbyes and left one after another.
Naturally, Rhodes boarded the train home with Makarov.
As soon as they were out of sight of the other guild masters, Makarov casually revealed his magic, changing out of the formal Saint Wizard cloak into a cozy winter coat with a flick of his hand.
Watching the smooth, enviably fast transformation, Rhodes said eagerly, "Master, teach me how to do that!"
Although Makarov might not match Erza in terms of Requip magic, what he demonstrated was much more practical and suited for someone like Rhodes.
After all, being good at something didn't necessarily mean you could teach it well.
"Welcome back, Master, Rhodes. You two must've had a tough trip."
Mira greeted them warmly with a smile.
If you ignored the battered tavern and the group of people sprawled unconscious on the floor, it was honestly a heartwarming sight.
Makarov sighed, "You're the one who's worked hard, staying back to take care of the guild. Is Erza around?"
Seeing that the Master clearly had something else to say, Rhodes stayed silent and simply winked at Mira from behind Makarov.
Mira smiled back but didn't respond. Instead, she answered the Master's question:
"Erza's gone to Heart Kreuz again. She said she wants to make some adjustments to her armor designs. She should be back later today."
"Hmph... these few days... Never mind." Makarov grumbled. "When Erza comes back, bring her and Rhodes to see me."
He had wanted to ask if anyone had caused trouble while they were gone, but after three days of constant apologizing at the meeting, he decided it could wait another day.
"No way, Master! Why am I getting dragged into this? I just got back!"
"Because you drew the lot," Makarov said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And if you and Erza team up, we're definitely going to beat that guy Goldmine!"
"That was just a drunken joke, wasn't it? Why are you taking it seriously?"
Makarov wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly started up the stairs.
"I wasn't drunk! I only had a little wine! That was a sober, serious decision! We have to show them how strong Fairy Tail is! Our Fairy Tail is the best guild in Fiore!"
Mira's smile turned sweet but sharp. "Master, didn't we agree to watch our drinking? What's this about drinking too much? And competitions?"
Realizing he had dug himself into a hole, Makarov fled upstairs in a panic, tossing the blame over his shoulder:
"Ask Rhodes! I'll explain everything when Erza gets back!"
Rhodes sighed. He glanced at Mira and thought to himself, well, it's not much of a punishment if it's her asking.
Mira tilted her head, looking confused. "What exactly happened?"
"Two old kids got into an argument, and now they're dragging us into a competition to prove whose 'child' is better..." Rhodes explained the entire story, recounting the events of the past few days, including how the Master talked in his sleep during the meeting and how he had to cover for him.
Mira chuckled as she listened, especially when Rhodes described how Makarov blurted out nonsense in his dreams and Rhodes had to smooth things over.
"Oh, right." Rhodes suddenly looked at her, smiled, and said, "I'm back."
"Welcome back." Mira replied without thinking. Then she blinked and asked, "Didn't I already say that once?"
Rhodes simply smiled without answering. Instead, he reached into his bag and pulled out a small package, the snacks he had brought back for her.
Mira's eyes softened. She hesitated for a moment, then lightly punched Rhodes on the arm.
Bonus Chapter @1.2K P.S
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