Mira carefully checked over Rhodes' injuries again, and after confirming they really weren't as bad as they looked, just as he'd said, she let out a quiet breath of relief.
Once the bandages were replaced and the medicine reapplied, the number of wrappings around him had reduced noticeably. He no longer looked like a walking mummy.
"What kind of enemy could leave you, Erza, and Natsu that beaten up even after fighting together?" Mira asked.
"It was that demon, Carniber. I mentioned it earlier during the party."
"You barely said anything. It was so vague I couldn't picture the battle at all."
"Alright then," Rhodes grinned. "I'll give you the full story... right after I remember it."
Mira narrowed her eyes. "You forgot?"
Rhodes looked at her earnestly. "I need a hug to jog my memory."
"No." Mira crossed her arms. "I still smell like alcohol."
Rhodes smiled playfully. "What a coincidence. I smell like medicine."
Whether it was the lingering warmth of the wine or the mood of the moment, Mira hesitated briefly, then sat down beside him and leaned gently against his shoulder.
Rhodes bravely wrapped his arm around her, and instantly, both of their hearts skipped a beat.
Alone in the infirmary, with the girl he liked resting against him, Rhodes briefly entertained a very bold thought.
But it remained just a thought.
They sat in silence for a moment, sharing not just warmth, but heartbeats—each unsure if they were feeling their own emotions, or each other's.
Eventually, Mira broke the silence. "So, do you remember now?"
"A little," Rhodes replied shamelessly. "Don't move. It's helping."
Mira lifted her hand threateningly, then remembered he was still injured and didn't want to hit him. Instead, she settled for giving his uninjured arm a firm pinch.
But she didn't pull away.
Rhodes held her a little tighter, and the mixed scent of alcohol, medicine, and the faint fragrance of her hair was strangely comforting.
"It all started when we split up for the investigation..."
He began to recount everything, from how they discovered signs of the seal weakening, to the moment they encountered Carniber, to the brutal teamwork it took to finally bring the demon down. He even threw in a few dramatic flourishes, as if telling a fireside tale.
Of course, he glossed over the parts where he got hurt the worst. But Mira could tell, every time the story brushed against danger, her grip on his shirt tightened.
As he neared the end of the tale, Mira's voice dropped to a whisper. "In the future..."
She wanted to say something, maybe that he shouldn't take on missions like that anymore, but stopped herself.
She knew he didn't need the reminder. The mission had been unexpected, a twist of fate. And she still felt the weight of what happened to Liz.
"I know," Rhodes said quietly, as if reading her mind.
Sensing the mood darkening, he shifted the topic. "Why don't you tell me what happened here while I was gone?"
Mira had a feeling he just didn't want to let go of her, but she didn't move away either. She leaned against him and smiled softly as she began to recount guild stories.
Like how Alzack and Bisca had tried pretending to be a couple on a stakeout, but both were so hopelessly shy that they nearly ruined the whole mission. Even so, they managed to catch the troublemaker in the end.
For instance, Mickey had punched a guy who tried to hit on her the other day, declaring she didn't like men who were too weak. Now Mira was half-jokingly thinking of encouraging Elfman to challenge her.
Then there was Joey, still losing teeth like always. While dancing, Vijeeter accidentally stepped on one of Joey's teeth, slipped, and the two ended up in a brawl right in the middle of the guild.
There were countless little stories like that. Mira and Rhodes chatted and laughed well into the early morning, sharing guild gossip, heartwarming anecdotes, and ridiculous moments.
Eventually, Mira yawned and rubbed her eyes, finally feeling drowsy. She glanced at the wall clock.
"It's really that late... Let's get some sleep."
They both dozed off for a while on the infirmary beds, catching a short nap before morning came and duties resumed.
Rhodes, however, did find one thing worth complaining about: why did the infirmary only have two beds?
The next morning, the usual chaos resumed. The guild slowly woke up, groggy and noisy. First came the routine bickering, then the complaints:
"Who keeps doing stuff ? It's so annoying!"
All while they cleaned up and restored the guild hall to its original state.
This time, Rhodes was determined to take it easy. He planned to rest up and let his wounds fully heal before diving back into any new jobs.
Natsu and Happy had made enough money from the mission that they didn't have to worry about food for quite a while. Neither planned to leave town anytime soon, unless, of course, there was a lead on a dragon.
Still, even if Natsu was hanging around, there wasn't much danger of the guild being flattened.
Because Erza wouldn't be leaving for a while either.
Several of her armors had been damaged in the battle, and repairs were going to take time. On top of that, Mira had whispered to Rhodes that most of Erza's armors needed readjusting.
Apparently, Erza had matured a bit, and her figure had changed slightly, her older sets now felt a bit... snug.
Rhodes blinked and said he didn't quite get what Mira meant.
But based on what he knew, Mira and Erza had been neck-and-neck since childhood, in every way.
He was also mildly curious about just how expensive it would be to get all those armors resized.
As they sat behind the counter, Mira busied herself tallying up yesterday's revenue while Rhodes sorted through new job requests.
Mira let out another yawn. "I'm starting to feel drowsy again."
"Well, if you need to nap again, my shoulder's always open," Rhodes offered with a grin, yawning himself. He suspected Mira's yawn had passed to him like some kind of sleepy contagion.
"Huh? Wait, no... this feeling is..."
Before she could finish, a wave of sleepiness, laced with subtle hypnosis magic, swept over them both, blurring the line between natural fatigue and enchantment.
Rhodes had just begun to sense something unusual when Mira slumped forward.
Catching her gently, he adjusted their position into something more comfortable, and despite a faint, half-hearted resistance, he let himself drift off too.
This time, just before his eyes shut, he caught a glimpse of someone entering the guild.
As usual, Mystogan walked straight to the bulletin board without a word, selected a job request, and held it up toward the second floor to show the Master.
Then he turned and headed for the exit, not pausing for even a breath.
"Wait a moment, I need a word," Makarov called out from above.
Mystogan stopped and stood quietly, waiting.
"Do you remember a girl named Wendy?" the Master asked.
Mystogan's reaction said it all.
"If you get a chance, visit Cait Shelter. That child's been looking for someone named 'Jellal.' If no one steps in, she might fall into the wrong hands."
Makarov had his suspicions about that councilor, Siegrain. Something about the man didn't sit right with him, but suspicion alone wasn't enough to take action.
Erza seemed to know something as well, but if she wasn't saying, then it likely wasn't a threat to the guild.
"Understood," Mystogan replied.
He thought back to the girl he met when he first arrived in this world. She had the same shade of blue hair as him. At the time, he remembered thinking: It might be nice to have a little sister like her.
Back then, his name had still been Jellal.
But his path was a dangerous one—one that required distance, secrecy, and long absences. He couldn't bring Wendy along with him.
Still... she had joined a guild now. There was no harm in checking in on her.
Mystogan stepped through the guild's front doors. With a light snap of his fingers, he dispelled the lingering sleep magic, and vanished.
Guild members slowly began to stir, yawns giving way to groans as complaints echoed through the main hall.
Natsu was the first to leap to his feet and bolt outside.
He came back shortly after, pouting. "Tch... I can't even catch his scent. How does he do that?!"
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