"Good morning, Brother Goodman, and who is this?"
As Rhodes came downstairs, he saw a lady busy working alongside Goodman.
"Morning. This is my wife, Molly." Goodman first introduced his wife, then introduced Rhodes. "This is Mr. Rhodes I mentioned to you, the one renting our second floor."
"Hello, Mr. Rhodes. My husband says you're a very skilled wizard."
"Hello. I've also heard Brother Goodman say he has a virtuous and beautiful wife. I didn't expect you to surpass his description by so much."
Mrs. Molly glanced at Goodman, a bit embarrassed. "You're too kind."
Behind her, Goodman gave a thumbs-up, then said earnestly:
"Since we might be quite busy these days, I asked her to come help out. Later, we can also stroll around the festival together."
Rhodes said enviously, "You two have such a good relationship."
This couple, whose children were already old enough to "buy soy sauce," actually felt a bit shy when Rhodes said that.
Rhodes bid farewell to this loving couple and headed to the guild.
On the way, he encountered two wizards fighting, knocking over a roadside stall.
He wanted to intervene, but the shop owner himself grabbed the two and scolded them. The two guys obediently apologized and paid for the damages.
After being forgiven, they resumed fighting in the middle of the street.
Rhodes looked at the guild marks on them—sure enough, they were from Fairy Tail.
He tugged at his sleeve to cover his own guild mark and casually walked around them as if nothing had happened.
Rhodes didn't know these people.
Today, the guild was slightly quieter than yesterday because Natsu still didn't have the energy to cause a ruckus.
Happy, acting nonchalant, finished his own fish and then went to take the regular food that Natsu had ordered.
Rhodes ruffled Natsu's cherry-colored hair, finding it quite pleasant to touch. "Why does it seem like Natsu's condition has worsened? Didn't he rest well yesterday?"
Natsu weakly said, "I won't forgive you, Rhodes..."
"Huh? Won't forgive me? Isn't it Laxus you won't forgive?"
"Aye! Because yesterday, Rhodes left Natsu in Erza's care." Happy munched on Natsu's breakfast, eating with great relish.
"Ha... haha..." Rhodes laughed awkwardly. "When Erza gets serious, she should be able to take care of people, right?"
"Aye! Because Erza saw Natsu suffering and felt sorry for him, so she knocked him unconscious." Happy paused and added, "Five times."
"I'm sorry, it's my fault!" Rhodes realized he had underestimated Erza's eccentricity.
He thought at most she'd playfully bump helmets or wrap him in bandages; he didn't expect her to be so heavy-handed.
He couldn't imagine if Erza became a mother in the future, and her child fell and couldn't get up, would she draw her sword on the spot:
"Can't stand up? Looks like your leg is broken. Hold still, Mommy will help you amputate. If you're afraid of pain, Mommy can knock you out first before cutting."
Rhodes shivered; Mira was definitely better.
Laki called out from the counter, "Rhodes, come over quickly! Mira has something good to show you!"
Mira showed Rhodes the photo album and sketchbook in her hands.
"You've already found them?" Rhodes looked expectantly as she opened the sketchbook.
The appearance of the guild from a few years ago unfolded before Rhodes, page by page.
Warm anxiously circled around Rhodes's feet.
As its body size expanded, its jumping ability had greatly decreased. Now, it struggled to even get onto a stool, let alone the counter.
Rhodes had to pick it up so it could look along.
"Wow, this is from a few years ago?"
Mira thought for a moment. "About four or five years ago? This drawing was made by Reedus when Natsu had just found Happy's egg and insisted it was a dragon egg."
Rhodes looked closely. "So this is Happy? The color matches."
Laki pointed at Natsu. "Natsu's scarf has always been that one."
Mira said, "Because it was given to him by his foster father. It's a very important scarf."
Rhodes skipped over this somewhat sad topic. "Gray really has liked taking off his clothes since he was little, and Erza has been wearing armor since she was young."
Laki said, "Erza was this cute back then."
Rhodes asked, "Laki, when did you join the guild? Haven't you seen what Erza looked like as a child?"
"About two years ago, I think. Back then, Erza was already about the same as now." Laki seemed a bit regretful.
After a pause, Laki added, "Just looking at this drawing, Macao was quite handsome back then. Did Reedus get bribed by him?"
Mira laughed, "No, Macao really looked like that when he was young."
"The guild master hasn't changed much..." Laki nudged Rhodes with her elbow. "Hey, after looking for so long, don't tell me you haven't recognized which one is Mira?"
"Ah... not exactly. It's just that her demeanor is so different now, it's hard to believe."
Rhodes asked, "Mira, did you not get along with Reedus back then?"
"Not at all. Reedus drew very well. Except for Happy, everyone looks exactly the same."
Mira looked at herself in the drawing and asked, "What do you think? Were you scared?"
Rhodes shook his head. "Not exactly scared. It's another kind of cuteness, just a bit different from what I imagined."
"Was the Gentle Girl Next Door I Like Once a Delinquent?"
Seems a bit like Sawa-chan.
Mira flipped through the sketchbook and album page by page, explaining the stories behind the drawings.
When turning to her own past photos, she occasionally glanced at Rhodes's reactions.
Rhodes felt a bit complicated; he realized he didn't know enough about Mira.
He tried hard to remember these bits of information that weren't very useful—not just for Mira, but also because he yearned for those interesting memories everyone shared.
At some point, Erza noticed them and came over to look as well.
"It seems a lot happened; it's a bit nostalgic."
As she spoke, Erza was looking at a picture where she stood in the middle, with Natsu and Gray each pouting and looking to the sides.
They had expressions of not wanting to take a photo together but not daring to defy Erza.
"Why did even this drawing get kept?" Gray immediately spotted a drawing where he had a big bump on his head.
Mira said, "Because they're all precious memories, and they're very interesting."
"Yes, yes!" Erza folded her arms and nodded earnestly.
Only Gray didn't want to recall those times.
"Even Laxus was so cute back then." Laki found a small Laxus.
Rhodes looked at the lively and adorable Laxus and wondered, "When did that guy start becoming the way he is now?"
Gray said, "Who knows? Maybe it was after the guild master drove away his son, Laxus's father."
Erza said, "Gray, the guild master doesn't want us to talk about this."
Rhodes patted Gray's shoulder and pointed behind him.
Gray turned to see his clothes, then looked down at his own boxer shorts. "When did that happen!?"