Chapter 135: You Can't Just Go Get Injured So the Guild Master Takes You In, Can You?

The patrons in the cafe turned their attention to them. The two apologized in low voices for disturbing the other guests.

Rhodes sat back down, continuing to glare at Alzack.

Alzack apologized without hesitation, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I just wanted to see how you do things, so I followed you… I promise it won't happen again!"

Rhodes was puzzled, "Then how come I looked for so long and still couldn't find you? Even Mira didn't notice."

Alzack, embarrassed, explained, "Well… it's because I'm proficient in gun magic, and my best tactics are beating enemies from a distance. So, to match my combat style, I've also learned some skills in concealment and observation."

"Concealment and observation… Are you sure it's not just stalking and peeping skills?" Rhodes thought for a moment—those skills could be useful to him, too.

Alzack raised his hand, "I swear it was the first time I've ever used those skills like that! And it'll be the last!"

"Thanks a lot." Rhodes replied with irritation.

The first time he ever stalked someone, it had to be Rhodes? Should he feel grateful?

Thanks to Alzack, Rhodes had spent half the walk focusing on finding the stalker—time that would have been much better spent enjoying Mira's presence.

Alzack knew he was in the wrong and had a favor to ask, so he apologized over and over again, even opening the menu and telling Rhodes to order whatever he wanted.

Even if Rhodes ordered everything on the menu, Alzack was prepared to take the hit. Worst case, he'd have to stay and beg the owner, Chico, who would be back at the guild later.

Rhodes wasn't that ruthless, so he just ordered three expensive desserts—one for eating now and two to-go.

Seeing Alzack's pained expression made Rhodes decide to let the stalking incident slide.

The free desserts tasted even better.

Only then did Alzack return to the topic of relationships.

On this, Rhodes really didn't have much advice. He didn't quite understand Alzack's way of thinking.

If you like Bisca, just go talk to her, invite her out to eat, walk around the town—simple, right?

And if it's too hard to just ask, find an excuse, like, "My cat can do a backflip. Wanna come see?"

But none of this helped Alzack, because for him, the hardest part was simply starting the conversation.

"Why don't you write her a letter then? You can always put your thoughts down when you're not face-to-face, right?"

Alzack looked dejected, "I can't do that either. Just thinking about writing to her feels like she's standing right in front of me."

"..." Incredible imagination—wasn't this what people meant by "seeing a letter, seeing the person"? Except now it's seeing your own writing, and imagining the person you want to see.

"So what do you really want, for Bisca to come to you herself?"

"If that could happen…" Alzack thought that was asking too much. He then asked, "How did things start between you and Mira?"

"Actually, Mira and I haven't really started anything yet…" Rhodes saw the disbelief on Alzack's face, so he continued, "If I had to say, it started when I first woke up in the guild and she took care of me.

But it's not like you can just go get yourself attacked by a wild beast, have the guild master bring you back, and then have Bisca happen to be assigned to take care of you, right?"

"I see…" Alzack propped his chin on his hand, seriously considering it.

"Hey! Get a grip!"

This guy was hopeless.

Rhodes thought carefully about his own experiences, and said, "I've been cared for by Mira since I joined the guild, working together and chatting a lot. If there has been even a tiny bit of progress, it might have been during our first mission together."

Rhodes wasn't really sure.

Anyway, since then, things had felt a bit closer, and there were always good reasons to invite her out to eat or do something together.

"So, just gather your courage and invite her to form a team…"

Speaking of teaming up, Alzack became even more downcast. "I recently messed up, and the guild master told me to rest for a while."

"..." Oh, that might be my fault. Rhodes tasted a tinge of guilt in the sweetness of his cake.

"Well, that's fine—use this time to gather some courage, and also look for a suitable mission."

Rhodes tried to make up for it, "I'll keep an eye out for you, too. If you still can't ask by the end of the month, I'll help you."

Alzack perked up, "That's great! Thanks, Rhodes. You really are the most reliable summoner!"

What does this have to do with being a summoner?

"Good luck then." Rhodes brought the two packed desserts back to share with Mira, and Mira treated him to one of Cook's new drinks.

Rhodes felt joy, and Alzack found hope.

Everyone had a bright future ahead.

…

After that day, Rhodes made it a habit to observe Alzack's progress in building up his courage.

That observation lasted all the way to the end of the month.

This guy was totally impervious to motivation. While Rhodes was busy learning how to fly using the Talonbird form, Alzack hadn't managed to gather enough courage to take even one step.

On October 31st, Alzack came to Rhodes, hesitating and awkward, asking for help again.

"Sigh…" Rhodes sighed and looked at Makarov, "Master, I want to team up with Alzack for a mission."

"Alright, no problem!" Makarov, who had been dozing off, instantly perked up, "When do you want to set out? Need a magic book or a magic crystal?"

Rhodes squinted at him, "Are you that eager to kick me out?"

"Hahaha, of course not! I just thought Alzack's break was long enough."

Makarov wouldn't admit that he was hoping for one less person in the guild monitoring his drinking.

"It's the mission to apprehend the mountain bandit gang, so we don't need magic books."

Makarov's face brightened. Had Rhodes turned over a new leaf?

"…Not too many, anyway."

Fine, some things were just too difficult to change.

Makarov nodded, "Whatever you need. Mira, what's the situation?"

"The information says the bandit group has over sixty members—won't it be a bit much with just the two of you?"

Mira winked at Rhodes, signaling him to not just focus on explosive magic crystals—remember the plan.

Rhodes nodded, "That's true. Are there any guild members whose abilities would complement ours?"

Alzack hadn't quite caught on yet. Weren't they supposed to be teaming up with Bisca? Why was it just the two of them now?

Hearing they would bring in someone else, Alzack quickly looked at Mira with hopeful eyes.

Bisca… Bisca… Alzack silently repeated the name he wanted to hear the most, wishing he could learn communication magic on the spot to send it straight into Mira's head.

"The bandits have taken over a place with treacherous terrain, so long-range attacks would be more suitable."

Seeing the joy on Alzack's face, Mira quickly added, "But you two already have long-range attacks.

How about inviting Natsu and Happy? They'd add close-range power and can also attack from the air."

Alzack's face turned red—not that teaming up with Natsu was bad, but it wasn't what he had hoped for!

Rhodes was also puzzled—why wasn't she following the script?

Then he saw the mischievous smile on Mira's face—oh, he understood.

Rhodes said, "That makes sense, but Natsu's been working hard this month—he deserves a break, and teaming up with him can be exhausting."

Mira thought for a moment, "I see. What about Gray? You've worked with him before; he's strong, and he's good both in close and mid-to-long range."

Rhodes looked at her, trying to communicate with his eyes: Aren't you done yet? Alzack's about to cry.

Mira looked back at him, holding up one finger, signaling this was the last time.

"Gray already planned a mission with Loke over ten days ago."

Rhodes sighed, pretending to be disappointed, "We just need someone good at long-range combat—my close-range skills are good enough."

"Then maybe Bisca?" Mira finally said the name Alzack had been longing to hear, "She hasn't gone on a mission in a week—she might be worried about rent."

Makarov looked at the young people going back and forth and couldn't quite figure out what they were playing at.

Since when did Mira start suggesting team-ups and even consider tactics for them?