Arrangements!

Erza was always like this. Even if what she said sounded far-fetched, she truly believed it with all her heart.

Mira chuckled. "Maybe Erza really does believe she passed the S-Class exam thanks to sheer perseverance."

"Of course I do!" Erza nodded without hesitation. Then she glanced over, puzzled. "Mira, wasn't that what you believed too?"

"Oh my... maybe so." Mira wasn't shy about reminiscing these days. She smiled and nodded in agreement.

Rhodes watched her and thought her expression seemed to say, "Erza's innocence is... oddly endearing."

But not everyone was feeling cheerful. Cana, after a long break from drinking, picked up her barrel again, took a few large gulps, and then stumbled over to the counter.

"I... I think I want to quit the guild."

She sounded completely dejected and even let out a hiccup mid-sentence.

Erza saw the look on her face and didn't have the heart to lecture her. "Cana," she said softly, "no matter what, saying you want to quit... that's going too far."

"But I've failed the S-Class exam three times!" Cana pointed accusingly at each of them. "Erza... Mira... and Mystogan! Why do I always get matched up with monsters like you?"

"Please don't point at me when you mention Mystogan," Rhodes muttered, then offered gently, "Look on the bright side. None of those 'monsters' are competing this year. If you're selected again, this might finally be your year."

Cana blinked blearily. That... actually made sense.

All the heavy hitters had already "graduated." Maybe this year was different.

She slammed her hand on the counter. "Mira, give me a job! I'm ready!"

Mira smiled kindly. "Of course you can—but you'll have to sober up first."

"I am sober!"

...

Elfman hadn't joined the rush to grab missions. Instead, he spent the evening training alongside Mira and Rhodes.

That sparring match he'd asked for earlier? Still happening. He genuinely wanted to test himself.

Mira acted as both coach and referee.

Rhodes didn't need to hold back out of fear of upsetting Mira. In fact, if he didn't go all out or hesitated, she'd correct him on the spot.

Elfman, on the other hand... well, he didn't have a problem with holding back.

The Strauss siblings took their training very seriously.

Mira tried using her Take Over magic again, but as usual, it consumed a considerable amount of magic for little result.

This time, though, she had help.

Rhodes summoned the Blue Sentinel and cast the Crest of Insight, channeling magic restoration to support her attempts.

Elfman's jaw dropped. "That's... your new summon?!"

The golem's sheer size, bathed in blue light, gave off an overwhelming pressure. For a moment, Elfman felt like he was staring down the king of beasts.

Was Rhodes really this strong now?

Perhaps Rhodes still separated the strength of his summoned beasts from his own personal power.

But to everyone else, this was his magic. It was his strength.

Mira, still under the effects of the Crest of Insight, felt her magical energy surging back into her body with surprising speed.

"A magic that restores mana...Isn't this supposed to be something only Sky Magic can do??"

"Isn't that Lost Magic?" Elfman asked, eyes wide. He didn't know Wendy well, but he'd heard of Sky Magic before. "That's... that's manly!"

Rhodes gave the golem a firm pat on its ankle—any higher and he wouldn't have reached.

"I only managed to summon this big guy today. The Crest of Insight is a unique secondary ability. The Master said it's an additional effect."

"It's really something." Mira studied the glowing blue sigils circling around her. "With support magic like this, more and more people will want to team up with you."

"I won't complain about that," Rhodes said with a grin. "Actually, Elfman, you up for a mission? I spent way too much on winter gear now that the weather's changing. Time to earn it back."

"Teaming up? With me?"

It seemed Mira hadn't yet told Elfman about her plan for him.

Rhodes seized the opportunity. "Yeah, everyone's been doing solo work lately, and it's been tough finding a reliable partner. Just consider it doing me a favor."

Mira shot Rhodes a look, scrunching her nose in mock disapproval. It didn't carry a hint of real anger—in fact, it looked more like a teasing pout.

"But what about helping Mira—"

"It's fine, Elfman," Mira interrupted gently. "Today was the busiest it'll get. Things will settle down soon, and I won't need as much help."

"Exactly," Rhodes added. "And when things do pile up, we can always recruit the Master for backup."

Rhodes glanced at Elfman and felt a flicker of fondness. Not bad at all. He hadn't expected it, but somewhere along the way, he'd started enjoying Elfman's company.

Maybe a few more missions together wouldn't hurt. They could grow stronger—and closer—as a team.

Mira stood on tiptoe to straighten Rhodes' collar. "Go ahead and pick a task tomorrow. Just treat it like a little outing."

Rhodes nodded. "Worst case, I'll take a short-distance mission and be back the same day—or the next."

"Alright," Elfman agreed. The two, perfectly in sync, had the whole thing planned out.

...

Early the next morning, Rhodes stood before the request board—side by side with Nab.

Nab never seemed to take any missions, but he still showed up like clockwork.

Thanks to yesterday's mission rush, large swathes of the request board were already cleared. All that remained were a few ragged edges of parchment, clinging stubbornly where they'd been hastily torn.

Most of the missions that were short-distance, low-risk, and well-paying were already gone. Not surprising—those were always the ones that vanished first.

After all, everyone wanted performance metrics, and the best way to do that was with jobs that were nearby, paid well, and weren't too much trouble.

After a while, Rhodes gave up browsing and wandered back behind the counter, resting his chin in his hand as he watched Mira.

She raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Weren't you looking for a job?"

"Already did. Everyone else beat me to the good ones," Rhodes sighed. "So I figured I'd just wait for you to go through the new requests and grab one of those instead."

"What? Just admit you're being lazy," Mira teased, closing the account book and pulling out a stack of requests.

Then, as if recalling something, she added, "But if I remember correctly, someone once said this kind of thing is an abuse of power."

Rhodes waved a hand, playing it off. "That someone must've been idealistic and naive. Luckily, I'm now the assistant to the assistant of the guild master, so if I help you post the job first and then immediately tear it off as 'Mage Rhodes,' it's totally procedural.

And for the sake of improving guild efficiency, we can... let's say streamline some unnecessary steps. Perfectly justifiable."

Mira chuckled, then began sorting through the papers. She selected a few that were already complete and fit Rhodes' criteria, handing them to him.

As for the ones that were incomplete or poorly written, she either amended the details herself or rewrote them entirely—correcting info like date, location, pay, client name, and task summary.

Rhodes glanced through the stack and gave a theatrical sigh. "And thus, the righteous mage Rhodes has fallen—corrupted by the wicked temptress Mirajane."

Mira, smiling sweetly, stepped lightly on his foot in retaliation.