Big and Small Things

"Partner?" Wendy blinked. "Brother Rhodes isn't going with Sister Mira?"

Rhodes shrugged. "I can't. She's one of the examiners this year."

Mira smiled sweetly and summoned a devilish hand. "I won't go easy on you~"

"Huh?!" Wendy instinctively took a step back in alarm.

"Don't scare my partner off." Rhodes gently pushed Mira's arm away and turned her around by the shoulders. "Go on, go terrorize someone else."

Mira shot him a silent, smug smile over her shoulder, mouthing, 'You'll see later~'

Rhodes pretended not to notice.

Wendy fidgeted with her hands. "Is it really okay? Isn't the exam really important? I'm not that good at fighting…"

Rhodes smiled. "That's not what it's about. It's meant to test teamwork. You're a fantastic support mage, there's no better partner in the entire guild."

Wendy hesitated, then nodded with newfound resolve. "Then… I'll do my best!"

"I'll be counting on you."

Carla gave Rhodes a wary glance. "Don't push her too hard."

He shook his head. "Of course not. If you ever feel uncomfortable or tired, just say so. It's okay to step back. Nothing matters more than you enjoying yourself."

"HEY, RHODES! ARM WRESTLING!" Natsu suddenly yelled from across the room, rolling up his sleeve. "This time I'll crush you!"

But before Rhodes could respond, Elfman slammed his arm down on the table. "If it's arm wrestling, a real man has to take you on first!"

"Bring it!"

The guild's chaotic energy kicked back in full force.

That night, as was tradition in Fairy Tail, the entire guild fell asleep right where they partied, on the floor.

Wendy and Carla curled up in a quiet corner together, using their cloaks as makeshift blankets. Rhodes, being thoughtful, quietly summoned Warm, the fluffy white creature with fur so long it could cover them both like a warm blanket.

The next morning, Wendy made a decision.

"I'd like to stay in the girls' dormitory," she told Mira.

Most of the girls in the guild lived there, and Wendy figured it would be a good way to bond with everyone. While the dorm rent was a steep 100,000 J per month, Wendy could easily afford it.

During her time at Cait Shelter, she had spent almost nothing. The villagers lived simply, and while they earned little, any spare income, aside from what was lost to drinking, was lovingly given to Wendy.

On top of that, during the recent battle against Nirvana, Wendy and Carla had each received a reward of 1 million J.

In short, Wendy was secretly a little rich girl.

Certainly not like Lucy, who struggled every month to pay her rent.

Rhodes summoned two crabs to help carry Wendy's luggage to the dorm. Once they reached the front gate, Erza and Levy took over from there.

For some reason, Levy had taken a strong liking to Wendy, maybe because she was finally no longer the youngest girl in the guild.

Of course, returning to the guild also meant returning to responsibilities.

Bang!

Makarov slammed a towering stack of paperwork, almost as tall as he was, onto the front counter.

"I already cleared the urgent jobs," he announced. "These are what's left. Get them done by the end of the month. Good luck."

In other words, he had handled the bare minimum… and dumped the rest.

Rhodes sighed, "Master, you really work hard."

Mira smiled sweetly. "Yes, we already took care of all the truly urgent ones."

Makarov's wrinkled face flushed with guilt. Then he slumped pitifully and muttered, "You know the Magic Council's back in session, right? They sent a stack of complaints this thick! And each one means I have to write a self-criticism…"

He groaned. "The Council was paralyzed for over a month. Do you know how much trouble you lot caused in just that time?"

"Of course we know," Mira said cheerfully. "Didn't we warn you to start writing them early?"

Makarov's expression reminded Rhodes of himself during childhood, scrambling to finish homework the night before school started after summer break.

The old man looked around guiltily. "I figured… maybe the past would stay buried and I could slip through. Who knew they'd actually dig it all up again…"

"Come on, really?" Rhodes sighed.

With no other choice, Rhodes and Mira sat down and split the towering stack of documents evenly between them.

But before getting to work, they pulled out the newspapers from the past few days to catch up on current events.

The headline that dominated every paper was the resumption of the Magic Council.

The newly announced list of Council members included mostly unfamiliar names. The rest of the leadership had been entirely replaced.

Following internal investigations, some of the previous councilors had chosen retirement or exile, returning to their hometowns to live quiet lives. Others disappeared from the public eye altogether.

Ultear was still missing, either in hiding or on the run.

As for Jellal, he had been officially handed over to the Council by the Kingdom of Caelum. His crimes were considered so severe that his sentence could range from life imprisonment to the death penalty.

However, due to his unique ties to the old Council, further interrogation was required to assess what confidential information he may have leaked. But there was no progress for now, as Jellal remained in a coma and needed the care of an experienced mage-doctor before questioning could resume.

In the aftermath of the Council's internal audit, the infiltration scandal involving a spy had caused a major stir. The new Council issued a public statement promising strict security measures to prevent such breaches from happening again.

Toward the back pages, the newspapers covered the incident involving the alliance of local guilds forming a coalition to take down the Oración Seis.

Surprisingly, the Magic Council didn't stir up controversy over it. Instead, they diplomatically stated that the operation had been a justified emergency response. The media, naturally, followed up by praising the coalition's swift and decisive action.

The new Council even went as far as to promise that if the Balam Alliance sought retaliation because of this incident, they would step in to support and protect the legal guilds under pressure.

Compared to the total annihilation of Oración Seis, one of the three major dark guild powers, the report on Rhodes and Mira taking down Erigor and eliminating the Black Unicorns barely made waves.

There was no mention of the Mountain Dragon or the Purgatory Dragon in the press, perhaps because the Council was honoring its promise to keep it confidential, or maybe they had their own reasons for withholding it.

Rhodes didn't mind. Sooner or later, the people who mattered would know the truth.

As he skimmed the pages, Mira suddenly spoke up.

"How's the area across the canal?"

"…What?"

"Strawberry Street. I heard from Chico that someone's putting a house up for sale there."

"Strawberry Street…" Rhodes paused. They had just been reading something serious, and now the conversation had taken a sudden turn, but this was important too. "Isn't that where Lucy lives?"

"Mm-hmm. It's just about 300 meters from her place," Mira said. "I think the location's pretty good. Close to the shopping district, convenient for work…"

Her voice grew softer. A slight blush rose to her cheeks as she spoke.

Lately, she found herself imagining more and more about married life, sometimes exciting, sometimes peaceful, sometimes sweet, and even the occasional little argument.

Rhodes caught the change in her tone and smiled. "Let's take a look after work, okay? If it feels right, we can move on it early."

He took her hand in both of his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

By now, holding hands didn't give the same heart-racing thrill as when they first got together, but with the wedding approaching, every small gesture held a deeper warmth.

...

Bonus Chapter