Drama Queen

Over the next two days, Rhodes and Mira continued their house hunt.

One property near the cathedral was nearly perfect in terms of location and condition, but the price was astronomical. Being in the heart of Magnolia's city center came at a hefty cost. The other was tucked at the base of a hill behind the girls' dormitory. While peaceful, it felt too remote and isolated.

After some hesitation, they agreed to keep searching. Their future home, they decided, deserved a little more patience.

Meanwhile, Lucy had a rare taste of carefree life, rent-free life, to be exact.

With the reward money easing her monthly anxieties, she spent her days lounging in the guild without a care. The sheer luxury of not constantly worrying about rent was intoxicating.

Now she understood why the guild tavern was always full of lazy wizards: work three days, rest ten. What a way to live.

Wendy and Carla, on the other hand, had been exploring Magnolia. With some help from Rhodes and Mira, who prepared detailed shopping guides and city maps, they'd been busy collecting daily necessities.

After all, Rhodes and Mira had been the guild's go-to procurement duo for years. They knew where to shop, where to eat, and even where to catch the best sunsets. Their maps were practically treasure maps.

Wendy sat at the guild's front counter with a large city map spread open. Dozens of red circles marked places they had visited. Lines drawn in bright ink traced the paths they'd walked through Magnolia's winding streets.

Carla stood beside her, turning down Happy's latest invitation for a date. She claimed she wanted to spend time with Wendy, though it was clear she also preferred avoiding Happy's antics. She returned to studying the map intently.

Happy, rejected yet again, pouted and sulked off toward the corner, sharing a fish snack with Plue. Rhodes watched the scene and whispered to Mira, "I'm starting to think he's just using that excuse to mooch food."

"How's dorm life?" Mira asked Wendy warmly.

"It's really nice," Wendy said with a smile. "Everyone's been kind to me."

She'd quickly made friends with dormmates like Erza, Levy, and Juvia. She'd also met Bisca, Evergreen, and Laki, though she admitted that some of their room decor was a bit terrifying. There were certain rooms she had no intention of visiting alone.

"What about the guild? No one causing trouble for you?" Mira asked protectively, ready to go full big sister if needed.

"No… There are a lot of strange people," Wendy admitted, "but no one has bullied me. I like how lively it is here."

Of course, she'd almost been caught in the occasional brawl or fireball, but that just seemed to be part of the Fairy Tail experience. She didn't mind.

Only Carla grumbled. "It's too noisy. I feel like my ears are going to fall off."

Rhodes grinned. "Want some Poro Delights? New flavor dropped yesterday, grilled fish. You could help Cook test it out."

Carla eyed him suspiciously. "Do I look like a child to you?"

He held up a piece about the size of her face. "Just one bite? Free sample. Honest review. Cook will be thrilled."

"Fine. I'll help. Just this once." Carla took it with exaggerated reluctance and began nibbling.

The others burst out laughing. A fluffy white cat trying to daintily eat a snack twice her size was a sight to behold.

They chatted for a while longer. Rhodes took the opportunity to introduce Wendy to several guild members, describing each with a little summary to help her remember them better.

"Ah, you're back?" Cana strolled over to the counter, a half-empty wine bottle in hand as she dropped into a chair with a familiar thud.

She had taken a short-term job right before Rhodes and the others returned, serving as a temporary security guard at a bar for a couple of days.

Rhodes raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we be asking you that? You were supposed to be back two days ago."

Cana laughed, clearly in good spirits. "Well, the bar owner was a little too friendly. Insisted on hosting me properly before I left."

Rhode's eyes narrowed at the bottle she was holding. It looked pricey. "Don't tell me you blew all your earnings again on-site?"

"Of course not!" Cana said with mock indignation, then added, "I only spent... ninety percent."

"Ha..." Rhodes sighed, flipping through a stack of task requests on the desk. After a moment, he pulled one free and held it out to her. "Here, this one's for you."

Cana eyed it suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Two highway robbers, bounty job. Decent reward. Quick turnaround," Rhodes said matter-of-factly. "And let's be honest, you're going to run out of money again real soon."

Cana smacked her palm on the counter, clearly offended. "Finances are a personal matter! You should learn some boundaries, y'know? Don't calculate my budget so accurately!"

"That's simple," Rhodes said with a smirk. "Just don't take jobs from me, don't use guild funds, and maybe stop burning through all your savings the moment you get paid. Then I'll have no way to track anything."

"Tch… fine! I'll go ask Mira for a task instead!" Cana snapped back, like a kid trying to win an argument they were clearly losing.

Mira chuckled warmly from the side, watching the two bicker. She didn't seem to mind Cana's antics, nor did Cana make any real move to go fetch a task sheet.

Instead, she pulled out a small bundle of cash from her coat and slammed it on the table. "Whatever! If I've got money today, I'm drinking today! Tomorrow's problems can wait until tomorrow!"

"Another weirdo…" Carla muttered as she wrinkled her nose and retreated into Wendy's arms, clearly offended by Cana's heavy scent of alcohol.

Wendy hugged her partner protectively. "Carla, that's rude to say out loud."

"It's fine. This kind of talk isn't considered rude around here," Rhodes said casually, unfazed. He turned to Wendy and Carla and introduced with a smirk, "This is Cana, the infamous drunk of our guild. Just be careful not to get too close when she's drunk or she might accidentally knock you out."

"Hey!" Cana snapped, not denying her drinking habits but protesting the slander. "Who are you? Children, and a female happy?"

Wendy glanced down at herself, then up at Cana's exposed chest barely hidden beneath her open coat. With a pout, she couldn't bring herself to argue the "kid" part.

Carla, however, folded her arms with annoyance. "Don't compare me to a male cat!"

"This is Wendy and Carla. They just joined the guild officially," Rhodes explained. "You probably saw them last year... not that I'd bet on whether you were sober."

Cana scratched her head. "Can't say I remember, but hey, nice to meet you! Want a drink? My treat. I've got enough for a few rounds!"

"Cana..." Mira stepped in, her tone patient but firm. "Wendy is twelve."

Cana paused, did a quick mental calculation, and then shrugged. "Twelve, huh? So just one more year to go. No big deal."

"Huh? Next year...?" Wendy tilted her head in confusion.

"Don't listen to her," Mira said quickly, putting a protective arm around Wendy. Then, turning back to Cana, she added with a knowing smile, "If I remember right, you started drinking at thirteen."

"So what? There's no law against it!" Cana shot back, completely unapologetic.

"That doesn't mean you should drag Wendy down with you."

Cana gave Mira a look. "You're sounding a lot like Lucy today."

"Really?" Mira lit up, almost too pleased. Then, with a dramatic sigh, she added, "Maybe it's because Rhodes has been spending so much time with Lucy lately... Maybe he likes girls like that..."

Rhodes let out a chuckle. It wasn't the accusation that amused him, but the way Mira pouted while saying it.

It wasn't jealousy, it was performance art.

Cana elbowed him teasingly. "Wow, look at you. Balancing two girls at once, and one of them's Mira? You've got guts."

Rhodes shook his head and replied calmly, "You don't get it."

Cana narrowed her eyes at him. "Tch... That look in your eyes is seriously creepy sometimes."