Listening to Mira talk about a lot of ordinary little things, Rhode went from 'playing along with expressions', to occasionally chiming in, and then to discussing with her with a smile whether 'Erza's armor designer might have a hard time'.
His mood clearly improved a lot.
Having someone by your side to help ease your mind when you're worried is a great fortune.
"Thank you."
Mira leaned sideways, propping her hand on the counter and resting her cheek as she looked at him, deliberately asking, "Thank me for what?"
Does she know how good she looks like this? Rhode smiled holding her cup, "Thank you for treating me to juice."
"Hmm hmm." Mira continued to ask, "Is it just for that?"
Rhode asked, "Did the President or Erza ever talk to you about the S-Class exams?"
"Oh, that. They mentioned a few things, the President said you all did very well." Mira thought for a moment and asked, "Are you wondering if there was something you didn't do well enough, and that's why you couldn't help Kana pass?"
Rhode thought for a moment, "Hmm… not completely right."
Mira continued, "Then, is it also because…
Even though you were mentally prepared, it still felt a bit disappointing to confirm in person that you couldn't win against Laxus even when you gave it your all?"
"A little, but that's fine." Rhode said, "I have a clear goal for my training progress and how to become stronger in the future, so I shouldn't be too troubled by this for now."
After only half a year of learning magic and being able to exchange a few moves with an S-Class, Rhode was actually quite satisfied with his progress.
Though still not strong enough, isn't he always working hard?
"If that's the case…" Mira glanced at Kana, who was holding a barrel of wine, "The last thing is worrying about Kana's state, afraid that she might get discouraged or something."
Rhode looked at her, "Mind Reading Technique?"
"I don't know that kind of magic." Mira said, "Isn't it what anyone would normally think of?"
Just pay a little more attention to him.
"The main concern is Kana's mindset, if she can vent well like Wolian and Mickey, it's fine, but worrying if she keeps drowning in alcohol is concerning, yet I cannot persuade her."
Rhode could remember Kana's expression on the day of the exam, knowing that Kana didn't think anything was wrong with him, only relentlessly looking for reasons in herself, then self-consuming.
When she couldn't bear the internal struggle anymore, she used alcohol to numb herself, and his persuasion would only backfire.
Before coming over, Rhode had heard of someone taking extreme measures because their college entrance exams didn't go well…
Kana is only 17 years old.
Calculating it, it's like experiencing a college entrance exam failure every year since she was 14, and this time she was almost there but failed.
How can her current state not be worrying?
"Have a little faith in Kana. Besides, there are lots of people in the guild who care about her." Mira pointed inside the tavern, "Look."
Rhode turned his head, only to see Macao holding a glass of wine sitting opposite Kana, speaking to her softly.
Kana didn't react much; when she was about to drink more, Macao held the barrel down.
She drunkenly muttered a few complaints.
Macao continued talking to her with a smile.
Shortly after, Wakaba, smoking a pipe, also sat down next to them.
Kana waved her hand to ward off the smoke with distaste; Macao also made a distasteful face, joining Kana in reprimanding Wakaba.
The two of them quickly transitioned from argument to a brief scuffle, but after a while, they sat back down.
Mira laughed, "Those two, though usually… you know. But sometimes they become quite reliable seniors.
Speaking of which, Kana joined the guild eleven years ago, so they watched her grow up. They probably regard her as a daughter.
So, everything will be fine. Just give her some time."
Seems like…that's right.
Rhode looked at Macao and Wakaba. These two didn't forget their purpose even while fighting today; they should be quite reliable…right?
A tiger paw landed on Rhode's shoulder, "Rhode, come spar with me!"
"Mickey?" Rhode asked in confusion, "Why?"
"Because I'm frustrated. How come we got eliminated in the first round while you reached the third round, and yet you have that look on your face?"
Mickey clenched her fists, "You won against us by so much and still feel ashamed? No way, today I gotta spar with you!"
Rhode said sullenly, "Wolian and Marcus eliminated you, right?"
"I'll deal with them after I'm done with you! Let's go!" Mickey presumed Rhode had agreed and marched toward the backyard.
Mira cheerfully encouraged him, "Good luck."
Rhode said helplessly, "You just want to watch the show."
"Let's just go with that." Mira winked, "Besides, you've noticed, right? I'm not the only one who cares about you."
Is she talking about Mickey?
Rhode thought about it, then smiled, "Then I should repay her properly."
A few minutes later.
Heartless Rhode beat up Mickey.
She asked for it herself.
The main reason was that Rhode summoned the Ancient Stone Beetle, and when she fought, she was dissatisfied, saying it underestimated her.
He summoned the Shadow Wolf to fight with, she still wasn't satisfied and insisted on experiencing the moves Rhode used against Laxus.
Rhode had no choice but to summon the Cyan Engraved Golem and punched her from the guild yard into the back lake.
Luckily, Rhode didn't exert too much strength and even reminded her to prepare, so she wasn't hurt.
She was quite easygoing, patting Rhode on the shoulder and went back to find trouble with Wolian.
Rhode was just about to say something when she shimmered with light, and her wet clothes transformed into dry ones.
It wasn't by using magic with a drying effect, but rather changing into another set.
Just like Mira said, many girls learn a bit of Requip Magic, because it's really convenient.
...
A few days ago, it snowed heavily, and time quickly passed to late December, and the year X783 was about to end.
The snow on the street hasn't completely melted yet. When Rhode came downstairs with Warm, he could still see the snowman at the entrance on the first floor.
It was built when Bayer came to play the day before yesterday. Originally, the snowman had a scarf and a hat, but Mrs. Molly seemed to have taken them away yesterday.
To be honest, when seeing snowmen others built on the road, there's occasionally a temptation to kick one.
It's just that Rhode could restrain himself and also manage to stop Warm from causing trouble.
In the past half month, Rhode had teamed up with Elfman to take on two more missions.
Each was carefully selected, with clients who had at least two children at home.
Mira hesitated a little when she saw the tasks he chose, but eventually allowed them to go.
However, in the end, they turned out to be quite ordinary tasks. Rhode couldn't control where the tasks would go or force any tear-jerking moments, so he kept paying attention.
He wasn't sure if Elfman noticed anything unusual, but Rhode felt that Elfman was gradually getting stronger.
"Hululu~~"
Upon arriving at the guild's entrance, Rhode saw Mira open the door from inside, and Warm immediately ran over to seek attention—it's second only to Mr. Cook in feeding frequency, so it needed to please her greatly.
"Good morning." Mira greeted Rhode and squatted down to pat Warm's head.
Warm was getting heavier, and she didn't particularly want to pick it up now.
"Morning." Rhode observed Mira's coat and scarf, seeming like she was heading out, and asked puzzled, "Am I late?"
"No, it's New Year, the guild plans to celebrate a bit, so I'm going to buy some things."
"Oh~" Rhode sensibly patted Warm, letting it go play in the guild on its own.
Then he accompanied Mira to the street.