Mira didn't take advantage of Rhode saying he made money to give him a hard time. They just chose a regular dessert shop.
The two sat for a while, exchanged some information regarding Reby, and let Rhode report back to Troy.
"Aren't you going to try teaming up with them this time?" Mira was quite looking forward to Rhode's story with the Lane Engine Squad.
"Nah, I feel like interfering too much isn't good," Rhode said. "And Troy is pretty confident."
"True enough." Mira was ready to see Troy's performance.
They chatted for a bit, and Mira ate half of her cake, habitually pinching her waist, worrying about her figure.
Rhode naturally reached out to take her plate.
"..." Mira felt something was off; when did she and he develop such a tacit understanding?
Before Rhode could start eating, she pulled the plate back and fiercely dug out a large piece with her fork, stuffing it into her mouth while glaring at Rhode.
Rhode: "?"
Did I say something I shouldn't have?
After leaving the dessert shop, Mira returned to her usual self and seemed to be in a good mood.
Rhode was a bit puzzled, wondering why she glared at him.
Seeing him like this, Mira felt even better and said she'd invite Rhode to eat something different next time.
Rhode agreed in a daze, thinking sometimes a girl's mind is really hard to understand.
...
They returned to the guild together, and as soon as Rhode entered, Gray pulled him away.
"You're finally back, Rhode. I have something to ask you!"
Rhode instinctively said, "No way, you too?"
Gray asked in confusion, "Too? Is there someone else interested in this matter?"
Rhode thought he might have misunderstood: "Uh... wait a minute, first tell me what you want to ask."
"About the mission you and Erza teamed up for last time."
"..." Rhode was stunned, does this kid like Erza? No, no, he's focused on the mission, not Erza. These past few days, he's been distracted by Troy's matters.
"What do you want to ask? Just so you know, there are some details about missions from the Advisory Council I might not be able to share." Being a mage, there are some rules to follow.
Even with comrades, some things can't be shared unless it affects them too.
Gray looked serious: "It's about the demon."
"!" Rhode looked at him, "Where did you hear this from?"
"While working two days ago, I heard someone say that Fairy Tail mages defeated a demon—a red-haired female knight and a skilled beast tamer. I thought it was you guys."
"What on earth is a beast tamer?" Rhode looked annoyed, what kind of nickname is that?
Also, is the Advisory Council's confidentiality system this bad? Even the part about targeting a potential demon got leaked.
"Come with me." Rhode took Gray to find Mira, retelling what Gray had said to see if there'd be a problem.
Gray added some details, which also counted as reporting his task.
Mira thought for a moment and said, "I think it might not necessarily be because of leaks from the Advisory Council.
The demon they mentioned to Gray probably refers to the people from the Black Magic Sect. What those people do is absolutely demon-like, right?"
Rhode nodded, "That's possible too, so Gray misunderstood."
"Wait a minute." Gray realized a gap, "So you mean besides them, there's a real demon?"
Rhode reluctantly said, "Oops, now it sounds like it was me who leaked the information."
"It's no problem. Since the demon didn't appear, if we phrase it flexibly, it didn't officially happen during the mission. Telling Gray is fine too."
Mira smilingly said, "Plus, the title 'beast tamer' is quite cool."
"Let's not mention that." Rhode said helplessly, as nicknames are given by others, not self-chosen, there's no way to change it.
He organized his thoughts and briefly summarized, "It was a Black Magic Sect trying to summon the Cannibal Demon Canopus from Jellal's Book.
We stopped them before the summoning ritual began, not only dismantling their altar but also arresting everyone."
"So it wasn't summoned..." Gray turned to leave, relieved, "Thanks."
"Hey..." Rhode didn't understand why he thanked him so abruptly and could only ask Mira.
"I'm not really clear on the specifics either, but I heard about ten years ago, Gray's hometown was destroyed by a demon."
Mira said in a low voice, "At that time, he might have... lost his family. Gray's habit of undressing probably started then."
"..." Another child with a tragic past, besides sympathizing, Rhode didn't know what else he could do.
Are peculiar habits related to past sadness?
Does Erza's habit of wearing armor also carry hidden stories? Speaking of which, she did show some peculiar behaviors during missions.
But when Rhode asked, even Mira didn't know.
"Someone tried asking Erza about her past, but she wouldn't say anything. It's as if her entire life started from joining the guild... maybe it's a history so painful she doesn't even want to mention it."
Mira noticed Rhode's concern for Gray and Erza and comforted him:
"It's okay; no matter what kind of past we have, everyone persisted to reach today, right? As long as the guild exists, we can keep going."
"Yeah... ha~" Rhode yawned, suddenly feeling sleepy.
Mira was about to get mad for him being sleepy while she was talking, but then she noticed her eyelids getting heavy too: "Is it Mystogan again?"
She wobbled and fell down, and Rhode struggled for a moment to hold her up, and the two leaned against the counter and fell asleep.
The rest of the guild naturally scattered around, also asleep.
The president, with drooping eyelids, urged them to hurry from the second floor.
Mystogan greeted the president, chose a task, then disappeared after canceling his magic.
The tavern gradually woke up, inevitably filled with grumbling and complaints.
Rhode opened his eyes, felt the weight on his shoulder, and decided to close them again.
A few seconds later, the weight disappeared, and suddenly he felt some pain around his waist.
"Ouch~~ It hurts, it hurts..."
Mira pulled her hand back, blushing slightly: "Pretending to be asleep when I told you to wake up."
Rhode rubbed the sore spot, puzzled: "How did you know I wasn't really still asleep?"
"Intuition." Mira turned her head, hmph, such a fast heartbeat, who's he kidding.
A woman's instinct? Are you Zhan Hongling?
Rhode thought she was bluffing.
But today felt good, so it was probably time for training.
Rhode looked up at Makarov on the second floor: "President, are you free now?"