Elfman was already on the road early in the morning. The place where he worked wasn't too far from home, about an hour by carriage.
If he didn't return early, his sister would have to do all the chores at home by herself, and she also had to take care of things at the guild, which was very tiring.
But in this kind of weather, renting a carriage early in the morning wasn't easy, so Elfman decided to walk back instead.
A man isn't afraid of a bit of wind and snow.
By the time he got back to Magnolia, the streets had mostly been cleared, and every so often, he could see guild members helping the residents.
He even saw the president had turned into a giant, easily clearing a roof with a swipe of his massive hand.
"Such a major oversight for a man. Am I really back too late?"
When Elfman returned home, he found the path at the doorstep already clean, and the snow on the roof completely cleared, piled up neatly at the side of the road.
Sis must be really tired now, right? He opened the door with a guilty heart.
"Elfman, you're back?"
"Elfman? Welcome back!"
As soon as Elfman opened the door, he saw Rhode sitting on the couch, sipping tea, and flipping through today's magazine, while his sister had just brought over a tray of cookies and sat across from him.
What kind of strange atmosphere is this?
The familiar scene made Elfman somewhat dazed. He took two steps back and looked around.
No mistake, this is my home, not the guild.
"I'm back..." Elfman replied blankly.
"Why're you backing out? Come on in for some hot tea to warm up. Did you eat anything this morning?"
"I was rushing to get back, didn't have time to eat."
"I'll fix you something." Mira stood up, gesturing for Rhode to stay seated.
Rhode watched as Mira tied up her hair, donned an apron, and skillfully pulled out bread, eggs, lettuce, and various ingredients from the fridge, swiftly frying eggs, toasting bread, and heating milk...
With that apron and ponytail, her back looks really nice, it's worth it to have such a wife.
Oh, but haven't married yet.
Elfman sat across from Rhode, glaring at him, and with that scar on his face, he looked quite imposing.
But clearly, Rhode wasn't intimidated, not like when he first came.
Up until now, he didn't know how many times he'd been beaten, and it always felt just okay.
Rhode cheerfully poured Elfman a cup of tea and pushed the snacks towards him, shamelessly saying, "Make yourself at home."
"Thank you... this is my home!" Elfman almost got tangled in his words, "Why are you here?"
Rhode got serious, "Here to help, Mira's really busy today, barely had time to clear her own snow."
"I mean, why are you the one helping?"
"With our friendship, is it strange for me to help?"
Of course, it's not strange, but Elfman found the scene when he came in quite odd.
It felt like he was going to lose his sister.
Though he always felt this day would come sooner or later, wasn't this 'sooner or later' a bit too soon? Why not later?
How did Rhode and Erza come back from a mission and suddenly have such a huge breakthrough with his sister?
Could it be that while he was away, his sister swapped jobs with Erza and teamed up with Rhode?
No, there must be something else going on.
Elfman wasn't used to solving problems with his brain. He glared at Rhode, thinking about when to have another fight.
Though Rhode was quite manly during fights, manly Elfman didn't want to back down.
"Dinner's ready." Mira brought two plates, and then two cups, placing them in front of Elfman and Rhode.
Just simple sandwiches and milk, because they were quick to prepare.
Mira knew Rhode usually had breakfast at the guild, but today he came right over after entering the guild, so she prepared a portion for him too.
"Thanks!" Rhode ate happily.
Elfman ate in silence.
Mira sat at the side, resting her chin in her hands, elbows propped on her knees.
The house hadn't entertained a guest in a long time, and the scene of three of them having breakfast together was something from more than a year ago.
Mira glanced left and right, thinking life could be nice like this.
Except Elfman's gaze was too fierce.
Are their relations still not good?
...
After breakfast, the three left home together to join the others.
Every Fairy Tail member was out helping the town with snow removal.
Makarov ordered that only a select few he designated could use magic, everyone else was forbidden.
Snow removal wasn't a job request, just the guild voluntarily helping the townspeople.
The priority was to help elderly folks with no children around, like what Rhode did in the morning.
Next were important roads, bridges, and public places.
Though there was no reward, everyone worked energetically.
Rhode suddenly understood why Fairy Tail caused so much trouble, yet few in town truly disliked them.
Apart from being proud of the strongest guild, it probably had to do with these kinds of small things.
The guild members genuinely liked this town, and the townspeople welcomed these interesting mages.
Bam! Crash... The sound of shattering glass was heard.
From inside the house came curses: "Bastard! Be more careful! Why did playing snowball break my window?"
"Sorry! I'll pay for it!" Marcus apologized and, like always, started to pull out money.
Rhode looked up at the sky. The guild and the residents like each other, right? They must.
...
Peaceful (?) days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, January was over, and payday arrived again.
Winter would last a while longer, but the weather was showing signs of warming.
Getting his salary made Rhode feel even warmer.
Money earned from the world's hustle and bustle soothes the common heart.
"Why is it so much?" Rhode usually got 120,000 J each month, but if he went on missions, the tavern wouldn't pay him.
Yet last month he went out three times, and the salary was 150,000 J.
"Because you took on some of the president's assistant work, so the salary increased." Mira winked, "It got busy at the end of the month, forgot to tell you."
Rhode suspected Mira did it on purpose.
How could he not know how busy the end of the month was, he went on dates more than once, where was the busyness?
Could it be because Mira refused to work overtime, so she didn't talk about work after hours?
Rhode leaned in close to Mira, shoulders touching, and whispered, "Using power for personal gain?"
"Don't talk nonsense, it's a normal pay raise, approved by the president." Mira pushed him away, "If you have any objections, you can return the excess to me."
Rhode thought for a moment, "You keeping it for me is fine too, but handing over the salary so soon, isn't it bad?"
He got a punch in the chest.
There were sighs in the tavern.