Seeing Erza's reaction, Mira's mood instantly improved a lot.
Having lost to Erza once, it seemed like she won back in a strange way.
Mira went to pick up the 'Top-level Sweet-to-Death Strawberry', washed it again for later use, cleaned up the broken bowl, and pushed the dazed Erza to the kitchen to make a cake.
Rhode was in charge of matters outside, which gave Mira peace of mind.
However, in the afternoon, someone not so friendly came to the guild.
Rhode looked at the long green hair: "Are you... Fried?"
The person nodded and placed a task sheet on the counter: "Where's Mirajane? Or the President."
"They're busy, I can handle it."
Rhode reached out to take the task sheet, but Fried held it down.
He said lightly, "Rules are absolute."
Rhode was puzzled: "What?"
Fried said, "According to the rules, the President or an assistant should be present when accepting tasks. I cannot confirm your identity or whether you have such authority."
It seemed like a particularly rigid person, Rhode nodded, the guild had plenty of odd people, one more wouldn't hurt.
He pointed to the emblem on his arm and said patiently:
"Rhode, joined the guild last July, started assisting Mira with these tasks at the beginning of this year, and the President has acknowledged it. You can verify this with most people in the guild."
Fried turned to look at the guild members. People were surprised by his appearance, but no one found it strange that Rhode stood there.
He nodded and lifted his hand from the task sheet:
"I see, I've heard your name, 'The New Age Fairy Tail Strategist'. As long as it follows the rules, all is good. Please take care of it."
He didn't seem like a particularly difficult person to talk to; he just hadn't appeared in the guild very often.
Rhode's initial impression of Fried was okay, rigid, serious, but reasonable and rule-abiding.
He carefully reviewed the content and checked the task materials. It was a mission to capture a criminal gang, with some pretty dangerous mages involved.
Rhode furrowed his brow: "This task is quite challenging, are you going alone?"
"The Thunder God Tribe will act together, and if necessary, Laxus will join."
Only when mentioning Laxus did Fried show a slight smile.
Rhode nodded, in that case, it shouldn't be a problem.
He stamped the document, writing down the names of the Thunder God Tribe and Laxus in the register, then extracted the necessary materials and handed them along with the task sheet to Fried.
"I'd personally recommend paying special attention to the content on the latter part of pages two and three, but with Laxus, it shouldn't be a major issue. Be careful on the road."
Fried could sense Rhode's good intentions.
But more importantly, he could hear Rhode's high regard for Laxus's abilities.
This made Fried's gaze towards Rhode much softer.
His standard for judging others is relatively simple—'As long as you have enough respect for Laxus, we may become friends.'
As he left the guild, Fried was still considering whether to invite Rhode to join the Thunder God Tribe.
After completing this task, find out more information about Rhode to see if he can match such a resounding title.
Rhode was thinking about the last time he saw Fried, how he seemed like a little wife beside Laxus...
But after a simple conversation, it turned out that besides being very particular about 'rules', he seemed quite normal compared to most companions.
After a while, Erza came out of the kitchen with a small piece of cake since there really weren't many strawberries.
Even so, Erza generously shared half with Mira.
"Oh my, Erza's generosity makes me feel a bit embarrassed, especially after teasing her before."
"If you weren't smiling as you said that, I'd believe you were truly embarrassed."
"Hehe~" Mira tasted what Erza declared as the best cake in Fiore.
Rhode naturally got to taste it as well.
"Delicious!" Rhode didn't give a lengthy explanation like before, but simply offered an honest appraisal, then continued to open his mouth waiting to be fed more.
Mira was in a good mood today, so she decided to indulge him a little.
She happened to glance at the names in the register, surprised: "Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe were here?"
"Fried accepted the task, and Abarlin and Biguslo were waiting for him outside, didn't see Laxus."
Rhode wasn't very familiar with the Thunder God Tribe's abilities, so he asked, "For this kind of mission, are they up to it?"
"No problem, the Thunder God Tribe is among the most formidable squads in the guild, the three of them have completed many high-difficulty tasks."
Mira thought for a moment and added, "However, it's been a long, long time since I've seen them in action, they've probably gotten even stronger, right?"
Rhode casually asked, "What kind of magic do they use, is it also lightning element?"
They had talked about them before, but never delved into their magic.
These mages' magic abilities were ones even Mira had to think hard to recall, which showed how reclusive they were in the guild.
"Sounds like they have very strong magic..." Rhode didn't think much, having stronger companions is a good thing.
"This is the last strawberry." Mira waved the fork in her hand.
Rhode grabbed her hand and suggested, "Let's just hold it like this, and we can both take a bite, half each."
Mira seemed to visualize the scene, blushing. She 'chomped' up the strawberry like a hamster, puffing up one side of her cheek, looking at Rhode with satisfaction.
A bit cute.
So Rhode took the chance to move while she was pleased, ambushing her puffed cheek, then getting up and running away: "I'll head to the library!"
Steal a kiss and run, what a thrill.
...
In X686, the First Generation President Mebius founded the Fairy Tail guild together with Yuri Dolea, Precht Gaebolg, and Vorod Sinker.
The four were known as the 'Original Fairies', but according to the First Generation President, there was a fifth Original Fairy, although few know who it was or what they looked like.
It was 98 years ago, Rhode thought as he browsed through the records of the guild, wondering if that person might have been some hidden big shot.
Looking further, he found interesting records noting that that Yuri Dolea was the old man's father, Laxus's great-grandfather.
The President's birth was even recorded in the guild's history.
Because Yuri got married and had a child in everyone's presence, and the First Generation President helped in choosing the name.
Reading this, Rhode couldn't help but think about his future with Mira, hoping that they too would get married and have children under everyone's witness and blessings if all went well?
Then the child would grow up in the guild... Hmm, not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but at least no worries about being bullied in the future.
Rhode patted his face, realizing he was daydreaming in broad daylight.
Back to reading.
He was getting more and more interested in the guild's past, thinking that when newcomers arrive, he could share these stories with them.
—He suspected even veterans like Natsu and Gray might not know these things.
The last newcomer to join the guild was Tono, already five months ago, he wondered when the next newcomer would join.
Would it be Lucy or Wendy?
Rhode recalled the posters he'd seen in the dorm room, he had already met Wendy, he vaguely remembered Lucy as a blonde girl.
Although he wasn't sure which one of them would join first, once they both arrived, life probably wouldn't be as peaceful as it is now, would it?