Rhode was regretting it now, really regretting it.
He should never have summoned Warm in the first place; if he hadn't, Mira wouldn't have insisted on keeping it around.
If Warm hadn't stayed, the soft wall of separation wouldn't have built up between him and Mira.
Five minutes ago, he was cuddling and whispering sweet nothings with Mira, and now there was this pathetic barrier between them.
"Sigh," Rhode sighed, it was all Warm's fault.
"Huh?" Warm sensed its master was silently complaining about it.
Mira's playful voice chimed in, "Go to sleep, we still have work tomorrow."
This person had been traveling all day and then fighting for hours. He was exhausted and still wasn't resting properly. It was infuriating.
"Okay." In fact, he couldn't really blame Warm; they were guests at someone else's house and had to behave.
He should have opted for a hotel... but there wasn't one in the village, a miscalculation.
Rhode closed his eyes and then opened them again, knowing he should rest, but... Who can sleep like this?
Lying in the same bed, it was impossible for Mira not to notice Rhode tossing and turning.
She sat up facing Rhode, legs bent to both sides, leaning forward, "Can't sleep? Let me help."
The neckline of her pajamas was quite loose, but unfortunately, it was too dark to appreciate the view.
Rhode asked, "How are you going to help? Sing a lullaby?"
"Something more convenient than that." Mira reached out her right hand, gently placing it on Rhode's forehead.
Rhode sensed the fluctuation of magic power, and a bunch of pink glowing bubbles appeared in front of him.
Immediately afterward, a wave of drowsiness hit him. This was clearly the same sensation as coming under Mystogan's sleep magic.
"You know how to..." Rhode was shocked, then drifted into a deep sleep.
A smile appeared on Mira's face as she whispered, "To make this level of sleep magic work, the other person can't be on guard."
She tugged at Rhode's cheek. This mischievous guy... He is always so cautious, yet with her, he's completely unguarded.
Recalling how Rhode was wary even of the coachman during the day, Mira's smile widened.
The action of pinching turned into a gentle caress.
She leaned down and rubbed her cheek against Rhode's cheek gently, "Goodnight."
...
When Rhode woke up in the morning, he found himself holding something soft and squishy.
Upon opening his eyes, it turned out to be Warm as expected.
Warm seemed to have been awake for a while. As soon as it saw him open his eyes, its long tongue quickly gave Rhode a facial wash.
"You're not a dog," Rhode said, pushing it a bit further away as he sat up.
Mira was sitting in front of the mirror, fixing her hair, with a black hairband in her mouth, seemingly having already done part of it.
"Good morning." Mira grabbed the finished hair with one hand and picked the hairband from her mouth with the other, giving Rhode a radiant smile through the mirror.
Rhode had seen that kind of smile before, right when he just woke up in the guild.
But the look in her eyes was clearly different from then.
The joy in Rhode's heart quickly reflected on his face, "Good morning."
Suddenly, Rhode felt something off about the scene, a strange sense of déjà vu.
After a few seconds, he realized, tightening his grip on the blanket, and feigned a scared look, "What, what did you do to me?"
Mira was taken aback, her face turning red. She turned to glare at him, "You... No breakfast for you!"
"Sigh~ It looks like something happened, yet nothing happened."
A hairband hit Rhode's forehead and Rhode jumped out of bed with a silly grin, "Is this a sign that you want my help with your hair?"
"No!" Mira stood up and rummaged through the suitcase, taking out another hair tie to finish her ponytail.
It was a very beautiful hairstyle, especially the curtain bangs falling on either side of her cheeks, which Rhode particularly liked.
He took a closer look and realized the hairband was the one he had given her.
Mira was pleased with the way he looked at her, feeling like all her effort hadn't been for nothing.
But she wasn't pleased with the way he kept looking at her like that...
Mira urged, "Hurry up and wash up."
"Alright." Rhode handed the hairband back but had his hand grabbed instead, the hairband ending up on his wrist, "Hey..."
"Hurry up; we have work later." Not letting Rhode speak, Mira pushed him into the bathroom and shut the door.
"Let me finish my sentence." Rhode opened the door and popped his head out, "This hairstyle is really beautiful."
Then he retreated and closed the door.
Mira chuckled, "Idiot."
...
Breakfast wasn't really off the table. After eating at the village chief's house, they were preparing to leave.
Mr. Jasper and his wife both had dark circles under their eyes, but their spirits were high.
Rhode asked, and it turned out they kept busy with follow-up matters until late.
Actually, most people in the village stayed busy until late, tired but pleased, despite the indescribable smell near the incinerator.
"Today, we will go out to search for the mice's tracks and eliminate as many as possible, though it might cause some damage to the fields... like yesterday's road."
Jasper said, "It's okay! Please go ahead and do what you need to do."
Anyway, everything planted before had been ruined; the priority was to get rid of the rats now.
As for the fields being pitted, consider it as tilling the soil.
Rhode nodded, "Then we shall head out."
"Please do."
Mira smiled, "Please take care of yourself too."
Both of them headed out, under perfect sunlight, a few white clouds in the sky, and a morning breeze with an odd scent...
Such was inevitable.
Villagers greeted them energetically despite their fatigue as they walked by, and children sweetly called them 'big brother' and 'big sister' as they ran past.
They may not have seen their faces properly, but these two mages were the only unfamiliar faces in the village now.
The large pit in the village road caused by Mira had already been filled, although some by the roadside remained untreated.
Several incinerators in the distance were still smoking, and the fences gnawed by worms were yet to be repaired.
"Summon, Crimson Marked Tree Monster!"
"Leave it to you." Rhode patted the Tree Monster's claws, gesturing to the marks on the ground, and demonstrated a few times, "Build a new fence along these marks, about this wide, and this high."
"Oooh." The Tree Monster let out a deep sound and walked along the village edge.
Vines grew rapidly, weaving in layers as Rhode indicated, at the prescribed height and thickness, like weaving fabric.
The villagers weren't too frightened when they realized it was a beast summoned by Rhode, but were amazed when they saw what it was doing.
That wasn't a fence, it was a wooden wall!
"Could this be a technique he came up with after destroying the Guild that day?"
With her hand wrapped around Rhode's arm, Mira said with a radiant smile, "Now I know why the Advisory Council sees you in a new light."
Rhode bragged a little, "I'm just an unworthy 'Fairy Tail Strategist.' Still dedicated to reducing negative guild evaluations. I've only done insignificant things, nothing noteworthy."
Like coaxing a child, Mira said, "Yes, yes. The Fairy Tail Strategist is the strongest."
Rhode bumped his head lightly against hers in protest.
Mira just laughed; this collision was much gentler than the headbutts she exchanged with Erza before.
After the Tree Monster finished circling the village and building the wall, the two of them rode the River Crab and officially began their day's work.