Lucy patted her cheeks to perk herself up: "Now I'm off to discuss picking up a mission with Erza!"
Lucy had no intention of sacrificing herself for that man's business plan. To her, whether the Hartfilia family was poor or rich didn't matter.
The only thing worth her concern in that family was her mother's grave.
The three finally chose a task to fight against a Dark Guild.
Yes, three people.
Natsu originally wanted to continue his training, but since he hadn't had enough of fighting Rhode, he decided to head outside to keep fighting.
Hapi couldn't join the decision-making as he was busy snacking in the kitchen with Warm.
Visually, Warm had gotten so fat that he was almost unable to fit through the kitchen door, but fortunately, his fluffy fur and soft body made it easier.
Mr. Cook, who watched as it grew chubbier day by day, seemed quite satisfied, with a sense of joy akin to selling a self-raised pig.
So he happily continued feeding him.
If it weren't for him and everyone in the Guild's hard work in feeding, Rhode wouldn't even know how much of a challenge it would be to his wallet.
Raising a pig isn't easy, especially when Warm eats more than a pig.
Rhode quickly sorted through today's delegation letters, sticking each one on the bulletin board, then quietly sat by watching Mira calculate yesterday's accounts.
Mira glanced at him without saying anything, continued working, and only stretched after finishing.
Rhode watched from the side, it was, quite a sight.
"Why aren't you reading?" Mira guessed he had something to say.
"Books aren't as lovely as you."
"Flattery, don't say I'm leaving, Mr. Cook asked me to go buy some things."
"Tell, tell, tell." Rhode grabbed her hand and pinched the finger wearing a ring, "About the wedding."
Mira's face started blushing again: "Wed... wedding what?"
"The date, the President asked us yesterday. Didn't have the chance then, now that we're free, we should obviously discuss the timing."
Mira pursed her lips: "Hmph, no reaction before the proposal, why so anxious now?"
Rhode slid his chair closer, sticking his body to hers: "That's the past, present is its own. With such a beautiful wife, who wouldn't want to bring her home?"
"Only you would say that." Mira leaned her head on his shoulder briefly, thought it wasn't appropriate, then stood back up.
"Let's discuss it properly later, this time giving you plenty of preparation time." Mira sneakily looked around, seeing no one was paying attention, pecked his cheek, then grabbed her purse, smiling radiantly, "I'm off for shopping."
"Take our fancy car." Rhode waved his hand to summon the River Crab, the air of it, like snapping open a Ferrari just because his wife was off for groceries.
He couldn't go along himself, the President had gone out early saying he was gathering news, someone from the Guild had to keep watch.
By afternoon, nearing dinner time, Makarov returned to the Guild carrying two pieces of news, unsure if they were good or bad.
The first piece was that Jellal had been captured.
Just yesterday, fishermen from the Kai Arum Kingdom unexpectedly found Jellal floating on the sea.
The fishermen pulled him onboard, confirmed he was still breathing faintly, and immediately sent him to a nearby coastal clinic.
Then, he was identified as the dangerous criminal who had once impersonated an Evaluator, reported immediately, and the basic first aid measures were administered.
Normally, he should be handed to the Advisory Council, but the Council wasn't back to normal operations yet, so he had to be taken by the Imperial Guard, imprisoned in the nation's most secure jail.
The details were unclear, with his injuries, he might still be undergoing emergency treatment.
The second piece of news concerned the Council.
Firstly, the person responsible for directly destroying ERA Headquarters, named Ultear, was among the former Evaluators, a follower of Jellal, currently missing.
Her and Jellal's Evaluator positions were naturally revoked.
After checking, former Council President Crawford Heim was found guilty of negligence for letting Jellal and Ultear infiltrate the Council.
Also, for failing to attend the emergency meeting, unable to prevent the release of Magical Elf Power, narrowly allowing Jellal's plan to be implemented, he was deemed derelict in his duty.
Beside being dismissed from the presidency, no further penalties were given for his years of contribution to the Magic Realm, allowing him to enjoy a peaceful retirement.
Among the remaining 7 Evaluators, 6 hurriedly voted in favor of releasing Magical Elf Power upon hearing Zeref's name, making it undetermined if they were accomplices.
They would undergo further careful examination, half of them already resigned out of guilt, but the investigation must go on.
The only one continuously opposing the release of Magical Elf Power was Yajima, freeing him from scrutiny the fastest.
Someone suggested he should remain to assist in reorganizing the new Council.
But Yajima refused, expressing he was already at retirement age, thus resigned.
Before leaving, Yajima proposed they consider Org.
Though Org often wanted to discipline Fairy Tail for their chaos, contrary to Yajima's stance.
Precisely due to frequent debates, Yajima greatly appreciated Org's serious approach to his duties, sensed his upright character, and his compassion for ordinary people.
Yajima couldn't deal with more pressing matters, now he just wanted to find a good spot and use his savings from years to open a restaurant, doing what he enjoys.
"Everything's from Xiaoya's information flow." Makarov felt somewhat envious of Yajima.
His peer had retired, while he didn't know how long he'd have to keep worrying.
"Anyway, when the Council returns to normal function is unknown, regional order matters still need our efforts. So, the next routine meeting... don't make that face, this is essential."
"I get it, I'm accompanying you." Rhode said, "But before or after that, you've got to allow us some vacation days."
"Why always thinking of time off?"
"Earning to prepare for a wedding, you wouldn't want us and Mira to embezzle Guild funds, right?"
"..." Makarov was silent, honestly, it wasn't impossible.
Anyway, Guild funds were usually used for temporary compensatory payments, waiting on slow repayments.
If Rhode and Mira urgently needed money, letting them use it would be fine, they wouldn't default.
—The main authority had roughly been handed to the couple, if they really had the mind to, they could empty the Guild unnoticed.
"No... President... your expression is peculiar? It's unsettling." Rhode felt uneasy, how could a President look relieved hearing members mention embezzling funds?
Rhode suspected he misinterpreted it.