Sure enough, early the next morning, Lucy energetically ran to the guild to inquire about the Harvest Festival, especially wanting to know about the 'Miss Fairy Tail' beauty contest.
"You even know about this? Did Natsu and Hapi tell you yesterday?"
Lucy nodded, "Yeah! But they only mentioned the prize money, not in much detail."
Actually, it was because Natsu, all sweaty, wanted to sleep on Lucy's bed and use her bathroom to shower, so Lucy kicked him out.
It was Hapi who told her about the prize money.
"500,000 J, that's a full 7 months of rent!" Lucy got excited at the mention of the prize money, thinking if she won the contest, she wouldn't have to worry for a long time.
"Speaking of which, I have to introduce you to last year's beauty contest champion."
Rhode opened both his palms and stretched them out sideways, "Ta-da-da-da~"
Mirajane waved at Lucy with a smile.
"That's right, it's none other than Miss Mirajane Strauss in front of you!"
"..." Lucy suddenly felt that the 500,000 wasn't so easy to get.
She tried to eliminate a strong opponent for herself, "Will Miss Mira be participating this year?"
"Of course, I'm saving up for a wedding." Mira glanced at Rhode, "500,000 is almost enough for a month's salary for both of us."
Lucy was surprised, "The salary for being a server is that high!"
Where's the high part, all these years always... ahem.
Rhode explained, "The work we do isn't your usual server job; Laki and them have even lower salaries."
"That's already great." Lucy finally had a slight interest in becoming a server, but in the long run, she still preferred adventuring.
Rhode shook his head, "It's nothing like the commission you guys get from taking on missions; three or five days can earn back our month's salary."
With Rhode and Mira's abilities, a fixed monthly salary of just tens of thousands was indeed too low; the two of them busy for a month only covered Erza's rent.
The only advantages might be safety and comfort, not having to deal with the uncertainties of missions, nor worrying about being exposed to the elements.
Lucy disagreed with Rhode's statement, "But taking on missions might result in coming back empty-handed."
Rhode looked at her with a peculiar expression, "We wouldn't just randomly destroy things.
If you had teamed up with me on the tasks you took on before, you'd have become a little rich lady by now, not worrying about a mere 70,000 J rent."
"What do you mean, become a little rich lady, Lucy already is..." Mira suddenly stopped, apologetically looking at Lucy.
"Ah… don't mind it." Lucy had already found out about her family's situation.
It was just that the Hartfelia Group went bankrupt, and Lucy entirely didn't care about what would become of the family's fortunes.
Ever since she left home last time, she never thought of relying on the family's wealth again; that kind of thing didn't matter.
As for her father... that man's abilities were the only thing that didn't need to be doubted; Lucy remembered her mom greatly admired and trusted her father's abilities.
Give him some time, and he might start a new business group again.
But Lucy also didn't care about those matters; she planned to go home to visit her mom's grave soon and inquire about that man's news.
Lucy temporarily put unhappy things aside and asked about other contestants last year and the Magical Parade.
Rhode and Mira talked about last year's situation, making Lucy yearn with longing.
Time passed unknowingly, and suddenly it was October, and Magnolia's festive atmosphere became more intense.
For Rhode, the most important thing after October began was receiving his salary.
He dragged Mira into a jewelry store, and then was quickly dragged out by Mira.
"Really not exchanging it?"
"Not exchanging, this one is unique, and I want to keep it forever."
However, remembering it was made by Rhode using magic, Mira glared at him, confirming, "It's unique, right?"
"Absolutely!" Rhode swore he would never make a second ring.
"Then it's fine." Mira stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek, "That's your reward."
Rhode looked at her, "Not enough."
"If it's not enough, then that's it."
"Alright, then I'll give it back to you."
"Get lost, I don't want it!"
The two of them engaged in playful chase as they ran towards the bank, inadvertently spotting a drunk Kana on the street.
The girl carelessly leaned against a wall, a bottle lying nearby, her shoulder bag half-open and fallen on the ground.
Her hair was a mess, and she wore just a cover-up as she usually did.
Kana, being a well-known mage, was something the residents of Magnolia were used to, but to those unfamiliar, it felt quite provocative.
Her pretty features, loveable drunken demeanor, plump rounded angles, slender waist, easily sparked criminal thoughts.
However, the emblem on her waist served as a deterrent, making people hesitant to act rashly.
Rhode shook his head, "It's surprising she could fall asleep like this, not afraid of being taken advantage of."
"What do you mean by taken advantage of?" Although Mira could vaguely guess the meaning, she indeed had not heard the term before.
"It means taking advantage of someone while they're passed out…"
Just then, two tourists appeared in front of Kana, likely drawn by the influx of out-of-town visitors during the Harvest Festival, some with bravado.
There were two of them, one with yellow hair and the other with green hair.
The yellow-haired one skillfully reached for Kana's crossbody bag, while the green-haired one, clearly ready, attempted to extend a sly hand.
"Hey, she's a mage from Fairy Tail; be careful not to wake her up."
"Passed out like this, it won't be easy to wake her up, huh?" The green-haired one purposefully reached out a lascivious hand.