Mira cheerfully encouraged him, "Good luck, President. Please make sure to finish everything by today."
"How is that possible?! Isn't this a month's worth of work?"
"Nope, haven't you noticed? Rhode and I can finish this work in half a day."
"..." Makarov really hadn't noticed. He'd been idle for too long. He remembered it wasn't this exaggerated before.
Was it because the new guild was just built, and it's festival time too?
He reluctantly said, "I'll do it, even if it means I have to stay for a few days until I'm done."
Rhode added, "Some of these are very urgent documents. If they're not handled in time, there will be serious consequences, and you'll have to stay longer to deal with them."
"..."
"If you don't resolve it today, it will delay tomorrow's work. If tomorrow's work isn't done well, you'll have to continue handling it. Take your time, no rush."
Rhode and Mira stood side by side, smiling at the president whose hands had started to tremble.
Others chimed in, "That's right, even if you want to resign, you have to finish what's needed first!"
"The pen is here, I'll go get a chair!"
"I'll get a table for you!"
Makarov felt uncomfortable. Now he didn't want to leave; he wanted to escape!
Fried suddenly drew his sword and cut his long green hair that reached past his waist, leaving thick strands all over the ground.
"Fried?"
"President, please don't add to our guilt," Fried said seriously,
"To reflect on our actions, I'll shave my head next. If our actions cause you to leave the guild, our guilt will never be forgiven."
Biguslo and Ibarglin bowed down, "Please don't do this anymore!"
Makarov sighed, "I understand. So... let's put an end to this."
"Oh oh oh!!!" Everyone cheered. Although the president was getting old, didn't manage much normally, and sometimes caused more damage to the guild than others...
But they couldn't imagine what the guild would be like without the president. If possible, everyone hoped he could continue to lead them.
"Looks like I'll leave this work to you guys after all!" Makarov threw the pen, grabbed his bag, and ran upstairs, "I have things to sort out, good luck!"
Rhode and Mira exchanged a smile and moved the documents back.
The guild seemed to return to normal, with those healing focusing on recovery, those noisy being noisy, and those fighting still fighting.
Including Natsu, some were still sullen from Laxus's departure, but things were as they were, and they'd have to petition the president later.
The Thunder God Tribe supported each other, apologizing to everyone.
Some directly said it was okay, while some said they'd have a full-strength fight once healed.
Even though they didn't quite get how to go all out in a fight calmly, the trio agreed to it.
The president peeked from upstairs, "Rhode, come up for a moment, there's something I'd like your help with."
"Coming." Rhode went upstairs, leaving Mira to continue sorting the files.
Lucy said admiringly, "So you can handle so much work in half a day."
Mira looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping and whispered to Lucy, "We're fooling the president. It's actually a week's worth of work mixed with a lot of old bills and files."
"..." Lucy was surprised, "The president can't tell at all?"
Mira said naturally, "The president hasn't even glanced at these things, so how could he tell?"
"Who exactly is the president here..." Lucy thought maybe even if the president left, it wouldn't affect the guild's operation.
...
Outside Magnolia City, Rhode blocked Laxus, who was traveling with a cane.
"Rhode?"
"Yo, you remember my name this time?"
Laxus recalled what he used to say to many comrades: 'Who are you again?' 'I don't even know your names.' 'Who the hell are you?'
Such embarrassing moments made it hard for him to look Rhode in the eye, so he turned his head, "What's up?"
Seeing the bandages on him and the cane in his hand, Rhode said with a complicated feeling, "Actually, I've been wanting to beat you up for a long time, I just didn't expect it would be in such circumstances and only manage to get a slight advantage through ganging up."
Laxus didn't respond; he was ready to take another beating, like Gajeel that day.
But Rhode wasn't looking for a fight, just to deliver a message, "You're leaving too quickly. There were some things the president didn't have time to say, so he asked me to convey them to you."
"What?"
Rhode put away his playful expression, earnestly saying, "Those who leave Fairy Tail must abide by these three rules:
First, any information detrimental to Fairy Tail must never be mentioned to others for life."
Laxus lifted his head, looking at him in surprise.
Rhode continued, "Second, you can't contact past clients for personal gain without permission."
Laxus's expression softened as if understanding the old man's intentions.
"Third, even if the path is different, live strongly, never belittle your own life, and..."
Before he finished, Laxus continued the sentence along with Rhode, speaking in unison:
"Never forget the companions you cherished in the past throughout your life."
With his cane, he walked forward step by step, brushing past Rhode, "I got it, thanks."