"Mystogan..."
As soon as Rhode returned, she saw Erza asking the President about Mystogan.
Mirajane was quietly listening at the side; after all, having seen a face identical to Jellal's, it was impossible not to be curious.
Rhode leaned over and whispered, "Could Jellal really have a brother?"
"That's not the case." Makarov thought for a moment and decided there was no need to hide it from the three of them, "But to avoid trouble, don't tell anyone else."
He gave a pointed look at Mira.
This time, "don't tell anyone else" was serious and solemn.
Mira pouted; she knew which things to gossip about and which not to.
Makarov asked, "Rhode, you must have heard Porlyusica mention Edolas before?"
Rhode nodded and said, "Yeah... oh, the parallel world stuff. The old lady said you could find people with the same name as in this world over there."
Erza speculated, "So Mystogan is..."
Makarov nodded, confirming her guess: "That's right, he's Jellal from that side. Their appearances are almost identical, so it's natural you couldn't tell them apart.
He came here seven years ago, and that's also when he met Wendy—you probably remember that much.
Aside from the name and appearance, Mystogan has nothing to do with that Jellal. As for his past, he doesn't want to talk about it, and I haven't pressed him."
"I see, I got it." Erza nodded and left the counter.
"Erza, we... huh?"
Lucy came over excitedly with a task sheet to team up with Erza, but Erza ignored her as if she didn't see her.
She asked puzzledly, "What's up with Erza?"
Mira replied, "Nothing, just not in a good mood."
"I see." Lucy's excitement was somewhat dampened; she subconsciously believed it was because of the Laxus situation and didn't ask more.
Mira asked, "Deciding to head out for work so soon?"
"Yeah, I want to start earning the rent sooner... but maybe I'll wait a bit." Lucy said dejectedly, "Natsu and Gray aren't in high spirits either, and even Hapi seems down."
Of course, Lucy was also slightly affected. However, like Rhode, she hadn't seen much of Laxus, so she couldn't be as upset as Natsu and Gray.
Mira nodded, as she could relate: "A little rest isn't bad; the festival's not completely over. Enjoy it while you can. Plus, the results of the Miss Fairy Tail Contest will be out soon, maybe you'll get a prize, Lucy?"
Talking about this made Lucy a little teary-eyed: "No way, I didn't even get to perform."
She felt she might have been a bit unlucky these past few days.
Like not having enough time to perform in the contest; like getting caught up in a fight far away among companions; like waiting in line to buy something only for it to sell out right when it's her turn...
These days, nothing seemed to go smoothly, let alone the contest.
"Oh!" Rhode finally remembered, "Marcus seems to be tallying votes over there, let me check."
A voting box was set up in the shop at the guild entrance. Marcus was pulling out votes, announcing names one by one, and tossing them into another box.
"Erza, Mirajane, Mirajane, Erza, Lucy, Jubia..."
Lidas was noting down the votes with a pen and clipboard.
Rhode listened for a while and noticed every name being called out, but it seemed like Reby had the fewest votes.
Compared to her, Lucy was doing a little better, appearing more frequently than Bisca.
He sneaked a peek at Lidas's board; the vote counts behind Mirajane and Erza's names far exceeded the others'.
It seemed like the champion would likely be between those two.
Though Lucy spoke of having no hope, she quickly finished a cup of tea and eagerly checked the votes.
"How is it, how is it?"
"Congratulations, you have a chance to compete with Jubia for third place."
Lucy's face lit up but then quickly fell: "What's there to congratulate about being third..."
"Even without a prize, it's still your peers' recognition." Rhode comforted, "And finishing third without even completing your act means if you work hard next year, you might win!"
"But I need the rent now..."
"You can complain to Ibarglin about that; it was her fault for interrupting your performance early."
"... Let's forget it." Lucy still had some apprehension toward Ibarglin. "I guess I'll just head home and rest."
"Mm, bye-bye, remember to check if Natsu's in your bed before you sleep."
"Mm... why should I have to check something like that?!"
Although Rhode made a good point, thinking about it made Lucy increasingly annoyed.
Seriously, who would just randomly sleep in a girl's bed?!
It made Luc's return home cautious and careful.
Watching Lucy leave, Rhode continued watching Marcus tally the votes. Seeing Mira win by three votes, observing Lidas start painting the promotional poster, he finally left.
Before leaving, Rhode rubbed his face, controlled his smile, and sighed as he returned to the counter: "Mira, guess who won?"
Mira looked up at him, then resumed her paperwork: "Of course, I won."
"How could you guess that?" Rhode took out her little mirror from Mira's bag to check his expression. "Is my acting that bad?"