Shargate and Hapi's parents still left; they have things they must do.
According to them, temporary separation doesn't matter because Carla and Hapi are here, and as long as they come back, they can meet again anytime.
I have to say, Natsu was quite decent this time. Besides taking Hapi to duel with Li Li today, he also treated Hapi to various fish dishes, almost clearing out the fish on the guild's menu.
Hapi tried to invite Carla to eat fish but failed, so he could only ask Rhode to get Warm to join in.
Wendy, needless to say, kept talking to Carla because she was worried about her feeling sad.
Carla, pretending not to care, said there's no need for that and other such things.
Most of the others acted as usual; only the celebratory atmosphere hadn't completely faded, so it was still quite lively.
Erza didn't bother with these people either, probably not wanting to spoil the mood. After glancing through the Weekly Sorashara, she hurriedly ran out to inquire about new armor.
For some reason, she still had a blush on her face when she left the guild.
Kildas was a bit over the top with bragging about his daughter, but now he's sitting with Macao and Wakaba, discussing parenting experiences.
Kana wanted to use the barrel of wine in her arms to knock out those three unreliable uncles.
Looking at these two people he found, Macao didn't even look after his son before he got divorced, and Wakaba is increasingly disliked by his daughter.
What's the use of discussing with these two people?
Is it to understand the opposite examples?
And how old is she to still be talking about parenting?
It's all Rhode and Mira's fault; yesterday they insisted on talking about how important fatherly love is, even if it's belated.
So, you must prepare all kinds of things like dolls, baby bottles, and building blocks for the child…
Kana glared angrily at Rhode and Mira.
Mira was pulling Lisana and waving to Rhode: "We're going out now."
"Okay… Ah, wait." Rhode stuffed his wallet into Mira's hand, "The bankbook is inside too, if it's not enough, just withdraw some more from the bank."
Mira was going to take Lisana out shopping, buying some clothes and other daily necessities, mainly clothes.
Now at home, there were only one or two clothes left as keepsakes from the past. After two years, Lisana has grown quite a bit, and she probably can't wear them anymore.
Rhode roughly knew how much cash Mira had and was worried she didn't have enough money.
"Brother-in-law is really good to you~" Lisana hugged Mira's arm, wanting to see her sister blush.
But she was destined to be disappointed. Mira just laughed and tapped Lisana's head with the wallet: "Isn't he good to you? He even gave you the savings to use."
"Seems like it, thank you, brother-in-law~" Lisana sweetly thanked him, then left the guild hand in hand with Mira.
Laki leaned over, feigning sadness as she said: "Oh dear~ How does it feel to have your fiancée taken away by someone else? Is there even a hint of loss?"
Rhode replied with a cheerful smile: "When you have a boyfriend someday, I'll hire someone from Blue Pegasus to seduce him away."
Laki pouted: "Hey!"
"Don't 'hey'. Here." Rhode placed items one by one on Laki's tray, "This is the wine needed for the second floor, this is the food for the first floor, and this is the takeout ordered from the southern part of the town."
Laki's hair stood on end: "Since when do we give the same person both upstairs' and downstairs' orders?! And since when did we start a 'meal delivery' service?!"
Rhode pursed his lips: "Normally, we don't, but when I'm retaliating against you, we do."
Laki pretended to slam the items into Rhode's face, while Rhode cheerfully helped her reassign the tasks.
After working just a little while, a waitress approached the counter and cheerfully called out: "Manager."
Although Rhode's current position is indeed the pub manager, he seldom hears this title.
Rhode looked up, met by a tomboy:
"Sally? What's wrong, not asking for an advance on your salary again, are you?"
"Is asking for a salary advance the only thing that comes to your mind about me?"
"Then, a leave request?"
"Neither, it's a resignation!"
"Resign?" Rhode was stunned, "Why?"
Sally put her hands on her hips: "What do you mean why? Iz and I started as part-timers, right? Then we got drafted by the President to work full time because of the shortage of staff."
"That's true. It's been almost two months, have you had enough?" Rhode remembered the girl's active nature, often using steel claws in battles.
Sally nodded: "Anyway, the pub is on track now, and next month… you know, right?"
"S-Class Exam?"
"Yes, Iz and I both want to give it a try, so we won't be working as waitresses anymore. We're going to take on missions!" Sally said with great enthusiasm, "Even if we run into you during the exam, we won't hold back!"
"...Alright." Rhode wasn't very optimistic about her prospects, as both she and Iz were easily defeated by Mickey during the internal conflict.
However, Rhode didn't say anything discouraging; Jet and Troy were still making efforts every year after all.
However, he felt a bit troubled: "You and Iz, leaving both at once..."
"Are you short of staff?" Sally slyly said, "Then leave Iz out, I'll just resign by myself."
"Sa~lly~" Betrayed by her good friend, Iz hooked her arm around Sally's neck from behind and kept drilling her fist into Sally's head.
"Ow, ow, ow…" Sally struggled continuously, rocked by Iz's assault.
"Alright, both of you then." Rhode said, "Maybe in a few days, Lisana will want to become a waitress, these days... I'll just find someone suitable."
"Thank you!"
Sally and Iz happily waited for Rhode to settle their payments, and then they ran off to find suitable missions.
Rhode glanced around the guild, fixing his gaze on the blonde girl chatting with Reby.
He thought for a moment, prepared a little something, then waved with a smile towards that direction, calling out, "Lucy, come over for a bit!"
Lucy walked over, puzzled, and asked, "Mr. Rhode, what's up?"
Rhode earnestly said, "It's like this—with regards to this Edolas incident, although everyone was very active, there was actually someone in particular who was outstanding."
"Eh? Could it be…" Lucy covered her mouth. With such an opening, and calling her over specially, could it be that...
"That's right, after serious consideration, all these days, whether it was gathering information, successfully initiating the Moon's Drop, or fighting against the Transcender Legion when everyone else couldn't use magic… it's all thanks to your Star Spirits."
"No… you can't say that—it was everyone working together…" Lucy modestly brushed off the praise, but her gradually unruly expression already betrayed her true feelings.
"No need to be modest. Like I said, although everyone worked hard, there should always be one person who stands out."
Rhode looked at Lucy, "Yes, it's you. The power of the Star Spirits is your power, so I want to thank you on behalf of the guild."
"Haha… Well… haha." Lucy began to feel elated, "I am… a member of the guild after all, doing these things is only natural, ha, haha."
"Even so, we can't take it for granted." Rhode took out a gift box and placed it on the counter,
"However, due to recent tight guild finances, we can't afford to give you a large reward. So we'll give you a small gift to express our gratitude. Hope you won't mind."
"How could I?" Lucy looked eagerly at the simple box, "May I open it?"
Rhode beamed brightly: "Of course."