Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 199: Until We Meet Again

"That's the situation," Makarov said. "So I'd like you and Rhodes to tackle this mission together."

"No problem, Master. We won't let the guild down," Erza replied immediately, as expected. After all, anything that involved the guild's reputation was something Erza took very seriously.

In truth, Rhodes suspected this was less about the guild's honor and more about letting Makarov show off to Goldmine at the next regular meeting.

Still, as someone willing to share the Master's burdens and bring honor to Fairy Tail, Rhodes didn't refuse.

Besides, there was another, slightly less noble reason. When he drew the lot, he'd caught a glimpse of the mission's reward: 2 million jewel, split between two people. One million jewel each for a non-S-Class mission while teaming up with an S-Class wizard? Plus, he could add another piece toward his dream of buying property in Magnolia. Worth it.

After some quick discussion, they decided to set out the next morning.

Erza needed to check if her armor modifications were ready, and if not, she would have to collect them early. Rhodes, on the other hand, needed to do some research.

The mission location this time was at the border between the Kingdom of Fiore, the Kingdom of Bosco and the Kingdom of Seven.

Rhodes spent over an hour buried in the guild's library, flipping through books. Just as he was getting into it, Mira came over, calling him for lunch.

Rhodes frowned slightly. Now that he had a little more money, he really needed to find time to buy a pair of enchanted glasses. He couldn't keep borrowing Levy's every time he needed to read.

Mira asked gently, "Is the mission giving you a headache?"

"It's not too bad," Rhodes said, closing the book. "The danger level doesn't seem too high. It's more of an intelligence-gathering mission."

"But wasn't there already a team that got injured while investigating?" Mira reminded him.

"Yeah, a three-person team from Poison Fang Guild. But don't worry, they were only injured, not killed."

Despite the name sounding like a dark guild, Poison Fang was a legitimate guild. As for their strength... well, if they were really that strong, they wouldn't have abandoned such a high-paying mission.

Since their team only suffered injuries and no casualties, and since Rhodes would be teaming up with Erza, he wasn't too worried.

Just then, a small hand waved between their faces.

Laki leaned in, grinning. "The food's getting cold. Are you planning to chat all day?"

Rhodes glanced at her, picking up his bowl. "You're out of dessert, you know. Today's treat was a premium dessert prepared by the guild master of God of Cooking's Knife, the one famous for his cooking skills."

Laki wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "Hehe, I'll just ask Sister Mira for some later."

Mira smiled sweetly at her. "Well, well... there might not be any left."

"Sister Mira~!"

...

After lunch, Rhodes went back to reading. When Erza returned to the guild, he invited her to a sparring match in the backyard, with one condition: Erza was only allowed to defend.

The main goal was to familiarize himself with her fighting habits. After all, there was always a chance they might have to coordinate closely in battle during the mission.

Rhodes quickly realized it had been a while since he'd fought anyone seriously. It felt surprisingly refreshing to move like this again.

Maybe because Erza wasn't fighting back.

The rest of his time was spent digging through piles of books, searching for any useful information about the mission site.

Later, while he was stacking another mountain of books onto the library table, Mira walked over and handed him a small, delicate box.

"This is for you," she said warmly.

Rhodes blinked in surprise.

"Eh? A gift? What's the occasion?"

He opened it, and immediately recognized what was inside.

"Wait, these are... enchanted glasses?"

"I saw them on my way to order wine," Mira explained with a soft smile. "I thought you might need them."

It reminded Rhodes of the time she randomly bought him something during their trip to the capital.

He opened his mouth to ask why she hadn't simply invited him along to buy them but wisely swallowed the question.

Instead, he grinned brightly and said, "Thanks a lot!"

Right then, hugging her would have been the most natural thing to do.

Unfortunately, Mira seemed perfectly satisfied just seeing how happy he was. She gave him a little wave and said, "Alright, I'll get back to work. You do your best too."

Rhodes's reading speed skyrocketed. His heart felt lighter, and his mood was soaring.

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēenovelkiss.com Only.

Thanks to that boost, he made huge progress in the afternoon.

Later that evening, Rhodes trained lightly with Mira and Elfman, careful not to overexert himself before the mission.

Seeing him pushing himself, Mira gently reminded him, "You should head back early and get some rest. Here's your key."

"No need," Rhodes said easily. "I have a spare."

Mira froze for a moment.

Did he have to leave a spare key with her too?

Still, arguing would only encourage him to find even more outrageous excuses. She sighed lightly and said, "Fine. Just be careful this time."

Rhodes smiled shamelessly. "I'm counting on you to watch the house again while I'm away!"

"Manly!" Elfman roared, slamming his fist into his palm. "Let's have another manly fight before you go!"

...

When Rhodes finally made it home, he was still rubbing his sore arm, thinking how much Elfman had improved lately.

As someone who may have certain thoughts about Elfman's sister, Rhodes felt an increasing amount of pressure.

He pulled out his key, unlocked the door, and turned on the light.

The moment he stepped inside, he almost didn't recognize the place.

The bed was neatly made. The training equipment was carefully sorted and pushed into a corner. The magazines and stationery on the desk were neatly stacked away, though the book he had left upside down on the table remained untouched.

The three potted plants had been moved inside, still thriving vibrantly.

The framed photo of the guildmates on the wall, along with the handful of paintings gifted by Reedus, had all been carefully dusted until spotless.

Normally, Rhodes kept the house clean enough, but it was always a little messy, he had never organized it this meticulously before.

It wasn't hard to guess who had done all this.

Rhodes stood at the doorway for a long time, just silently taking it all in.

Finally, he clenched his fist lightly and cheered himself up under his breath,

"Alright... let's do this."

The next morning, Rhodes headed to the guild to meet up with Erza, and to say goodbye to Mira.

For some reason, leaving felt harder than usual.

The moment he stepped out of the guild doors, he was already looking forward to the day he'd come back.

...

As always, Erza was dragging a luggage cart loaded with bags. Her Requip space was packed to the brim with clothes, armors, and weapons.

Anything she didn't use often had to be stored back at the dormitory.

By comparison, Rhodes, a beginner at Requip Magic, traveled light:

he only carried a single bag stuffed with books and materials to read on the road.

This time, instead of rushing to rent a carriage, they needed to take a train first crossing the Kroba Grand Canyon to reach the last station, and then figure out how to get to the mission site.

Since it was a border area, things might not be as orderly as within Fiore itself. There might not even be any coachmen willing to head that way.

If it came to that, they'd have to rely on the hardworking Scuttle crabs again.

Dragging his bag along, Rhodes muttered, "Wow... carrying all this luggage onto the train only costs an extra ticket. This station's policies are really generous."

"Of course," Erza replied matter-of-factly.

"I mean," Rhodes continued, "if someone wanted to exploit this system, like mass purchasing or smuggling goods—the profit could be huge, right?"

Erza shook her head firmly.

"No. We're wizards. It's normal for us to carry extra luggage for missions. But if it's commercial goods, the station has separate rules for merchants. They won't let people take advantage of loopholes like that."

"..."

Rhodes thought to himself that this world's systems really were idealistic, and surprisingly humane.

...

Bonus Chapter