Goldman and Yajima came to Magnolia to see Fairy Tail's Magical Parade, and also to visit old friends.
Makarov originally planned to take them to the guild to show off the outstanding young people.
But in the end...
Luckily, the two weren't exactly outsiders; they knew what kind of character Fairy Tail had.
The three chatted in the guild while enjoying a bowl of ramen, then left together to visit Porlyusica.
"Hurry up and work! It's our fault if we embarrass the President!"
Before leaving, the President asked Erza to supervise everyone to repair the guild, so Erza changed into worker's clothes, put on a safety helmet, took a megaphone, and seriously started overseeing the work.
Gray's shirt vanished without a trace, and he hammered away at the wall, complaining, "Laki, can't you just fix it directly?"
Laki wagged her finger, "No way, Erza said I can only fix tables and chairs, and not to disrupt the construction plan."
Wakaba, puffing on a cigarette, grumbled, "Why do we have to listen to her?"
Macao gave a thumbs up, "Well said, Wakaba, you go take down Erza!"
Wakaba pointed at himself, "Me? What are you joking about?"
Mira and Rhode brought tea to comfort their hardworking companions, one smiling and the other stifling laughter.
Jet grumbled, "Rhode, you're really fast at running away!"
Troy chimed in, "That's right, I remember you should be deep inside!"
"I just felt sorry for the President and didn't want to participate in the destruction, what's wrong with that," Rhode said, looking at Reby, "Reby, how about I teach you to write the word 'miserable' today?"
Reby waved her hand with a wry smile.
Jet and Troy jumped up, "Bastard!"
"Hmm?" Supervisor Erza glanced over, and the two squatted down again, obediently working.
Rhode poured a cup of tea for Erza.
And poured another for a half-dead Natsu.
...
After a busy day, the long-awaited training time arrived in the evening.
Yesterday, Mira said she would join him.
What Rhode imagined as training together:
Checking on each other after various exercises to see if they're tired, wiping sweat, drinking water, and chatting.
Actual training together:
"A real man!"
Rhode looked at Mira, "Why is Elfman here too?"
Mira chuckled, "Because when Elfman heard I was trying to resume training, he insisted on coming along, because..."
Elfman, holding a barbell, did squats energetically shouting, "A real man must train with all his might to protect his sister!"
"Ha, haha, that's nice." Rhode busied himself with his own routine.
Having Elfman around is nice; when practicing Receiving Magic later, he can be an opponent.
Otherwise, he can't very well spar with Mira—losing would feel bad, and winning would be heartbreaking.
Mira watched the two of them sweating for a while with a smile, then changed into exercise-friendly clothes and started training herself.
Her goal was to increase strength, enhance flexibility, and recover magic power without building too much muscle.
As for how to increase strength without gaining muscle, mages have their own unscientific ways.
In the small courtyard behind the guild, counting, energetic sounds of exertion, and shouts of "A real man" rang out in succession.
During the break, Rhode and Elfman drank the lightly salted water prepared by Mira, watching Mira box.
Mira wore black sports shorts, a short, movement-friendly sports top, with a glimpse of fair skin at the waist.
Her long white hair was tied in a high ponytail, swaying side to side with her punching movements.
In this look, one could almost see a hint of that little delinquent in the photo.
Of course, her current aura leaned more towards a sunny, lively sports girl.
Rhode watched silently for a while, "Her punches are so sharp."
Elfman said, "Of course. Sister used to be very strong. A real man!"
"Does your sister know you call her a real man?"
"A real man is a real man!"
The future brother-in-law is hard to communicate with, might as well speak with fists later.
After a while, Mira seemed to also get tired, raising her arm to carelessly wipe the sweat from her forehead as she walked towards Rhode and Elfman.
Her face carried the rosy hue of post-exercise, sweat gliding down her cheeks, with a few strands of hair sticking wetly to her face.
Elfman stood up and said, "Sister, if it's too tiring, don't push yourself."
Rhode didn't say anything, extending a cup and a towel.
Mira smiled, took the cup, and sipped half of it.
"It's fine, Elfman. Exercising a bit after work makes my body feel less stiff."
Mira said while wiping sweat.
Elfman turned to look at Rhode, suddenly feeling as if he had lost.
But Rhode hadn't done anything, nor said anything, strange.
"If sister works this hard, I can't slack off either, a real man!"
"Wanna spar?" Rhode stretched his arm to the side, sometimes turning into a furry wolf claw, other times covered in green carapace.
"A real man!"
"Then I'll be the judge!" Mira flicked the towel twice, as cheerful as an ordinary girl.
Rhode wasn't worried at all about her playing favoritism.
The two of them started sparring in the yard with the sound of hits and claps.
"Elfman, go for it! Rhode, don't hold back!"
Mira cheered for them impartially, one moment supporting this one, the next that one.
Sparring with just 'Partial Receiving' against Elfman, Rhode felt somewhat uncomfortable.
In the Shadow Wolf form, while receiving wolf claws, he could also unleash the surrounding wolf spirit for a sudden attack from behind.
But such moves wouldn't be appropriate in a match with Elfman.
Better to engage straightforwardly and go all out if things get stuck, opening full body Receiving if needed.
It's really hard not to use surprise attacks in a fight.
After the fight, coach-turned-cheerleader Miss Mira suddenly transformed into an instructor.
Sometimes mentioning how Elfman missed the timing, other times pointing out where Rhode's moves were off.
Rhode adopted the position she suggested, either punching or kicking, then asking for her feedback.
Mira approached, lifted Rhode's arm, patted his knee, adjusting his posture.
"Like this?"
"Your fist should be like this."
Mira fixed Rhode's wrist, patting his shoulder, waist, etc., "And when punching, you should exert force here, here, like this, hey!"
As she spoke, she even demonstrated.
Rhode imitated her posture, even mimicking her voice on purpose, "Hey~"
Elfman punched the sandbag twice, suddenly wanting to spar with Rhode again.
With Elfman around, Rhode didn't mention taking her back, only borrowed a river crab from her.
She knew how to operate it.
The three parted ways, and the next day continued training together, then it was the day of the Harvest Festival.