Due to being engrossed in his studies, Rhode missed the major event of posting the 'Miss Fairy Tail Contest' winners list in the guild.
Luckily, he already knew the results in advance.
The first prize undoubtedly went to Mira, who took home the 500,000 J reward.
Second place was Erza, who, although put on a show, some people enjoy the thrill.
Surprisingly, the third place went to Kana, it seems quite a few spectators couldn't forget this drunken beauty who couldn't showcase her magic.
But these rankings weren't that important, anyway, besides the first place, there were no other rewards.
Just a topic for everyone to chat about.
By the time Rhode left the library, everyone had gone home, Mira and Elfman were about to close the doors.
Warm, with its big tongue out, followed at their feet, only running over wagging its tail upon seeing Rhode.
It seemed to remember its owner.
Elfman asked, "So you're still around, didn't sis say you had a mission?"
Rhode replied, "I did a bit of research, we're setting off tomorrow morning."
"Mission..." Mira thought for a moment and only said, "Be careful."
"Don't worry, if it's just an investigation, there won't be any problems." Rhode patted his chest confidently.
Mira knew that was the sound of his magic book, she couldn't help but laugh, this guy really is reassuring.
The three walked together for a short distance before parting ways at a fork in the road, where Elfman said:
"Sis, even Rhode is going to work, maybe I should find a suitable mission tomorrow too."
"Why say 'even Rhode'?" Mira was a bit worried about how everyone saw Rhode,
"I just got my salary and bonus, there's no need to worry about household expenses."
"That's exactly why I should go out to work, how can a man rely solely on his sister!"
"Yes, yes." Mira glanced back, thinking about whether she should team Elfman up with Rhode next time.
That way, there's no need to worry about Elfman encountering danger or causing trouble, and incidentally...
No incidentally.
...
The next morning, the sun wasn't very warm, and the breeze felt somewhat refreshing.
Since it was a long trip, Rhode not only had a backpack but also brought a suitcase.
He was considering learning Requip Magic when he had some free time, this way, he could have extra storage space, making travel more convenient.
When he arrived at the station, Gray was waiting for him at the entrance with just a sling bag.
Rhode observed intently, this guy was properly wearing long pants, a shirt, and even wore an overcoat.
"Yo!" Gray raised his hand simply as a greeting.
"Morning." Rhode felt that just as he raised his hand, Gray's coat was already on the ground.
He wondered aloud, "How did you take off your overcoat without moving your sling bag and drop it on the ground?"
"Huh? What nonsense are you talking... hey?!" Gray hurriedly picked up the overcoat, "Ahem, let's go buy tickets first."
Rhode said, "Let's wait for Wendy and Carla, shall we?"
"Mr. Rhode!"
Wendy was carrying a backpack adorned with a little rabbit decoration, waving as she ran towards Rhode.
And then, bam!
Rhode's shoulder twitched, is this girl cursed to trip on flat surfaces every time she appears?
He stepped forward to help her up: "Are you okay?"
Wendy patted the dust off herself and politely said, "I'm fine, thank you, Mr. Rhode."
"I've told you not to be so hasty." Carla, with her hands clasped, followed leisurely,
"So Mr. Makarov was talking about you, why not clarify earlier? I was worried it'd be some weirdo."
"There actually is a weirdo." Rhode introduced, "This is Gray, the Ice Demon, who is teaming up with me..."
"Eek!" Wendy covered her eyes, her face turning beet red.
Carla exclaimed, "Hey, why did you bring a pervert along!"
"..." Rhode turned to see Gray was down to his boxer shorts, people entering the station were giving them a wide berth.
The first meeting of this impromptu team didn't seem so pleasant.
After a small hiccup, the four of them bought three tickets and took seats facing each other on the train.
Even though all three treated Carla as an individual, the ticket seller clearly didn't.
Rhode's envious look made Carla uncomfortable.
The little white cat's face turned a bit red: "Don't look at me like that, I didn't mean to fare evade!"
"I didn't say anything, your weight could be counted in Wendy's ticket, and they'd still break even." Rhode said, "Scam station, doesn't even offer child tickets."
Wendy's smile was a bit forced as she weakly said, "Uh, Mr. Rhode, if possible, I'd rather not be treated as a child."
"Ah, sorry, Wendy is a competent mage, definitely not a kid."
Carla retorted, "If you truly thought that, don't use a tone one uses to sweet-talk children."
"..." Well, Rhode couldn't help it, it was his first time encountering a child as charming and obedient as Wendy, he unconsciously did so.
Gray suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, what exactly are Carla and Hapi's species?"
"Hmph! Just think of me as a talking cat, you pervert."
"Carla, that's too rude." Wendy cast an apologetic glance at Gray.
Rhode waved it off: "It's okay, she's not wrong."
"Hey!" Gray glared at him.
Rhode said, "Try to control yourself a bit, really, at least don't strip in public."
With arms folded, Gray turned his head in silence, it wasn't like he did it on purpose.
"If you're bored, have a look at this." Rhode rummaged through his backpack, handing over the commission slip and a few sheets of paper to Gray.
"Huh? Wasn't the task content covered yesterday... what's all this?"
Gray removed the mission slip to reveal the simple outline map of the Southern Mountain Range on the first sheet below.
The map labeled the areas to search on the first day, the planned rest area, and search region on the second day, on the third day...
On the second sheet, it listed the poisonous insects and beasts to avoid on the mountain, and the food that was relatively easy to obtain.
Regarding water sources, it briefly noted that Gray's ice could be melted, or Text Magic could be used temporarily.
Further down were instructions on how to follow a target if discovered, the terrain spots that might be convenient for hiding, with a note to masquerade as stones using Stone Beetle to create cover.
Then there was a contingency plan for being discovered while tracking, subdivided into escape and combat, each with several ABC plans.
Lastly, it mentioned 'insufficient intelligence on the Zat Brothers as the investigative targets, unclear assistance status, cautious combat is crucial.'
Gray was dumbfounded: "Did you do this when teaming up with Natsu last time?"
Rhode shook his head: "No, didn't make a plan last time, as I lacked experience and figured Natsu wouldn't follow any, so it was all impromptu and orally stated."
Gray didn't know what to say, he seemed to understand why Natsu somehow hadn't caused any trouble in the subjugation mission.
An experienced mage of over eight years in the guild, Gray fell into deep thought, is this how a mage's work process should be?