Without fully understanding why they accepted the strange agreement, the two of them left Robin Lu's tent in a daze.
Rhode grumbled, "Do old people always talk in such a cryptic manner?"
Gray frowned, "Something about being destined to disappear, and the magic of light deceiving while shining brightly... I don't understand any of it."
"Asking doesn't get a straight answer, and when they speak, they refuse to go into detail. It's so frustrating..."
Rhode only knew that Wendy would most likely become a member of Fairy Tail in the future, which meant something would change at the Cat Transformation Inn.
Just like Robin Lu said, it won't be able to continue.
Is it financial difficulties, or is it an attack from a dark guild like the Naked Bandage Man?
Either way, the disappearance of the Cat Transformation Inn would be too cruel for Wendy. I wonder if there's any way to prevent it.
Even if it means she won't join Fairy Tail... so what?
What Wendy loves the most is the Cat Transformation Inn, and not being in the same guild doesn't mean they can't be friends.
Later, Carla found Rhode and Gray while Wendy was reading, "The president talked to you about Wendy, right?"
Rhode asked, "How did you know?"
"Because he talked to Wendy a few days ago," Carla replied, "What did you say?"
Gray answered naturally, "Of course, we should respect Wendy's wishes. Joining any guild is everyone's freedom."
"Hmm, you're not as annoying as I thought," Carla glanced at Gray, then quickly turned away and added, "if only you could put on your clothes properly."
"Huh?!"
...
The next morning, despite Wendy's reluctance, Rhode and Gray had to head back.
Of course, Rhode planned to buy some local specialties as gifts to bring back.
The local specialties included clothing, fabrics, various woven items, and wooden crafts.
These items are said to be made using weaving and carving techniques passed down for centuries, making them quite memorable.
In fact, the enthusiastic villagers intended to give them away for free, saying they produced so much, and with the small population, they couldn't use it all.
But he couldn't just take them for free, so he only accepted a few gifts from Wendy and Carla, and paid for the rest.
When he didn't have enough money, he even borrowed some from Gray, intending to reimburse him with his reward later.
He did this because he had been taken care of by everyone and hadn't given back much.
It felt similar to buying gifts for one's family with the first paycheck after graduation.
When accompanying Mira to the Royal Capital, he didn't have enough funds and felt embarrassed to borrow from her; similarly, during the mission with Natsu, there was nothing special in the small village; this time seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Gray, being a seasoned fellow, didn't have as many worries and felt awkward about deliberately bringing gifts for someone.
Moreover, he wasn't particularly interested in fabrics or clothing.
Rhode left with one backpack and one suitcase, but returned with an even larger suitcase.
Gray grumbled, "Why am I the one carrying the things you bought?"
"It's just inconvenient for me. How about you carry this for me?" Rhode handed him a small bag.
Gray chose to stay far from him, who wants to carry a bunch of explosives?
Wendy, Carla, President Robin Lu, and a few villagers accompanied them to the village entrance.
Robin Lu simply stood there with his hands behind his back, smiling at them without saying much.
Tears welled up in Wendy's eyes, "Mr. Rhode, Mr. Gray, will you come back?"
Rhode patted Wendy's head, "We'll come to play when we have time, Wendy, you can come to Magnolia to visit us too."
"Exactly." Gray crouched down to talk to Carla, glanced over at Rhode and Wendy, and laughed, "Do they need such consolation?"
Carla disapproved, "No need, stay away from me, and wear your clothes properly. Be careful, or the security team will mistake you for a pervert."
Gray retorted helplessly, "Saying such things at a time like this."
Rhode added, "It's not Carla's fault, you really should put your clothes on properly, including your pants."
"..."
Rhode felt exhausted, he was tired of saying the same things over and over.
The touching farewell atmosphere was completely ruined by this guy.
On the way back, everything was peaceful, the biggest challenge was keeping an eye on Gray.
After several failed attempts and being mistaken for a perverted companion, Rhode also chose to keep his distance from him.
The two of them soon grew tired of each other: one disliked the other for possibly exploding at any moment, while the other was annoyed by the other possibly stripping. Without Wendy and Carla accompanying them, animosity arose.
However, to avoid causing a commotion, Rhode summoned Warm to follow behind Gray and pick up his clothes.
A pet picking up dropped items was a perfectly reasonable setup.
But Warm objected, protesting that it hadn't been allowed out to play for days, only to be summoned for work?
Rhode produced some 'wages', and both sides came to an agreement.
-----------------
"Welcome back!"
After many days, seeing Mira's sweet smile once again felt incredibly heartwarming.
"I'm back!" Rhode placed all his luggage temporarily at the counter, "I feel like I've been gone for a year, I'm exhausted."
Gray calmly replied, "That's quite an exaggeration, weren't we just having fun the last two days?"
"You don't understand, it's called travel fatigue, and it needs to be healed with family smiles and care."
Rhode relaxed his whole body, propped his chin up with one hand, and used any excuse to steal a few more glances at Mira.
"You've worked hard." Mira poured two glasses of water, pushed them towards Rhode and Gray, and watched them gulp them down. Then she called up the stairs, "President, Rhode and Gray are back!"
Makarov agilely leapt down from the second floor, not at all like an eighty-seven-year-old man, "Yo, you two worked hard."
"President, use the stairs properly." Mira puffed out her cheeks behind the counter, looking very cute.
"I know, I know." Makarov dismissively replied to Mira like a scolded student being dismissive to a teacher.
"I'm already aware of the mission situation, you two did amazingly. I was actually..."
Makarov spoke while trying to wipe away tears, "I was actually praised by the Advisory Council, sob, sob... How wonderful, it was done exceedingly well!"
Rhode didn't expect the president's reaction to be so intense, "It's not to the extent of being this emotional, right?"
Mira chuckled, covering her mouth, "The president was excited all day yesterday, and his walk even seemed more energetic than usual."
The more Mira spoke like this, the more Rhode felt for the president. He should probably stop troubling him in the future...
Hmm, better return the Bursting Magic Crystal from the bag to avoid unexpected explosions.
Gray felt a bit guilty, knowing he bears some responsibility for the president's state and vowed not to randomly strip in the future!
Rhode decided to let the president vent a little, then hoisted his backpack and headed to the storage room, leaving a remark before departing:
"Gray, your clothes."
"Oh."