Mira wore a white off-the-shoulder thin sweater today, with simple and attractive patterns.
Her lower body was dressed in deep blue wide-leg jeans, paired with white flat shoes.
The simple outfit looked elegant and capable.
However, the sweater design, with long sleeves extending to cover half the palm but exposing the shoulders and delicate collarbones, made it hard to tell if it was meant to cool or keep warm.
After careful study, Rhode finally realized that the most important meaning of this design was its beauty.
The two went out together as agreed, nearing noon, leaving the tavern affairs to Laki, Sally, and Iz.
Having just received Rhode's gift the day before, even complaints were hard to voice now.
Envious glances from others were inevitable, but it didn't get to the point where they would stop them like geese.
"Are you cold?" Rhode knew asking this was a bit direct, but he couldn't help it.
"It's not cold in the guild, and now it's midday, so it's alright," Mira said, pausing to brush her hair, then asked, "Doesn't it look good?"
Rhode was a bit surprised Mira would ask that.
He pointed to his own eyes, "I thought you could see the word 'good-looking' in my eyes."
"Really? Let me take a closer look." Mira stepped up, turned in front of Rhode, and looked into his eyes with a smile.
Rhode stopped and gazed at her, at her light blue pupils, slightly drooping eyes, lovely eyelashes...
Also noticed her unnaturally lifting a hand to adjust her hair.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward, and Rhode could feel the temperature on his cheeks slightly rising.
Staring into the eyes of a girl you like but haven't confirmed a relationship with is definitely not a good idea.
Both of them awkwardly averted their gaze, not sure whether to stop or proceed.
"Sister Mira! Brother Rhode!"
They arrived just in time, and both of them sighed in relief.
"Romeo?" Mira recognized the child who often played at the guild, "Are you out alone?"
Rhode knew this child, the son of Macao, only five years old, who usually liked to play with Natsu and Hapi.
During the time when Rhode's 'strongest newcomer' news was a hit, Romeo had admired him a bit but still couldn't compare to Natsu.
"Uh-huh." Romeo nodded and asked, "Sister Mira, is Brother Natsu in the guild?"
"Natsu and Hapi are out working, and they might be back tomorrow or the day after,"
Mira saw Romeo's disappointed expression and added, "Your dad is at the guild, you can go find him."
Romeo shook his head, "My dad has things to do, I can't keep bugging him.
I'll go play with other friends, bye Sister Mira, bye Brother Rhode!"
"Bye." Rhode and Mira waved, feeling a bit reluctant to tell him that Macao was just drinking in the guild.
But Romeo probably knew what his dad was like, maybe what he sees now is what he thinks grown-ups do.
Rhode said, "Romeo seems to be proud that his dad is a mage of Fairy Tail, right?"
"Yeah, unlike Wakaba's daughter." Mira recalled Wakaba complaining about family issues a few days ago, "Wakaba doesn't seem very popular with his daughter, and lately, he's been arguing with his wife again."
"He's really bad at handling family relationships." Rhode recalled the past when he and Mira coincidentally helped to ease the tension.
Chatting about the small gossip of the guild, they unknowingly arrived at the restaurant Mira mentioned.
The cuisine here was truly varied, and Rhode once again experienced that.
They had just ordered braised chicken with chestnuts, cumin mushrooms, pine nut corn, original juice clams, stir-fried pork with green peppers, and a lotus root rib soup.
Although the signs, names, and decor were in the common style of this world, it was actually a Chinese restaurant!
Since he often ate at the guild, Mira was quite familiar with Rhode's dietary habits and taste preferences.
No wonder she said Rhode might like it here.
"What's up?" Mira chuckled, finding Rhode's surprised expression quite amusing.
Rhode looked at her, "A bit surprised, uh, thank you."
"Well, it seems my guess was right," Mira blinked her left eye slightly, looking a bit mischievous.
Rhode wished she knew that winking irresponsibly was against the rules.
In the deep autumn season, the dishes they ordered were all seasonal vegetables, quite fresh-tasting.
Combined with the excellent culinary skills of the restaurant's chef and their good spirits, Rhode enjoyed this meal very much.
"Slow down, I'm not going to compete with you for food."
Mira served a small bowl of soup and pushed it in front of Rhode, already used to how absorbed he was when eating.
These dishes didn't look difficult to learn, maybe next time…
For now, just wait a bit longer.
A while later, both had put down their chopsticks, each holding small bowls of soup, chatting.
A cloaked, masked man with a magic staff passed by outside, noticing them, then suddenly flicked his cloak and vanished like a phantom.
Rhode hesitated, "That person..."
Mira said, "It's Mystogan."
Rhode remarked, "If he covers up so tightly, why does he always use sleep magic every time he comes to the guild?"
This guy was overly cautious, not only wearing a scarf and mask but also wrapping his arms and calves in bandages, looking as if he was seriously injured.
"For safety's sake, I guess." Mira blinked, "I thought you'd understand."
"How could I understand… Are you categorizing me as a weirdo?"
"It's not me categorizing; it's everyone," Mira laughed, "And even if he's a weirdo, he's a reliable one."
"... Let's talk about Mystogan then; does he always take high-difficulty tasks?"
Rhode knew Mira hadn't directly interacted with Mystogan, but she held the task records.
And being such a gossip enthusiast, she would definitely pay extra attention.
"No, he usually takes ordinary tasks." As expected, Mira knew and pondered, "Sometimes he takes tasks far away with a reward not high for him, seemingly intentionally going far away."
Rhode speculated, "Could he be someone who loves traveling? Using tasks as an opportunity to travel the country or something?"
Mira softly shook her head, "But after the festival, during the time when you and Gray weren't around, he seemed to stay near Magnolia. No discernible pattern."
"Has he ever teamed up with anyone?"
"Not at all, always solo."
"Feels like he's hiding some big secret." Rhode felt such a mysterious figure wouldn't wander around aimlessly.
Maybe, like Natsu, he's searching for something important through his tasks.
Keeping an eye on strange occurrences near the city lately might lead to some discoveries.
Although, the idea of traveling the country was rather appealing...
Perhaps, after getting a bit stronger, he could do just that, using tasks to travel and maybe inviting Mira to form a fixed team or something.