On an autumn morning, the bright sunlight brought a bit of warmth that was easily taken away by the autumn breeze.
A streak of wispy clouds in the sky appeared undisturbed by the gentle ground breeze, only the yellow leaves on the roadside trees would briefly dance with the wind.
As a competent wingman, Rhode did not set off early but conscientiously arrived just in time.
Originally, he wanted to give the two some time alone, but when he reached the Guild, he found Alzack and Bisca standing awkwardly over a meter apart.
Bisca was leaning on a sniper rifle, occasionally spinning it, while Alzack's hand rested habitually on his gun holster, occasionally scratching his cheek with his forefinger.
Both would steal glances at each other, then quickly turn their heads away, afraid of being caught.
Who knew where Alzack learned all those covert observation tactics.
Standing at the Guild entrance, these two looked like gate guardians—one with the title "Clueless," the other dubbed "Lost for Words."
Rhode sighed and stepped forward to break the awkward atmosphere, "Sorry I'm late."
"No…"
Alzack and Bisca spoke simultaneously, stopped together, exchanged a glance, and then fell silent again.
Rhode looked at them helplessly.
Finally, Bisca spoke up, "We came early, the timing is just right."
Alzack: "Yes."
Rhode's timing was exactly right in every sense, and if this continued, he might not be able to resist fleeing.
"Shall we get going?" Rhode waved towards the Guild, and after getting the desired response, he signaled the two to leave.
The two shy individuals followed Rhode step by step, still a meter apart, resembling protectors on either side.
This isn't working, it's too awkward.
Rhode thought for a moment and asked, "Shall we take a carriage? What kind do you usually like to rent?"
"Just a regular double-horse carriage," Bisca replied. "I like horses; actually, if possible, I'd rather ride a horse."
Rhode looked at Bisca's outfit, which matched Alzack's cowboy style perfectly.
Unfortunately, Alzack didn't continue the conversation, so Rhode said:
"You seem so quiet at the tavern, turns out you're quite a cool person. No wonder you get along well with Erza."
Bisca, a bit shy, said, "That's not the reason. Actually, I knew Erza before joining the Guild…"
Bisca recounted how she met Erza and the opportunity that led her to join the Guild.
Alzack, seeing Rhode listening intently to Bisca, felt a sense of superiority—hahaha, I already knew how Bisca joined the Guild, while Rhode had no clue.
Rhode glanced at Alzack, poor guy.
Why don't you ask her a few questions?
Whether you know or not, how does it affect you asking?
The stories you hear from others and the ones you ask her about directly aren't the same, are they?
This makes you seem uninterested in her at all!
Rhode felt exhausted. He patiently listened to Bisca till the end, then laughed, "You actually pretended to be one of our Guild's Mages and didn't get beaten up by Erza."
Bisca was also a bit scared in hindsight and laughed, "Back then, I didn't understand what the Guild meant, just thought Fairy Tail was famous and prestigious.
Plus, being an immigrant from the Western Continent, I didn't have any skills to make a living, so I had to pretend to be a Mage to get by.
Now that I think about it, I probably brought a bit of disrepute to the Guild…"
Not really, Rhode shook his head, thinking, now that I think about it, just freeloading meals, charging protection fees, and playing the bully isn't that disreputable.
Looking at the silent and awkward guy next to her, Rhode decided to lend him a hand: "What about you, Alzack?"
"Ah? Oh, well, like Bisca, I'm an immigrant from the Western Continent…"
Finally, he knows to say, 'like Bisca, I'm…', Rhode felt slightly relieved.
Until Alzack finished his story and then asked:
"Actually, to get to Sunflower Village, we can take a train to Onibus first and then switch to a carriage, wouldn't that save some time?"
"..." Rhode paused, then replied, "Because the two of you are both armed, taking the train might scare other passengers."
Bisca wanted to say that she used Requip Magic, and holding the sniper rifle just looked cool, she could store it away at any time.
But she was evidently a bit smarter than Alzack, agreeing, "It's indeed more convenient to take a direct carriage."
Seeing Bisca say so, Alzack quickly nodded, "Y-yes, it is."
Rhode: "..."
Next time, whoever wants to take on this kind of task can do so, I'm not.
Not even for extra pay.
The three rented a carriage, and Rhode got on first, placing his bag on the seat next to him before Alzack could sit beside him.
He never thought that the seat-saving skills he had honed since college would come in handy today.
Alzack awkwardly sat with Bisca, unsure where to place his hands.
Bisca wasn't much better, they even deliberately left a gap between them.
Rhode chose to enjoy the show, casually holding the window frame, cheerfully waiting for the carriage to start.
As expected…
"S-sorry!" Alzack clumsily returned to his original position, sitting as properly as a student when the principal observes their class.
"It's, it's okay…" Bisca smoothed her hair, telling herself that this was a normal occurrence.
Just as expected, when the carriage moved, the two unprepared individuals bumped into each other, both blushing simultaneously.
Rhode found it amusing, a stranger bumping someone wouldn't feel awkward, and someone familiar wouldn't mind it.
But for people with a vague affection, even a slight physical contact would make them blush…
Though I have no right to say anything, watching others is really interesting.
Rhode thought that if Mira was also there to watch the fun, it would surely be more entertaining.
It was now 8:11 am, 11 minutes after Rhode left the Guild, and he was starting to miss her a bit.
...
The Guild had already been bustling for a while, Mira wiped the counter again before setting down the cloth to rest, "I wonder how Alzack and Bisca are getting along."
Laki teased, "Sister Mira, are you thinking about Alzack and Bisca, or the person who teamed up with them?"
"Don't say such nonsense." Mira threw the cloth over, "Of course it's about Alzack and Bisca. I feel their reactions on the road will be quite interesting."
"Yes, yes, those two seem well-matched." Laki laughed, catching the clean-looking cloth and continued using it to wipe the table.
Mira propped her chin on her hand, gazing at the Guild entrance, thinking the person watching Alzack and Bisca in person must be having a great time.
...