On the way back, we took the train from Onibus Station.
This time, without Rhode forcefully occupying a seat, Alzack mustered up the courage to sit next to Bisca.
However, a gap was still deliberately left between them, and one of them turned his head to look at the scenery outside the window, while the other lowered their head to look at the aisle.
Rhode took out a deck of playing cards to lighten the mood. From now on, he would truly leave it to Alzack to work on it himself.
It felt like their relationship could enter a passionate phase at any moment, maybe even faster than his own progress.
Jealous.
Rhode planned to practice for a few more days after returning, then choose a task suitable for completing with Elfman.
The journey was uneventful, except the weather seemed gloomy as they approached Magnolia.
Bisca inadvertently glanced out the window: "Who's that person?"
Rhode and Alzack looked outside, and on a small hill in the outskirts, there stood a man in a cloak, carrying several magic staffs on his back.
Rhode said, "That outfit looks like Mystogan, right? I saw him once a few days ago, but unfortunately didn't see his face."
Alzack mentioned, "So that's what Mystogan looks like… he wraps himself up so excessively, doesn't he?"
Both he and Bisca were seeing Mystogan's figure for the first time, though they had been hypnotized by him several times in the past.
If not for today, they might not have recognized him on the street in the future.
Rhode proposed, "Hey, how about taking this chance to shoot a few sneaky shots at him?"
Bisca was taken aback, "Why?"
"Isn't it annoying? When you were hypnotized and fell, didn't you hit your head?" Rhode recalled his own hypnotic experiences, back then...
Huh? Back then, it seemed like he had fallen together with Mira.
But because he was frightened, he didn't pay attention.
Could Mystogan actually be a good guy?
No, no, you can't settle the score like that; rudeness is rudeness.
"I think it's a good idea." Alzack was a bit tempted; secretly shooting a tranquilizer at him to make him sleep in the wild as revenge didn't seem excessive at all.
"But it's not a good time now; he seems to be doing something important." Bisca frowned, "Is that called practicing?"
At this moment, Mystogan had planted five magic staffs into the ground, and a small vortex was forming in the clouds, as if trying to open a hole in the sky.
Mystogan's clothes and cloak fluttered in the wind as he grasped the middle staff with both hands.
The magic array lit up layer by layer from bottom to top, with beams shooting into the clouds.
The hole in the sky quickly shrunk, the vortex reappeared, but this time it spun in the opposite direction, getting smaller and smaller, until it finally disappeared, as if nothing had happened.
Mystogan's tense body relaxed, and he slowly slotted the staffs back onto his back. His departing figure looked somewhat disheveled.
Rhode asked, "What kind of magic can influence the weather and clouds?"
"A magic-guided cluster cannon might disperse a small patch of clouds," Bisca said. "Is that the power of one of the guild's strongest candidates? How strong is he?"
"I don't know," Alzack said, "but he didn't look like he was practicing."
"Let's ask the President when we get back," Rhode remembered Mira mentioning that Mystogan had been around Magnolia recently.
Then what they saw might have been him doing some task, staying nearby for that reason.
Rhode stared at the gloomy sky; was Mystogan's task… to cause artificial rain?
...
"Mystogan has his tasks; you don't need to worry about him," Makarov skipped over the topic of Mystogan directly.
The three of them took it as a high-level task requiring confidentiality when he said that.
Rhode reported the task situation to the President and Mira, praising Alzack and Bisca's shooting skills and fighting power.
Alzack and Bisca in turn praised Rhode's preparation before the battle and his coordination during the fight.
Rhode's presence saved them a lot of time, reduced a lot of trouble, and even solved many small problems along the way.
Alzack quietly added in his heart; he also helped solve a big issue.
Mira wrote a few words in the register book and smiled, "Confirmed completion, congratulations."
She looked at Rhode, her eyes burning with gossip, seemingly eager to hear about what happened on the road.
Makarov chuckled, "You did very well."
Although it wasn't a particularly difficult task, wiping out all the bandits within a short period without any unexpected events or excessive damage was already worthy of a 'very good' from him.
"Oh, by the way," Rhode suggested, "we haven't had lunch yet, should we eat together to celebrate? Hmm… in the guild?"
Alzack glanced at Bisca secretly, "I— I'm fine with that."
Bisca also glanced at Alzack secretly, "Sure, good."
Although they had eaten together yesterday, that was during the task, and now they were in the guild!
Rhode sighed internally; he initially thought he wouldn't bother with them in the future.
But Mira obviously wanted to watch the drama.
So Rhode, rather disloyally, decided to set Alzack up.
Or rather, from his perspective, he was actually being loyal.
If his old roommates once exerted so much effort as a wingman, he would have been seen as not just loyal, but as a loyal brother.
"Mira, have you eaten?" Rhode asked, "Want to join us?"
Mira blinked, "Is it alright?"
"Of course," Alzack thought he had seen through Rhode's little scheme and believed he couldn't be disloyal.
Bisca probably thought the same; having one more person could ease the awkward atmosphere a bit.
So the four of them sat together at a table in the guild, and the atmosphere wasn't awkward, but it was quite odd.
Rhode and Mira thought they were watching Alzack and Bisca, while Alzack and Bisca thought they were watching Rhode and Mira.
While eating, they talked about yesterday's experiences. The busybodies in the guild felt they got the scoop on these four.
So everyone had a fulfilling lunch that day, both in food and in gossip, almost to the point of bursting.
"What a mistake…" Rhode regretted afterward, "I originally planned to let you see the excitement up close, but it turned out so strange in the end."
Mira laughed, "But don't you think it's more interesting this way?"
Rhode rarely retorted Mira, "...What you find interesting sure is peculiar..."
Makarov suddenly asked, "Rhode, when do you plan to go out next time? Do you have someone you want to form a team with?"
"President, you're asking again?" Rhode couldn't help but smile wryly, "I just got back; did someone make you write a review again?"
"That's not the issue," Makarov said, "it's already November now; the S-Class Mage exam is next month.
With your skills, putting in a bit more effort gives you a chance to participate. But… do you remember how many tasks you completed in total?"
"Uh… four…" Rhode counted, "One of them was with Mira taking care of me, so it counts as three, I guess."
Makarov sighed, "Three tasks in four months — although they were all challenging and completed very well — but in terms of quantity… it's really just too few."
The S-Class exam will be held mid-December, but the qualification will be decided at the beginning of the month.
In other words, if Rhode wanted to participate, he only had this one month left.
With only three task experiences, there's absolutely no possibility for him to participate.