That's just how Erza is—what she says may sound far-fetched, but she genuinely believes it.
Mira laughed, "Maybe Erza thinks she passed the S-Class exam because of her perseverance."
"That's exactly it!" Erza nodded decisively, then asked somewhat puzzled, "Weren't you like that too, Mira?"
"Well... maybe," Mira, who wasn't shy about mentioning the past now, nodded with a smile agreeing with Erza.
Rhode felt her expression was saying, 'Erza is so naturally clueless, it's amusing.'
But Kana didn't find it amusing; she took a long drink from her barrel before staggering over to lean on the counter.
"I... want to quit the guild."
Kana looked extremely downcast and even hiccupped as she spoke.
Erza, seeing her expression, didn't have the heart to reproach her and softly said, "Kana, that's a bit extreme, no matter what."
"But I've already failed three times in a row." Kana pointed her fingers one by one,
"Erza, Mira, then Mystogan, why do I always encounter you monsters..."
"Please don't point at me when mentioning Mystogan," Rhode corrected, then advised,
"Look at it this way: without these monsters this year, if you can make it through, it might be your best chance yet."
Kana sobered up halfway, realizing it might be true.
The toughest ones had 'graduated,' so perhaps this time, she could really succeed!
Kana decided immediately, "Mira, I want to take on a task!"
Mira laughed, "You can, but only after you've sobered up."
"I'm already sober!"
...
Elfman wasn't among those eagerly taking on tasks; he continued training with Mira and Rhode tonight.
The talk of fighting during the day wasn't on a whim—they actually intended to fight.
Mira acted as both referee and coach.
Rhode needn't worry about hitting too hard and making Mira angry; rather, he'd be corrected if he was too gentle or lacked decisiveness.
If Elfman had such issues... he currently didn't.
Both siblings took their training seriously.
Mira tried using Receiving Magic again, but unfortunately, it still only consumed Magic Power.
However, this time there was no worry of her collapsing, because Rhode could summon the Cyan Engraved Golem to grant her a 'Crown of Insight.'
Elfman was shocked: "Is this... your new Summoned Beast?"
Size often indicates strength, and the massive stone creature emitting blue light made Elfman feel the oppressive power akin to the Beast King.
Had Rhode become this powerful?
Perhaps Rhode thought that a strong summoned creature was different from being personally strong.
But to others, this was his magic, representing his strength.
Meanwhile, Mira was feeling the effect of the Crown of Insight, sensing her Magic Power rapidly recovering:
"A magic that can actually help someone recover their Magic Power? Isn't that something only Sky Magic can achieve?"
"Isn't that Lost Magic? Truly... a real man!" Elfman didn't personally know Wendy but had heard of the Sky Magic category.
Rhode patted the golem's ankle; reaching higher was a struggle:
"This big guy was successfully summoned only today, and the Crown of Insight on you is said to be a special form of Additional Magic, according to the President."
"Such a great effect," Mira observed the blue light patterns surrounding her, "It seems like more and more people will want to team up with you."
"That's a good thing," Rhode smiled, "By the way, Elfman, do you want to go on a task together? I recently bought a lot for the winter and need to earn some living expenses."
"Team up? With me?"
Apparently, Mira hadn't told him about arranging things for him.
But Rhode had a fitting excuse: "Recently, people prefer working solo. It's tough finding suitable teammates; just consider it helping out."
Mira gave Rhode a look, but combined with her little nose wrinkle, it didn't show a hint of reproach.
This expression might be better described as endearing.
"Well, it could work, but don't you need to help your sister..."
"It's fine, Elfman," Mira said, "Today's as busy as it'll get; not everyone will rush in together afterward."
"Exactly, and we could drag the President to do some work if needed," Rhode suddenly noticed Elfman seemed to want to persuade him to stay.
Had their bonding been successful lately?
Then they should team up more to get even more familiar with each other.
Mira tiptoed to adjust his collar, "Go ahead, pick a suitable task tomorrow, and just consider it a little outing to refresh your mind."
Rhode said, "Worst case, choose a short task and return the same day or the next."
"Alright." Elfman nodded, being arranged seamlessly by the duo.
...
Early the next morning, Rhode and Nabu stood in line in front of the announcement board.
Nabu, who never took on any tasks, was punctual as always.
Due to everyone's frenzied 'shopping' yesterday, there were noticeable empty spaces on the board.
If you looked closely, you could see some commissions' torn corners still hanging there.
Tasks with low difficulty but decent pay were almost all gone, making it hard to find a task with the right 'cost-performance' ratio that wasn't too far away.
It's understandable, as everyone was trying hard to meet their objectives, prioritizing tasks that paid well, required little work, and were close by.
Thinking about this, Rhode returned behind the counter, supporting his chin, staring at Mira.
Mira glanced at him curiously, "What is it? Aren't you looking for a suitable task?"
"I've looked; everyone's taste is so sharp," Rhode sighed, "So I thought, I'd wait for you to sort out the new tasks and snag one before anyone else."
"Oh, come on, you could've just said that," Mira closed her ledger, taking out a stack of papers.
But she remembered something and added, "But doing that, according to someone, amounts to abusing one's power, you know."
The very someone pretended that person wasn't him and swept his hand:
"It's fine, I'm the assistant to the President's assistant, so I can help you post them. Once posted, I'll immediately tear it down as Mage Rhode, which is completely procedural.
And, to boost work efficiency, we could skip... wait, I mean optimize those unnecessary procedures, so taking it directly from you is perfectly logical."
Mira happily sorted through her papers, picking out the suitable task slips to hand to Rhode.
Those not meeting the criteria were either slightly modified or completely redone, mainly ensuring elements like time, place, remuneration, client, and brief task details were accurate.
Rhode flipped through the task slips, shaking his head and exclaiming, "I'm doomed, honest Mage Mr. Rhode has been corrupted by Miss Mirajane's evil influence."
Mira lightly stepped on his toe.