The eye mask service provided by Mira for Rhode didn't last long.
Because someone came to take on a task, the President handed the work over to Mira, and Rhode had to handle it himself.
"Can I eat the eggs after using them as eye masks?" Rhode always wanted to ask this question.
Mira said, "It's best not to, but you could try and see if it gives you a stomachache."
Rhode thought about it and felt it was too wasteful to throw them away, so he rinsed them with water and stuffed them into Warm's mouth.
After all, it never had a stomachache regardless of what it ate.
Warm not only didn't mind but also wanted to thank him.
It even wanted two more.
"Next time I get beaten up, I'll give you more." Rhode pinched Warm's furry little face and tossed it into the serving hatch.
Mira reminded, "Rhode, Mr. Cook will get angry."
The consequences of angering the chef are dire, so Rhode quietly said, "Don't tell him I did it; Warm can't talk anyway."
"Hmm... let me think..." Mira thought for a moment and slid over the tavern's bill for the past few days, "Unless you help me finish this accounting."
"I promise I won't make a mistake even for 1J!" Rhode straightened the bill and picked up a pen to start calculating.
After thinking for a bit, he paused and ran behind the counter to sit beside Mira.
Mira glanced at him and muttered quietly, "Seriously."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Mira, this task!" Jet placed a request form in front of Mira, looking very anxious.
"Let me see." Mira looked over it, found no problem in terms of difficulty, "Are you going alone? What about Reby and Troy?"
Troy also slapped a request on the counter: "Mira, I want this task. Please hurry, our Lane Engine Squad is temporarily disbanded!"
"Oh right, it's about that time again!"
"Darn, Jet and Troy got ahead of us!"
"I also need to work!"
A group of people who were relaxed a moment ago suddenly crowded in front of the bulletin board.
"Move aside, Nabu, you never work anyway!"
"Who said that? I'm looking for a job only I can complete."
"Who cares! Move, move!"
Poor Nabu was hoisted overhead by the crowd and passed along until he was thrown outside.
"What's going on all of a sudden?" Nabu rubbed his butt and stood up, sitting down next to Macao, who was still drinking.
Macao looked like a seasoned pro: "Ah, ah, they've started this early in the year?"
"Young people are so full of energy." Wakaba sighed, "By the way, Nabu, aren't you going to put some effort into this? It's the S-Class exam, you know."
"So it's the S-Class exam! Of course, I..." Nabu perked up but immediately felt dejected again, "I can't do it without task experience, can I?"
Macao said, "Then go work, those guys are just cramming at the last minute, competing to show off."
Nabu hesitated but then firmly said, "No, I must find a job that only I can do!"
Macao felt a headache coming: "You're really stubborn."
"Hahaha..." Wakaba laughed, "Isn't our whole Guild full of people like that?"
Mira and Rhode were gradually surrounded by Alzack, Wolian, Marcus, Bigda, and others, all vying for tasks.
"No wonder you said it's going to be busy for a while." Rhode looked at the surging crowd and naturally took on the task of writing down their requests.
Mira couldn't keep up with chatting with him anymore: "Don't rush, one at a time..."
"I was here first!"
"No, I was!"
"Mira! Can't we skip this step?"
"No." Mira immediately refused, especially not this, "Wait until I confirm, don't leave on your own accord."
The people who couldn't hurry Mira had to urge Rhode:
"Then hurry up, Rhode!"
"Yeah, who registers and writes this slowly!"
Rhode couldn't understand their behavior: "What's the rush? It's not like the exam is tomorrow."
"You don't get it, during this time, you have to race against time!"
"Yeah, you don't understand anything, newbie!"
"Hurry up!"
Rhode was overwhelmed by their clamor and couldn't bear it anymore. He opened his mouth: "Erza!"
The crowd fell into a brief silence.
Then Erza's voice rang out: "Quiet down! Line up properly!"
Shush!
The crowd quickly formed a long line, though there was some shoving, at least Rhode's ears had some peace.
Having an enforcer like Erza around is great.
After a commotion, the ones forced to the back of the line glared at Rhode.
What the heck, calling Erza out of nowhere?
Rhode continued with his work, feeling that with his ability to attract resentment, if he didn't get stronger soon, his comrades might beat him to death.
Once he finally sent off this group of eager S-Class exam participants, Rhode rubbed his wrist: "Do they do this every year?"
Mira thought for a moment: "Pretty much, though it seems to be a few days earlier this year."
Laki added: "It seems Jet wanted to get a head start and got caught, leading to all this."
The tavern felt emptier than usual, leaving only those like Macao and Wakaba who thought they were too old and lacked potential, not wanting to bother with it.
Or those like Reby and Laki who lacked confidence and felt that taking more tasks was pointless now.
Of course, Erza didn't need to join the frenzy; she just stood with her hands on her hips, watching her comrades rush out, feeling proud of their efforts.
Besides them, there were only Natsu and Hapi in the corner.
Hapi sat on the table, quietly gnawing on a big fish, while Natsu leaned against the wall, snoring loudly.
Today's fighting or task grabbing hadn't affected him at all.
"Natsu he..." Rhode hesitated, "Should we take him to the church for a checkup?"
"Natsu doesn't go there for prayers." Mira gently shook her head, "But don't worry, they'll be full of energy again tomorrow."
"Alright." Rhode nodded, continuing to handle the paperwork in front of him.
Erza's best friend was invited by Alzack to team up, leaving no one to chat with, so she sat at the counter.
While everyone else was trying to work alone to prove their abilities, Alzack was busy grasping both hands.
But it was good that the child was maturing.
"Rhode, aren't you going to work?" Erza ordered a dessert and looked at Rhode helping Mira,
"I heard from the President that your abilities are excellent; even Bisca praises you highly. If you try hard, you might actually become S-Class."
"I'm still far from there; I'll just take it as it comes." Rhode said, "By the way, what are some of the contents of the S-Class exam?"
"That's hard to say; the exam content varies every year, but they're always quite challenging."
Erza clenched her fist, her expression serious to the point of being a bit strange, "But as long as you have determination, you can definitely pass the exam!"
Heh, she said it like it's true, Rhode almost believed it.