Rhode's investigation began with the Guild photo album.
Since Mira said that Mest joined the Guild a long time ago, even if there aren't solo photos, we should be able to find him in group photos, right?
My photo from the magazine was included in the album, and I also took group photos with everyone during the harvest festival.
However, after flipping through it all, Rhode still didn't see a single photo of Mest.
Lidas's art collection in the library also didn't include Mest's image.
Is this person as mysterious as Mystogan?
Though unlikely, it's not impossible, especially since Mira, Kana, and Elfman couldn't explain Mest's situation clearly.
So, to understand him, it's necessary to review the past task records, but...
Having helped Mira organize task records before, Rhode knows how many tasks occur in a month and can imagine the terrifying number per year.
Thinking of the mountain of materials makes Rhode's head ache.
"I need to borrow a pair of Wind's Glasses... but it seems like Reby isn't here today."
Recently, Reby took on a lot of tasks by herself — despite having little confidence, she still wanted to try.
There are too few people like Rhode who don't care about the S-Class from the beginning.
"'Guild Member Roster'? That's good, at least it can tell when he joined the Guild, helping to narrow down the search area."
The first name in the roster is President Makarov, followed by Porlyusica, then Kildas, Macao, Wakaba — all those long-standing members.
It's arranged by the order of joining the Guild and doesn't include members who have passed away or left, aside from First Generation President Mebius.
Rhode reasonably suspects there might be another roster recording all members up to now.
He flipped through it from beginning to end, finding his name, and then from end to beginning: "Nothing?"
Having carefully gone through it a third time, Rhode still didn't find Mest's name.
"What the hell?"
…
Rhode, holding the roster, with a heavy heart, approached the President to figure things out.
Makarov sensed something was off: "Mest? Of course, he's a member of our Guild; why do you ask?"
"Because his name isn't in this roster, and there's no trace of him in the Guild's albums or art collections." Rhode flipped to the last page, pointing at his name,
"Even my name is here, indicating recent updates. If he's a longtime member, how could he possibly be forgotten to register?"
Makarov found it a bit tricky; missing Mest in the album was expected because any photos featuring him were taken away.
As for the roster, it's a book with a living connection magic; when the emblem disappears from the body, the name goes along with it.
Mest's original emblem had been temporarily removed for undercover work, so his name naturally disappeared.
Even though it's not real-name undercover work, it needs to be foolproof.
This way, when presenting the roster to the Advisory Council, no flaws would be found — the book was originally intended to handle the Council's periodic Guild personnel list inspections.
Unexpectedly, Rhode uncovered this at such a time.
Makarov had a bit of a headache: "Why suddenly start investigating Mest?"
"Because he's supposed to be Kana's partner. Isn't it necessary to investigate the opponent before exams?" Rhode said, "You know my style."
"…" Makarov nodded.
Indeed, this child investigates the local situation even for small tasks outside Magnolia, let alone a major event like the S-Class exam.
Being cautious is good, but at times like this... even Makarov didn't recall such details.
Do we temporarily restore Mest's emblem? But that guy might currently be reporting to the Advisory Council — this would be betraying a teammate, wouldn't it?
"Ahem..." Makarov thought for a moment and said, "I have Mest's photos because he rarely has them taken. So I kept them purposefully, and as for the roster... perhaps it was just missed during a transcribing session."
Rhode stared at him, his expression seemingly asking, 'Do I look like an idiot to you?'
Developing more photos isn't difficult, and such an important thing like a roster couldn't be neglected.
"Can you help me retrieve a few of Mest's task records? I mean, those regular tasks that don't involve confidential content; surely there's at least one?"
"Currently, all tasks he's done require confidentiality." Makarov felt uneasy under Rhode's gaze, lying to his child...
No, he wasn't lying, "In any case, Mest is definitely a Guild member, there's no doubt about that."
"Then..." Rhode suddenly stopped, "Wait a minute."
He stepped back a few paces, scanning the tavern with his eyes: "Erza, can you come over here for a sec?"
"Hmm?" Erza approached, "Is something the matter?"
Not far away, Mira also walked over quickly, curiously watching him, feeling as though she'd missed some big gossip while serving dishes.
"Erza, you stand in the front, ready for battle; Mira, step back a bit, come stand here." Rhode pulled Mira to hide behind Erza.
Erza asked with confusion, "Battle? With whom?"
Makarov looked at him helplessly: "What's this about?"
Rhode bent over, casually pressing down on Mira's head to make her crouch lower.
Mira swatted his hand away but felt something exciting was about to happen, so she cooperated by hiding.
Rhode cautiously asked: "Uh, President, is there any kind of magic in this world capable of controlling your spirit?"
Makarov's forehead veins popped, thinking this brat suspects he's been controlled!
Calling Erza over was to possibly guard against himself going berserk, finding someone to counteract himself, right?
Even in this situation, to remain cautious, Makarov didn't know whether to be pleased or annoyed.
"Hahaha..." Mira laughed, clutching her stomach; although unaware of the issues, Rhode had actually seriously arrived at such a conclusion.
And he even prepared for the event of the President attacking them once exposed.
It's just hilarious!
"Has the President been controlled? Can you be sure?" Erza opened her right hand, summoning a longsword, truly prepared to protect Rhode and Mira at a moment's notice.
Makarov sighed wearily: "Regarding Spirit Magic, once one realizes they're being influenced, resisting becomes quite easy.
Unless the technician's magic power is vastly superior to mine, it's entirely different."
"..." Erza put down the sword; this seemed unlikely.
Moreover, if someone with far superior magic power intended to plot against them, resistance would essentially be futile.
Rhode considered: "Then..."
Makarov gave him a look: "You're not thinking about memory-affecting magic, are you?"
Rhode nodded.
"Theoretically, Memory Magic can impact someone far superior in magic power to oneself. Similarly, as long as one suspects such magic, it can be easily cracked.
I've self-checked and indeed haven't been affected by this magic; satisfied?"
Makarov looked at the sneaky kid hiding behind Erza, really wanting to give him a knock on the head.
When he finished talking, Mira and Erza paused simultaneously: "President, I..."
Makarov raised his hand to stop them from continuing.
He glared at Rhode, jumped off the counter, and clasped his hands behind his back: "Come with me."