Rhode nodded earnestly, "I saw it, very cute."
"Hey... you," Kildas's laughter subsided a bit, but the expression on his face became even warmer.
He only found out about Lisana from Natsu yesterday and then understood why Mira had changed so much.
After going out for a bit, he learned about Mira's fiancé.
Today, seeing this person, he seemed decent.
Mira took Kildas's arm off, reclaimed Rhode, and then asked, "Do you want something to eat? I just heard you say you were hungry."
"Oh~ that delinquent girl has become much more considerate!" Kildas said with great interest.
"You talk too much nonsense." Mira glared at Kildas.
Although Rhode had known for a long time and didn't mind, she didn't want people to always bring up her past in front of Rhode.
"Alright, alright, anything to eat is fine." Kildas said, scratching his head embarrassedly, "But I haven't worked for three years, no money in my pocket, so... how about treating me to a meal?"
Mira blinked, "Sure, but you have to finish everything I treat you with."
Kildas patted his chest in assurance, "Of course, I'm quite confident about my appetite."
Ten minutes later, Fairy Tail's strongest mage, Kildas, was moved to tears by a simple fried rice.
"Come on, you promised to finish it all~" Mira cheered him on, "A man should keep his word."
"A man!" Elfman just accepted a task and was about to leave. Hearing his sister's words, he only seemed to catch the word 'man', agreed first, and then spoke.
As Kildas ate, he shed tears, "Elfman... sob... has also changed quite a bit."
Rhode asked Mira, "What exactly did you put in the rice?"
Mira smiled happily, "Just a little wasabi."
"A little?"
"A whole tube."
"..." Well done, I'm sure Mira's special wasabi fried rice must be delicious; this is a new dish even Rhode hasn't tasted.
It's suitable for serving such a respectable senior.
"Mr. Kildas is quite popular." Wendy sat a bit further away, sharing a table with Lucy.
"Yeah, but... as expected of someone from Fairy Tail." Lucy has completely demystified Kildas by now.
The strongest mage caused such a big scene as soon as he entered the city. Lucy thought he must be a reliable and dignified person, but he turned out to be just like everyone else.
But then again, it makes him easier to approach.
Carla was a bit surprised by Mira's behavior, "Is Miss Mira really like this?"
Lucy felt a sense of empathy with Kildas, "It's not just Miss Mira, Mr. Rhode too, sometimes... they like to tease people."
Wendy smiled, "Carla seems to be getting more interested in everyone at the guild."
Carla tilted her head, "No, I'm just asking."
Wendy didn't argue, just smiled.
Lucy also looked at Carla and smiled.
Carla's face turned red, and she was about to retort.
Hapi suddenly flew over with a fish in its mouth.
Carla immediately shielded Wendy as if startled, "What do you want?"
Hapi, puzzled, explained, "I caught this fish myself this morning and asked Mr. Cook to grill it. I wanted to give it to Carla."
Carla seemed a bit angry, "I don't need it!"
Hapi's ears drooped, "Aye..."
Lucy patted his head; it seemed Carla never liked Hapi.
Also, her earlier reaction was strange, as if she was afraid Hapi might harm Wendy.
Lucy shook her head, puzzled why she had such strange thoughts. How could Hapi hurt Wendy?
He only hurts me...
Lucy suddenly didn't feel like comforting this silly cat anymore.
...
Time flowed normally into November.
Kildas's return added an extra buzz to the guild.
But he wasn't always staying in the guild; instead, he took on some random tasks to earn some living expenses. Afterward, he often left, arm in arm with Macao and the others.
Rumor has it they were off to have fun somewhere interesting.
These past days, Natsu often came to bother Rhode, either wanting to spar with him or to fight a dragon.
Rhode thought he should probably call Gajeel too, but he could never find him, so he just took Wendy.
But adding two Dragon Slayer Mages together couldn't even defeat one dragon.
Wendy was fine, since she hadn't been practicing attack magic for long. But Natsu was a bit anxious.
He couldn't get frustrated, just mad at not being strong enough, then went back to intense training.
Rhode was a bit worried about his health, but with Wendy watching over him, he was somewhat reassured.
Carla was a bit strange these days; it seemed like she was, intentionally or not, inquiring about Hapi, about his birth, about his growth.
But her attitude toward Hapi was also getting colder, and her slight curiosity toward the guild members turned into a deliberate avoidance of concern.
Wendy tried talking to Carla, but it was of no use.
Rhode, hearing Wendy's description, was equally clueless. Was it bad mood causing this haughty cat to have extra sassiness?
They still haven't found a house they were satisfied with.
However, Mira had found a few wedding dresses she liked and was hesitating on which one to choose.
Interestingly, it seemed that when the two of them visited a bridal shop, they coincidentally ran into Bisca and Erza secretly browsing wedding dresses.
Especially Erza, a single woman, got even more excited trying on wedding dresses than Bisca. If Bisca hadn't stopped her, Erza would have bought all the gowns in the store that day.
When leaving, she even took a bouquet of flowers.
Even after a few days, when Mira thought about it, she still seemed regretful, "What a pity. If Erza really bought all the wedding dresses, it would have been so fun."
Rhode helplessly said, "You actually expected something like that to happen... Aren't the dresses you like among those?"
"Ah, they are..." Mira pouted, seriously considering whether buying her wedding dress was more important, or watching Erza's drama.
Rhode finished his work, read a book for a while, then idly tried braiding Mira's hair.
Two small braids on either side of her shoulder-length hair looked particularly pretty.
Rhode examined Mira from side to side, carefully tidying her hair, asked, "Elfman should probably be coming back soon, right?"
Mira covertly took out a small mirror to confirm Rhode hadn't messed it up, and let him be.
"Yeah, he'll be back in the next couple of days one way or another." She said adorably fierce, "Or there's no need to come back."
Early November, Lisana's memorial day was approaching.