Chapter 149: The Plan!
Chapter 149: The Plan!
Erza was always like this. Even though what she said might sound a bit far-fetched, she genuinely believed it.
Mira chuckled, "Who knows, maybe Erza thinks she passed the S-Class exam because of her perseverance."
"Exactly, that's it!" Erza nodded decisively, then asked with a hint of confusion, "Mira, wasn't it the same for you?"
"Hehe... maybe so." Mira, no longer hesitant to talk about her past, smiled and agreed with Erza.
Rod thought her expression was saying, 'Naive Erza is quite amusing.'
Kana, however, didn't find it amusing at all. She picked up her barrel of ale and took a few swigs, then wobbled over to the counter, leaning on it heavily.
"I... want to leave the guild."
Kana looked utterly dejected, and she even burped as she spoke.
Erza, seeing her state, couldn't bring herself to scold her. Instead, she gently said, "Kana, no matter what, saying you want to leave is going too far."
"But, I've failed three times in a row," Kana said, counting on her fingers, "Erza, Mira, and then Mystogan. Why do I always end up facing you monsters?"
"Please don't point at me when you mention Mystogan," Rod corrected, then tried to encourage her, "On the bright side, those monsters aren't around this year. If you make it, this might be your best chance."
Kana sobered up a bit, and it seemed to make sense.
The toughest competitors were already 'graduated.' Maybe this year really was her chance to succeed!
Kana made a quick decision, "Mira, I want to take a mission!"
Mira laughed, "Sure, but you need to sober up first."
"I'm already sober!"
...
Elfman wasn't among those who eagerly took on missions. Tonight, he was training with Mira and Rod again.
The fight they had talked about during the day was real.
Mira served as both the referee and the coach.
Rod didn't have to worry about going too hard and upsetting Mira. Instead, she corrected him when his strikes were too weak or not decisive enough.
As for Elfman, he didn't have such issues.
Both siblings took their training seriously.
Mira tried to use the received magic again, but it only resulted in wasted magic power.
However, this time she didn't have to worry about exhausting herself, as Rod could summon a Cobalt Carved Golem to give her a 'Crown of Insight.'
Elfman's eyes widened in shock, "Is this... your new summon?"
Size often indicated strength, and the blue-glowing stone monster's size gave Elfman a sense of the same oppressive power he felt from the Beast King.
Had Rod become so strong?
Perhaps Rod saw the strength of wild monsters as separate from his own.
But to others, it was his magic, and it represented his power.
Mira was feeling the effects of the Crown of Insight, noticing her magic power rapidly recovering.
"An ability to restore magic power? This is something only Sky Magic can do, right?"
"Isn't that Lost Magic? Truly... a manly feat!" Elfman and Wendy might not be close, but he had heard of the Sky Magic category.
Rod patted the golem's ankle—reaching higher would be a stretch.
"This big guy is a recent summon. The Crown of Insight on you is a special magic, as the Master said."
"Such a great effect," Mira said, looking at the blue light patterns circling her, "I think more and more people will want to team up with you."
"That's a good thing," Rod laughed. "By the way, Elfman, do you want to go on a mission together? I recently bought a lot of winter supplies, and I need to earn some extra money."
"Team up? With me?"
It seemed Mira hadn't told Elfman about the arrangement yet.
But Rod had a good excuse: "Lately, everyone prefers to go on missions alone, so it's hard to find a suitable teammate. Consider it a favor."
Mira shot Rod a glare, but it was softened by the slight wrinkle of her nose, making it more of a playful pout than a reprimand.
"Okay, but don't you have to help your sister..."
"It's fine, Elfman," Mira said. "Today was the busiest day. It won't be like this tomorrow."
"Right, and in a pinch, we can always get the Master to help out," Rod added, noticing that Elfman was trying to persuade him to stay.
Had they become that close recently?
All the more reason to team up a few more times and get to know each other better.
Mira tiptoed to straighten his collar. "Go ahead, pick a suitable mission tomorrow. It'll be a good way to clear your head."
Rod nodded. "We can choose a short one, come back the same day, or the next day."
"Sounds good," Elfman agreed, clearly following their lead.
...
The next morning, Rod and Elfman stood in front of the job board.
Elfman, despite not taking a single mission, always arrived on time.
Due to the frenzy of 'shopping' the previous day, the job board now had several empty spaces, with some torn-off edges of job requests still visible.
The easier, better-paying jobs were almost all taken, making it hard to find a 'cost-effective' mission that wasn't too far away.
It made sense; everyone was trying to boost their performance, so they naturally chose the jobs that paid more, required less effort, and were closer to home.
After some thought, Rod returned to the counter, propping his chin on his hand as he stared at Mira.
Mira gave him a curious look. "What's wrong? Aren't you looking for a suitable mission?"
"I've looked, and everyone's got a sharp eye for good deals," Rod sighed. "So I thought I'd wait for you to sort the new job requests and then snag one."
"Is that all? You could have just said so," Mira said, closing her ledger and pulling out a stack of papers.
But then she remembered something. "But, according to someone, that might be considered an abuse of power."
The person in question waved his hand dismissively. "No problem, I'm the assistant to the assistant to the Master. I can help you post the job, and then immediately tear it down as Mage Rod. It's all in the procedure.
And to improve efficiency, we can skip—er, optimize those unnecessary steps. So it's perfectly reasonable to take the job directly from you."
Mira smiled as she organized the papers, selecting the suitable job requests for Rod.
For the ones that didn't meet the criteria, she made some adjustments or rewrote them, ensuring that the time, location, reward, client, and task details were complete.
As Rod flipped through the job requests, he shook his head and sighed. "Oh, how the noble Mage Rod has fallen, corrupted by the nefarious Mira-chan."
Mira playfully stepped on his foot.
(End of Chapter)
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