Chapter 296: The Letter
Chapter 296: The Letter
"Natsu, Happy, here's your wallet."
"Yay! I thought we lost it!" Happy hugged the wallet and rubbed his face against it, "The reward from the last quest is all here."
Natsu exclaimed excitedly, "We have money! I'm going to eat the Flame Special! Lucy, I'll treat you too!"
"My name is Lucy! And did you order something suspicious?!"
Rod asked, "How did you manage without money for transportation and meals?"
"Natsu had some spare change, just enough for the fare. Luckily, Lucy treated us to a meal."
At this point, Happy lowered his voice, "Actually, I secretly brought some fish. Don't tell Natsu."
"I heard that!" Natsu grabbed Happy and shook him vigorously, "You ungrateful guy, next time I catch a fish, I won't share it with you!"
"Yaaaaaay~" Happy's voice trembled from the shaking.
Lucy sighed, "You two are something else... Only in the car can you calm down."
"Lucy, come over here~" Mira waved at Lucy, "The Guild Master has approved your membership~"
"Yes!" Lucy ran over excitedly.
Even after meeting so many unreliable people, she still loved this guild just the same.
Or rather, the fact that even such oddballs could be part of Fairy Tail made it even more appealing to Lucy.
Additionally, the Guild Master's recent words had made Lucy's admiration for Fairy Tail skyrocket.
Rod followed behind.
In his memory, the poster had gradually become blurred.
Although he was afraid he might forget, he often reminisced, but the figures on the poster had long been replaced by Natsu, Erza, Wendy, and Mira, whom he had seen with his own eyes.
Only Lucy's face remained unclear, and after meeting her, the figure in that position on the poster became clear again.
Would their lives change now that the main characters had gathered?
Rod wanted to learn more about Lucy to feel more at ease.
Logically, when a new member joins the guild, an experienced archmage should mentor them for a while...
Rod had just completed his first year as a guild member, and based on his quest experience, he could be considered a seasoned archmage. In terms of strength, he could also be a dependable senior.
However, in Lucy's case, it was generally assumed that Natsu, who brought her to the guild, would take responsibility.
Unless Rod actively fought for it and managed to avoid getting beaten up by Mira afterward.
Although Mira was understanding, Rod couldn't take advantage of that and disregard her feelings.
"Can I stamp it here?" Lucy extended her right hand.
"Sure, what color?"
"Pink 1!"
"Okay~" Mira adjusted the color and size of the stamp and pressed it onto Lucy's hand.
"There, now you're officially a member of Fairy Tail."
Lucy looked at the symbol on her hand with delight; she had truly joined her favorite guild!
She felt like boasting about it right now.
First, she wanted to tell Natsu!
Someone like Rod, who had joined the guild in a daze, couldn't possibly understand Lucy's feelings at that moment.
He decided to discuss important matters with the Guild Master first, "Guild Master, you burned those documents, but we haven't backed them up yet."
"Huh? Why would we need to back up those things?"
"For your self-reflection, so you don't forget what you need to reflect on," Rod explained, "Although you looked cool burning the documents, I suspect it was a case of morning grumpiness."
"You're quite considerate."
"Phew, that's a relief."
"I'm not complimenting you!"
Mira smiled and poured a cup of tea for Makarov, "The compensation invoice shouldn't be among those documents, right?
"Of course, I'm not that careless." Makarov took out a few crumpled papers and a neatly folded envelope, "In addition to the bill, there's a letter for you two."
"For us?" Rod and Mila gathered around to open the letter.
Instead of a typical letterhead, they saw names written in different handwriting: Jasper, Tuts, Lightning, Bucky...
They looked somewhat familiar; weren't these people from Lavender Village?
Mila exclaimed in surprise, "A joint letter?"
Rod's first thought went to a TV drama, "A public letter?"
Makarov laughed so hard his beard curled upwards:
"It's from the villagers of the village you helped with the rat infestation. They sent this letter of gratitude to the Council Chamber, hoping they would recognize and honor Fairy Tail."
"Oh my..." Mila had taken on many challenging quests before, but never had anyone written such a letter.
Was it because the reward and difficulty didn't match up? Or was it because they saw Rod collapsing from exhaustion after the rat extermination?
"Agima mentioned that a few Council Members wanted to cause trouble for us, but he presented this letter and easily resolved the issue."
Makarov continued with a hint of embarrassment, "But thanks to them, your recognition is off the table."
Mila waved the letter in her hand, "This is the best recognition we could ask for."
Rod, however, didn't seem to mind, "I strive to complete every quest to the best of my abilities, so it's nice to have this opportunity."
Being able to share the burden with the Guild Master made Rod quite happy, but with their track record for causing trouble...
Sooner or later, they'd have to face the consequences.
Happy flew in, clutching a wallet, "Rod, we're having grilled fish, two... no, four of them!"
Rod snatched the wallet back from Happy and stuffed the bill into it, "I think you won't be having grilled fish anytime soon."
Happy counted the zeros on the bill, and sweat began to drip from his cat face, "Natsu! We're broke again!"
"What?!" Natsu, who had just finished a hearty meal, was shocked. He realized that the small savings he and Happy had just built up were also going down the drain.
And this was after they had compensated for capturing the criminal gang.
The two of them became disheartened.
Lucy felt a bit guilty; although Natsu was primarily responsible for the destruction at the port, she was an accomplice as well.
Rod brought over a plate of grilled fish and placed it in front of Happy.
Happy pouted and drooled, "We're broke."
"Worm is treating you." Even though it was Rod's money.
Happy cheered up, "Thank you, Worm!"
"There's no other choice, let's get to work." Natsu immediately ran to the bulletin board to find a suitable quest.
Just then, Romeo walked in, sobbing, "Dad hasn't come back since he left the last time..."
The Guild Master said, "Stay home and wait patiently. He'll return once his work is done."
"But he promised he'd be back within three days, and it's almost the fourth day now!"
"..." Makarov remained composed, though the time was indeed lengthy. It was possible that something had delayed him.
Rod flipped through the quest records; it was the quest to subdue Vulcan.
Harobe Mountain wasn't far; even on foot, they could make a round trip on the same day. Yet, it had been so long...
That didn't seem right either; even subjugation quests could have situations where the target couldn't be found.
Makarov wasn't like him, capable of high-altitude reconnaissance, scent tracking, or even carpet-style searches, so it was normal to take a bit more time...
(End of Chapter)
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