Chapter 373: The Strongest Team's New Mission
Chapter 373: The Strongest Team's New Mission
The next morning, Mira opened the door to Rod's smiling face and a large bouquet of champagne roses.
Rod waited for a second, or perhaps half a second, and saw her surprise turn into delight before handing her the flowers, "Good morning, Mira. And... Happy Birthday!"
"Thank you!" Mira's smile bloomed, and in the morning sunlight, she looked even more beautiful than the flowers.
"So pretty!" Mira took the flowers, inhaling their fragrance gently, "And they smell amazing!"
Rod relaxed, having heard that choosing flowers for girls was challenging, but Mira didn't seem picky.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt he should cherish her. Rod decided to take some time to study at a flower shop.
Mira gave Rod a big hug and, taking the opportunity, breathed in his scent secretly.
She realized she was growing fonder of Rod's scent, sometimes finding it even more pleasant than the fragrance of flowers.
Rod hugged her back, feeling the softness of his girlfriend, while behind them stood the bouquet Mira held.
Elfman, watching the morning sunlight bathe the two outside the door, suddenly felt the scene was beautiful.
—His sister had found her happiness.
Elfman smiled and continued preparing breakfast for the three of them.
Mira felt that just hugging Rod wasn't enough, so she thought for a moment and simply picked him up, spinning him around.
"Hey..."
Rod realized that his girlfriend was great at everything except for taking over his tasks, but he could sense her joy.
"Ah..."
Just as Mira put Rod down, she found herself being picked up and spun around twice.
A childish desire to win.
She laughed happily.
"You sit down, I'll get a vase for the flowers." Mira gently pushed Rod towards the sofa and ran upstairs with the flowers.
Rod didn't hesitate and sat on the couch, flipping through the day's newspaper—isn't there already a vase here? Why does she need to get another one?
Mira ran back to her room, leaned against the door, and inhaled the floral scent. She took out a small card from the bouquet:
"Falling in love with you is the greatest happiness in my life."
She read it over and over, confirming that these were indeed the words written, and carefully hugged the card to her chest, her face flushing with embarrassment.
Hmm, this is cheating. Next time, I'll make him say it himself," she thought.
Mira, put that down and come eat," Rod called out from downstairs.
Mira put the card away and inhaled the fragrance of the flowers once more. Only then did she carefully unwrap the packaging and place the flowers in her favorite glass vase.
Later, she would properly process the flowers to make them last longer, and with magic, they could be preserved even longer.
This was how she had always handled the flowers Rod gave her. When they couldn't be preserved any longer, she would turn them into dried flowers.
Mira carried the vase downstairs and placed it on the dining table, where the three of them enjoyed breakfast together.
"Sister, why don't you take the day off today?"
"Why?"
"To properly celebrate your birthday. You two haven't had a break in a long time, have you?" Elfman had seen how busy they both were.
"It's been over half a month," Mira thought for a moment, then laughed, "But it's okay. We're together every day."
For her, being able to spend every day with the person she liked and have meals with her family was already a great happiness.
Moreover, if both she and Rod took a vacation, the construction schedule would undoubtedly be affected, and she wanted the guild to be completed soon so they could go on a seaside vacation together.
"Then let's finish work early today, shall we?" Rod suggested, "And we can make some delicious food."
Mira blinked, "Who's going to cook?"
"Me...?" Rod hesitated, lacking confidence in his cooking skills, "Or should we just eat out?"
"Of course, I'll cook." Elfman said, "That's why men should learn to cook."
Rod sighed, "Didn't I learn?"
"..." Elfman couldn't deny it. He had learned, not just from his sister's teachings but also from his own attempts.
"If he were to evaluate it... learn something else."
The same ingredients, the same seasoning, and the same steps, yet the results can be vastly different.
The biggest improvement this person has made is learning to wash vegetables, and they barely know how to handle common ingredients.
So now when his sister cooks, he can come over to help...
If even on such an important day as today, Rod says this, Elfman can't help but wonder if he's doing it on purpose.
Is it really possible for someone as smart as him to be unable to learn cooking?
"Then I'll help you out." Rod expresses his desire to do something within his capabilities.
...
The guild is no different from usual.
Everyone is more or less used to this routine of working on construction sites for a few days, taking a simple break, going out to complete a task, and then returning to sweat it out with everyone again.
However, Lucy might be an exception.
"Ahhh, what to do? Half of this month has already passed, and I still haven't earned enough for next month's rent!"
During the break, Lucy sits in front of the counter, ruffling her golden hair. Even before the end of the month, she's already starting to worry.
Mira is in a good mood today and doesn't tease her much: "I remember Lucy has gone out three times this month, right?"
Lucy pouts: "But the money earned from those three times is only enough for meals."
"I originally planned to earn enough for the rent early, so I could relax for the second half of the month... but they always end up breaking things."
Lucy looks resentfully at the two guys who are competing and might start fighting at any moment.
"Ahh, ahh..." Mira feels a bit sympathetic towards her.
If the Guild Master had let Rod be in charge of the newcomers, things definitely wouldn't be like this.
After thinking about it, Mira still decides to tell Lucy the good news.
"Wh...what?" Lucy hears Mira's gentle words like a thunderclap.
Why did the Guild Master casually deprive her of the chance to gain such powerful teammates?!
Mira admires Lucy's expression for a while, then smiles and says: "There's still a chance, oh. Do you want to swap Natsu for Rod?"
"Of course... I don't want to." Lucy leans against the counter, looking at the two guys who have started fighting. A gentle smile appears on her lips, "I'm almost used to them, and this is fine too."
As soon as she finishes speaking, Natsu's slipper flies over and hits her forehead with such force that it almost flips her over.
"Ouch!" Lucy rubs the red mark on her forehead, looking at Mira with teary eyes, "Miss Mira, please swap him out!"
Mira covers her mouth and laughs: "Lucy just refused."
Indeed, Lucy is too interesting, and she's even more entertaining when she's with Natsu and the others.
Rod goes to get the new commission that arrived today, and when he sees Lucy, he almost thinks he's in the wrong film set:
"A slipper print on the forehead, is that the new trend?"
"It's not!" Lucy fixes her bangs, trying to cover it up.
Mira takes the documents from Rod's hand and asks: "Are there any suitable commissions for Lucy's team?"
Rod says: "There's a commission similar to the last one with the billiards hall, but it might take a bit longer. They can consider whether to take it or not."
"I'll take it!" Lucy doesn't hesitate at all. According to the team rotation rule, it's her turn to make the decision again.
Similar is similar, at least the billiards hall commission earned money, and it's fine if it takes a bit longer.
Lucy carefully reads the task forms, and the content is indeed similar to the last one—「Revitalizing the Deserted Theater」
The Shizard Theater in Onibus City is in a business crisis. The original plays have received bad reviews one after another, and they hope to get help from Archmages.
(End of Chapter)
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