The next morning.
Mira heard a knock at the door. As soon as she opened it, she saw Rhodes standing there with a gentle smile, and a large bouquet of champagne-colored roses.
Rhodes waited for just a moment, maybe not even a full second, as surprise blossomed in Mira's eyes and turned into joy. Then he offered the bouquet forward.
"Good morning, Mira. And… happy birthday."
"Thank you!" Mira's smile bloomed like the morning sun, radiant, brilliant, even more beautiful than the flowers she held.
"They're so beautiful!" she said, gently bringing the bouquet to her nose. "And they smell amazing!"
Rhodes let out a breath of relief. He'd heard how tricky it could be choosing the right flowers for a girl but Mira didn't seem picky at all.
Which only made him want to treasure her more.
'Maybe I should start visiting that flower shop more often,' he thought to himself.
Mira threw her arms around him in a warm hug, burying her face against his chest for a moment.
She inhaled quietly, she'd come to really like Rhodes' scent. Sometimes, she thought it even smelled better than the fragrance of flowers.
Rhodes returned her embrace, his arms wrapping around her with a mix of affection and quiet awe. With the soft weight of Mira against him and the bouquet tucked behind her, this was already the best part of his day.
Inside the house, Elfman saw the golden morning light cast across the two of them at the doorway. It was a picture-perfect moment, and he couldn't help but smile.
Sis has found her happiness.
He turned back to the kitchen, humming as he finished preparing breakfast for the three of them.
But Mira wasn't satisfied with just a hug.
She grinned, picked Rhodes up in her arms, and spun him around.
"Hey—!"
Rhodes could only laugh in surprise. Mira was strong, and even if she stole his work sometimes, it was always with that same, joyous energy.
But just as he was about to catch his breath, Mira let him down… only to be lifted and spun in return.
"Ah—!"
Childish retaliation, pure and simple.
Mira giggled with delight.
"You sit down," she said, pushing him gently toward the couch. "I'll go grab a vase."
Rhodes sat down with a sheepish smile, glancing toward the nearby side table.
'There's already a vase down here,' he thought, watching her bolt upstairs with the flowers anyway.
Up in her room, Mira leaned against the door and took a deep breath, inhaling the soft floral scent before noticing a small envelope tucked into the bouquet.
She opened the card.
"Loving you is the greatest happiness in my life."
She read it once. Then again. And a third time, just to make sure.
Her cheeks flushed pink, and she clutched the card to her chest like a treasured secret.
'Hmph! Writing it on a card doesn't count. Next time, he's saying it to my face.'
With a blissful sigh, she carefully placed the roses in her favorite crystal vase. With a bit of magic, they'd stay fresh for quite a while. When that wore off, she'd dry them like all the others Rhodes had ever given her.
She carried the vase back downstairs and placed it at the center of the table.
The three of them ate breakfast together, smiling.
"Sis," Elfman said, "why not take today off?"
"Why?" Mira tilted her head.
"To celebrate properly. You two haven't taken a break in ages, right?"
Mira thought for a second. "Hmm… it has been over half a month," she admitted. Then she laughed. "But it's fine. We see each other every day. That's the best part."
Just being able to share meals with the people she loved, being together, that was happiness enough for her.
Besides, if both she and Rhodes took the day off, the construction might fall behind. And she wanted the guild finished soon, so they could finally go on that beach trip.
"In that case, how about we take a half-day?" Rhodes suggested. "We'll leave work early, and I'll cook something special."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Who's cooking?"
"I… could try?" Rhodes said, not very convincingly. "Actually, maybe we should eat out."
"I'll cook," Elfman said with a huff. "A real man knows how to cook."
Rhodes sighed. "Didn't I learn already?"
"…"
Elfman couldn't deny that. His sister had taught Rhodes, and so had he, more than once.
If Rhodes were to evaluate his progress in cooking honestly… he'd admit he probably should've studied something else.
Same ingredients. Same spices. Same steps. And yet, somehow, the end result always turned out wildly different.
These days, his greatest achievement was learning how to wash vegetables properly and barely handle basic ingredients. At least now, when Mira cooked, he could stand nearby and help without being a complete liability.
If Rhodes hadn't volunteered to help on a day as important as today, Elfman might've truly suspected him of slacking on purpose.
'How can someone so smart not learn to cook?' he thought.
"I'll help you," Rhodes said. He still wanted to contribute in whatever small way he could.
Meanwhile, the guild was running just like any other day.
Everyone had settled into a steady rhythm, spending a few days helping build the new guild, then going off on a mission or two before coming back and sweating it out again on the construction site.
Everyone, that is… except Lucy.
"Aaagh! What am I gonna do?" Lucy moaned, clutching her golden hair in despair as she slumped in front of the counter. "The month's already halfway over, and I still don't have enough for next month's rent!"
Mira, in an unusually good mood, decided not to tease her too much. "You've gone on three jobs already this month, haven't you?"
Lucy groaned, her face a portrait of pure exhaustion. "Yeah, and the money from all three only covered food."
"I wanted to earn enough rent early and relax the rest of the month but someone always breaks something," she muttered darkly, glaring at two familiar figures across the room.
Natsu and Gray were squaring off again, grinning, cracking knuckles, and looking one insult away from a full-blown fight.
Mira couldn't help but giggle softly. "Ah la la... poor Lucy."
Honestly, if the Master had asked Rhodes to train the new members instead, things probably wouldn't be like this.
After thinking it over, Mira decided it was a good time to share some news.
She leaned in, her voice calm and casual. "You know, master originally thought about pairing you with Rhodes instead."
"What... WHAT?!" Lucy practically fell over the counter. The gentle revelation hit her like a bolt of lightning.
"Why would Master just throw away a teammate like that?!"
Mira watched Lucy's dramatic expression with clear amusement before offering a tempting smile.
"Well... there's still time. If you'd like, I can have Rhodes switch teams and join you instead of Natsu."
"Of course I—" Lucy started to shout, but then stopped herself. She slumped against the counter again, her gaze drifting toward Natsu and Gray, who were now actually fighting and attracting a crowd.
A soft smile tugged at her lips.
"I'm almost used to them by now," she said. "It's fine this way. It really is."
Just as Lucy finished speaking, Natsu's slipper flew across the room like a homing missile and smacked her right on the forehead. The thud was loud enough that Lucy nearly toppled over.
"Oww!!" she yelped, rubbing the red mark now blossoming on her forehead. With teary eyes, she turned to Mira. "Miss Mira! On second thought, maybe you should switch him out!"
"But Lucy just said no," Mira said with a laugh, covering her mouth. Her amusement only grew. Lucy was always a riot, and even more so when Natsu was around.
Just then, Rhodes returned with a stack of fresh commissions. He took one look at Lucy and paused, blinking.
"A slipper print on your forehead? Is that some new trend I missed?"
"It is not!" Lucy said indignantly, quickly trying to sweep her bangs over the mark.
Mira reached out to take the documents from Rhodes and flipped through them. "Any commissions in there that might suit Lucy's team?"
"There's one that's a little like the billiards hall gig," Rhodes said. "Might take longer, but the objective's similar. Let them decide."
"I'll take it!" Lucy blurted out immediately.
According to the team's rotating decision rule, it was her turn to choose the mission anyway. And honestly, she didn't care if it took longer, as long as she could earn rent. The billiards job had worked out... kind of.
She leaned over the task sheet and studied it carefully.
"Revive a struggling theater...?" she read aloud.
Sure enough, the request came from the Shezad Theater in Onibus City. The theater had fallen on hard times due to a string of poorly received performances. The client was hoping for a creative solution from a guild of mages.
...
Bonus Chapter