A hundred years sounds easy to say.
In reality, both of them were hungry and had to find a place to eat right away.
Rhode noticed that Mira's hair quality had deteriorated, probably from the battle.
The singed ends of her hair had already been cut off by herself, making it look less natural than before.
Joseph really got off easy.
Afterwards, they had to ask Lucy's Star Spirit for help with hair care and trimming.
After the two finished eating, they went to book some paint and then stopped by a few stores Rhode had damaged to apologize and pay compensation on their way back.
The shopkeepers were quite understanding of Fairy Tail's situation, saying it was okay to pay later and even kindly inquiring about the injured and if the guild needed any help in reconstruction.
Fairy Tail's credibility was still quite high in the city.
They thanked them for their kindness, but still left the compensation money.
Although Rhode had enough money in hand and could get reimbursed in a few days, Mira insisted on paying half.
As if it had some major significance.
By the time they got back to the guild, the temporary construction site already had some semblance of order, everyone busy with their respective tasks, no one slacking off.
The most noticeable was certainly Makarov, the 88-year-old man who threw himself into the construction site with great enthusiasm.
He used magic to transform into a giant, efficiently clearing away debris.
Often, just bending over and scooping with his hand could remove as much sand and dirt as others needed to make several trips with a small cart to clear.
Erza was working with particular vigor too, naturally assuming the role of foreman, wearing a worker's outfit and safety helmet, working herself while also directing others.
Kana seemed to have been stifled these days, having a big drink when she was just released, and barely sobering up by noon, but she worked just as hard as the guys.
Jet, Troy, and Marcus combined couldn't match her workload.
This left the three feeling a bit defeated, with Jet even using his Divine Foot Magic to push the cart.
Naturally, no need to mention Elfman, shouting "manly" as he competed with Natsu and Gray for work.
Loki had already worked for half a day in the morning and persisted for another two hours in the afternoon, greeting Erza while saying he wanted to leave when he saw Mira and Rhode returning.
Gray, carrying a plank on his shoulder, casually said, "You're not slacking off to go on a date, are you?"
As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head, seeing nothing.
Recently, Gray felt like someone was secretly watching him.
Usually, Loki would ask Gray what he was looking at, but he couldn't now, "I wouldn't slack off at a time like this, it's just that I'm not feeling well."
"Still not healed?" Erza guessed, "Then rest well, we're all here."
Gray noticed Loki didn't look too good and showed concern, "Go see Granny Porlyusica, okay?"
Loki grinned awkwardly and said he would, then quickly left.
Lucy stared at Loki's back for a while.
Mira noticed Lucy's expression just a few seconds after returning, "Don't tell me Loki has gotten to you too?"
"He's made a move!" Hapi couldn't help but comment.
"No, he hasn't!" Lucy retorted loudly, then said worriedly,
"Just feels like something's off with Loki. Miss Mira, Mr. Rhode, didn't you notice? I've been feeling like this lately… I don't know how to describe it."
The more she talked, the more it sounded like she liked him.
But Lucy clearly didn't mean it.
"Does he have something on his mind?" Rhode didn't feel anything special, just rationally analyzed,
"Maybe he feels he couldn't protect the guild, maybe trouble with his girlfriends after a week of scrutiny…"
He also felt Loki's physical condition wasn't great, but his Crown of Embers had been used on everyone these days without seeing any improvement.
Rhode thought for a while and said, "Let's keep an eye on him for a few days. If things still seem off, we'll drag him to Granny Porlyusica."
Mira volunteered, "I'll handle it."
"No, no, no..." Lucy waved her hands vigorously, "If Miss Mira handles it, he won't even get to see her."
"Sister Mira, some wood just got delivered, it's piled up over there," Laki pointed to several wood stacks at the edge, "And then over here is what I built, and over there is what we just dismantled and can still use."
"Thanks for the hard work, I'll check right away." Mira asked Rhode for the list.
Seeing Laki sweating profusely, Rhode "kindly" asked, "Want me to restore some of your Magic Power?"
Laki crossed her arms in front of her chest to indicate refusal, "No thank you, you want to squeeze out my remaining value, I want to rest with peace of mind…"
"That's not how you use 'remaining value,' and 'peace of mind' sounds a bit odd too." Rhode corrected her, unknowingly, he found himself correcting others.
Laki said, "Instead of thinking about these things, why not help everyone solve some difficulties, Mr. Military Advisor?"
"Difficulties? Has something happened?"
"Rent." Laki raised one finger, "It's the end of the month, and many people haven't got next month's rent sorted out yet."
"While everyone's enthusiastic about helping rebuild the guild, at this rate, they'll be homeless and starving next month."
Rhode nodded, "That's indeed a real issue."
Because of consecutive scrutiny for a week, today was already July 29th, and without the Advisory Council providing meals, some would've already gone hungry.
Lucy suddenly covered her head, "Oh no! My rent! I completely forgot!"
She counted on her fingers and realized she'd been at the guild for almost a month.
She'd taken on several high-difficulty missions but only earned two Golden Keys... Though they're valuable, they can't be exchanged for money.
Counting carefully, she hadn't earned any legitimate reward money for those life-risking missions—she even spent her own travel expenses.
The only money earned was from a nearly custom-made mission Rhode introduced to them, and even then, she didn't get the full amount, only 50,000J.
After deducting daily expenses...
Lucy almost cried out, "Mr. Rhode, help!"
Miss Lucy of the top financial family of Fiore was actually worried about a measly 70,000J rent.
Laki laughed kindly; this was the Lucy everyone wanted to protect, a companion, not the miss of the Heartfilia family.
"Let me think..." Rhode considered for a moment, "I could discuss with the President about the guild paying everyone wages like normal workers, but our guild's finances are tight, we'll have to wait for the Advisory Council's funding approval to cash them out."
"That's too long; I heard the Advisory Council's procedures are very troublesome."
"Then we can only have those short on money take up missions first." Rhode pointed to an area in the middle of the construction site,
"We'll clear that area first and set up a temporary counter there, Laki, make a simple notice board when you have time so people can take turns going out to work.
There should be delegation letters from uninformed clients these days, I'll sort out the information and post the urgent missions first, then..."
Rhode tapped his forehead, "I'll go ask the President's opinion."
Lucy muttered quietly, "I actually don't think it's necessary to mention…"