Rhode walked down from the stairs, and Mira looked up, smiling: "Back already? Where's Natsu and the others?"
"Yeah, the three of them are upstairs throwing up."
Actually, halfway there, Rhode suddenly thought that using the Flying Gate would be faster, so he had the Hex-Tech Sub-Dragon bring them back to the rooftop where the Flying Gate is.
The three of them were caught off guard, and as soon as they landed, they lay down, needing some time to recover.
Rhode looked at Mira standing at the counter and suddenly felt nostalgic: "Back to work so soon?"
"Because Laki and the others strongly insisted." Mira didn't dislike her original job, and she had promised Laki she would return once she got used to the situation.
"Since you're back, come over and help out." Mira immediately called on Rhode to work, "Laki and the others have a different habit of organizing materials, and all the various records Macao used to keep are a mess."
Rhode glanced at the nearest table to the counter.
Macao pretended not to hear, while Romeo blushed on behalf of his dad.
The kid's face is still too thin—it should be considered a good thing, I suppose.
Since the wife has spoken, Rhode had no choice but to get back to work.
However, he noticed a delicate-looking pudding next to Mira's hand: "This looks nice, never seen it before. Where did you buy it?"
Mira blinked and said with a smile: "It's a new product released today, given to me by a very handsome person."
"Oh," Rhode said nonchalantly, "you mean Elfman?"
Mira looked at Rhode with a pitying expression, like she felt sorry for his taste: "I can't believe you would think Elfman is handsome."
"...That's your brother, you know." Rhode realized Mira could be quite tactful in her teasing.
Mira chuckled mischievously: "Too bad, it's not him."
"Then who could it be?"
Mira put her hands on her hips: "Your reaction was too bland, not qualified."
"...Fine then," Rhode 'angrily' said, "tell me who he is! I'll fight him 300 rounds, beat him down, and warn him to..."
Mira guessed, "Warn him not to give me any more desserts?"
Rhode glanced at her strangely: "Why warn him? Once I beat him, I'll tell him to bring at least two every day, or we won't have enough."
Mira laughed and punched his shoulder: "You bandit."
Laki sighed: "You two are like this as soon as you get back, I regret asking you to take over the work again."
"Don't worry, we're not like this just because we got back," Rhode playfully reassured, "We'll be like this every day from now on."
Mira cooperated by lifting the pudding, digging out a small spoonful, and offering it to Rhode: "Ah——"
Laki turned and walked away with her tray, pouting.
"How is it, Mira? Tasty... right?" Erza suddenly appeared from nowhere, observing the loving couple thoughtfully.
Rhode looked at Mira—so 'a handsome person' referred to Erza?
Mira also looked at him—doesn't Erza look handsome?
"Erza attended a new product tasting event today and won the award for 'Most Enthusiastic About Flavor,' so she brought back a lot of puddings as prizes." Mira explained the origin of the pudding.
What kind of prize is that... Rhode couldn't understand why a tasting event would have awards, but the pudding was indeed delicious.
"So that's how it is!" Erza suddenly thumped her palm as if realizing something, "The boss said food is best shared, is this how you share it?"
She immediately grabbed another pudding, imitated Mira's action, and offered a spoonful to Rhode: "Ah~"
"..." A last meal? Rhode instinctively sidestepped one position over.
Mira smoothly took Rhode's place, opened her mouth, and ate it, praising: "So sweet."
Erza tilted her head, not understanding what they were up to.
Forget it, seems all the same.
She looked at Mira expectantly.
Mira took a second to comprehend Erza's thought process and tried feeding her a bite.
Erza showed a blissful expression, realizing the joy of sharing.
Mira also felt joy—because when feeding, Erza displayed a cute expression, so different from her usual self.
Rhode watched as his wife and another beauty fed each other and fell into deep thought.
Who was really winning here?
Laki thought she was winning, as Rhode's confused expression when excluded was amusing; she couldn't stop laughing.
After a slight delay, by the time Natsu and the others came downstairs, Rhode and Mira were already back into work mode.
Lucy glanced at the two people standing behind the counter and suddenly felt the urge to take on a mission immediately.
Some people just stand there and make her feel so at ease!
That confidence that the next mission probably won't lose money, who could understand that?!
The others, although not as exaggerated as Lucy, felt as if Fairy Tail truly came back to life when the two of them got serious about working.
Now, all that's missing is a drunk old man sitting on the counter, or an old man hiding in some room, napping and annotating with a worried face.
The first night back home, Rhode found himself alone in an empty room.
Because Mira went to sleep with Lisana, saying they had a lot to talk about as sisters hadn't seen each other in a while and also told him if he felt lonely, he could sleep in Elfman's room.
"Hehe," Rhode politely declined.
He chose to sleep with Warm.
...
The old man everyone was thinking about returned the next morning.
Judging by his expression upon entering, his mood was not great.
Everyone greeted him, Makarov nodded casually, walking in with a heavy heart.
"Welcome back, President." Mira naturally handed him tea, "You've had a hard journey."
"Thank you." Makarov took the cup and sipped.
Rhode asked, "Was there anything unsatisfactory at the routine meeting?"
"Not exactly, just heard some bad news. And there's a task, but I don't know who to assign it to..."
Makarov froze.
He was so familiar with this process that he hadn't realized who the two people in front of him were until now.
The old man's face lit up with surprise, but he tried to hold back, attempting to put on an angry front: "You two still remember to come back!"
Rhode truthfully said: "Honestly, we haven't played enough."
Makarov glared.
But Mira continued: "But after being away for so long, we started missing home."
Makarov could hardly maintain the act.
Mira put on a wronged expression: "President, is the first thing you should say to kids returning from a long journey something so excessive?"
"..." Makarov suddenly felt a pang of guilt, realizing it might indeed be overboard to say such things as the family head.
Though something felt off, Makarov forced a smile: "W-welcome home."
Rhode cheerfully said, "Thanks, President, we missed you so much!"
Makarov felt as if this little couple was toying with his feelings.