Carla also showed a smile, going with this person, there's no problem.
Wendy asked again, "What about Miss Lucy?"
"You can also ask her if she wants to come. Yesterday I heard her complaining that after paying the rent she would have no money left." Rhode took a piece of paper and wrote down a few keywords, "The task of investigating these materials is now entrusted to you. Once you're prepared, we'll depart in the afternoon."
"Okay!" Wendy agreed eagerly.
She aims to become an outstanding mage capable of handling things on her own, and if Rhode took care of everything, she would feel troubled instead.
Carla looked around: "It seems like Lucy isn't here today."
"Natsu is already here, but Lucy isn't. That means..." Mira tapped her chin with her finger and smiled, "That means Natsu didn't stay at Lucy's house last night, or the two of them have already..."
Mira had a mischievous smile on her face.
"Mi, Sister Mira..." Wendy's face turned as red as a tomato.
This child knows way too much. Rhode patted Wendy's head: "Go and find Lucy at her house."
Wendy hugged Carla and fled.
Rhode looked at Mira with a reproachful gaze, "Aren't you worried about corrupting the children?"
Mira was indifferent: "Wendy doesn't want to be treated as a child. And also..."
After all, she's studying medicine, knowing more than she should have. In the future, she might even have to invite Wendy when having a baby.
...
For the first time, Lucy officially received guests at her home, the two most polite visitors since she joined the guild.
The only event comparable was the time when Jubia attacked, and Rhode and Mira took her home.
——Wendy and Carla took the stairs, and before entering the house, they knew to knock on the door and even asked where the slippers were.
This is simply...simply...
Lucy didn't know how to describe her feelings. She almost wanted to carry people into her home.
Once they sat down, Lucy immediately brewed the best tea and brought out all her snacks, piling them onto the table to form a small mountain.
Wendy and Carla didn't understand why she was so enthusiastic.
Is it because people don't usually come over?
But it's said that Natsu, Erza, and Gray often come by.
Even the two of them had been forced to 'illegally intrude' with that bunch twice.
"I'm sorry, the house is a bit simple, and there's nothing much to offer."
"It's already enough." Carla looked at the pile of snacks on the table and felt that Lucy was also a strange person.
After some chit-chat, Lucy asked, "Is there anything in particular that brought you here?"
Wendy took out the poisonous bee quest request sheet: "Yes, actually, we have a task and we'd like to invite Miss Lucy to join our team."
"Oh? A job? 500,000? That's a wonderful reward!" Lucy was a bit surprised but then puzzled, "But doesn't Erza and the others have their activities?"
Wendy replied, "Yes, this time we're with Brother Rhode."
"I see." Lucy nodded, then looked down at the task description.
A few seconds later, she suddenly lifted her head, "With whom?!"
Carla once again concluded that Lucy was indeed a strange person.
She briefly explained the situation, indicating that this time Rhode was leading the team, aiming to solve two tasks in one go.
Lucy was so moved she wanted to cry: "Wendy! Thank you for remembering me!"
She suddenly hugged Wendy, burying her face in her chest and rubbing it vigorously.
Carla looked at Wendy, who was left speechless, and calmly took a sip of tea. Lucy was too much, repaying kindness with grievance.
...
By noon, Lucy and Wendy each dragged a suitcase and came to find Rhode.
Lucy held a stack of documents and handed them over like submitting homework: "Mr. Rhode, all the relevant information is here. Please feel free to ask if there's anything else!"
She showed off her 'Wind's Glasses': "I'm pretty confident with this type of work!"
Wendy praised her, "Miss Lucy is amazing."
After all, being a novelist, it's reasonable for her to be proficient in gathering and organizing materials.
"Great work." Rhode skimmed through the materials and asked, "Have you considered where to start?"
"Yes!" Lucy eagerly replied, "First, the poisonous bee quest. Since someone has been poisoned, we must first check the villagers' situation and help detoxify as much as possible."
"Then, we investigate the bees' situation, and during that time, we can meet up with the people from Four-headed Hound to confirm how to handle the Cerberus task."
"After that, we can decide which to prioritize based on the situation. If all goes well, we should be back by tomorrow."
Lucy efficiently laid out her brief plan, and in her heart, a small voice cheered her on:
'Go Lucy! Seize this opportunity to impress Mr. Rhode and collaborate on more high-level tasks to become the most popular mage!'
'Miss Lucy, I declare you as the guild's most outstanding mage. I want to nominate you for this year's S-Class Mage assessment!'
In Lucy's mind, she could already see a chibi Rhode saying these words to her.
Behind Rhode, the President, Laxus, Erza, Mira, and Kildas stood in a line, nodding in agreement.
Beside her, Natsu and Gray lay down holding white flags.
However, Rhode's words brought her back to reality: "This plan seems quite organized. So why can't you usually get the reward?"
In Lucy's mind, Natsu and Gray jumped up, each with a large hammer, pinning her down, then one sprayed fire everywhere while the other tossed ice blocks all around.
"Because unexpected things always happen." Lucy was on the verge of tears.
Of course, it wasn't all Natsu and Gray's fault; she occasionally had her mishaps too.
"Let's just decide on this for now. We'll depart after lunch." Rhode said, "Be mentally prepared. This time, you are the main force."
"Yes!"
Lucy and Wendy were full of enthusiasm, like university interns starting their first job.
Rhode took his luggage, bade farewell to Mira, and set off with his adorable interns.
He had already decided that this time he would just hang around, be the ultimate backup, and do his best to let Lucy and Wendy shine.
He was also curious about the progress they had made.
As they were about to leave the city, Lucy noticed the direction seemed off and asked, "Aren't we going to rent a vehicle?"
"No need, we have a faster means of transportation."
Wendy and Carla hadn't caught on yet, but Lucy's face turned pale, and she asked in fear, "Not that thing again, right?"
Rhode replied, "The Hex Flying Gate needs a magic array prepared in advance... If you'd like, we can use it on the way back."
Lucy quickly said, "I want a normal mode of transportation!"
Wendy and Carla also felt a bit panicked when they heard about the Hex Flying Gate, remembering the traumatic experience from last time.
"Alright, let's stop here." Rhode looked around where there were few people, "Cloud Sub-Dragon!"
A blue and white giant dragon suddenly appeared in front of them and looked kindly at Wendy, "It's been a while, haven't you grown a bit taller?"
Its speaking speed was as fast as ever, but Wendy's good hearing allowed her to keep up.
On hearing that, her smile wavered: "I haven't grown at all."
Cloud Sub-Dragon tried to comfort her, "Ah, almost forgot, it's only been a few months for you."
Wendy felt a little better.
Rhode didn't have the heart to say that such big kids should show obvious growth over months...
"Alright, hop on." Cloud Sub-Dragon knew why Rhode summoned her, "Where to?"