Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 254: A Little Accident

"Don't say stuff like that out of nowhere." Mira's ears turned pink. She was about to push him away when she remembered he still had a few uninjured spots left.

Behind them, Cana stumbled out of the car, wine bottle in hand. "Happy!"

"Aye!" Happy chirped back.

"Do you know what the best painkiller in the world is?"

"Love!"

"Wrong~" Cana wobbled and pointed dramatically at Rhodes and Mira, grinning, "It's wine~ not love~!"

She dragged out the word "love" on purpose and even scratched her cheek suggestively at the pair.

Flustered, Mira mumbled something about returning the car and walked off.

Rhodes, meanwhile, shook his head. "I refuse to argue with drunk people."

Cana hiccuped. "Bet you couldn't win anyway."

"I've got a theory!" Erza suddenly clapped her hands. "The power of companionship love can soothe pain and give us strength to move forward!"

She nodded to herself, her expression intense. "That explains the deep emotional bond between Mira and Rhodes. Yes. That makes sense!"

"That's both kind of right and kind of not," Elfman muttered. "But I can say one thing for sure, my sister and Rhodes are real men!"

Natsu wasn't listening. He was crouched beside the crab, still trying to ignite a twig with black flames.

"Happy. I'm going home."

"Wait, aren't you coming to the guild?"

"Nope. I can't even eat fire. What kind of Dragon Slayer can't eat fire?!"

Just thinking about Gray teasing him as a "fake Dragon Slayer" made Natsu's hair stand on end.

Happy followed with a sigh. He didn't want to get locked out if Natsu lost his key again.

...

Back at the Fairy Tail guildhall, the atmosphere had grown a little tense in their absence.

But since Erza had already contacted Master the day before, everything quickly returned to the lively chaos everyone loved.

As soon as the guild doors swung open, the sound inside hit them like a wave, like the noise had weight.

But then everything stopped.

For a second, the room went completely still as everyone turned toward the entrance.

And then—

"WELCOME BACK!!!"

"Mira! Rhodes! Elfman! Erza! Cana!!"

The cheer was deafening. Everyone shouted over each other, calling out names, waving, rushing forward.

"Wait, where's Natsu?"

"He probably got carsick again!"

Laughter followed, and soon the whole place was buzzing again, the guild returning to its usual vibrant chaos.

Everyone flocked to greet them, ask questions, or just pat them on the back.

Cana found a seat first, slamming a hand on the table and smirking. "One beer per story. Line up!"

Erza, Mira, and Rhodes made their way toward the master's office to report in, while Elfman wandered off to chat with Nab and Max.

After all, Rod was the one who always handled the boring paperwork.

Plus, even his sister had been part of this mission, if anyone was going to talk to the old man, it wasn't going to be him.

Arm wrestling sounded way better than reports anyway.

Inside the office, Makarov welcomed them with a bright smile. He was already seated on the windowsill, pipe in hand.

"You're all back in one piece. That's what matters most."

He exhaled a puff of smoke and looked over the three of them with relief.

Erza bowed slightly. "I'm sorry, Master. We ran into members of Grimoire Heart, but none of the higher-ups. We weren't able to gather as much intel as we'd hoped."

Grimoire Heart, one of the strongest dark guilds in existence.

The Magic Council and the allied guilds had been trying to track their movements for a long time. Makarov himself had long hoped to find a lead, especially with rumors of the "Seven Kin of Purgatory" spreading.

But he waved her apology away.

"No need to blame yourselves. You did well. You brought everyone back safe, and more importantly, you've already passed along valuable information."

He leaned back with a thoughtful look.

"The Council caught a bunch of their regular members anyway. Let them sweat the interrogation part for once."

Makarov stood up from his usual spot at the bar, raising his voice with a cheerful grin.

"All right then! To celebrate everyone's safe return... let's throw a party!"

"Ohhh!!!"

The roar of approval was instantaneous.

Honestly, Fairy Tail never needed much of an excuse to party.

Rhodes, seated near the corner, briefly wondered how the guild still had money for celebrations like these. But then he remembered the mountains of compensation forms caused by daily property damage and the occasional brawl, compared to that, a banquet was pocket change.

The party lasted long into the night.

Laughter echoed through the hall. Tables were flipped, barrels were emptied, and someone ended up stuck to the ceiling again.

But not everyone made it through the evening.

Rhodes and Elfman, despite being the heroes of the hour, were pulled aside by Mira before the chaos peaked.

"No alcohol," she warned, arms crossed and eyes unyielding.

"Yes, ma'am..." they both muttered, totally defeated.

They were promptly kicked out and sent off to rest, though not a soul seemed to notice the departure of the so-called protagonists.

Because, at Fairy Tail, the party wasn't about the reason.

It was about the people.

Once the drinks started flowing and the laughter started bouncing off the walls, the original cause of celebration didn't matter anymore. Everyone just knew it was another good day to be part of the guild.

Even if the tavern got completely trashed, no one, not even Erza, would raise a complaint tonight.

...

"Here, right here! You've got the eyes wrong. He had a slight slant upward at the corners."

"Like this?"

"Closer. Now the guild emblem, place it on the right side of the chest. It wasn't a full crest either. Just half, from what I remember."

"That should do it."

"Yeah. That's him!"

True to his word, Rhodes had started working on compiling intelligence on Grimoire Heart's members. He said he would make a visual dossier, and he meant it.

The only issue?

He could barely draw a cube without it looking like a rock.

So he enlisted Reedus, one of the guild's more artistically inclined mages.

And Reedus was incredible.

Not only could he sketch the exact features based on Rhodes' description, but he even captured the magical beasts that Rustyrose had summoned with terrifying detail.

Watching him work, Rhodes began to wonder if learning some transformation magic from Mira would make things easier in the future. If he could just become the enemy for a moment, it'd save a lot of explaining.

Two days later, just as Rhodes was putting the finishing touches on his report, Lahar arrived at the guild.

The man wore his usual tight-lipped expression, accompanied by two other Knights who looked equally grim.

"It's finished," Rhodes said, handing him the report. "But I've got to ask. We've clearly made enemies of Grimoire Heart after this mission. We're worried about possible retaliation. Has the Council made any progress interrogating the prisoners? Can we get an information exchange going?"

Lahar looked away, his jaw clenched tightly.

He shifted his eyes to Makarov, who was standing nearby listening. The master gave a gentle wave of his hand.

"If it's classified," Makarov said kindly, "you don't have to say a word."

Lahar's face twisted in frustration.

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"No... it's not that."

His voice was lower now. Embarrassed.

"The escort convoy transporting the captured members... was ambushed."

"What?"

...

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