She

Rhode naturally refused to let Mira face danger. He pressed down her arm and guided her toward the roadside.

Mira seemed to freeze for a moment before obediently stepping back to the side.

Rhode stood alone in the middle of the road, raised his leg, and kicked the bag snatcher in the wrist, sending the dagger flying into the air.

"Damn it..."

Before the bag snatcher could finish speaking, Rhode had already seized his wrist. He twisted to the side and drove his shoulder forward—Kana's personal over-the-shoulder throw!

With a dull thud, the bag snatcher slammed heavily onto the road, and the handbag flew from his grasp.

Without even looking up, Rhode casually reached out with his right hand and caught the falling dagger by its hilt.

Stylish move, successful!

Rhode was quite satisfied with his performance, except there had been a tiny problem with what came next.

He had originally planned to catch the dagger, crouch down, and stick it beside the bag snatcher's ear to scare him, but he had overlooked a few things.

First, the commercial street was paved with bluestone, not dirt like the Guild's grounds.

Second, this bag snatcher was an ordinary person, not as tough as a wizard.

Rhode had used the same force he would against his companions. That single throw made the man cough up blood, roll his eyes, and pass out. There was no need to threaten him anymore.

"Uh... was that too heavy? I didn't mean to..."

Feeling guilty, Rhode crouched down to check on him. He was still breathing, though his arm was probably broken.

"It's fine. Armed robbery is a serious crime. We can leave him to the peacekeepers later."

Mira picked up the handbag from the ground. "Let's wait a little for the owner."

Someone among the nearby pedestrians had already gone to find the peacekeepers, while the person who had shouted from behind earlier ran over as well.

"Isn't that Miss Mira?"

"She's a wizard from Fairy Tail!"

People quickly recognized Mira and also spotted the Guild Mark that Rhode's short sleeves had failed to completely cover.

Someone checked the bag snatcher's injuries. After hearing the results, not only did no one sympathize with him, some even looked regretful.

After getting beaten up by a Fairy Tail wizard, he had only passed out and suffered a broken arm. This guy was ridiculously lucky.

Listening to their praise and bizarre comments, Rhode looked at Mira with a slightly dazed expression. "Did I disgrace Fairy Tail?"

"Not at all." Mira smiled. "That was very cool just now~"

Besides, the Guild's reputation was as consistent as ever—'They're all good people, but sometimes they don't know when to stop.'

The owner was a somewhat plump middle-aged woman with a slightly old-fashioned perm and blush on her cheeks.

Mira handed over the handbag. "Please check whether anything is missing."

"Thank you for helping! There's something very important in the bag... Hmm?" The woman froze slightly after seeing Mira's face, then noticed Rhode's Guild Mark.

"You're from that... What a coincidence! My husband is in your Guild too. His name is Wakaba!"

The woman gestured in front of her forehead. "The one with hair like this. That old chain-smoker."

"So you're Mr. Wakaba's wife. I'm Mirajane, and this is Rhode." Mira spoke to the woman naturally.

"I often hear him mention you and your daughter. Without you, his life would definitely be a complete mess."

"Really? That's what he says?" The woman looked delighted yet slightly bashful. "So he knows that much, does he?"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Wakaba really does mention you a lot." Rhode gave an awkward laugh from the side.

He did mention her often, except most of the time, he was complaining.

Rhode realized that Mira was quite skilled with words. The first half, "I often hear him mention you," was true, while the latter half, "Without you," was merely her own inference.

Yet when put together, they created a subtle misunderstanding.

And even if the woman went home and asked about it, Wakaba probably would not be foolish enough to specifically clear things up.

Next, the woman asked whether Wakaba stared lecherously at the waitresses in the Guild every day, flicked cigarette ash around, and things like that.

Mira answered each question with a smile, somehow answering without actually answering anything.

Scheming as she might be, she would never casually say anything that could affect someone else's family harmony.

Rhode silently studied the art of conversation for a while before a group of peacekeepers in brown uniforms hurried over.

Wakaba's wife explained the situation to them and confirmed that Rhode had acted righteously.

The peacekeepers checked the bag snatcher's injuries. Once they confirmed he would not die, they had someone carry him away and confiscated the dagger as evidence.

Just as Mira had said, armed robbery was a serious crime in this country. Not only was Rhode not held accountable, he even received thanks.

Magnolia Reputation +10.

The matter was quickly settled, and the woman bid farewell to Mira, her new chatty little friend.

"Oh, right. This is for you two, as a small token of thanks." The woman stuffed two tickets into Rhode's hand.

She looked at Mira, then Rhode, blinked, and whispered, "Young man, keep at it."

"Huh? I..." Rhode glanced at the tickets: 'Honey Sweet Shop New Store Invitation Vouchers.' Before he could refuse, the woman had already gone far away.

"What did she say?"

"Um... She gave us invitation vouchers." After thinking for a moment, Rhode handed both of them to her. "Do you like desserts?"

"It doesn't open until next month." Mira took one and waved it lightly. "Let's try it together when it opens?"

"Mm... okay." Next month was only a little over a week away. Desserts... Rhode found himself looking forward to it a little.

"Then it's time to get down to business." Mira put away the invitation voucher, took out the shopping list, and unfolded a long sheet of paper.

Rhode leaned over to look, then gripped his pendant. He should have River Crab carry everything back later.

The shopping district was somewhat different from what Rhode had imagined. Compared to the skyscrapers and bustling traffic from before he crossed over, this place was somewhere between an urban commercial street and a rural market.

There were quite a few pedestrians, and vendors' cries rose one after another. There were both fairly sizable shops and simple roadside stalls.

Considering this was a city—or perhaps town—with a permanent population of only sixty thousand, a shopping street like this was already quite impressive.

Mira carefully selected high-quality fruits, vegetables, and meat, skillfully bargaining with shopkeepers of all sorts in her pleasant voice.

Rhode followed closely behind her, occasionally taking a bag of groceries. Sometimes he watched Mira select ingredients, and sometimes he surveyed the surroundings.

Some rotten vegetable leaves had been casually discarded near the vegetable stalls. The ground outside the seafood shops was wet, with small puddles scattered everywhere.

A fishy breeze drifted past, a dirty little dog ran by, and shoppers crowded around in a constant bustle...

The scene looked so much like life itself.

"Rhode? Come on. We need to order some alcohol next."

The pleasant voice reached him, and Rhode snapped out of his daze. Before him was that familiar smiling face, and his heart quietly began to race.

He had always felt that smile was far away from him, but now it suddenly felt so close.

"What is it? Are you tired?"

"No. Let's go."

Us. What a wonderful word.

Just now... he had suddenly entertained a tiny, unrealistic thought.