Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 136: Becoming a Birdman

Of course, the "script" had already been agreed upon in advance. After all, Rhodes had promised to team up with Elfman when a good opportunity came up.

But when he suddenly needed to help Alzack, he made sure to let Mira know.

Mira, wanting to help the Master avoid more headaches, agreed to play along—and besides, it was a perfect chance to enjoy some juicy gossip.

When it came time to deliver their "lines," however, Mira found Alzack's reactions unexpectedly entertaining... so she decided to improvise a little.

As for Rhodes? Since the outcome wouldn't be affected either way, he happily played along.

Whether Bisca would agree or not wasn't much of a concern.

Rhodes had already looked into it ahead of time—well, Mira had done most of the investigating, and he'd just listened in here and there.

According to what a few of the other girls said, Bisca definitely cared about Alzack. The odds were in their favor.

Though, one moment during that "investigation" nearly gave Rhodes a heart attack.

It was when they asked Erza, "Does Bisca care about anyone in particular?"

Erza thought about it seriously for nearly a minute and replied: "Yes. Rhodes."

Rhodes nearly dropped dead on the spot. Could she not say that out loud in front of Mira?!

Thankfully, Erza added, "And Reedus."

Mira, half amused by Rhodes' panic, asked Erza why.

"Because Bisca likes animals. She really likes the Poro, wolves, and birds Rhodes summons. And she enjoys the animals Reedus paints."

"Ah... we weren't asking about that kind of 'caring,'" Mira muttered, realizing Erza might be a bit tone-deaf in matters of the heart.

"Laki said Bisca's room looks like a zoo, right?"

"Yeah, she's got all kinds of cute creatures in there."

They ended up chatting quite happily about Bisca's animal-themed room, while Rhodes tried to recover from that emotional whiplash.

It also opened his eyes to how flexible the dormitory rules were for the girls.

Levy turned hers into a personal library. Laki—let's not even talk about that one. Erza connected five rooms together. And Bisca? She's raising large animals in hers.

Rhodes couldn't imagine any landlord in his past life ever allowing that.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he saw Mira waving toward the tavern. "Bisca~! Can you come over for a sec?"

The beautiful woman with long green hair pointed at herself to confirm. Mira nodded, and Bisca uncrossed her legs, stood up smoothly, and walked over to the counter.

Rhodes nudged Alzack with his elbow. Fix your posture, buddy.

Alzack straightened up instantly, trying his best not to gawk as Bisca approached.

Her eyes quickly scanned the faces at the counter—pausing briefly on Makarov and Rhodes, then lingering a second longer on Alzack before she quickly looked away, brushing her hair behind her ear in a flustered motion.

"What is it, Mira?" she asked.

"Well... Rhodes and Alzack are teaming up for a mission, and they wanted to ask if you'd like to join them," Mira said sweetly, carefully omitting who had actually made the invitation.

"I think your magic styles complement each other well. What do you think, Bisca?"

"S-since you say so..." Bisca started, clearly curious. She really wanted to know who asked her.

Let's see, it probably wasn't Rhodes. If he messed up, Mira would kill him.

Correction—both of them would kill him.

So, the person who wanted her to join must be... Bisca's eyes flicked toward Alzack. The second they made eye contact, both of them looked away in embarrassment.

"I—I'll join."

Though she was clearly shy too, Bisca was far more decisive than Alzack. So decisive, in fact, that she didn't even ask what the mission was about.

Mira and Rhodes exchanged glances and shared the same teasing, knowing smile.

Rhodes nudged Alzack again, signaling that it was time to explain the mission.

But all Alzack managed to stammer out was: "W-Welcome! Glad to have you!"

Bisca blinked, unsure how to respond. "Uh... thanks?"

Mira had to suppress her laughter as she stepped in to explain the actual mission.

After listening, Bisca nodded. "No problem. When are we heading out?"

This time, Rhodes didn't leave it up to Alzack. "We'll head out around eight tomorrow morning, should arrive at the site by noon. After booking an inn, we'll meet the client, scout the terrain and check on the enemy's layout. Depending on what we find, we'll either strike at night or wait for an early morning ambush. That's the general plan—does that work for you both?"

"No problem," said Bisca with a firm nod.

"Same here," Alzack echoed.

"Then it's settled. Let's all prep today and meet at the guild entrance tomorrow morning."

Bisca offered quick goodbyes to Master Makarov and Mira before heading out—she had some things to take care of back in her dorm.

As Alzack turned to leave too, Rhodes called after him, "Wait—did you even pay for Bisca's drink?"

Alzack froze in place like he'd been hit by a stun spell.

Mira chuckled. "I already paid."

Alzack visibly relaxed—only to tense up again as he opened his mouth.

"But..."

He went still again.

"Never mind."

Makarov sighed. "You two..."

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"Let's get serious." Rhodes shifted the tone. "Alzack, should I pretend to get sick tomorrow so the two of you can go alone?"

"Rhodes~!" Alzack looked deeply touched. That's a true bro! Even if he teased him now and then.

"Don't joke around," Makarov cut in. "Since you've accepted the mission, you're both responsible for seeing it through. And Alzack, it's about time you get it together, right?"

"Yes, sir." Alzack nodded earnestly. He still had to make up for his recent mistakes, and this was his chance to prove himself.

"I'll give it my all," he added. "Though... maybe next time, Rhodes can get sick."

Rhodes smiled. Even though the target was just an ordinary bandit gang, he wouldn't take them lightly.

He'd prepare thoroughly—just as if they were facing a dark guild.

Makarov wanted to say that was a bit excessive, but then again, better safe than sorry.

Speaking of preparations, something else weighed on Rhodes' mind. "Master, do you know how to learn flight quickly? Like, flying like a bird?"

Makarov raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be asking Happy? Or Mira?"

"I did," Rhodes said, shaking his head. "But it's different. Their wings are on their backs. I'm working with something else."

After Taking over the Raptor, Rhodes transformed into a sort of bird-man hybrid. Not like Xayah and Rakan from League of Legends.

Feathers sprouted from his arms, forming wings.

Unlike the Krug's earthen magic, which came instinctively and allowed him to burrow underground, flight was more of a physical skill. There was no magic shortcut. He had to flap his wings the old-fashioned way and learn to fly through sheer effort.

In comparison, tossing feathers as projectiles was easy. Hitting targets accurately was the only challenge.

...

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