Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 191: Millionaire Rhodes

Rhodes genuinely thought Troy needed to mature and become more reliable.

He didn't need to be incredibly strong; being dependable would already go a long way.

The most important thing was not to end up like Jet, who often dragged their missions down.

But Troy didn't seem to understand that. He always thought he couldn't win over Levy simply because he hadn't confessed properly or wasn't pursuing her the right way.

Rhodes could only remind him gently this time, and maybe again next time. If Troy still refused to believe him, there was nothing more he could do.

...

"So it's that kind of thing again?" Mira said with interest, leaning in eagerly. "Why do they always come to you for advice?"

"How should I know?" Rhodes said helplessly. "I'm not even in a relationship myself."

At least, not officially.

"Anyway, I'll leave it to you," he said. "Just quietly find out what type of person Levy likes."

"No problem. Leave it to me," Mira said confidently.

Rhodes trusted Mira's gossip network. Her intelligence-gathering skills in matters like these were practically unrivaled.

After handing off that little mission, Rhodes wandered over to the guild's bulletin board, browsed for a while, and seeing no jobs worth taking, he went out back to practice again.

Two days flew by in a blink.

The Council finally sent someone to deliver the reward for their last mission.

Instead of receiving 270 neatly stacked large bills, they were given a single check that could be cashed at any major bank in the Kingdom of Fiore.

Yes, this world had banks too. Although dark guilds occasionally targeted them, the major banks had excellent security measures and rarely suffered real losses.

Since coming to this world over half a year ago, Rhodes had never seen terms like "financial crisis" pop up in newspapers or guild newsletters.

This showed that Fiore's economy was pretty stable, and the royal family did not mess around with the economy. Banks here were generally reliable.

Mira, as usual, was responsible for verifying the check and logging the reward into the guild's records. Meanwhile, Erza and Rhodes needed to answer a few questions from the investigators the Council had sent along.

The first thing they asked about was the casualties among the Black Magic Cult members.

When the Council's cleanup team had arrived on the scene, they found that out of the more than fifty cultists, over a dozen had died, and several others were gravely injured and didn't survive the journey back.

Strictly speaking, such a high casualty count went beyond the normal expectations of an "arrest" mission.

Still, considering how dangerous the mission had been, the Council wasn't exactly angry. They just wanted to understand why the number of casualties had been so high.

Erza was thoroughly prepared.

She calmly listed the types of magical spells the black-robed cultists had been using.

She herself had used her armor to withstand hundreds of shots back then, so she had a clear understanding of their effects.

The investigator diligently recorded everything she said: curses, bone-shattering spells, blood magic. It was obvious that these were lethal, highly dangerous attacks.

Given that, the heavy response Erza and Rhodes had used became entirely understandable.

Rhodes added firmly, "We also had to protect the safety of fourteen children at the time. Holding back against them would have been irresponsible."

The investigator nodded seriously. Protecting civilians, especially children, was paramount.

"Regarding the altar where the demon was being summoned," the investigator asked, "since it was already completely destroyed by the time our people arrived, could you describe what it looked like?"

Erza frowned. "Why do you even need to know about something like that?"

"We need to assess the Black Magic Cult's level of understanding about demons," the investigator explained. "Later, we'll have earth mages, illusion mages, and sealing specialists at the site to properly secure it."

Rhodes raised an eyebrow. So they were planning to reseal the demon's birthplace with layers of earth magic, illusions, and physical seals?

The Council was pretty serious when it came to these matters.

Erza thought for a moment, then pulled out a sketchbook. "If that's the case, I'll try drawing it for you."

"Erza, maybe I should draw it instead," Rhodes offered. He had studied solid geometry before and knew a thing or two about technical drawing, including basic three-view and perspective sketches.

At least his drawings would be a bit more accurate than Erza's... heartfelt masterpieces.

Erza's eyes lit up with interest. "Oh? Are you challenging me to a drawing competition? Bring it on! Let's see your skills!"

"..."

Rhodes silently went to borrow a sketchbook and a pencil from Reedus.

The investigator, caught in the middle, was honored to be made the referee for this impromptu contest. When he finally received both drawings and looked at Erza's proud, confident face, he didn't know what to say.

He stared at the two sketchbooks for a long time, struggling to find the right words. He wanted to give Fairy Tail's famous Titania some face, but he also couldn't lie outright.

After a long and awkward pause, he finally said, "Both of your drawings are very helpful to our investigation. Thank you."

"So... that means it's a tie?" Erza said, looking a little disappointed. She turned to Rhodes and beamed. "I didn't expect you to be good at drawing too. Let's have another competition next time!"

"Haha... ha..." Rhodes laughed awkwardly.

Honestly, his sketch was only barely understandable. It wasn't that much better than a stick-figure doodle from an elementary school student. He was definitely not good at drawing.

Mira came over with the registration book. "Hello, please sign here," she said with a smile.

"Alright. Sorry for the trouble, and thank you for cooperating with the investigation," the investigator replied politely.

He quickly scribbled his name, accepted the receipt Mira handed him along with the two "masterpieces," and fled from Fairy Tail as if escaping a battlefield.

Mira handed the check to Rhodes. "Here's your reward. Go to the bank and cash it whenever you have time."

Erza said, "I have an appointment with the Heart Kreuz designer to discuss my new armor. It's almost time."

"No problem, I'm free right now." Rhodes glanced at Mira. "Well, can I be free right now?"

After all, leaving during working hours required approval from the boss.

Mira tilted her head playfully and asked, "Is it okay?"

Rhodes smiled and asked again, "Then... can you be free too?"

Mainly, he had never been to a bank before. What if he got scammed or made a mistake? It would be better if someone went with him.

Mira smiled warmly. "Sure."

Anyway, the guild wasn't busy at the moment, and the Master was dozing off upstairs. It would be fine to step out for a bit.

"That's great," Rhodes said, relieved.

Erza hurried off toward the clothing company, while Rhodes and Mira strolled leisurely toward the bank.

Before they left, Mira casually tied up her hair with the hair tie Rhodes had given her.

Rhodes, making sure to stay warm, wrapped the scarf Mira had knitted for him around his neck.

The sky was a clear blue. An arched bridge stretched over a gentle canal that hadn't frozen over. The winter sun shone down warmly. And the person walking beside him, was someone he wanted to stay with for a lifetime.

The bank was still operating in the traditional paper-based style, and business efficiency was, to put it kindly, average.

Rhodes opened his own account, deposited 1 million Jewels from the check, and kept 350,000 Jewels in cash for paying off debts and pocket money.

The remaining 1.35 million Jewels were transferred directly into Erza's account.

For identification, the bank used magic crystals that scanned a wizard's face and guild emblem to verify their identity.

When Rhodes finally left the bank, holding a stack of banknotes and a small passbook, everything still felt a little unreal.

"Am I really a millionaire now?"

Even though the unit was in Jewels, seeing such a long string of zeros made him feel ridiculously happy.

Putting on his best impression of a flashy rich guy, Rhodes said, "Come on, I'm treating you today! Order whatever you want!"

"Okay," Mira giggled, feeling his joy and sharing in it herself.

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Actually, she had been earning quite a lot of money recently too. Maybe next time, she should be the one treating him.

...

Bonus Chapter