Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 317: Buy and Leave

To Rhodes' relief, what he feared most didn't happen, the inquiry turned out to be just a standard follow-up.

Erza and the others were asked to share additional details about their battle with Eisenwald and the surrounding events. Much of it would likely be used to cross-check the confessions of the captured Eisenwald members.

There was particular interest in Erigor. The investigators wanted to assess his strength accurately and try to predict where he might have fled.

But by the end of the session, they looked somewhat disappointed.

They probably missed the kind of in-depth, illustrated, tactical report that Captain Lahar had submitted last time on Rustyrose and Zancrow—clean, detailed, and easy to use.

Too bad Rhodes had never actually fought Erigor himself.

As for any accidental destruction or fallout from the mission, none of it had been serious enough to require disciplinary action. After all, it was still within the expected collateral range for a high-difficulty mission. Since no complaints had been filed, the Council had no grounds to press further.

Fortunately, the investigators were polite and respectful, and Erza and the rest of the team cooperated fully. The atmosphere was surprisingly pleasant.

Before leaving, one of the Council officers even pulled out two back issues of Sorcerer Weekly and asked for autographs, one from Erza and the other from Mira.

Rhodes couldn't help but stare at the magazine featuring Mira on the cover. It was an older issue he never managed to buy.

He quietly made a note to stop by Mira's house soon and search her bookshelf for it.

The officer left with a goofy smile after getting his autographs, but not before staring at Rhodes for a long moment and sighing wistfully.

Mira tugged at Rhodes' sleeve and teased, "Ooh~ potential romantic rival spotted~"

"If someone like that is considered a rival," Rhodes replied with mock seriousness, "then I've got rivals in every corner of Fiore. My girlfriend's just too popular, I'm so distressed..."

Hearing this, Wakaba nearly choked on his cigar. 'You're distressed? I want to have that kind of distress too!'

Nearby, Lucy had been watching everything with a slight twinge of envy. She slowly edged closer to Mira and whispered, "Miss Mira... is being a model hard?"

Mira gave her a warm smile. "Not at all. Lucy, you're beautiful and have a great figure, you'd be really popular as a model. Want to try it?"

"Ahhh~ you're exaggerating!" Lucy covered her cheeks, blushing furiously. "Besides, I'm not ready to be famous overnight."

She started imagining the consequences: people crowding around for autographs, constant photo requests, endless interviews, swarms of reporters, and creepy fans stalking her across town!

Lucy's shy expression grew dreamier by the second. "I'd lose my quiet life completely. I need to think this over carefully."

"Take your time." Mira giggled. Watching Lucy spiral into dramatic daydreams was too amusing.

Across the room, Jet and Droy jumped in with their usual enthusiasm to cheer Levy up: "Levy's the cutest girl in the guild!"

Levy gave a resigned sigh. She believed them. Really, she did.

But if she had a choice, she'd rather be called sexy than cute for once.

Once the Council officers finally left the guild hall, Natsu instantly snapped back to full energy: "Alright! Now that the boring suits are gone, it's showdown time, Erza!"

"Very well." Erza rose to her feet, walking toward the backyard without hesitation.

Rhodes' excellent tradition of fighting responsibly was still alive and well but Master Makarov really wished the two of them would've picked the street out front instead.

It was more open. And more importantly, there were no walls to destroy.

"Wait, why is Natsu suddenly challenging Erza?" someone in the crowd asked. "Was he influenced by Rhodes?"

"Does Natsu need a reason to start a fight?" someone else replied.

"Come to think of it, hasn't Rhodes stopped picking fights lately?"

Elfman, always observant in his own weird way, had already figured it out. Rhodes wasn't fighting random guildmates anymore, because he already had an S-Class sparring partner.

Thanks to that, Mira had been steadily regaining her combat strength, but it came with a price.

Under the excuse of "retraining," Mira had taken to regularly beating the crap out of Rhodes.

But from Elfman's perspective, that wasn't all bad. With Mira's attention focused on Rhodes, she had less energy to direct toward him.

He still didn't know whether to thank Rhodes or blame him for that.

Someone nearby whispered, "I heard that when Erza asked Natsu and Gray to form a team, they promised to fight her once they got back."

"Wait, does that mean Gray's fighting Erza too?"

Gray crossed his arms and grunted, "I'm not an idiot."

Fair point. Natsu had already gotten pounded by Mira two months ago. Challenging Erza right after that? Not a great idea.

Still, both Natsu and Erza now stood facing each other in the open courtyard behind the guild.

A ring of spectators quickly formed. The smarter ones climbed up on the wall for a better view.

Lucy managed to squeeze through the crowd. When she caught a glimpse of Erza and Natsu's intense stares, she gasped. "W-Wait, are they actually serious?"

"Of course!" Elfman shouted, pumping his fist. "You can't call it a real fight if it's not serious! That's what makes it manly!"

"Manly, huh," Mira muttered, side-eyeing her brother.

But when the word was being used to describe Erza, she could forgive it. Actually, it made her kind of proud.

"The betting table is OPEN!" Cana shouted gleefully. She hung a large sign that read "Place Your Bets!" and set out a basket to collect the money.

A crowd surged forward, shouting out wagers. Surprisingly, a lot of them were betting on Natsu.

Happy, however, was still undecided. He tapped a finger to his chin thoughtfully and turned to the crowd.

"Who do you think Rhodes would bet on?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Happy, you're definitely gonna bet on Natsu, right?"

Rhodes tilted his head thoughtfully. "Honestly? Erza's more likely to win. Unless Natsu's willing to fight like it's life or death."

Happy didn't hesitate. He pulled out his pouch of coins. "I'm betting on Erza!"

"What a ruthless little cat!" Natsu cried in disbelief.

Mira chuckled. "How about you, Rhodes? Gonna place a bet?"

"Nah. Doesn't feel right picking sides, and you know me. I don't smoke, don't drink, don't gamble, no bad habits."

Rhodes always claimed to be a model citizen, completely incompatible with things like gambling or vices.

Mira gave him a sly smile. "Really? You don't drink too much? Who was the one passed out drunk after every guild party?"

Rhodes coughed. "That's just... because the mood's right."

Honestly, he wasn't a big fan of alcohol itself, but when everyone was laughing, singing, and celebrating together, he couldn't help getting swept up in the energy.

"It's not like anything bad happens from getting drunk in the guild, right?"

Mira's eyes glinted with mischief.

Next time he passed out? She was going to draw lipstick kiss marks all over his face... then sneak a lipstick into Elfman's hand and leave him lying next to Rhodes.

Let's see if he'd still say "nothing bad happens."

"All right, both sides, get ready!" Makarov shouted, stepping forward to act as the official referee, despite knowing full well this was going to be chaotic. But it was hard to say no when everyone looked so excited.

Erza smiled as she stepped into position across from Natsu. "It's been a while since I fought you seriously using magic."

She added with a smirk, "Come to think of it, I still owe a duel with Rhodes too."

"No matter who it is you, Rhodes, Mira, Laxus, I'll take you all down!" Natsu declared, fire in his eyes and steam puffing from his nose.

Erza chuckled. "You've got guts, I'll give you that."

Then, with a gleam of magic light, her armor changed.

"Requip: Flame Empress Armor!"

A brilliant flash lit the field as she swapped into a set of crimson-and-gold armor, sleek and radiant, designed to resist fire-based attacks. Her hair shifted into twin tails, whipping dramatically in the breeze.

"Come at me with everything you've got, Natsu!"