Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 304: Don’t get so close, it will kill you

"Welcome back, Erza. The Master and Rhodes went to attend the regular council meeting," Mira greeted her with a warm smile. "By the way... what's with the giant horn?"

"It's a souvenir," Erza said proudly, holding it up like a trophy. "I defeated a monster, and the villagers gave me its horn as thanks."

She seemed quite fond of it, but then her gaze swept across the room, and darkened. "Anyway, that's not important right now. I heard things got out of hand again while I was gone..."

Everyone involved in the earlier brawl instantly tensed.

Natsu and Gray made awkward bird-like squawks, somewhere between a harpy and a panicked seagull.

Erza stared them down, one by one, scolding each of the troublemakers with the precision of a seasoned commander. Finally, she sighed, arms crossed.

"Forget it. I don't feel like dealing with you lot today."

Lucy leaned toward Levy and whispered, "Didn't she just deal with them?"

Levy gave her a tight, resigned smile. "That's just how Erza is..."

She wasn't exactly off the hook either, her last mission had gotten her into a bit of trouble too.

But the one who caused the biggest stir recently was definitely Cana. She'd gone drinking at a tavern and, realizing she didn't have enough money, had boldly charged the tab... to the Magic Council.

Erza didn't dwell on it. She had more pressing matters.

"Technically, I should discuss this with Master Makarov first, but since he's not here, I'll make the call. Natsu. Gray. I need your help for something important."

"You want them on a mission?!"

The guild collectively gasped. Anyone thinking straight was instantly alarmed.

Mira tilted her head thoughtfully. "Erza plus Natsu and Gray... would that make them the strongest team in the guild?"

"Huh?" Cana raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you and Rhodes the strongest team?"

Mira chuckled and waved her hand modestly. "We don't count. I think Natsu and Gray together could probably beat me."

Cana, who had been personally knocked out by Mira a few years back had her doubts.

But then she smirked. "So you're saying Rhodes is on par with Erza? I wonder how he would feel about that."

"I think he'd be pleased." Mira smiled fondly.

Meanwhile, after selecting her candidates, Erza paused and thought out loud. "It would be safer if Mira joined us, but the guild needs someone to keep things from falling apart... No, the three of us will be enough."

Her target this time was the dark guild Eisenwald . She needed to both confront them and uncover their motives, and in all honesty, partnering with Rhodes might have been easier.

"Anyway, we leave first thing tomorrow morning. Be ready. I'll explain the details on the way."

"Wait, we didn't even say yes!" Natsu and Gray protested in unison.

Their objections were, of course, completely ignored.

"If you're short on manpower," Mira chimed in helpfully, "why not consider a newcomer? Lucy's already close with Natsu. Maybe she can help keep the peace between him and Gray."

Erza turned to Lucy, now curious. "Hmm? So you're the one who defeated that rampaging gorilla mercenary? Impressive... sounds like you're a strong addition to the guild."

Lucy blinked. "Wait, I think you misunderstood something..."

Mira sighed. Somehow, no matter how many times she explained the situation, the story always ended up being retold in wildly different ways.

...

The venue for the regular guild meeting hadn't changed, it was still the spacious villa on the outskirts of Crocus.

Rhodes had been here before, so the setting didn't faze him at all. Not only was the place familiar, but many of the guild masters were as well.

In fact, it was the guild masters who were most familiar with him. They were the ones who'd first started calling him the "Fairy Strategist of the New Era."

"Why does Fairy Tail always produce such outstanding young wizards?" many of them had grumbled, green with envy over Makarov's luck.

Naturally, Makarov basked in their jealousy.

As soon as they arrived, he didn't head straight to the guest rooms like the others. Instead, he proudly dragged Rhodes along, showing him off like a prized student.

Rhodes had no choice but to go with it, politely greeting familiar faces like Master Goldmine of Quatro Cerberus, Master Bob of Blue Pegasus, and others.

"Rhoooodes~!" sang Bob, still as flamboyant and overly affectionate as ever, so much so it sent shivers down Rhodes' spine.

"I heard all about your last mission from Hibiki and the boys. You and Mira-chan really took good care of them."

"It was nothing. Mr. Hibiki and the others were a huge help to us as well," Rhodes replied with modest grace.

"Oh my~! You're still so humble," Bob cooed, then turned to the girl beside him. "This is Jenny from our guild. Like Mira-chan, she's one of our top models, very popular!"

"Miss Jenny. It's been a while," Rhodes said politely.

"Long, long time no see," Jenny replied, forcing a polite smile.

She clearly hadn't forgotten that black mark from their last encounter. Her jaw was tight, but she kept it together in front of the other masters.

"So you already know each other? That's wonderful~ I hope you two get along well!"

Once the pre-meeting banquet began, the atmosphere gradually loosened. Laughter and friendly chatter filled the air.

Jenny took the seat next to Rhodes, arms crossed and expression sour.

"So... are you really dating Mirajane?"

"Yes," Rhodes answered honestly, though he couldn't quite understand the tone of resentment in her voice. Was she... a love rival?

Jenny huffed. "You just admit it like that? In public?! Do you have any idea how badly dating news affects a model's popularity?"

Rhodes nodded calmly. "By common sense, sure. Dating tends to affect popularity. But my relationship with Mira has been public for a long time now."

He leaned back slightly, thoughtful. "She doesn't seem to care much about that stuff... and yet her popularity's still booming. Didn't she just hit number one on the latest ranking chart?"

"..."

Jenny felt as if an arrow had pierced straight through her chest.

'Why?! Why was Mira's popularity rising instead of falling? And why did she have to take first place from her?'

Rhodes, ever unbothered, offered a casual idea. "Why don't you try dating too? I think Hibiki would be a good choice."

Maybe if Hibiki were tied down, he'd stop walking around charming every woman in sight, including other people's girlfriends.

Jenny's heart thudded unexpectedly at the suggestion.

Of course Hibiki was good! More than good, he was practically the perfect boyfriend.

She had only come to this routine meeting because she overheard Hibiki talking about Mirajane and Rhodes. And now, sitting here, she couldn't even explain to herself why she'd come.

Maybe it was to boost her own visibility.

Maybe it was curiosity about the so-called Fairy Strategist, was he really the same guy who once tried to chuck an Exploding Magic Crystal at her?

Or maybe... she just heard Fairy Tail mentioned and felt compelled to see someone from the guild.

Jenny glanced at Rhodes, who was sitting about a meter away from her. "Hey. Just wondering, why are you sitting so far away from me?"

Rhodes glanced at the space between them and replied evenly, "Not that far. About a meter, give or take. That's standard social distance."

"Social distance?" Jenny tilted toward him in a deliberately seductive pose. "Come on... I'm a famous model. Don't you want to be a little closer?"

They weren't strangers, after all. It wouldn't hurt to sit closer, right?

Rhodes shook his head without hesitation. "No thanks. Like you said, this is a public setting. Best to keep our distance."

He smiled politely. "If someone snaps a picture of 'Mirajane's boyfriend cozying up with the famous model Jenny'... well, people will die."

"Oh?" Jenny leaned in just a bit more, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I heard Mira's recently resumed her 'Demon' form. Is that why you're scared?"

Rhodes gave her a calm, almost pitying look. "No. I'm not worried about her hurting me. If anything like that got out, Mira wouldn't even get angry enough to kill me..."

He pointed subtly at the narrowing distance between them. "But you're the one leaning in. So if anyone's going to get obliterated, it's you."

"..."

Jenny froze.

'I can't keep chatting with this guy...!' she thought, already regretting everything.

...

Bonus @2400

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