"Shadow Gear, huh?"
After Mira's explanation, Roland learned that there were quite a few small groups within the guild.
One of them was the Thunder God Tribe led by Laxus.
"..."
While Levy was introducing them, Jet and Droy also noticed the boy sitting beside her and both froze for a moment.
"Jet and Droy are my childhood friends," Levy paused, then turned to Roland at her side with a bright smile. "This is Roland, a newcomer who just joined the guild today."
"Hello," Roland greeted warmly.
A newcomer who joined today?
The two exchanged a look, their expressions growing serious.
There's no mistake—the kid's got designs on our cute Levy!
"So he's an enemy…"
Jet muttered in a low, grave voice.
"Ah… looks like we're calling a temporary truce."
Taking in that overly handsome face, Droy inexplicably felt pressure; sweat beaded on his forehead.
Damn it—where did a guy on par with Loki pop out from!
Obviously—the man in front of them was the biggest threat to their pursuit of Levy!
"Hey, you two… that's pretty rude, isn't it? He just greeted you!"
Seeing the lack of response, Levy narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
These two idiots—
"Ah, sorry! I'm Sarusuke, but everyone in the guild calls me Jet."
Under Levy's dangerous gaze, Jet snapped to attention, pressed down the brim of his wide hat, and introduced himself.
"I'm Droy. Please take care of me…"
Droy spoke reluctantly.
After all, watching the girl you secretly like chat and laugh with some stranger—who wouldn't feel awful?
After a simple round of introductions, Levy suddenly remembered the team matter. Scratching her cheek with a finger, she said a little awkwardly:
"Um, there's something I need to discuss with you two!"
"What is it?" Jet asked curiously.
"It's just…" Levy began hemming and hawing. After a long moment, she showed a mildly apologetic expression. "I'm going to leave the team for a while. For the next few jobs, it'll just be you two."
"Haaah!?"
"W-w-wait a sec… you're leaving the team!?"
Droy and Jet stood there as if thunderstruck. The disbelief on their faces slowly turned them pale; their lips trembled so hard they could barely speak.
"Why!? Since our team was formed, we've never—"
"I'm the one who asked Miss Levy to team up with me."
Before Droy could finish, Roland cut in.
"I just arrived in this town, and I'm not familiar with how the job process works, so I asked Levy to partner with me for a while."
He still wore a gentle smile, his soft tone making Levy blink.
That's not right. I was the one who asked him…
"That's not it—I was the one who—"
Levy hesitated for a couple seconds, then decisively tried to explain—but halfway through, she felt her left hand being taken.
The firm touch and warm temperature made the girl's breath catch.
"That's how it is. If you two senpai have any objections, you can tell me."
"N-no, not really…"
Hearing that, Jet pressed a hand to his head, troubled.
If he's putting it like that… what can we even say?
Keep pushing, and we'll only make Levy hate us more. That'd be a total loss.
"Then we'll leave Levy to you," Droy forced the words out, though something still felt wrong to him. Gritting his teeth, he added, "If she gets hurt at all during a job, we won't let you off!"
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of her."
Under the table, Roland gently squeezed the soft, smooth hand, speaking in all seriousness.
"…"
Levy lowered her head, doing her best to hide the blush on her face from her former teammates.
Just then, Mira walked over with the wages he'd drawn in advance. Blinking in confusion at the four of them, she tilted her head.
What's going on? Why does it feel so heavy in here?
"Here—your 200,000 J!"
Though curious, Miss Mira still handed over the coin pouch first.
"Thanks."
Roland took the bag; the reassuring weight settled nicely in his hand.
With the money in hand, the next step was to find a decent place to live.
For example, a room at Fairy Hills—the girls' dorm—was only 100,000 J a month, the cheapest in town.
For ordinary rentals, you were looking at at least 150,000 J.
"Mira, we'll head out this afternoon. As for the work—" Roland waved over a tray-carrying ninja and said to Mira, "The Shadow Legion won't disappear without my order. They can keep working until the guild closes."
"Going house hunting?" Mira pressed a finger to her chin, thoughtful. "Someone near my place is renting. You two can go take a look."
Unlike the other girls in the guild, she hadn't rented an apartment. She'd used reward money from jobs to buy a house in town and lived there with her younger brother.
"By the way, the scenery around there is really nice~"
"Got it. Thank you, Mira!"
Roland met her eyes earnestly and spoke softly.
"It's nothing," Mira said, unconsciously looking away. She brushed a strand of silver hair by her ear to cover her warming cheeks and forced a casual tone. "We're comrades, aren't we?"
That racing heartbeat again—why does it do that every time I see Roland?
The never-been-in-love girl couldn't help but wonder.
"Then we'll get going!"
Putting away the Gourmet Tablecloth, Roland and Levy walked side by side toward the guild doors.
They left behind a Mira wondering if something was wrong with her body, and a very gloomy Jet and Droy.
Staring at the two receding backs, Droy slammed the table in frustration.
"Damn it—give Levy back to us!!"
(End of Chapter)
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