Rhode naturally wouldn't let Mira face danger. He pressed down Mira's arm, guiding her to the side of the road.
Mira seemed to be stunned for a moment before she obediently stepped back to the roadside.
Rhode stood alone in the middle of the road, raised his leg, and kicked the wrist of the bag snatcher, causing the dagger to fly out of his hand into the air.
"Damn..."
Before the thief could finish speaking, Rhode had already grabbed his wrist, then turned his body sideways and forcefully shouldered him—Kana's signature over-the-shoulder throw!
With a dull thud, the thief's body hit the road heavily, and the handbag was tossed out of his hand.
Without looking up, Rhode extended his right hand slightly to the side and just managed to catch the falling dagger by the hilt.
Success in style!
Rhode was quite satisfied with his performance, although there was a little hiccup in the subsequent steps.
Originally, he intended to catch the dagger, then squat down and stab it into the ground near the thief's ear to scare him, but he overlooked a few details.
Firstly, the surface of the commercial street was paved with bluestone, unlike the dirt in the guild.
Secondly, this thief was an ordinary person, without the resilience of a mage.
Rhode executed this move with the intensity used against a companion, resulting in the thief coughing out a mouthful of blood and fainting with his eyes rolled back, no need to further frighten him.
"Uh... did I hit too hard? I didn't mean to..."
Rhode guiltily squatted down to check, the thief was still breathing, but his arm was probably broken.
"It's okay. Armed robbery is a serious crime; we can hand him over to the sheriff later," Mira said, picking up the handbag from the ground. "Let's wait a bit for the owner."
Some passersby had already gone to find the sheriff, and the person who was shouting earlier also ran over.
"Isn't that Miss Mira?"
"That's the mage from Fairy Tail!"
Soon, someone recognized Mira and also noticed the guild emblem peeking from Rhode's short sleeves.
Someone went to check the thief's injuries, and after hearing the situation, instead of sympathy, there was a sense of lament.
To be beaten by a mage from Fairy Tail and only end up fainting with a broken arm, that guy was too fortunate.
Rhode listened to their praises and odd comments, feeling a bit existentially confused as he looked at Mira: "Did I embarrass Fairy Tail?"
"Not at all." Mira smiled, "That move just now was very suave~"
Besides, the guild's reputation remains as always—'good people, but sometimes lacking restraint.'
The owner of the handbag was a somewhat plump lady with a slightly outdated hairstyle and rouged cheeks.
Mira handed over the bag: "Please check if anything is missing."
"Thank you for your help! There's something very important in the bag... hmm?" The lady paused slightly after seeing Mira's face and then noticed Rhode's emblem.
"Aren't you from that guild... what a coincidence, my husband is also a member, his name is Wakaba!"
The lady gestured in front of her forehead: "He's the one with this hairstyle, always puffing on a pipe."
"So you're Mr. Wakaba's wife. I'm Mirajane, and this is Rhode." Mira spoke naturally to the lady,
"I often hear him talk about you and your daughter. Without you, his life would be a mess."
"Really? He says that?" The lady was both happy and a bit shy, "He actually knows that."
"Yes, indeed, Mr. Wakaba often mentions you." Rhode added with a dry laugh.
Mention he did, but most of the time it was complaints.
He noticed Mira was good with words. The first part, 'often hear him talk about...' was true, and the second part, 'without you...' was her speculation.
However, when strung together, it created a subtle misunderstanding.
Even if the lady asked Wakaba, he probably wouldn't be foolish enough to clarify.
Next, the lady inquired if Wakaba ogled the waitresses at the guild or flicked ash around.
Mira answered each question with a smile, so that it seemed as if she hadn't answered at all.
She might be sly, but she wouldn't say anything that might disrupt someone's family harmony.
Rhode silently learned the art of conversation for a while before a sheriff in a brown uniform hurriedly arrived with a team.
Wakaba's wife explained the situation to them, confirming Rhode as acting righteously.
The sheriff checked the thief's injuries, confirmed he wasn't going to die, then had him carried away, also taking the dagger as evidence.
As Mira had said, armed robbery is a serious crime in this country. Rhode was not only not held accountable but was thanked as well.
Magnolia reputation +10.
With matters resolved, the lady also bid farewell to Mira, whom she found very agreeable.
"By the way, here's something for you, as a small token of thanks." The lady stuffed two tickets into Rhode's hand.
She glanced at Mira, then Rhode, gave a knowing wink, and whispered, "Young man, keep it up."
"Huh? I..." Rhode glanced at the tickets, 'Hani Dessert House New Store Coupon', but before he could refuse, the lady had already walked away.
"What did she say?"
"Hmm... she gave us coupons." Rhode thought for a moment, handing both to her, "Do you like desserts?"
"It only opens next month." Mira took one, waving it slightly, "We should try it together then?"
"Uh... sure." Next month was just over a week away, dessert, Rhode felt a bit of anticipation.
"Well, let's get to business." Mira put away the coupon and took out a shopping list, unfolding a long piece of paper.
Rhode leaned in to take a look, clutching his pendant, thinking it might be better to have the River Crab carry things back.
The bustling of the commercial street was somewhat different from what Rhode had imagined. It was somewhere between an urban commercial street and a rural market, rather than the high-rise buildings and heavy traffic he was used to seeing before crossing over.
There were a fair number of passersby, and the hawking voices were incessant. There were moderately sized shops and simple stalls along the street.
Considering it was a town or city with only 60,000 residents, such a commercial street would be fairly decent.
Mira picked and chose high-quality fruits and vegetables and meats, bargaining skillfully with different shop owners.
Rhode followed closely, occasionally taking a bag of groceries, sometimes watching Mira select ingredients, sometimes observing the surroundings.
Discarded vegetable leaves lay near the vegetable stand, the front of the seafood shop was wet, leaving small puddles everywhere.
The fishy wind blew by, with dirty little dogs running past, and the shopping crowds buzzing...
The scene was very much like life itself.
"Rhode? Let's go. Next, we have to order some wine."
The melodious voice brought him back to reality. Before him was that familiar smiling face, and his heart began to beat faster.
He used to feel that smile was far from him, but now it suddenly felt very close.
"What's up, are you tired?"
"No, let's go."
The word 'we' sounded so nice.
He just... had a little unrealistic thought.