"Work, work!" Natsu energetically bumped into the bulletin board.
"Hey, Natsu, don't shove!" Nabu was the one Natsu had bumped.
"It's okay, Nabu." Hapi flew over, spreading his wings, "You're not going to work anyway, let Natsu have a look first."
Nabu said angrily, "Damn it, I'll definitely find a suitable job for you to see today!"
"Aye." Hapi responded nonchalantly, Nabu would say the same thing tomorrow.
"Suppress the rampaging beast group and beast leader, protect the village, the reward is 300,000 J." Natsu tore off the task sheet, "This is it!"
There's a fight, the reward is high, beasts usually fear fire, tasks like this were the perfect choice for Natsu.
"Mira, I want to take this task."
"Suppress the rampaging beast group and..." Mira thought for a moment,
"The client said the beast group is large, one person would find it tough. Do you want to team up with others?"
Natsu said as if it were obvious, "I'll team up with Hapi."
Hapi raised his hand, "Aye!"
Mira smiled, "That's the same, too."
Hapi sulked, "So mean."
"Hapi is a good helper." Mira patted Hapi's head, "But if you find another reliable partner, it'd be much easier."
"Team up?" Natsu began to consider seriously.
Mira wouldn't lie about such things. If she said teaming up was better, then it must be.
Hapi looked around at the companions in the tavern, "Who should we team up with? Macao? Wakaba?"
"No, no, no, no..." Natsu denied with a face full of disdain, "Those two are reliable, but they're annoying."
"How about Kana?"
"She would spend all the reward on alcohol."
"Marcus?"
"Too nagging."
"Then..." Hapi suddenly realized everyone's personalities were troublesome, of course, Natsu himself was also a trouble,
"Hey, Mira, is there anyone suitable for teaming up with someone like Natsu?"
Natsu felt something was off and said angrily, "Hey, Hapi, don't make it sound like everyone dislikes me!"
Hapi covered his mouth with both hands, quietly complaining to Mira:
"Because Natsu always causes destruction and has deductions on his reward, many don't want to team up with him."
"Hapi!" Natsu lunged over, pulling Hapi's face.
Mira chuckled, watching them bicker for a while before suggesting:
"Why not ask Rhode? He's looking for someone to team up with, although he doesn't quite like hunting tasks."
Mira wasn't very sure Rhode would want to take this task, but teaming up with Natsu might be reassuring... maybe.
Natsu thought for a moment, "Seems like recently Rhode has met many interesting wild creatures."
Hapi raised an objection, "But he can't summon fish."
"Doesn't he have crabs?" Natsu clapped his hand to his palm and turned away, "Decided, let's find Rhode!"
Hapi quickly chased after him, shouting, "Natsu! Crabs and fish are not the same~~"
...
Fairy Tail Guild trivia: During breaks, you can usually find Rhode either in the backyard or the library, making him easy to locate.
"Rhode! Are you here? I can smell your scent!" Natsu's loud voice echoed in the library.
"Natsu? Stop shouting, this is a library."
Rhode laid the "Magic Encyclopedia" he was holding on the table, "And what do you mean, you can smell my scent? Do I have such a strong sweat smell?"
Natsu matter-of-factly said, "Scent is scent. Anyway, come team up with us!"
Hapi added, "Natsu has a very keen nose."
Rhode remembered the incident with Wolian and that Erza also mentioned Natsu's sense of smell.
"Alright." He didn't dwell on it, asking, "What's this teaming up about?"
"There's a really interesting task. Mira said it's better to team up with someone reliable."
"Aye! Among the mages still in the guild, the most reliable one is Rhode."
Hapi exaggerated, "Even though you can't summon fish... mm-mm..."
Natsu hugged Hapi, covering his mouth, "Exactly, exactly, Rhode is the most reliable!"
Being praised for being reliable was delightful, but... something was fishy. Since when was Natsu so eloquent?
"Oh well, since you both said that, I shall..." Rhode looked into the expectant eyes of Natsu and Hapi, "I shall go ask Mira for more details."
Hapi sighed in Natsu's arms, "How lame."
Natsu complained, "Hapi, your scheme didn't work at all."
"It must be because Natsu wasn't sincere enough."
"No way, it's because you said he can't summon fish!"
"Ah~~ shifting the blame again, you're so mean, Natsu!"
"I heard you, both of you..." Rhode said, amused yet exasperated.
Wasn't Natsu supposed to be the hot-blooded, reckless type? How did these two manage to use little schemes to recruit someone into their team?
And they even openly conspired.
"I do want to try teaming up with you two... anyway, let me first find out the details of the task."
Rhode noted down the page he's at, closed the book and placed it back, then left with Natsu and Hapi.
...
"The task is located in Danzhu Bi'amu Village, also known as Dendrobium Village, a small mountain village less than half a day's drive from Magnolia.
I've heard that the place has had plentiful harvests in recent years, but there's a mountain nearby with many fierce beasts. Lately, they've been rampaging down the mountain like they've gone mad.
The village hunters have no way with the beasts, causing the villagers to fear going out to harvest. If this continues, the crops will rot in the fields and the villagers will be in danger."
Mira spoke while observing Rhode's expression, relieved when he showed no special reaction to the word beast group:
"So, what do you think? Want to take this task?"
Rhode didn't decide immediately but continued asking, "Are there only ordinary beasts in the beast group?"
Mira said, "Currently yes, but some villagers have seen a beast that resembles the group leader giving orders on the mountain, though it hasn't come down."
Natsu urged, "Rhode, how much longer do you have to ask? As for beasts, just knock them all out!"
He started to feel Rhode, like some other companions, had a peculiar personality.
"Almost done."
Rhode continued questioning until he extracted all of Mira's known information about Dendrobium Village.
He pondered for a moment, "Alright, I'll take it, Natsu! Natsu?"
"zzZ~" Natsu, resting his head on his arms, was sleeping soundly atop the counter.
Hapi poked his nose bubble. "Natsu, Rhode agreed!"
Natsu sprang up from the stool in surprise, "Great, let's head out!"
Rhode envied Natsu a bit, being able to instantly revive energy right after waking up.
Mira registered the task information and handed the commission slip to Natsu, "Be careful on the way. This is Rhode's first time taking such a task. You'll need to rely on you and Hapi to take care of him."
"Leave it to me!" Natsu agreed without hesitation, the president often entrusted newcomers to seasoned mages for a period of care.
It's just that someone like Rhode, who has been in the guild for almost two months and only taken one task, was very rare.
Hapi looked at Mira, then Rhode, and whispered, "Fishy business (click tongue)."
"Hapi?" Mira looked at Hapi with a kindly smile.
"A... aye..." Hapi hid behind Natsu, looking frightened, "Sorry..."
Rhode: "?"
What's there to fear about Mira?
...