Rhode's worst fear did not come true; today's meeting was just a regular inquiry.
Erza and the others provided some combat details and the information they gathered, which might be used to verify against the testimonies from the Iron Forest members.
Additionally, they focused on Ailiger, hoping to carefully assess his level of power and analyze his whereabouts.
However, after recording the information, they seemed a bit disappointed.
They were a bit envious of Senior Lahar's report on Rastillos and Zankuro last time, the kind that was detailed, comprehensive, and vividly illustrated.
It's a pity that Mr. Rhode hadn't seen Ailiger.
As for the guilty secrets that slipped out, there wasn't much to them. The losses weren't significant, at least within the permissible range of high-difficulty hunting missions.
Since no one complained about him, the Advisory Council was too lazy to care.
Due to the polite demeanor of the investigators, Erza and her group were quite cooperative, so the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.
Before leaving, someone even took out two magazines and asked for Erza and Mira's autographs on them.
Rhode looked at the magazine with Mira on the cover, wanting to snatch it — it was an old issue that he hadn't managed to buy.
He thought he should visit Mira's place when he had time to look for it.
The investigator who got the autographs was in a great mood, though he stared at Rhode for a while before sighing and departing.
Mira tugged at his sleeve, "That's a potential rival in love~"
"If this counts as a rival, then my rivals are all over the Fiore Kingdom." Rhode feigned a troubled look, "Having a girlfriend who's too popular is such a headache for me..."
Upon hearing this, Wakaba felt like picking a fight with him. What nonsense is that! I wish I had such a problem!
Lucy seemed a bit envious of Mira and Erza's popularity and mysteriously moved closer to Mira, "Miss Mira, is being a model difficult?"
Mira smiled and said, "Not at all. Lucy, you're so pretty and have such a great figure; you'd be very popular as a model. Want to give it a try?"
"Oh~ I'm not as great as you say~" Lucy shyly held her face, "And I'm not really prepared for suddenly becoming famous."
Will there be lots of people asking for autographs? Requests for photos? Will many journalists come for interviews, paparazzi follow me around?
Could there be creepy fans stalking me or something?
Lucy blushed, "It feels like my peaceful life would suddenly get disrupted; I need to think it over carefully."
"Good luck." Mira smiled, finding Lucy's fantasies quite amusing.
"Lu-chan..."
Reby watched Lucy enviously, though Lucy's current expression was silly, her looks and figure were genuinely good.
Reby felt like breaking ties with this new best friend she recently made.
However, looking at the other girls in the guild… If she broke up over matters like this, she'd have no friends left.
It's so unfair!
Jet and Troy noticed a good chance to cheer Reby up, "Reby, you're the cutest!"
Reby sighed, knowing they meant it sincerely.
But if possible, she'd rather be described as sexy than cute.
...
Watching the Council members walk away, Natsu was suddenly rejuvenated, "Alright, the troublesome ones are gone. Let's settle this, Erza!"
"Bring it on." Erza stood up, heading to the backyard.
The fine tradition Rhode left behind still persisted, though the President wished they'd battle out front on the street…
Because it's roomier and doesn't have walls.
"Why's Natsu suddenly challenging Erza, caught Rhode's bug?"
"Does Natsu really need to catch it?"
"Seems like Rhode hasn't challenged anyone in a while?"
The perceptive Elfman had figured it all out; Rhode's frequency of challenging people decreased because he already has an S-rank sparring partner.
Thanks to him, his sister could recover, but precisely because she recovered, she used 'needing to readjust to fighting' as an excuse to beat him up.
Yet, thanks to Rhode, much of her energy was diverted, reducing the number of times she beat him.
Elfman didn't know whether to thank Rhode or not.
An insider revealed, "Seems like Erza made a pact with Natsu and Gray to duel when they got back from the team-up."
"Huh, then is Gray also going to fight Erza later?"
Gray replied, "I'm not that dumb."
Two months ago, Natsu had been dealt with by Mira; now wanting to challenge Erza again, it's not gonna be that easy.
Natsu and Erza soon stood face to face in the guild's backyard.
The crowd watching grew layer upon layer, and some, a bit cleverer, squatted on the wall to get the best view.
Lucy squeezed into the crowd, noticing the intense expressions on Natsu and Erza, feeling a bit anxious, "Are they really serious?"
Elfman said, "Of course, it's serious; otherwise, how can you call it manly?"
"..." Mira wasn't pleased, Elfman was misusing the word manly again.
But using it to describe Erza… made her sister quite happy.
"Place your bets, place your bets!" Kana announced with a big board, setting out a basket to collect money.
People rushed to place their bets, and surprisingly, there were quite a few betting on Natsu.
Only Hapi hesitated, deciding to ask others for advice, "Rhode, who do you think will win?"
Lucy said, "Isn't Hapi definitely going to support Natsu?"
Rhode thought for a moment, "Erza seems more likely to win unless it's a life-and-death battle."
Hapi decisively took out his money, "I'm betting on Erza to win."
"You heartless cat!"
Mira chuckled, "Aren't you betting?"
"Betting on anyone doesn't seem quite right… Plus, you know me, I don't smoke, drink excessively, or gamble, no bad habits."
Rhode detests gambling with an intense passion.
Mira asked, "Really? Didn't you get drunk at every party?"
"It's just the atmosphere…" Rhode had no special fondness for alcohol, but the atmosphere…
"Passing out drunk in the guild doesn't really matter."
Mira thought of a good idea: next time he gets drunk, cover his face with lipstick marks and put Elfman with lipstick next to him.
Let's see if he dares to say passing out drunk doesn't matter anymore.
"Alright, both sides, ready!"
Though worrying about damage to the guild, the President decided to be the referee since everybody was having fun.
"It's been a long time since you seriously used magic against me, right?" Erza smiled, "Speaking of which, I had a promise to duel with Rhode before."
"Whether it's you or Rhode, I'll beat you all!" Natsu was full of fighting spirit, "And Mira and Laxus too!"
"Oh really? Then... Requip: Flame Emperor's Armor!" Erza changed into a red-yellow colored armor, her hair into twin tails.
"Come at me with all you've got, Natsu!"