Rhode had walked the route between the Cat Transformation Inn and Fairy Tail several times, and it no longer held much novelty.
In contrast, Natsu was bouncing around on the deck, as lively as a husky.
With Wendy's 'Troya' magic, Natsu was free from seasickness and could actually enjoy the sea breeze for a change.
Rhode fished with Gray and Hapi, while Mira, Erza, Lucy, and Wendy played cards behind them.
Carla sat in Wendy's lap, acting as her advisor.
This made Hapi quite distracted while fishing, frequently glancing back and even wanting to pass on information to Carla.
Rhode felt that if Hapi kept at it, he might end up with neck problems: "If you keep being so distracted, you'll miss the big fish."
"No way, I've got a sharp intuition."
"But Gray has already caught two, and you haven't caught any. And you were boasting about your fishing skills..." Rhode thought for a moment before saying, "Want to hear a story about a little cat fishing?"
Hapi glanced at the empty bucket beside Rhode: "But you haven't caught any either."
Rhode replied, "That's because of my bad spot. I'll try a different spot later."
"I'm in a bad spot too. Gray, switch spots with me?"
Gray's fishing line suddenly went taut, and as he reeled in the fish, he grumbled, "You two—so annoying!"
Hapi jumped up, pointing at Gray: "See, it's the spot!"
A palm-sized fish was pulled out by Gray from the sea and with a splat~ landed right on Natsu's forehead.
Gray initially thought a fight was inevitable, but to his surprise, Natsu just lay there.
Gray threw down the fishing rod and rushed over: "Hey, it's just a fish, no need to be this weak, right?"
The little fish flopped energetically on the deck while Natsu held his mouth, looking pale: "I feel terrible... Wendy..."
Wendy glanced at Natsu: "Ah, looks like the Troya effect is about to wear off."
Hapi quietly caught the little fish, removed the hook, and tossed it into his bucket, noticing someone watching him, he put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.
"You heartless cat," Lucy quietly chastised Hapi, then cheerfully looked at Natsu, "Oh my, someone got knocked out by a fish. Was it a whale or a shark? How else could it knock Natsu down?"
"Dammit... ugh..." Natsu looked pitifully at Wendy.
Wendy had to cast Troya again, but reminded Natsu, "Using Troya too much will make you resistant, so it won't last as long this time."
Gray said to Wendy, "Next time, don't waste your magic power on someone useless like this."
"Who are you calling useless?"
"Whoever gets seasick, Fire Flame idiot!"
And so they bickered, and as usual, ended up fighting.
Rhode ignored them, quietly taking Gray's spot, convinced it was an excellent fishing spot because Gray was catching fish so quickly.
Bang!
Of course, Erza took care of things, slamming her cards on the table and tossing the two troublemakers into the sea with a punch and a kick.
Carla wondered, "Isn't this a bit much? Does everyone in your guild break up fights like this?"
Mira leaned close to Carla's ear, whispering mysteriously, "I peeked, Erza had a terrible hand."
"..." Carla glanced at the cards Erza had mixed in, realizing she did it on purpose to avoid losing.
Apparently reliable, but surprisingly childish. But still...
Carla looked at Mira speechlessly: "Isn't peeking at others' cards bad?"
Mira covered her face with one hand: "Ah, I've been caught."
Carla sighed: "You said it yourself."
Mira acted like nothing happened: "By the way, Wendy has a good hand too."
"You know..."
The journey was long, but being with interesting people made it less dull. Upon landing in Harujion, they dragged the half-dead Natsu to a carriage back to Magnolia.
Wendy and Carla had a lot of luggage because of moving, but even together, they had less than Erza, so it wasn't a big deal. Everyone helped carry a bit.
As they neared the guild, Rhode asked a practical question:
"Wendy, where do you plan to live? Staying in the girls' dorm is 100,000 J a month, and you can move in anytime. If you look outside, you might find cheaper rent, but it'll take some time."
Wendy hesitated a bit: "I haven't thought about it, how does everyone else manage?"
Rhode explained without hesitation: "Gray, Lucy, and I all rent outside. Erza stays in the dorm. Mira has her own place, same with Natsu and Hapi."
Carla, held by Wendy, said: "You know quite a lot."
Rhode bragged: "Of course, I'm a senior member of the guild."
Lucy chimed in sarcastically: "A senior member who joined just over a year ago."
"Watch your tone, newbie." Rhode could say this to Lucy alone.
"He's putting on airs." Lucy replied with a fake smile, "Yes~ senior Rhode..."
Seeing them joke around, Carla was relieved that there was no hazing culture for newcomers in this guild.
Mira bent down, whispering in Carla's ear:
"Actually, Rhode always wanted to mentor new members, but Tono ended up with Reby, Lucy with Natsu, and Jubia with Gray... so now he's eyeing Wendy~"
Gajeel was given a special mission by the president; since joining the guild, he's always been alone, not convenient for a partner.
Carla didn't mind; teaming up with Rhode, safety wasn't a concern.
Mira smiled at Wendy: "Don't rush deciding about housing or anything else. Until you find a place, you can stay at my house."
Hapi eagerly raised a hand: "Aye! Carla and Wendy can stay at our place too!"
Natsu weakly added: "Or at Lucy's."
"Well, my place isn't big, but we could squeeze..." Lucy nodded, smiling, then shouted at Natsu, "Why are you making decisions for me?!"
Wendy laughed, glad to have met everyone.
The guild came into view as they spoke, with people sitting in the small front yard drinking coffee, unusually quiet for Fairy Tail.
Upon closer look, they were city residents resting and chatting there.
The mages' adventurous tales were often enthralling, making it a nice way to relax over coffee while listening.
Those unfamiliar with Fairy Tail gave them barely a glance, but those familiar greeted them and planned to ask about Oracion Seis later.
News of Oracion Seis had spread nationwide over the past few days, though details were scarce, so everyone planned to chat with those in the know.
——They knew the mages would first report to the president, so they'd wait until they were done.
"Wow—" Wendy exclaimed, looking up, "It's completely different from when I last visited!"
"Ah, that's because it was rebuilt." Erza laughed, "Isn't it beautiful?"
"Yeah!" The brand-new guild made Wendy quite excited to see the inside.
"Let's go in first." Natsu led the charge, slamming open the doors, "I'm bac—ugh!"
Before he could finish saying 'I'm back,' a large hand slammed him to the ground.
"Quiet down, you brats! And how many times have I said not to kick the door?
"Oh? It's you guys back, huh? Hahaha, sorry, sorry, I was just scolding them, and heard the door slam, so I beat you up too."
After finishing his berating, Makarov realized something, returned to his original size, and with a cheerful grin said:
"Great job out there, welcome back."