"Ha..."
Rhode exhaled, and a layer of white mist instantly covered the window in front of him. He reached out with his index fingers and drew a heart on it.
After finishing, he could see Mira inside through the parts of the glass traced by his fingers.
Mira opened the window, glanced at his "masterpiece," and said helplessly, "Are you a child?"
"Maybe?" Rhode placed the finger he used for drawing on Mira's face. It felt warm, but Mira naturally felt the opposite.
"Stop messing around, it's time to eat." Mira brushed Rhode's hand away and closed the window. With the weather like this, opening the window would let in a cold draft, and she was still in her pajamas.
Rhode casually wiped away the white mist on the glass, then looked at his damp palm and somewhat regretted doing that.
He stepped inside, was sent to wash his hands by Mira, and then sat down to eat.
"Feels like it might rain today," Rhode felt the weather was gloomy during his walk.
Mira said, "Then we should buy flowers early."
"I've already bought them." Just a quick errand on the way.
Elfman munched on his bread, lost in thought—what should I do?
Maybe I can chat with Lisana a bit more after they leave this time.
After the meal, the three of them left with umbrellas.
Today, Mira wore a dark, thick coat. As she walked, she looked up at the sky, and today's clouds were particularly thick: "It's a pity, if these clouds came a few days later, it would surely snow."
"Yeah."
"Rain or snow, they're both equally troublesome..." Elfman muttered softly.
The three of them first went to the guild; there were things to handle in the morning that required Mira and Rhode's attention.
Shortly after arriving at the guild, the Lane Engine Squad came to turn in their task.
Reby was full of energy, while Jet and Troy sat down with drooping heads to drink, too embarrassed to approach the counter.
The two of them, once again carelessly dragging their feet—Rhode asked about the task, and Reby subtly hinted at it, probably wanting to complain but also wanting to save some face for Jet and Troy.
Rhode didn't know how to comment; he used to think Reby wasn't strong enough and could only take on simple tasks.
Now he realized it was because Reby had two liabilities with her, forcing them to settle for simpler tasks.
Even teaming up with Lucy could earn her more.
It would even be a win-win, allowing Lucy to earn more too.
Speak of the devil, Lucy sat next to Reby: "Reby, you're back?"
Reby waved: "Good morning, Lu-chan!"
"Not really, it's raining outside." Lucy took off her coat, "Got a bit wet from the rain, how annoying."
"If Lucy doesn't like Jubia, then Jubia doesn't like Lucy either."
Jubia appeared behind Lucy like a ghost, giving her a scare.
"Eek~~~ Don't sneak up behind people like that!"
"I wasn't deliberately trying to scare Lucy." Jubia said, "Miss Mira, two Galamette hot dogs, please."
"Sure~"
"Jubia wants to have breakfast with Master Gray." Jubia shyly cupped her face, then looked proudly at Lucy, "With, Gray, Mas, ter!"
Lucy said helplessly, "No need to repeat it."
Mira asked Lucy and Reby, "What about you two, want to have something to eat?"
Lucy thought for a moment and said, "I'll have the special char siu ramen."
Reby followed with, "I'll have that too, feels like I haven't had it in a while."
"Alright, it'll be ready shortly."
"Mira, I'll have a beer, a barrel."
The only one who would order like that was Kana.
"Drinking like this early in the morning." Lucy watched as Kana plopped herself onto the counter.
"Because alcohol is my boyfriend, and on rainy days, of course, I have to date my boyfriend." Kana hugged her beloved beer barrel. She looked at Lucy and Reby, "You're all here; why do I feel like Lucy is here every day?"
"Ah... because I haven't gone out to work for many days." Lucy flopped onto the counter, "Feels like I lack motivation, getting lazier recently, even today. I'm so scared I'll end up like those grumpy old men."
"It's okay, it's okay..." Reby patted Lucy's back to comfort her, "Rainy days do make you feel down, look over there, even the always-spirited one looks sickly today."
Lucy turned to look and saw Natsu leaning against the wall, sleeping soundly, with drool trickling down his mouth.
Suddenly, she found Natsu a little cute like that.
"I'm almost done here, Mira," Rhode reminded.
Mira nodded, "Me too, let's go."
The two of them grabbed their coats and umbrellas, called over Elfman who was lecturing Jet and Troy, and left the guild after greeting the president.
"Where are they going in weather like this?" Lucy wondered aloud, "Just like Kana said, going on a date with a boyfriend on a rainy day?"
"Who takes their brother on a date though..." Reby pondered, recalling what day it was, "Maybe they're going to the church..."
"The church?"
As Lucy listened to Reby and Kana talk about Lisana, Rhode, Mira, and Elfman had already walked into the rain with umbrellas.
The rain got heavier, forming a thin layer of water on the street, splashing with every step.
There weren't many people on the street at this hour, but walking side by side, the three didn't feel lonely.
The priest at the church wasn't unfamiliar with the three of them; he greeted them simply and let them head to the graveyard in the back.
Rhode handed the prepared bouquet to the siblings, and they placed it in front of Lisana's grave together.
After standing silently for a while, Mira crouched down to talk softly to Lisana, with Rhode holding the umbrella for her.
Suddenly, the wind picked up in the graveyard, and the rain started to beat around the umbrellas, hitting the three of them.
Rhode and Elfman adjusted the direction of the umbrellas, only to suddenly find the surroundings lighting up.
Looking up, they saw the sky's clouds had somehow formed into a vortex.
An enormous vortex spanned the entire sky, with a beam of light shining down from its center, enveloping the whole of Magnolia.
As if drawn by something, the pendant on Rhode's chest floated out from his collar, emitting a strange glow.
"What is that?" Rhode grabbed the pendant, looking up at the large vortex in the sky, feeling as if he'd seen this scene before.
At that moment, just as perhaps Rhode's voice reached Mira and Elfman's ears...
Without any warning, Rhode felt as if he were a piece of dough being stretched and twisted out of shape.
Suddenly, the scene before him changed; the church, Mira and Elfman, the enormous vortex in the sky, all vanished.
And he found himself free-falling through the air.
Somehow, he was now high in the sky!
Space Magic? Rhode was a bit surprised but not panicked.
"Receive... uh?" The usually reliable Receiving Magic suddenly wasn't responding. Rhode quickly grasped the pendant, "Summon, Beaked Bird!"
The Summoning Magic also didn't respond, and Rhode continued to plummet, now feeling a bit panicked.
"Summon, Cloud Sub-Dragon!"
However, this time, the usually impatient big sister didn't respond to him.
"Mountain Sub-Dragon!"
"Purgatory Sub-Dragon!"
It was over; none of the flying ones were responding.
Rhode's mind raced: "Summon, Magic Swamp Frog!"
The Magic Swamp Frog should have the ability to lower him safely to the ground, but... still no response.
What's going on here?