Nowadays, Rhode's Wind Magic is used extremely well. Even if it's not perfect, it's at least mastered to a high degree of control.
Gone are the days when he clumsily snapped tree branches in the orchard.
He simply pointed his right hand, drawing a circle in the Void, and immediately, a blue magical glow appeared.
Mira and Lisana felt a gentle breeze on their faces, clearing away the strange odors in the air. The breeze swirled around the three of them and continued blowing into the distance.
The originally colorless wind quickly picked up dust, turning yellow. The ceiling, tabletops, and floor in the living room all seemed as if they had been dusted, looking noticeably cleaner.
The wind continued to spread around, blowing the dust out through the open windows, leaving only a few residual dust and stubborn stains in the corners of the walls, table legs, and under cabinets.
With just one spell, not only were the odors greatly reduced and the ventilation improved, but the workload was also significantly decreased.
Lisana clapped her hands, praising, "What a convenient magic!"
"Right?" Rhode took the opportunity to lean in and whisper in her ear, "With me around, house cleaning will be a lot easier in the future."
Brother-in-law really came for this.
Lisana's eyes sparkled as she looked at her sister and nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes!"
To be honest, she wanted to become an aunt soon.
Especially after seeing Alzack and Bisca's daughter, this desire became even stronger.
Mira watched them whispering and felt that her sister was mostly convinced.
Meanwhile, outside, Elfman had just thrown the trash bag into the bin and turned around to see several windows on the first floor of their house spewing out smoke and dust like a yellow dragon.
Elfman was bewildered. It looked quite magnificent but was a little intimidating.
When he came back inside, he caught sight of Lisana pulling on Rhode's arm, trying to drag him away, "Brother-in-law, blow my room too!"
Elfman: "?"
"Hang on, shouldn't we finish discussing business first?" Rhode brought out the snacks he had specifically prepared for the table.
Mira stopped him, wiping the table and chairs once more — although they had been cleaned with magic, it still felt like true cleanliness required manual effort.
The four sat down, with Lisana contently eating, and Elfman still curious about what was going on.
Rhode cleared his throat, seeing Lisana's encouraging gaze head-on, thinking, "What a nice sister-in-law."
"Actually, I used to rent a house, but the owner has changed, so I don't have a place to stay for now. I was planning to look for a new place, but after asking around, I found out renting is quite difficult now. I can't impose on Lucy's place either, so…"
Rhode laid out the facts first, then provided an excuse, finally revealing his real intention, "Do you mind if I stay at the Strauss family home for a while?"
"Why bring up Lucy's place…" Lisana felt that Rhode's words had many points worth poking at, but her skill only allowed her to pick out one.
Is Lucy's house a hotel? To have the first reaction of borrowing a place there when homeless, aren't you afraid to anger sister?
Nope, not afraid at all.
Lisana didn't understand yet, but Lucy's house was indeed a place that seemed to always be ready to serve as a hotel, a resting room, or an emergency gathering point.
Mira punched Rhode lightly, "Stop bullying Lucy."
She wouldn't get angry out of jealousy because she too was one of those who had once invaded Lucy's house along with Erza and others.
If she were to get mad, it would be because 'such a fun statement should have been made when Lucy was present.'
Rhode chuckled and asked again, "So that's the situation, is it okay?"
Lisana was the first to raise her hand, "I have no problem. Welcome to move in, brother-in-law!"
Elfman felt three expectant gazes upon him and nodded decisively, "I also have no problem."
Rhode was a little surprised at how easy it was.
To his surprise, Elfman added, "I thought you would have moved in sooner."
"?" Has my timing been delayed?
Indeed, from Elfman and Lisana's perspective, Rhode and Mira were both taking too long.
Because for a long time now, Rhode had been coming every day for breakfast, then heading to the Guild together, and sending Mira back at night.
Every now and then, he would also go shopping with Mira after work, and they'd have a late-night snack together.
The Strauss family had long been accustomed to the feeling of an extra person around, and sometimes the siblings would occasionally think he's unnecessary to go back home.
Mira too, she wouldn't ask him to stay back when he left in the past and then went out wandering overnight.
Upon thinking about it, Lisana began to blush.
As a result, the matter that Rhode thought would require some convincing was settled in the time it took to eat a snack.
Mira still needed a moment to cool down her cheeks, so the four of them had some food and drinks before continuing to clean the house.
Repairing the rooftop and walls, cleaning the interior, clearing the surrounding weeds, organizing leftover items, handling the moldy ceiling and walls inside…
The four worked from morning till afternoon, finally getting the house into some order, and that was with the help of magic.
If it weren't winter now, they might have to kill some bugs too.
"Ah, exhausted, how are there so many things to do…" Lisana slumped onto the table as if she were a salted fish that lost its dreams.
Elfman poured his sister some water and sat down beside her to rest, "Can't be helped since no one's lived here for 6 years."
Rhode started moving his things into the house, clothes directly to the upstairs room of Mira, fitness equipment could be placed outside, and books could also go upstairs — Mira mentioned adding a desk next to the dressing table.
As for the picture frames and photos, he let everyone choose, seeing if anyone wanted to place them in their room since he had not only the ones with him and Mira but also with everyone else.
"Wow!" Lisana, who was just exhausted, revived immediately, flipping through Rhode's collection with high spirits.
Even though she had been told to choose which ones she wanted in her room, she kept engrossing herself in looking at the photos of Mira and Rhode, even helping Mira decide which ones should go in the bedroom.
Elfman, honestly, picked out a group photo of the entire Guild: "How about we hang this in the living room?"
"This one fits well for the Guild hall." Rhode suggested, "How about we go to Lidas for a family picture?"
Mira laughed, "Good idea."
"By the way, Sister Mira." Lisana said a bit shyly, "I have a lot of clothes to buy, but I'm running low on money…"
After 6 years, many of her old clothes have yellowed, gone moldy, been moth-eaten, and can't be salvaged.
A few outer garments could still suffice, but not the inner ones. Plus, not only clothes, but the bedding needed replacing too.
But since coming back from Edolas, it had only been a little over a month, so she didn't have many savings.
"No worries, we have enough." Rhode generously offered; he and Mira had nearly 30 million J saved in the bank. Not considering buying a house, they were rather financially comfortable.
For his sister, he could not possibly let her suffer.
Later, when they went to the bank to withdraw money; after all this time, they wondered how much interest there would be…
Rhode suddenly felt he might just unexpectedly gain a fortune.
"You can use mine too." Elfman had also quietly saved up some money before.
Mira was pleased with the family harmony, "Then it's settled. Let's go withdraw some money and then go shopping."