Rhode quickly saw Mira and Lisana in the guild.
The two sisters seemed to have dragged Laki, Ginanna, and Qico, who wanted to join in the fun, along with them.
Rhode teased, "Did you two skip breakfast just to go to the girls' dormitory and bring them to work?"
"Of course not!" Lisana instinctively retorted, then laughed, "Good thing we went, otherwise they would've caused trouble for sure."
Laki defended herself, "We wouldn't! We were just curious about what would happen if those two were together."
Ginanna added, "Yeah, when I purposely passed by Ibarglin's room this morning, I saw her trying out several hairstyles."
Pretending to pass by, how sly. Rhode totally got the expression.
Mira glared at the ones who loved gossip, thinking, you guys want to know what will happen, and so do I!
But too many people would definitely attract attention, and if it gets ruined, it wouldn't be good.
Between gossip and protecting her brother's date, Mira painfully chose the latter. She's really a good sister.
The three girls felt guilty under the demon's gaze, looking around thinking about how to change the subject.
Laki noticed the picture on the newspaper in Rhode's hand: "Is this your photo?"
Rhode sighed, handing her the newspaper, "Today's news."
The girls gathered around curiously, reading the headline: "Seventh in the Ten Wizard Saints, 'Demon Rhode' wipes out five dark guilds in one blow?"
"Brother-in-law is so strong!"
"Seventh? How many spots are empty in the Ten Wizard Saints?"
"Five guilds!"
"Why is it Lightning Magic?"
The girls focused on strange points, only Mira knew why he sighed: "Why call you a demon?"
Rhode replied, "Shouted by enemies in fear before they fell, and some mischief-taker told the reporter, so they just used it."
"Nicknames given by enemies are more meaningful," Lisana laughed, "Like Sister Mira's demon title, isn't it quite fitting when you think about it closely?"
"I'm just a bit worried if it would affect the promotional effect." Can't change it anyway, Rhode could only accept it.
"Promotion? Oh right, seems like our guild's fame will be boosted again!" Ginanna realized.
"So are we about to get busy?" Laki looked both happy and worried, asking Mira and Rhode, "The president said he's preparing to take over again, when are you two coming back to work?"
Mira winked with a smile, "Now that Laki is older, please take care of us."
Laki pitifully hugged Mira's arm, "No way, Sister Mira~ I'm still calling you Sister Mira~"
Mira gently pushed her head, laughing, "Sorry, it's still a few days more."
After a while, they felt hungry and bought breakfast to eat.
Rhode was flipping through old newspapers on the side.
Mostly flipping through ten lines at a time, sometimes just glancing at the section titles and tossing the newspaper aside.
Only when he saw important events, guild names, or news about a famous mage, he would stop to read carefully, sometimes jotting down some names.
Like this, the reading progress was quite fast.
But as he flipped, Rhode suddenly stopped, saying to Mira, "Why do I feel like I've forgotten something?"
Mira thought for a moment, "You said yesterday to place the Flying Gate in the guild."
"Oh, right." Rhode got up, put away the newspaper, and went upstairs.
He planned to draw a magic array next to the large clock on the rooftop, a place not often visited, and during major events, it wouldn't be dismantled there. If there's ever a need to ring the bell to alert the nearby people, it's convenient.
But after finishing the magic array and coming back, Rhode still felt like there was something he hadn't done.
Asking Mira again didn't yield anything, so he temporarily set it aside and went to do the necessary chores.
In the morning, toured the bridal shop, and in the afternoon started preparing invitations—Rhode hesitated about whether there was a need to send invitations to the guild fellows, but decided it's better to have some sense of ceremony.
The two walked hand in hand from the morning till afternoon, Mira still interested, while Rhode's eyes were getting dizzy.
After finally settling on a wedding dress style, their stomachs protested.
Mira enthusiastically suggested, "How about going to that restaurant in the south of the city?"
Rhode saw through her intention at a glance, "At this time, Elfman should have already returned to the guild, right?"
Mira was slightly disappointed but soon grabbed Rhode's hand and started running, "Then let's go back to the guild for food too!"
"..." Just a normal meal became a bit like an elopement with her tugging like that.
The two ran into Laki, who was rushing out, looking anxious, "You're finally back!"
Mira was also a bit anxious, "What's wrong? Did you have a fight?"
"It's not that, it's something more serious!" Laki hurriedly led them inside.
Rhode asked, "What exactly happened?"
Laki patted the football-sized small communication magic crystal on the counter and said anxiously, "Erza and Natsu have lost contact."
"Lost contact?" Mira asked in confusion, "Didn't they take the task of wiping out the bandit group the day before yesterday?"
Laki replied, "Yes, but the client contacted us at noon, saying they haven't seen the mages who took the task, and the bandit group is still there, asking if we intend to abandon the task.
"The task location isn't far, according to plan they should've met the client before dark the day before yesterday, even if slower, they should have arrived by yesterday morning.
"Erza and Natsu wouldn't easily abandon a task, if there's no news by now, something must have happened."
Rhode finally remembered what he forgot, frowning, "I remembered, Warm is with Wendy, it hasn't returned to Wailing Abyss yet. Logically, whether the task was completed or they encountered danger, it should have sent me a message."
Mira asked, "Can you summon Warm now?"
Rhode extended his hand, calling, "Warm!"
No response whatsoever.
He tried holding the pendant and reciting the chanting words he hadn't used in a while, the heavy magic power surged, almost putting pressure on those nearby.
But no matter how he called, there was no response at all.
Rhode frowned, "It seems something really happened, maybe someone can affect space magic."
In their group, Erza and Lucy are both Space Element, but without magic, they would suffer greatly.
Hapi and Carla's combat power can be almost ignored, leaving only Natsu, Gray, and Wendy who can fight.
If the enemy is a bit strong, something could really go wrong.
But that doesn't make sense, Warm still has a trump card, even if it can't turn the tide, at least it should bring people to escape, right?
This time the enemy is unexpectedly strong?