Yukino was also somewhat interested in the girl among the three people in front of her who resembled herself, but decided to focus on the task at hand first:
"I am Yukino Agria from Sabertooth, here under orders to handle the consultation task posted by Fairy Tail. Are you Lord Rhode? May I ask who wishes to consult about Celestial Spirit Magic?"
Although her words were respectful, her expression and tone carried a sense of coldness.
After hearing her speak, Mirajane's gaze towards Yukino became especially gentle: "Why don't we go inside to talk?"
Rhode nodded and made a gesture: "Please come in and have a seat, and I will explain everything to you slowly."
Lisana followed with curiosity, and Mirajane called Laki and Ginanna to receive the guild's supplies, then brought tea for everyone, sitting directly next to Rhode.
Several people in the guild initially mistook Yukino for Lisana, looking over with some curiosity.
"It's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Rhode, and this is my fiancée, Mirajane, along with her sister Lisana." Rhode felt the other party might also be interested in Lisana.
"Hello." Mirajane greeted Yukino with a smile.
Lisana rested her chin in her hands, looking left and right as if searching for the differences between herself and Yukino.
Just as Rhode had speculated, Yukino's gaze indeed showed a slight change, but her expression remained indifferent.
Her look towards Lisana was more envious than curious.
"Hello, Lady Mirajane, Lady Lisana."
"There's no need for such formal titles; just call us by our names," Mirajane said. "You seem a bit similar to my sister, so I felt a sense of warmth upon seeing you."
Meeting Mirajane's gentle eyes, Yukino was somewhat moved, but as if remembering something, she forced herself to look away and nodded almost imperceptibly.
She placed the task order on the table, pointed to the Sabertooth emblem on it, and pushed it forward, saying, "Lord Rhode, this is the task order, and the guild has authorized me to handle this task."
Mirajane gave a helpless smile; she hasn't adjusted yet, is it a habit? This girl seems overly polite.
Rhode carefully verified the task order; he was quite familiar with the process, but it was his first time going through it as a client.
Strictly speaking, the next step should include showing the emblem, but since some women like to place their emblems in peculiar spots, Rhode didn't mention it.
Yukino naturally lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing the white skin and the Sabertooth emblem on the left side of her navel.
Seeing her straightforward action, Rhode fell into thought. Could this girl have been sent by Sabertooth to assassinate me? Using Mirajane's hand?
Unfortunately, this level of threat was inconsequential.
Thanks to Erza, Kana, and others, especially Lucy's contributions, Mirajane had long ago desensitized to such matters.
When in a good mood, she would even accompany Rhode to see swimsuit models and demonstrate how to pose attractively.
"Alright, identity confirmed, and the task order is verified." Mirajane nodded, helping Yukino tidy her clothes, "Be careful not to catch a cold."
Yukino's lips quivered as she exerted effort to avoid looking at Mirajane: "Thank you, please... tell me about the task."
Her tone was as chilling as when she arrived, albeit with a slight unidentifiable fluctuation in her voice.
Rhode pointed to the conditions on the task order: "I need to confirm whether you are a Star Spirit Mage and if your spirits meet this requirement."
Many spirits summoned with Silver Keys can't speak, like Nikola of the Canis Minor Constellation, the River of Stars of the Eridanus Constellation, or Kaye Rume of the Bootes Constellation.
That's why Rhode included a condition for easy communication, ideally Zodiac Spirits.
"I can." Yukino directly placed two gold keys on the table and introduced, "Zodiac, Libra's Lepre, and Pisces's Bisques. I think they should meet your requirements."
Lisana exclaimed in surprise: "It's really the Zodiac, and you have two of them!"
Mirajane smiled and said: "It seems we've invited an extraordinary mage."
Rhode examined her carefully; she was indeed remarkable.
Ten of the Zodiac Keys were with Lucy, and the remaining two were all with Yukino.
As for other Star Spirit Mages… they seemed a bit pitiful.
The Ancient Magic wasn't a secret, and given the large number of mages, the number of Star Spirit Mages wasn't exactly small.
Were the others just playing with the seventy-six constellations' Silver Keys?
Some constellations had more than one spirit, but those were usually weak ones.
Moreover, this girl was quite bold, placing the keys openly on the table without fear of them being snatched.
"Very well, now to the task content." Rhode acknowledged her abilities as the client and said,
"We need you to summon a spirit to deliver a message to Virgo's Balrog or Leo's Leo, and then bring back a confirmed reply."
"Deliver a message to another spirit?" Yukino, apparently, had never heard of such a peculiar task and asked in confusion, "Is this a 'consultation task'?"
"Because there's something we wish to ask them, we classified it as a consultation task; can you do it?" Rhode thought the task's only difficulty might be the spirits' willingness to communicate.
Yukino obviously didn't see it as a problem and nodded: "I can do it."
"Then regarding payment, as agreed 100,000 J, is there any issue?"
"No issue."
If it's just delivering a message, Yukino actually thought the pay was a bit high; for a task like this, she had originally anticipated teaching for three to five days.
"Then the commission is established," Rhode said, "You can start now, or if you'd like a more private place, that's fine too."
"No need, here is fine." In fact, here is better.
Yukino remembered her companions' words before she came:
'Don't dishonor Sabertooth.'
'Show them how excellent Sabertooth's mages are.'
There were other more excessive suggestions. However…
Yukino glanced at Mira, who always looked at her with gentle eyes.
It felt difficult to act provocatively or show off.
Well, she would just have to demonstrate her magic properly.
She picked up the Libra's key and gently waved it: "Open, Gate of Libra, Lepre!"
The surge of Magic Power from Yukino and the golden light from the key caught considerable attention.
Laki knew Rhode's intention for inviting someone and was pleased: "It's truly a Star Spirit Mage! And she's summoning a Zodiac Spirit!"
Elfman said: "Indeed, the same magic as Lucy."
Marcus stroked his chin, pondering: "Seems like this girl might be stronger than Lucy…"
A scantily clad lady appeared in the guild, standing in a crane pose with her hair tied in two horn buns and a veil over her face, holding a tray in each hand.
Macao and Wakaba, the old gentlemen, were about to express their thoughts when they saw Yukino produce another key and softly said: "Open, Gate of Pisces, Bisques!"