A fairly affluent border town has been flooded with dozens of mages, some of whom are quite individualistic and quite eye-catching.
The matter of the Duke's mansion entertaining guests wasn't a secret, and their identities were quickly known by the residents.
At first, there was concern about possible abuse of power, but they seemed pretty easy to communicate with, and many of them were quite extravagant with their spending.
The representative figure among them was a red-haired armored woman.
It's said that her eyes would light up when she saw unique clothing, as if she wished she could buy everything in sight with money.
The clothing store owner felt that if he were a bit bolder, he could totally overcharge her.
However, as a local merchant who has to make a living in the Duke's domain, he ultimately didn't dare to act on it.
Later, he found out that she was called the 'Fairy Queen', which sounded like someone not to be trifled with, and that she was a close friend of the Duchess.
But there are rumors that she once tried to disrupt the Duke's wedding, only to be defeated by the current Duchess.
It's probably just a rumor, right? Today, people even saw them trying on clothes together.
In any case, it's fortunate that he was cautious today.
The presence of dozens of mages from Fairy Tail gave a small boost to the consumption in Kerland Town.
Clothing, children's toys, food, alcohol, and other various specialties of the Gioa Kingdom, today's sales all went up a notch.
These people sure can eat (and drink)!
Of course, there were a few who caused trouble, like the fierce-looking person who ate the metal shelf in the store.
That kind of fierce gaze could make people worried about being picked on in return, but fortunately not, as he inquired how much he should compensate after a reminder, although he still looked impatient.
Moreover, there was a cute little girl beside him who was pulling him to apologize, not mentioning the Duke and speaking very politely.
That should be his daughter, or otherwise a much younger sister.
Seeing it for her sake, there was no intention to pursue the matter. Having such a daughter or sister was truly his luck, something to be envied.
The trickiest situation was the naked pervert walking down the street.
Trailing behind him was a blue-haired girl holding several pieces of clothing and smelling them — this could also be called perverse.
The town's law enforcement received a report, recognized their identities, and felt unable to arrest them, so they took them back to the station and reported it to the mayor.
These two were surprisingly cooperative.
The woman even seemed quite happy when she realized they were locked up together.
The members of the law enforcement were worried about an incident, planning to move her elsewhere, but as soon as they hinted at it, they got a fierce glare.
— Such a terrifying look, making one feel suffocated, as if being drowned in the ocean.
As the saying goes, 'sitting at home and the pot falls from the sky'.
Rhode was getting familiar with his home's environment when suddenly Mayor Stuen came rushing over to tell him about the matter.
This little issue, with just a word, he could get the people out.
But... it's embarrassing!
Rhode, usually thick-skinned, felt a bit of heat on his face and asked, "According to our law, what should be the verdict on those two?"
"Mr. Gray is suspected of indecent exposure, disturbing the peace, and provoking trouble," Stuen carefully watched Rhode's expression, seeing he wasn't angry, he continued,
"By law, he should be sentenced to twelve lashes... Miss Jubia's actions were not too excessive and can be considered as an accessory, or overlooked, as she actually followed Mr. Gray into the detention room..."
"Two idiots..." Rhode even considered leaving them locked up for ten days or so.
Then, Mira, Lisana, and Erza returned with a heap of shopping bags, curious about Rhode's troubled expression.
Mira inquired about the reason.
Rhode summarized the situation.
Mira and Lisana couldn't help but laugh. Only Erza's face turned dark on the spot; Gray, that idiot, never seemed to learn.
"How about you go, Erza?" Rhode suggested, "Give them a good talking-to before considering letting them out; if not handled properly, it might get reported to the Advisory Council, and the Guild President will have to write another review."
The shopping bags in Erza's hands disappeared, she clenched her fist forcefully, her expression dark: "Alright, leave it to me."
The mayor, a bit scared, led Erza away.
Rhode wanted to check out the new clothes Mira had bought.
In his experience, clothes bought with Erza would definitely be of a style rarely seen normally.
Not long after, Erza came back with two dejected people, one was Jubia, and the other was unrecognizable with a swollen face, and wearing clothes, it was hard to say if it was Gray.
Rhode took a sharp breath: "Is the whipping that harsh? Hitting the face?"
"Erza did it." Gray said, speech slurring slightly.
"So painful." Jubia removed her hat briefly, showing Rhode the large bump on her head, lest he thought she hadn't been punished.
Mira asked with a smile: "Isn't Jubia's body made of water?"
"..." Jubia turned her head, looking embarrassed.
She used to often say that, but many in the guild found ways to hit her nonetheless. She felt wronged.
Lisana stepped forward, poked Gray's swollen cheek, watching as he recoiled as if electrocuted, asking with a bit of schadenfreude: "Wasn't it too harsh?"
Erza smacked her palm: "So there was whipping? I was careless, the mayor said I hit hard enough so they were let out, wasn't that disregarding the country's law?"
Jubia was initially mindful of Lisana touching Gray's face, but upon hearing Erza, the word 'rival' got stuck in her throat, and she quietly 'drifted' away.
Gray took off running.
Erza grabbed Gray's collar instinctively.
But this didn't work on Gray, as his jacket slipped effortlessly off his body, left in Erza's hand.
Rhode chuckled: "That's probably enough, the mayor said it was okay, so it's fine, just get him to issue a formal paper later."
Gray's appearance served as a deterrent; the next day, although it was still free time, things didn't get as out of control as today.
Except Kana drank a few more in a tavern outside, and when a drunk tried to grope her, Kana gave him a good beating.
This didn't really cause trouble, but that drunk wouldn't have it easy afterward.
And so, everyone enjoyed themselves in Kerland for two days before going back to the guild.
In the Royal Palace of the Gioa Kingdom, King Constanton Shargate listened to a minister's report.
"Have they already left?"
"Yes, they said they'd come back for a short stay irregularly."
"What a shame." The king, full of regret, thought it would be wonderful if Lord Rhode could stay here permanently.
As for those outstanding mages, he had tried sending people to ask a few, yet none of them wanted to settle down.
What is it about the Fiore Kingdom that's so attractive, gathering so many exceptional mages?