บท 136: Chapter 136: Becoming a Birdman
The "script" had, of course, been planned in advance. After all, Rhodes had promised before that he'd team up with Elfman when the opportunity arose.
Suddenly needing to help Alzack, he had to inform Mira first.
It just so happened that Mira wanted to help the guild master reduce some of his worries, so she supported Rhodes' plan—plus, it meant there'd be some interesting gossip to follow.
However, while delivering her lines, Mira found Alzack's reactions quite amusing, so she made some on-the-spot changes.
As for Rhodes… he didn't mind playing along, as long as it didn't affect the outcome.
Whether Bisca would agree or not wasn't much of an issue.
Rhodes had already done some investigating… mainly, Mira did the investigating, and he occasionally listened in.
They had already confirmed with a few of the other girls that Bisca was somewhat interested in Alzack, making their chances of success quite high.
Of course, there was also a little scare during this investigation.
It happened when they asked Erza if Bisca had anyone she was interested in.
Erza had seriously thought for almost a whole minute and then gave her answer: "Yes, Rhodes."
Rhodes almost had a heart attack—was it really okay to say this in front of Mira?
Luckily, she added, "And Lidas."
Mira found Rhodes' panicked expression amusing, and she asked Erza why she thought so.
"Because Bisca likes animals. She likes the Poro, wolf, and bird that Rhodes summons, and she also likes the animals that Lidas draws."
"Ah, that's not the kind of interest we meant…" Mira realized Erza probably wasn't very sensitive to romantic matters, so she didn't press further. "I heard from Laki that Bisca turned her room into a mini zoo, right?"
"Yes, she has many adorable animals."
The two happily talked about Bisca's zoo-like room while Rhodes breathed a sigh of relief.
Only afterward did he realize that the female dormitory had such high tolerance for room modifications.
Levy turned hers into a library, Laki's… well, better not mention it. Erza broke through five rooms, and Bisca even raised large animals in hers…
This was the kind of landlord one could only dream of.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, Rhodes saw Mira waving towards the bar. "Bisca~ Can you come over for a second?"
The beautiful green-haired woman pointed at herself, confirming with Mira.
Seeing Mira nod, Bisca put down her crossed legs and stood up gracefully, making her way to the counter.
Rhodes nudged Alzack with his elbow, reminding him to stand up straight.
Alzack straightened his posture, trying not to stare at Bisca.
Bisca's gaze lingered for 0.5 seconds on the guild master and Rhodes, then for one second on Alzack, before she quickly looked away.
She then gently tucked her hair behind her ear, "What's up, Mira?"
"Well… Rhodes and Alzack decided to team up for a mission, and they want to invite you to join them."
Mira deliberately left out who wanted to invite her specifically, and looked at Bisca. "I think your styles match really well. What do you think, Bisca?"
"Since… since you say so…" Bisca really wanted to know which of the two was inviting her.
Thinking about it, she immediately ruled out Rhodes—if he acted recklessly, both he and the girl would probably be killed.
So the one who really wanted to invite her must be… Bisca glanced at Alzack. As soon as their eyes met, both looked away.
"I… I'll join." Despite her shyness, Bisca was much more decisive than Alzack.
So decisive, in fact, that she didn't even ask about the mission details.
Mira and Rhodes exchanged knowing smiles.
Rhodes nudged Alzack again, indicating for him to explain the mission.
But all Alzack managed was a stuttering, "W-welcome aboard."
Bisca, flustered by his reaction, replied, "Th-thank you?"
Mira had to suppress her laughter as she explained the mission to Bisca.
Bisca nodded, "No problem. When do we leave?"
Rhodes didn't bother expecting Alzack to answer, so he said, "We're planning to leave tomorrow morning at eight. We'll arrive around noon, book accommodations, and meet with the client.
Then we'll scout the terrain and enemy positions before deciding whether to strike at night or conduct a pre-dawn raid.
This is just a rough plan—do you guys have any scheduling issues?"
Bisca said, "No problem for me."
Alzack followed, "Same here."
Rhodes nodded, "Alright, it's settled then. Let's prepare today and meet at the guild entrance tomorrow morning."
Bisca greeted the guild master and Mira before leaving the guild. She did have some things in her dorm that she needed to take care of first.
Alzack was also about to leave when Rhodes suddenly asked, "Did Bisca pay for her drink?"
Alzack froze, as if hit by a spell.
Mira chuckled, "It's already paid."
The spell lifted.
"But…"
Alzack froze again.
"No, actually, nothing at all."
Makarov couldn't bear to watch anymore, "You two…"
"Alright, back to business." Rhodes said, "Alzack, how about I fall sick tomorrow, and then you two can go alone?"
"Rhodes~" Alzack was touched, as though they were real brothers. Even if Rhodes teased him a bit.
"Stop joking around, Rhodes." Makarov looked at him, "Now that you've taken on a mission, do it properly. Alzack, you need to get your act together this time, don't you think?"
"Yes." Alzack replied earnestly—he still hadn't gotten past his earlier mess-up, so he needed to perform well this time.
"I understand, Master. I'll be serious about it." This was the first time accompanying them—getting "sick" could wait till next time.
Rhodes agreed. Though the target was merely ordinary bandits, he wouldn't let his guard down.
All necessary preparations would be made—he would treat it as seriously as if dealing with a dark guild.
That might be overkill. Makarov wanted to say.
But he decided against it—being cautious wasn't a bad thing.
Speaking of preparations, Rhodes looked a bit troubled. "Master, do you know any quick ways to learn how to fly? Like a bird."
Makarov knew Rhodes had been working on his bird form. "Why not ask Happy? Mira might know as well."
"It's not the same." Rhodes shook his head. Of course, he had asked Mira and Happy, but the situation of sprouting wings from the back didn't apply to him.
When he transformed into Talonbird, he became a birdman—more like the mythical flying character from a certain mobile game rather than Xayah or Rakan from LOL.
His wings were red feathers that grew out of his arms.
Unlike the seemingly instinctual burrowing magic that came with the stone beetle transformation, flying was, strictly speaking, a kind of "physical technique."
It required Rhodes to beat his wings, one flap at a time.
In comparison, using the feathers as throwing knives was easy—the only challenge was accuracy.
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There are different ways to address Mira. More distant people call her "Mirajane" or "Miss Mirajane," closer ones call her "Miss Mira," and more familiar ones use "Mira" or "Sister Mira." Elfman calls her "Sister," while Lisanna calls her "Sister Mira" or "Brother Elf."
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