It was just noon and we hadn't had the chance to eat, so trying the signature dish of Mermaid's Heel sounded good.
Unexpectedly, both Rhode and Mira found it quite delightful after a taste.
It's fitting to say that as a seaside guild, they're really skilled at cooking fish.
The two of them thoroughly enjoyed a seafood feast and also asked the hosts about fun activities.
"The best place to visit is definitely Mermaid Bay." A cat-eared girl suddenly jumped in to greet them, "Mr. Rhode, Miss Mira, welcome to Mermaid's Heel nya!"
Mira laughed, "Mirena, it's you. We thought you were out."
Full of energy, Mirena responded, "Of course I'm here nya! The deep-sea fish dish you just ate was made by me~ Did you feel the genki?"
Rhode was surprised, "So you're also skilled in culinary arts."
Mirena said embarrassingly, "I'm just good at handling fish, that's all."
She looked around and asked, "Didn't the cat come with you?"
Mira laughed, "They all have their partners, no time to come out and play with us."
Rhode inwardly thought that Mira could also turn into a cat, but she wouldn't show it so easily.
Mirena seemed a bit disappointed, then Mira asked, "Is Kagura not here?"
"Shenle went to visit Simon," Mirena spread her hands and shook her head gently, "They're always like this, checking on each other often."
"Because they are siblings." Liseli knew what Shenle's state was before finding her brother—training all day, very serious.
Now, occasionally, she'd show a little girl's side, and she smiled more in front of Simon.
Liseli thought that Shenle was better now.
"Here's your reward." Molumei brought over a stack of bills and placed it on the table, "A total of 3 million J, the value of the Magic-guided Cluster Cannon and other Magic Tools will be settled in a few days, but take it for now."
Actually, the client and Mermaid's Heel underestimated the danger of the Petlyura Gang, resulting in the reward being a bit low.
But since it's already decided, there's nothing to be done, just chalk it up to the mishaps during the mission as bad luck.
If the client doesn't proactively offer compensation, then it can only be left as it is.
Yet Alani, Liseli, and Beth didn't make a move to take the money.
Liseli said, "This task shouldn't count as completed by us."
"Right," Beth echoed, "The reward should go to Mr. Rhode and Miss Mira."
"But it's your task, we were just passing by..." Mira looked at the three's expressions and said, "At least you put in a lot of effort."
Alani took out their task form, showing that the names of the three were crossed off and replaced with Rhode and Mira's names.
She smiled and said, "Our mages at Mermaid's Heel wouldn't stoop to stealing credit."
—Mages from legitimate guilds are allowed to take tasks from another guild, as long as the mage themselves and the presidents of both guilds agree.
However, generally, no one does so because guilds often aren't that harmonious with each other.
Fairy Tail and Mermaid's Heel have no conflicts, so the process wasn't an issue.
"At least it should count as us completing it together, right?" Rhode said, "The Fairy Tail tradition is to split the reward."
"Hehe~" Molumei accidentally let out a mature laugh, cleared her throat, and resumed her loli voice, saying crisply,
"Although you're a man, you're quite a good kid. Let's do it my way, take the cash, and let Alani and the others split the 'balance' later."
"Let's leave it at that." Rhode didn't want to keep pushing back and forth, that cannon may have been damaged by Mira, but the core parts are intact, so it should be worth some money, and no one loses out.
After a brief rest following lunch, Rhode and Mira headed to Mermaid Bay as mentioned by Mirena.
Alani indicated that they planned to go play after finishing the report and handling some trivial tasks, concerned about disrupting their duo time.
Mira said it was fine, the more the merrier.
Rhode expressed: Hee hee.
...
Mermaid Bay was just a few hundred meters away from Mermaid's Heel, originally named Goldfish Grass Bay.
Later, because of the increasing fame of Mermaid's Heel, and its proximity, the mayor sought public opinion and directly renamed the bay after Mermaid's Heel in recognition of their contribution to the city.
So everyone now habitually calls it Mermaid Bay.
Look at the treatment of other guilds, having a bay in the city! Then think about their own guild, in Magnolia, what does Fairy Tail have?
Answer: Kildas Mode.
Such a gap!
Rhode was grieved and only by looking at the beautiful scenery on the beach could he alleviate his heartache.
Out for fun, both Rhode and Mira were diligent.
They properly set up the sun umbrella, arranged the beach chairs, and naturally and skillfully bought cold drinks—only the sunscreen application took a bit longer.
Loathing hot weather, Warm was also dragged out by Rhode to suffer, but seeing the ice cream, Warm didn't argue with Rhode.
It just planned to eat and leave.
"Look, that girl over there is pretty." Mira pointed to a girl splashing water with friends by the sea, calling Rhode to look.
Rhode: "Average."
"That body over there is great!"
Rhode: "Typical."
"And that one over there..."
Rhode: "Her swimsuit is nice."
Mira elbowed Rhode in the waist.
This person said 'average,' 'typical,' 'nice,' etc., yet his eyes were quite honest.
Rhode grinned and smacked a kiss on her face; what's it like when your wife spots beauties faster than you?
Really too ashamed.
Mira disdainfully pushed Rhode away, stood up and stretched a bit, ran and jumped to the sea, then plunged in to swim.
"I said, even if there were real mermaids, they'd be no match for my wife." Rhode watched happily for a while and then jumped into the sea to swim along.
By the time the girls from Mermaid's Heel came, Rhode and Mira were in the middle of a water fight.
A genuine water fight.
Rhode slapped the water with his right hand, sending a several-meter-high wave towards Mira.
Mira inserted both hands into the water and lifted forcefully, creating a wave about the same size to counter Rhode's attack.
Next came the more exaggerated water bombs with a radius of several meters, and continuously spinning water tornadoes…
The two kept attacking each other, the scale grew more breathtaking, no one dared to approach within a 200-meter radius.
Mirena and the others were stunned, not because you couldn't fight a water war like this, but because these two weren't using any Water Magic.
They were simply and bluntly using massive Magic Power to forcefully drive the water, it wasn't a water fight at all, but a Magic Power fight!
Those with a bit less Magic Power couldn't play this way!