"Fiore, your Duke has returned!"
After more than a month, stepping back onto the land of Fiore, Rhode actually felt a kind of familiarity.
Perhaps it's because the guild is here, and unknowingly he started considering this place as home.
Unfortunately, Mira didn't play along, only saying: "You're not a Duke of Fiore."
"Because the Fiore Kingdom doesn't have that many bandit gangs for us to annihilate." Rhode wasn't expecting to continue achieving merits to be enfeoffed as a Duke. "Why, do you enjoy being a Duchess?"
"Hmm…" Mira thought for a moment, then smiled, "Mostly I enjoy being Lady Luo."
This woman really is delightful.
Rhode whispered something into Mira's ear.
Mira's ears turned a little red and she quickly pushed him away: "Be serious, Kripples is just ahead."
"Oh… then let me find the present first."
The houses in Kripples favor stone materials, with the majority in white and gray, and roofs in either domes or spires, mostly blue.
This is quite a large city, no less impressive than Magnolia.
More importantly, this city is the base for the currently top-ranked guild in the Fiore Kingdom, Sabertooth.
The couple walked along, admiring the exotic architectural style.
On their way, they also saw the city's 'wonder' — the aerial garden located in the city center.
Whenever the technology permits it, people seem to always have a passion for elevating buildings into the sky.
Just like Magnolia has an aerial restaurant, Kulokas has an aerial hotel, and Critters has an aerial garden.
Sabertooth is not hard to find; ask any passerby and you can know its location.
Rhode and Mira quickly spotted the castle-like building in the bustling area, the blue saber-toothed tiger sculpture on the roof was eye-catching.
As soon as they entered, someone immediately approached to greet them.
"Welcome, may I… Ah!" The short-haired girl responsible for reception exclaimed, covering her mouth, "D-Demon Lord… No, Mr. Rhode, Miss Mirajane!"
The guild suddenly fell into silence; they were all too familiar with these two names.
Especially Rhode's feat of quelling a nation's bandit trouble single-handedly to achieve the title of Duke, which had been widely spread recently.
Many thought he might join the Gioa Kingdom and live a quiet noble life, not expecting him to come back.
Even less expected was that he would come to Sabertooth.
Rhode wasn't surprised by such an atmosphere; having seen too much, this kind of hassle seems to follow fame.
"Ma'am, may I ask…" The reception girl was considering her wording.
Mainly because no significant figures had ever come to the guild, she didn't know whether to invite them for a drink or to ask if they had a commission.
Rhode didn't let her struggle for long, directly saying: "Hello, we're here to find someone."
"Yes, who are you looking for?"
"Yukino," Mira smiled warmly, "Yukino Agria, is she here?"
Yet, this gentle smile and tone made the reception girl's face turn pale immediately.
Because in her eyes, this must be trouble.
Yukino had already left the guild almost two months ago, and now someone was looking for her, thinking she was bullied in the guild and coming to make things right?
The reception girl was at a loss, worrying about causing the Ten Wizard Saints to be angry due to her misspeaking…
She stammered, almost on the verge of tears.
It was then that Rhode and Mira realized something was off.
When they came in, the people in the guild looked at them with strange gazes, they thought it was because of their fame.
But when they mentioned Yukino, several gazes turned hostile, and some even slammed the table as if ready for a fight.
This was odd, there was no past enmity or recent grievance, where did such strong hostility come from?
Is it because they slightly disciplined that ninja last time?
Mira pressed on: "What's wrong? Is Yukino on some secret mission, unable to tell us?"
"No, no, Yukino she…"
"She's already left Sabertooth." A green-haired strong man stepped forward, waving the reception girl to step back.
He clutched his right wrist with his left hand, flexing a bit, smiling: "Are you the last-ranked Rhode of the Ten Wizard Saints?"
His tone was obvious from the get-go, typical, who would specifically emphasize the 'last-ranked'?
And that little movement, was he warming up?
As expected, he continued, "I'm Oroga, heard people call you a demon wielding lightning, how about we see whose lightning is stronger?"
As he spoke, black arcs already crackled on Oroga's hand.
"Oroga actually challenged the Ten Wizard Saints!"
"No one can surpass him in lightning when it comes to Godslayer Magic."
"Exactly! He's just a provisional Wizard Saint after all."
Though the term Godslayer Magic was concerning, Rhode had zero interest in dueling, and couldn't be bothered with those discussions.
He asked the green-haired man hostile towards him: "When did Yukino leave Sabertooth? Why did she leave?"
"So arrogant indeed." Oroga pulled a smile, the black arcs in his hand formed a black sphere rushing towards Rhode, shouting, "Want to know? Beat me first!"
Rhode raised his left hand, fingers together and chopped downwards.
Oroga only felt a hum in his head, then knew nothing more.
The entire guild shook with a bang, the stone tiled flooring was cracked open by Oroga's head, dramatic fractures spreading to the feet of the retreating reception girl.
Oroga's head was directly embedded into the floor, his entire upper body buried in the ground, his legs initially stiff, then naturally drooped down.
Silence enveloped the guild, most stood speechless with their mouths agape.
A young man at the task board lost his grip on the task sheet he held, fluttering to the ground.
The reception girl startled by the cracks underfoot, screamed, awakening the people in the guild.
"O-one hit and…"
"This is impossible, right? That was Oroga, one of the top five in the guild!"
"Hey, Oroga, stop kidding, stand up!"
"Exactly, he's merely a mage from Fairy Tail, how could he easily lose to…"
Before the last person finished speaking, a sudden difficulty in breathing made him collapse to his knees.
Rhode slightly raised his chin, looking at him askance: "You said a Fairy Tail mage… what about it?"
"I-I…" Pale-faced, legs trembling, he was left speechless.
A blond youth yawned, scratching his ear as he walked out: "What's with the ruckus? Can't even nap without interruption… you're…"