Rhode was assigned the task of searching for Wolian's whereabouts by Erza.
Mira had to stay behind. After uncovering the truth, she would be responsible for comforting the nearby residents, or at worst, guiding the civilians to evacuate.
At Erza's command, the guild members each took on their roles and swiftly sprang into action, doing everything they could.
It was the first time Rhode witnessed the guild operating at high speed.
This guild, which bickered and fought every day, had such an unexpectedly strong sense of unity.
"Respond to my call, Shadow Wolf!" Rhode, inspired by this atmosphere, summoned six wolves in one breath.
In the Summoner's Rift, there were two groups of Shadow Wolves, a total of six.
"Erza, they have a strong sense of smell. If there's something Wolian used, they should be able to find it quickly.
If anyone needs to travel quickly, I also have a Swift Crab."
Nabu said, "I know where Wolian's house is, let me take a few with me!"
Mira also said, "The guild might have things Wolian left behind, I'll go look."
"That's a big help, I thought without Natsu we couldn't use scent tracking." Erza said, "Alright then, let's split up."
"Okay." Rhode sent one group of Shadow Wolves with Nabu, leaving one group to search with Mira in the guild.
"So high, so scary, help!"
The people in charge of searching paused their movements, narrowing the search to higher ground areas.
Rhode was both worried about Wolian's safety and relieved to be of help.
Just that bit of relief vanished within minutes.
Other companions also put down their worries, even wanting to give Wolian a piece of their mind.
Because...
"Saved! Finally off that cursed suspension bridge, never again will I go to such high places for a date!"
"Oops! Was my 'Telepathy' always..."
Wolian's voice was abruptly cut off.
But a chorus of curses resonated inside and outside of the guild.
"Wolian!"
"You bastard, are you messing with us?"
"You're not getting away with this!"
"Is it those Fairy Tail mages again? What's going on this time?"
"I thought they were finally quiet for a while!"
"A city-wide prank like this is going too far!"
Various voices resonated throughout Magnolia, and the people's complaints in the streets could be heard inside the guild.
Erza covered her forehead with one hand, embarrassed that she had just confidently directed everyone, only for it to end like this.
Mira stopped rummaging through things, but instead, her face returned to a smile, "Oh dear, oh dear... we've caused quite a commotion again."
Rhode was conflicted, "So, Wolian went on a bridge date with his girlfriend, and his fear caused his magic to lose control, letting the entire city hear his voice?"
Erza nodded, "Yes, it seems that guy has a serious fear of heights."
"..." It was so absurd that Rhode found it hard to believe, "Will our guild be dismantled by the residents because this affected the whole city?"
"No, no." Mira waved a hand dismissively, "This kind of thing isn't uncommon. There's an even more excessive uncle in the guild, and when he comes back, the whole city gets turned upside down."
"But we should still apologize properly and strive for everyone's understanding. I'll go find him right now." Erza's eyes turned sharp, "Rhode, the Swift Crab."
"Ah, okay." Rhode summoned the River Crab, "It's similar to riding a horse, use the antennae as reins."
"Got it." Erza jumped onto the crab's back, flicking the 'reins', and the River Crab quickly dashed out of the guild door with her.
Rhode thought about Erza's frightening gaze just now, "Wolian won't be cut down by her, will he?"
Mira said, "He probably won't be killed."
So does that mean he'll be cut? Rhode realized his understanding of the common tongue had improved, making it easy to pick up on Mira's implication.
Moreover, with such an incident, even if Wolian isn't cut down by Erza, he might as well be socially dead, right?
Rhode imagined himself crying for help from the depths of his soul heard by the entire city because of his fear of heights...
Too socially dead, how could he go out again!
Out of concern, Rhode decided to connect to the vision of the River Crab to check on Wolian's condition.
The River Crab's vision came into his mind, and the scenery 'before his eyes' rapidly retreated, clearly with Erza pushing the River Crab to full speed.
A second later, Rhode voluntarily disconnected from the vision.
The crab's perspective, being rather wide, was one thing he hadn't considered before. Seeing any more... felt somewhat impolite.
Good luck, Wolian.
...
The 'city-wide prank' incident caused quite a negative impact.
On the day of the incident, Erza and Mira came forward, bringing Wolian to explain and apologize to many citizens, and after the president returned, he personally visited the city hall.
However, both the mayor and the citizens were very forgiving about this matter.
"It's just a call to the hearts of the entire city, not like destroying the whole city."
According to rumors not spread by Mira, this is what the mayor said when meeting with the president.
After a few days of complaints from the citizens, the matter became a laughable tale.
"Did you know, a Fairy Tail mage the other day..."
Citizens now had more gossip for their tea time, adding another not-too-serious infamy to this mischief-loving guild.
Even Brother Goodman couldn't help but ask Rhode about what kind of magic that was that day, and what kind of person Wolian was.
With this, the matter was barely resolved.
It's just that, since then, Wolian hadn't appeared in the guild for quite some time.
When he ran out of money and had to take tasks, he would hide somewhere outside the guild, using 'Telepathy' to whisper to Mira.
Mira would carefully choose tasks suitable for Wolian, then find a way to send out the task slips.
Yes, this was what Mira told Rhode.
Because the one responsible for delivering the task slips was Rhode's Shadow Wolves.
A few days ago, the River Crab's 'fast' feature was used by Erza to catch Wolian.
Now the Shadow Wolves' 'stealthy' and 'keen sense of smell' features were used to find Wolian secretly and deliver task slips.
"I originally wanted them to help rescue Wolian, but oh well." Rhode lightly shook his head, no matter how they're used, as long as they're useful.
...
Rhode had some extra time recently to flip through the Magic Encyclopedia, thanks to a breakthrough in the goal of shortening the magic chanting process.
He was selecting suitable magic for his 'minors'.
Of course, to be safe, before starting practice, he wanted to consult the president to see if there were any dangers.
"Most magic, as long as one practices step by step and there's no problem with 'Compatibility', shouldn't be dangerous."
The president said this.
The so-called compatibility is easy to understand. It's a talent suitable for a certain magic, often deciding the admission threshold and future potential of that magic.
As for how to confirm compatibility, generally speaking, those who can awaken on their own are the most suitable.
For example, Erza suddenly mastered magic during a crisis when she was a child.
For those who haven't been able to awaken on their own, they can only choose magic that interests them and see if they can quickly get started.
Rhode had already selected several targets of interest.