Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 181: Lives

In the northern reaches of the Kingdom of Fiore, the weather was even colder than Magnolia.

The snow out in the wild hadn't melted yet, and faint tracks of hares and mice crisscrossed the white landscape. Occasionally, you could spot patches of tall, dried grass poking through the snow, the little circles around them melting slightly faster than the rest.

There were no sanitation workers here to sprinkle snowmelt or clear the streets. The snow on the main roads had simply been trampled down by people, livestock, and wagons until it became packed and icy hard.

Anyone feeling a little childish could try sliding across it, though they'd better watch out for unexpected bumps unless they wanted to faceplant into the snow.

On one such road, two large crabs marched in single file, their sturdy claws crunching over the hard snow and leaving little dents behind them. Their traction seemed surprisingly good.

The crab in front was carrying two people on its back, while the one behind was pulling a flatbed cart.

Specifically, the cart packed with Erza's luggage. It had been tied upside down on top of their carriage during the ride here, but now that they were heading into dangerous territory, Erza and Rhodes had sent the two drivers back to town.

From here on, the crabs had to handle the rest.

By noon, the sun was shining brightly, the kind that made your eyes ache after traveling through it for too long.

Casually, Erza pulled out two pairs of sunglasses, the kind she usually wore to match different swimsuits and beach outfits, and handed one to Rhodes.

It wasn't the time to be picky about style. He accepted it gratefully and made a mental note to prepare a proper pair for future snowy travels. Snow blindness was no joke.

To avoid attracting too much attention, Rhodes dismissed the Scuttle crabs before entering town. He and Erza walked the last stretch on foot.

Although, frankly, Erza dragging a luggage cart loaded high with armor was already pretty conspicuous.

"Excuse me," Rhodes stopped a passerby. "Is there a good hotel around here?"

The passerby gave them a curious once-over before replying, "There's only one hotel in Morninggroy Town. Just keep following this road—you can't miss it."

"Thanks."

They split up briefly after that, Erza headed off to book a room and stash her mountain of luggage, while Rhodes went straight to the town's tavern.

The tavern was... well, not exactly what he was used to. The place was a little grimy, the tables sticky with who-knew-what, but it wasn't as loud as the Fairy Tail guild hall, at least.

Rhodes eyed the place, shrugged, and sat down at the counter. "One beer."

The bartender filled a mug quickly and slid it across. "500J."

Rhodes nearly choked. 500J?! For one lousy beer? He could drink three at the guild for that much!

And that was just going by the listed price. If he thought about the profit margin here, this place was downright shameless.

Still, he pulled out the money, handed it over, and took a sip. Yep, definitely not better than the guild's.

"You're not from around here, are you?" The bartender leaned over, clearly the chatty type.

"What gave it away?"

"Call it a feeling," the man said with a grin. "Actually, it's not that hard. Morninggroy's a small place. If you were local, I'd recognize you."

"You've got sharp eyes, then," Rhodes chuckled. "I'm from the south. Any good sightseeing spots around here?"

"There's snow everywhere this time of year. If you ask me, it all looks the same," the bartender said indifferently, with the same enthusiasm as someone halfheartedly recommending a crumbling tourist spot.

"If you really want something nice, you should head farther north in the summer. The beaches are great, and there are places where the mountains meet the sea. Pretty interesting stuff."

A customer sitting nearby overheard and shouted, "Hey, Bob, quit leading people on! No one should be heading north right now!"

The bartender, apparently named Bob, snorted back, "I didn't tell him to go right now!"

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

Rhodes picked up on that instantly. "What do you mean it's not safe to go north?"

Bob leaned in a little. "Lately, there's been a lot of trouble up that way. Towns like Manjusaka and Poppy have had kids go missing. Real bad stuff. Some folks even got killed trying to stop it."

"Someone died?" Rhodes tensed. That wasn't mentioned in the intelligence reports.

"I heard it happened just yesterday. Poor guy's kid got snatched, and he fought back... lost his life for it." Bob shook his head with a grim look.

Rhodes frowned deeply. "What about the town guards or the army? What are they doing?"

Bob let out a scoff. "What can they do? They say it's human traffickers, snatching kids and either hiding out in the mountains or slipping away by sea. Once they sell them off to places like the Seven Kingdoms or Bosco, there's no getting them back. By the time anyone catches up, the trail's cold."

His voice grew sharper, thick with resentment. "It's those monsters' fault. Now no one dares let their kids walk around town alone."

"It's disgusting," Rhodes agreed, clenching his fists. From the sound of it, the townsfolk thought they were dealing with ordinary traffickers, nobody suspected anything worse lurking beneath the surface.

Rhodes sat there a while longer, nursing his beer and picking up stray bits of conversation. Once he had heard enough, he got up and left.

After he was gone, one of the tavern patrons nudged Bob and muttered, "Hey, Bob, weren't you worried you might've just spilled all that to a trafficker?"

Bob shrugged lazily. "Do you think he looked like one?"

"Bad guys don't exactly walk around with 'villain' written on their faces, you know."

"Who knows? Maybe he's a wizard here to investigate, and the criminals will be caught the moment he shows up."

"Hahaha! Yeah, right. Like some hotshot wizard would waste their time in a shabby little tavern like yours!"

...

Meanwhile, Rhodes met up with Erza, who had also gathered some information from the innkeeper.

"We can't afford to waste any more time. Those people could do anything," Erza said firmly, her expression grim.

Rhodes nodded. "Yeah. Let's head out now and start investigating Manjusaka and Poppy Town."

"Let's split up, it'll be faster," Erza suggested, though she hesitated for a moment. The Master had specifically asked her to look out for Rhodes before they left.

Rhodes thought about it. If they delayed any longer, more people could get hurt. He nodded. "Alright. I'll be careful. I'll have Warm follow you. If I find anything, I'll summon him back. If you find something, just send him back to me."

"Got it. Be careful," Erza replied decisively, taking Warm along with her.

As they prepared to separate, Rhodes quickly added, "And don't get reckless! If you spot enemies, stick to Plan A. If it doesn't work out, switch to Plan B."

He couldn't shake the feeling that ever since they arrived, Erza had been more tense than usual. She wasn't as calm as she had been on the journey here.

Pushing the thought aside for now, Rhodes stopped by a clothing store and picked up some cheap clothes, scarves, hats, and the like, and changed into them to blend in better before heading out toward Poppy Town.

When traveling alone, it was important to stay low-profile and avoid drawing attention. Rhodes also sent out a Scuttle Crab to scout ahead and watch their back trail.

He planned to stay cautious the whole way, especially after reaching Poppy Town.

Poppy Town was where someone had been killed just yesterday. Erza believed that since such a huge incident had already happened there, the Black Magic Cult likely wouldn't risk coming back again so soon.

Which meant that the more dangerous place today was probably Manjusaka Town, so Erza had gone there instead.

Still, Rhodes couldn't shake his concern about Morninggroy Town, so before leaving, he left a Raptor behind to watch the area. The summoning cost was minor, and it gave him some peace of mind as he set off.