Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 255: To Protect the Entire Magic World.

He'd expected the usual rundown, names, magic types, a few basic traits.

Instead, the first page was a detailed hand-drawn portrait.

Even more surprising, there were action sketches of the opponents' magic in use. The rendering of the black flames was so realistic, it made Lahar flinch slightly.

Then he saw the recorded dialogue.

Lines spoken before and during the battles, even the more dramatic quotes from Rustyrose were carefully written down, with circled placeholders where Rhodes couldn't recall the exact wording.

"This is incredible for profiling..." Lahar muttered. "You even noted down their speech patterns."

It was absurdly comprehensive. If this kept up, Rhodes might as well include what color socks the enemy wore.

"Mr. Rhodes, this..."

Lahar paused. For a brief moment, the thought of trying to poach this man into the Rune Knights crossed his mind.

"What's wrong?" Rhodes tilted his head. "Is it not formatted the way the Council likes it?"

"No, I think the Council should be formatting reports the way you do."

Lahar couldn't hold back a sigh of admiration. If all intelligence reports were this detailed, strategizing would be a dream.

Rhodes gave a small shrug. "Glad to hear it helps. But just a heads-up, intel ages fast. If we don't act quickly, they might change up their tactics or even pick up new spells."

Lahar chuckled at that. "You overestimate how easy it is to learn new magic. For wizards that powerful, refining their current magic takes years. It's not something they can just switch overnight."

Rhodes turned to Makarov for a second opinion. "Is that true?"

Makarov nodded. "Absolutely. Even Natsu, Gray, Cana, they're all extremely gifted. But they've been training in their magic since childhood to reach where they are."

"You don't just pick up a powerful spell and master it in a week," he added with a chuckle.

It had taken almost ten years for each of them to truly master their magic.

When it came to learning new spells, especially for combat, it wasn't something that happened overnight. Simple utility magic like Rhodes' text magic or Re-equip: dress-up magic was manageable. But if you wanted to seriously boost your combat abilities, that required years of rigorous training.

Unless you were a genius among geniuses or someone whose affinity with a particular magic was extremely high, you could forget about fast progress.

Rhodes was a good example of the second kind. He wasn't a prodigy like Laxus or Erza, but his compatibility with certain magic allowed him to improve faster than most.

Still, that kind of match was incredibly rare.

"Oh, right. One more thing," Rhodes added. "You saw those illustrations in the report, right? I asked our guild's best artist to help me with them. He dropped all his commissions to draw these, so..."

Makarov inhaled deeply.

This intel was meant to be shared with other guilds for the sake of public safety. He had cooperated with the Council to avoid writing another batch of self-criticism reports. And now this kid, Rhodes, wanted to bill them?

Sensing the tension, Rhodes quickly shifted tone and put on his best pitiful expression.

"Master, don't look at me like that. I already messed up my last mission and burned through a bunch of rare resources. Those magic books and crystals weren't cheap. On top of that, I've been paying out of pocket for my recovery."

He clutched his stomach. "And now I've been staying up every night gathering intelligence to protect the entire magic world. I can't even afford dinner at this point."

"Mr. Rhodes, please, that's enough." Lahar's voice was strained with guilt. "We lost all the prisoners. You've done your part. We're the ones who should be apologizing."

The way Lahar saw it, someone like Rhodes, who worked so hard for the good of the continent, shouldn't be left to shoulder everything alone.

"With the authority I do have," Lahar continued, "I can submit a request to designate this as an official commission. It will compensate both you and this artist, Mr. Reedus. Consider it a small gesture of appreciation."

"Oh no, it's nothing," Rhodes quickly replied, trying to sound modest, though a grin was already creeping across his face.

A designated request meant guaranteed compensation from the Council, and that usually wasn't cheap.

With this, the cost of the lost spellbooks and lacrima had just been covered and more.

The Council really was rich.

Once Lahar and his men left, Makarov turned and stared at Rhodes with a wide, grandfatherly smile.

"Rhodes."

The moment Rhodes saw that look, he felt a chill. "Master, please don't look at me like that. Just say it. That expression is terrifying."

"Nothing in particular," Makarov replied, beaming. "Just, I expect you to give your best at this year's S-Class Exam."

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And with that, he walked away looking like a man satisfied with the direction the future was heading.

"Huh?" Rhodes blinked.

What did that even mean? The exam isn't until December. It's still April. Why start worrying now?

"Rhodes, this mission." Gray appeared and slapped a new job request on the guild's counter. "Is Mira around?"

"No, she's not." Rhodes looked up. "She went to visit Lisanna's grave with Elfman."

This was something Mira had mentioned to Rhodes just the day before.

Although it wasn't the official anniversary of Lisanna's passing, the siblings simply wanted to go visit her grave.

Rhodes wasn't worried. Mira was no longer the fragile version of herself from half a year ago, and Elfman had grown immensely as well.

As long as Elfman could forgive himself, Mira would follow soon after.

"So that's what it was," Gray said thoughtfully. After a pause, he added, "I'm sorry... about the other day."

Rhodes blinked. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"When you and Elfman were in trouble," Gray explained, "I was away on a mission. I didn't get any messages until after it was over."

He sounded frustrated, clearly upset he hadn't been there to help.

Rhodes offered him a small smile. "You don't need to apologize. If anything, I should thank you for caring so much. Besides, Elfman and I were the ones who stirred up all the trouble. Not you."

Gray was the kind of guy whose heart burned hotter than any fire wizard's, no matter how ice-cold his magic was.

"Still," Rhodes said, raising an eyebrow as he picked up the job sheet on the counter, "you sure you want this mission?"

Temporary Recruitment: Male Fashion Model

Requirements: Handsome, bright, well-toned physique, outgoing personality.

Job Description: Wear store-designated outfits to attract foot traffic and act as a customer guide when needed.

It wasn't exactly difficult work. Gray's looks were more than up to par, but those "designated outfits" could mean anything.

"It's fine," Gray said confidently. "I'm going with Loke. He's done this kind of thing before."

Rhodes glanced toward the door and saw Loke poking his head around the corner, cautiously waving with a grin.

If Loke was involved, then yeah, the "handsome" part was definitely covered. But somehow, Rhodes was even more concerned.

Something about this particular duo doing crowd work for a clothing store just screamed disaster waiting to happen.

"Well... good luck," Rhodes muttered. "Try not to break anything."

Officially, a wizard couldn't turn down a job based on how embarrassing it might be.

The guild had strict rules about who could take on high-risk missions, but when it came to gigs like this, they were pretty lenient.

After all, Master Makarov always said: growth can come from anywhere. Sometimes, even from a modeling job in tight pants.

With a resigned sigh, Rhodes stamped the mission form and handed it back.