"Team Shadow Gear?"
After Mirajane's explanation, Roland also learned that there were many small groups within the guild.
Among them was the Thunder God Tribe, led by Laxus.
"..."
While Levy was making introductions, Jet and Droy also noticed the young man sitting beside her, and both were stunned.
"Jet, Droy, these are my good friends whom I've known since I was a child." Levy paused, then looked at Roland beside her and said with a smile, "This is Roland, a newcomer who just joined the guild today."
"Hello," Roland greeted in a gentle tone.
A newcomer who just joined today?
The two looked at each other, their expressions grave.
There's no mistaking it, this kid has his eyes on our cute Levy!
"An enemy..."
Jet muttered to himself in a low voice.
"Yeah, looks like we'll have to call a temporary truce."
Noticing his exceptionally handsome face, Droy felt an inexplicable pressure, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
Damn it, where did a guy who's on par with Loke suddenly appear from!
It was obvious—the person before them was the greatest threat to their pursuit of Levy!
"You two... are being too rude, aren't you? He was just greeting you!"
Seeing the two of them not responding at all, Levy narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
These two—
"Ah, sorry! I'm Sarusuke, but everyone in the guild calls me Jet."
Seeing the dangerous look in Levy's eyes, Jet quickly stood at attention, pressed his hand on his wide-brimmed hat, and introduced himself.
"I'm Droy. It's a pleasure to meet you..."
Droy said, somewhat reluctantly.
After all, seeing the girl you have a crush on laughing and talking with a strange man, who would be in a good mood?
After a simple round of introductions, Levy suddenly remembered the matter of teaming up. She scratched her cheek with her index finger and said with an embarrassed tone:
"Um, I have something I need to discuss with you!"
"What is it?"
Jet asked curiously.
"..." Levy began to hesitate. After a long pause, she revealed an awkward yet polite expression. "I'll be leaving the team for a while. For the upcoming quests, it'll just be the two of you."
"Wha—!?"
"Wait, wait, wait... you're quitting the team!?"
Droy and Jet stood frozen as if struck by lightning. Their expressions went from disbelief to pale, and their lips trembled so much they couldn't speak.
"Why!? Our team, since its formation, has never—"
"I asked Miss Levy to team up with me."
Before Droy could finish, Roland interrupted.
"Because I'm new to this town and not familiar with the quest procedures, I asked Levy to team up with me for a while."
He still had a smile on his face, and his gentle voice made Levy pause.
That's not right, I was the one who asked to team up...
"No, it's not like that, I was the one who offered—"
After hesitating for a few seconds, Levy decisively opened her mouth to explain, but before she could get halfway through her sentence, she felt her left hand being held.
The firm touch and warm temperature made the girl's breath catch.
"That's the truth. If you two seniors have any dissatisfaction, you can take it up with me."
"No, it's not that we're dissatisfied..."
Seeing him say this, Jet clutched his head, feeling a headache coming on.
Since he's already put it like that... what else can we say?
If they continued to press the issue, it would be a greater loss if they ended up making Levy dislike them.
"Then please take care of Levy," Droy managed to say with great difficulty, but he felt something wasn't right and added through gritted teeth, "If she gets hurt during a quest, I won't let you off!"
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her."
Roland squeezed the soft, smooth little hand under the table and said seriously.
"...."
Levy lowered her head, trying her best not to let her former teammates see the blush on her face.
At this moment, Mirajane walked over with his advance salary. Seeing the four people present, she blinked, not understanding the situation.
What's going on? Why does the atmosphere feel so heavy?
"Here, your two hundred thousand J!"
Although she was curious about what had happened, Miss Mirajane first handed over the bag of coins.
"Thank you."
Roland took the money bag, the heavy weight reassuring.
Now that he had his salary, the next step was to find a nice place to live.
A place like the Fairy Hills girls' dormitory only cost 100,000 J a month, the cheapest price in town.
For an ordinary person to rent a place, it would cost at least 150,000 J or more.
"Mira, I'll be leaving this afternoon. As for work—" Roland casually called over a ninja carrying drinks and said to Mirajane, "The Shadowkhan won't disappear without my command. They can work until the guild closes."
"Are you going to look for a place to rent?" Mirajane placed a finger on her chin and said thoughtfully, "There's a resident near my house who's looking to rent out a room. You could go take a look."
Unlike the other women in the guild, she didn't rent a room in an apartment. She had used the money earned from quests to buy a house in town, where she lived with her younger brother.
"By the way, the scenery around there is quite nice~"
"I understand. Thank you, Mira!"
Roland looked her in the eye seriously and said softly.
"It's nothing." Mirajane unconsciously averted her gaze and tucked a strand of her silver-white hair behind her ear, trying to hide her blushing cheeks. She said in a feigned casual tone, "We're comrades, after all, aren't we?"
There's that feeling of my heart racing again—why do I have such a strange reaction whenever I look at Roland?
The girl who had never been in love couldn't help but wonder.
"Then I'll be going!"
Putting away the Gourmet Tablecloth, Roland and Levy walked side by side towards the guild entrance.
They left behind Mirajane, who was wondering if there was something wrong with her, and the crestfallen Jet and Droy.
Staring at the two departing figures, Droy slammed his fist on the table in frustration.
"Damn it, give Levy back to me!!"