The Guild's Women Are Tigers

Erza looked tough and had an intimidating presence, yet she was thoughtful enough to bring souvenirs back for her companions?

Rhode grew curious about what was inside the gift box... It couldn't be armor, could it?

"I'm opening it now!"

Laki set the gift box down, gently pulled apart the ribbon tied into a bow, and lifted the lid.

"What is this thing?" Rhode failed to recognize the object inside at first.

It wasn't armor, but it was indeed made of metal. It looked like a statue of a woman?

No, a statue shouldn't have strange gaps and handles on it.

As Rhode wondered, Laki had already grabbed the handle and opened the "metal statue," revealing the vicious spikes inside.

Unexpectedly, Laki's expression wasn't one of fear, but delight. "Ah! It's an Iron Maiden!"

She stroked the cold metal, and a blush actually appeared on her face. "This is wonderful!"

"I-Iron..." Rhode's tongue tied itself in knots, his head buzzed, and he unconsciously took half a step back.

This thing was a torture device, wasn't it? Wasn't it supposed to be a souvenir? What kind of place considered torture devices a local specialty?

Why would anyone give an Iron Maiden as a gift?

And Laki could carry this thing back without changing expression. Was she born with superhuman strength like Kana?

The biggest question was, girl, why were you so excited?

Mira merely smiled. "My, Erza really put a lot of thought into this gift."

Put thought into it? More like sinister intentions, wasn't it?

"Um, Mira..." Rhode carefully chose his words. "Are you sure this is a gift and not some kind of death threat?"

"Of course it is. Laki loves all kinds of torture devices. An exquisitely made Iron Maiden like this is the best possible gift for her."

Mira tilted her head. "Hm? Haven't I told you? Laki has many torture devices in her room."

...You only told me Laki's collection was interesting and said I should visit it when I had the chance.

Rhode realized a serious problem: the girls in the guild—Miki, Kana, Laki, Erza...

They were each prettier than the last, but also harder to deal with than the last.

Only Levy was adorable and sweet-natured. Mira was a little devious, but she was gentle most of the time.

He just didn't know whether they had other sides he hadn't discovered yet.

The afternoon was a little quieter, and Rhode finally had time to practice magic for a while.

Erza seemed to have nothing to do, so she came to the guild to chat with a girl with long green hair.

Thanks to her, the tavern was quieter than it had ever been.

But according to Mira, everyone was only quiet for a little while after Erza returned. Before long, they would start making a racket again.

Levy held a small notebook and reviewed the pronunciations she had learned that morning. Whenever she saw Rhode pause his practice, she would come over and ask him to teach her a few Chinese character strokes.

During that time, Makarov also helped Rhode revise his summoning incantations.

Normally, when Celestial Spirit Mages summoned Celestial Spirits, they called out the spirit's name while using the corresponding key.

Rhode only had one pendant, yet it was linked to several different summons. For now, he could only distinguish them by calling out their names.

Once he became more proficient with his magic, he could omit most of the lengthy incantation at the beginning and simply call the name.

He would save the original incantation for when he sensed a new summon.

"Toad, Three Wolves, Six Birds, Stone Monster..." Rhode counted on his fingers the jungle monsters he might be able to summon next, feeling that Little Dragon and Big Dragon were still very, very far away.

Though he didn't know whether any ordinary jungle monsters were especially strong, judging by the River Crab's size today, even creatures as weak as Three Wolves and Six Birds in the game would count as fierce beasts based on size alone when summoned.

For Rhode, the most important thing now was to increase his magic power and improve his proficiency with magic.

There was only so long he could meditate each day to build magic power, so he couldn't rush that. The only thing he could practice was magic.

Rhode grabbed Worm, who had been freeloading food and drink in the tavern, and started with the "closing door" spell—that was, the magic used to cancel a summon.

"I am one who communicates the path between two realms. Obey my will and return to the abyss, Poro!"

When the closing incantation ended, Worm's form gradually turned transparent before disappearing completely.

"It worked!" Rhode was delighted that he had succeeded on his first try.

Then he began chanting the summoning incantation.

"I am... Cross through the gate! Open, Gate of the Abyss, Poro!"

A vortex of magic power appeared, then vanished. Worm reappeared in front of Rhode.

"Good, one more time!"

"...Return to the abyss, Poro!"

"...Open, Gate of the Abyss, Poro!"

"...Return..."

"...Open..."

Rhode tirelessly practiced the spell over and over, while Worm could only cooperate.

It was fine at first, but after too many repetitions, it became boring, and the little fellow grew increasingly casual.

Sometimes it appeared standing up, sometimes sitting down, and sometimes lying on its back while trying to cross its legs but failing...

Worm found it terribly annoying, but Rhode couldn't help it. Worm consumed too little magic power.

If he summoned the River Crab instead, Rhode's current magic power would only support two attempts at most before he needed to rest. He couldn't practice repeatedly at all.

"Uwah... ah... achoo~~~"

After who knew how many attempts, Worm reappeared in the tavern and let out a violent sneeze.

Its long tongue had already been pulled back in, while a long string of snot hung from its nose.

Rhode's first reaction was, "So you do have a nose."

Worm forcefully sniffed up its snot, turned around and pointed its rear at Rhode, and even the little horns on its head drooped—it was a little angry.

The Howling Abyss was in the midst of a harsh winter, while the Kingdom of Fiore had already entered summer. Going back and forth between cold and heat so many times was enough to give even a Poro a cold.

"Ah, I'm sorry. This was my fault."

What was he supposed to do when a Poro got angry?

Rhode thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Mira, I'd like a fried egg..."

Worm's drooping little horns immediately perked up.

"...And a bowl of tomato and egg soup?"

Worm spun around in an instant, stuck out its tongue again, and practically had joy written all over its face.

Rhode hadn't fully figured out Worm's preferences yet, but eggs were definitely one of Worm's favorite foods.

"So easy to appease." Rhode skillfully reached out to pat its head, stroke its horns, scratch its chin, and rub its belly.

Mira smiled as she took his order, but a somewhat grating voice sounded from above.

"Finally quiet now? You've been making noise this whole time, you know."

Rhode looked up. The speaker was a blond young man with a lightning-shaped scar over his right eye.

He wore something resembling headphones, a brownish-yellow shirt, and an overcoat—even though it was summer.

He rested a hand on the second-floor railing as he looked down at Rhode, his expression unfriendly.