Fairy Tail

Mirajane tidied up the tableware and left, returning shortly with another person.

A person with a peculiar physique.

—Their body was as round as a giant sphere, but their limbs were slender, and their face wasn't fat at all, creating a very disharmonious impression.

Based on his past experience watching Conan, Rhode suspected this fat person was fake.

Mirajane introduced, "This is Laxus, Lax-us."

After Rhode repeated it, Laxus also greeted Rhode.

Rhode realized that the four people he had met since waking up were all very distinctive; some were beautiful, some were strange, making them hard to forget.

With a look of confusion on Rhode's face, Laxus took out a paintbrush and a drawing board and began to paint rapidly on his round belly.

First, he drew Rhode, then the old man who had just left.

Then… the two figures actually jumped off Laxus and started moving!

"Magic Brush Ma Liang? Super Beast Fake Picture?" Rhode immediately thought of the stories he knew.

Laxus didn't understand Rhode's words and just continued painting.

A forest appeared, and two small figures entered the forest and began to perform.

'Rhode' collapsed in the forest, and the 'old man's' arm stretched and grew, lifting 'Rhode' with his hands and carrying him away.

Next, the pink-haired lady appeared, giving 'Rhode' medicine, and then 'Rhode' woke up, with 'Mirajane' entering the room—all familiar plot points.

Rhode watched, dumbfounded. He understood that Mr. Laxus was explaining the situation to him in this manner.

He could indeed understand it, but… this method was truly too fantastical.

If it weren't some high-tech projection technology, then it must be… magic? Sorcery?

After the small figures finished their demonstration, they turned into pools of paint and, with Laxus's brush strokes, flew onto the drawing board.

He then took out several more sheets of paper and showed them to Rhode.

The first sheet was a map, marking the forest where Rhode had fainted and his current location.

The second drawing depicted a wooden building, likely the house they were currently in.

The third was a 'group photo,' with dozens of people in the picture.

Rhode spent the longest time staring at the third one. He easily found the short old man, Mirajane, and Laxus.

Then… he also saw a few familiar figures.

Natsu, Erza, Gray!

"Fairy Tail?"

Despite his disbelief, Rhode finally realized which world he was in.

If that were the case, then the strange beast, Laxus's magic, and the distinctive appearances and colorful hair of the people he had met all made sense!

But why Fairy Tail specifically?

If it were One Piece or Naruto, Rhode would have understood more of the plot. Fairy Tail… he really wasn't familiar with it!

He only recognized those few people because a roommate had put up a few posters in the dorm.

Besides those few, plus Wendy and Lucy who weren't in the picture, Rhode knew almost nothing about Fairy Tail!

Mirajane noticed Rhode's expression. "What's wrong? Do you recognize anyone in here?"

Rhode heard her voice and looked at her blankly.

"Sorry, I forgot again," Mirajane said regretfully. "If only Levy were here, maybe she could understand what you're saying."

Laxus asked, "Can't we call Warren to communicate with him?"

Mirajane replied, "Even with Warren's 'Telepathy' magic, it can only transmit voices into the other person's mind. Things they don't understand will still be incomprehensible."

"Then… should we just teach him our language directly?"

Mirajane nodded. "That's all we can do now. Although it's a bit inefficient, I hope Levy can think of another way."

"If you need any help, just ask," Laxus said, lifting his paintbrush, indicating he could help with illustrations for the lessons, even three-dimensional animated ones.

"Yes, we'll have to trouble you then, Laxus."

—

Rhode's literacy lessons began quickly.

He was in a complex state of mind, and even if he wanted to return to school, he didn't know how.

Moreover, it was so dangerous here; if he went out next time, he might not be so lucky and could be eaten by wolves.

For a moment, Rhode didn't know what to do, so he decided to follow their arrangements for now.

Since they were friends of the protagonists, they shouldn't have any ill intentions, right?

Realizing that they were going to teach him to read and speak, Rhode began to study actively.

No matter what he wanted to do next, he had to solve the communication problem first.

Mirajane had found a textbook that looked like it was for teaching kindergarteners to read, and she was using it to teach Rhode the characters.

To aid in her teaching, she used a magical pen that could write glowing characters of different colors in the air.

Seeing Rhode's curiosity, Mirajane went out and borrowed another Light Pen to teach him how to use it hands-on.

She guessed that Rhode might not have even seen magic before.

Rhode found it novel that Magic Items could be used by people who didn't know magic.

Or rather, if he held this pen, could he be considered to know magic too?

Perhaps because there was nothing else to do, Rhode was quite focused.

His literacy lessons progressed quickly, and in a short amount of time, Rhode had mastered the basic syllables.

The next step was to continue learning specific words and phrases.

However, Mirajane seemed very busy; every so often, someone would come to her with a piece of paper to register and get a stamp.

Unfortunately, Rhode couldn't read the characters on it yet and didn't know what was written.

Some people came and left in a hurry, while others would curiously inquire about Rhode's situation.

Mirajane patiently explained to everyone and also introduced Rhode to these people's names.

It was just that there were too many people. Relying solely on pronunciation without understanding the meaning, he couldn't remember any of the names.

The more people who came to find Mirajane, the more embarrassed Rhode felt.

—It seemed he was delaying Miss Mirajane's work and causing a lot of trouble for others' work as well.

Mirajane didn't mind these things, as it was something the guild master had asked her to do.

Besides, everyone was just coming to her to register quests, and the infirmary wasn't far from the main hall. Once they understood the reason, they wouldn't mind.

"You."

"You."

"I."

"I."

Mirajane taught them word by word, and Rhode, like a babbling child, repeated after her like a parrot.

Mirajane pointed to her own eyes: "Eye."

"Eye."

"Look."

"Look."

Rhode found Mirajane's eyes to be very beautiful. He had initially thought her pupils were black, but upon closer inspection, he saw they were a faint blue.

Her signature double eyelids made her eyes look large and lively, and her eyelashes, though not long, were just right.

Her slender eyebrows drooped slightly, giving her a very gentle appearance, but coupled with the slightly downturned corners of her eyes, it seemed to carry a hint of sadness.

However, when she smiled, her eyes would curve into slits, making her whole demeanor more approachable.

"Rhode?"

"Ah, sorry." Rhode realized he had been spacing out.

"It's alright, the lesson seems to have gone on a bit long." Mirajane checked the time, gently pushed herself up by her knees, and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go get something to eat."

Mirajane repeated the phrase with corresponding hand gestures.

Rhode seemed to understand one or two words, and with her gestures, he could barely guess her meaning.

It was then that he noticed the sky had darkened without him realizing it; he had unintentionally attended an entire half-day foreign language class.

He used to complain about foreign language classes dragging on, but now it was the opposite.

Perhaps it was because there was really nothing else to do.

His second meal since arriving in this world was a large bowl of steaming ramen.

The bowl was a large white porcelain bowl with peculiar red floral patterns on the rim.

The chopsticks were ordinary brown, and judging by their feel and weight, they were likely ordinary wooden chopsticks.

The highlight was the noodles glistening with oil in the bowl, the deep red chashu, the perfectly cooked sunny-side-up egg with a yellowish white, a few green leaves, and finely chopped scallions...

The beautiful presentation and color combination made his appetite soar.

Rhode picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a large mouthful of noodles, but then he thought better of it, figuring it was bad manners to eat so messily, and let go, leaving only half.

He gently blew on the steam rising from the noodles. Before they even reached his mouth, the aroma filled his nostrils, making his mouth water.

When the noodles entered his mouth, their springy yet tender texture impressed Rhode with the chef's skill, and he also felt like having some garlic.

It was fine if there wasn't any; the soft, tender, and juicy chashu, with a hint of sweetness, could be eaten with the noodles.

The egg was cooked perfectly. Taking half the yolk in one bite offered one flavor, while dipping the remaining half-yolk into the broth offered another.

A bite of blanched, still-crisp greens would be perfect to cleanse his palate before the next round of fierce attacks.

As Rhode ate, he abandoned all pretense of civility, slurping loudly.

After finishing the food, he didn't forget to slurp up a few mouthfuls of the clear broth—pure, mild, rich, and mellow. As expected, if the noodles were this good, the soup couldn't be bad either.

Rhode let out a long breath, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. The lingering taste in his mouth and the warmth in his stomach filled him with immense happiness.

"This is delicious, thank you!"

"I'm glad you like it." Mirajane smiled as she placed a glass of water on the bedside table, then took the ramen bowl away.

When she returned this time, Mirajane was holding a small bag, and a large figure followed beside her.

The large figure wore a dark blue, high-necked coat. Through the open collar, a tattoo could be seen on the left side of his neck.

—It was the same as the symbol on the ramen bowl, just black.

Rhode then remembered that it seemed to be the Fairy Tail symbol.

He hadn't seemed to notice where Mirajane's mark was.

"Elfman, my brother." Mirajane introduced him.

Elfman had a scar at the corner of his right eye, making him appear somewhat fierce even without a deliberate expression.

Rhode noted the name Elfman, not understanding the word 'brother.'

However, looking at Elfman's demeanor and his white hair, just like hers, he must be her older brother?

First time writing a novel (not really)

First time writing Fairy Tail (not entirely)

Anyway, please collect and invest