Rainy Day, Time to Get Moody

The new day arrived, and Rhode woke to the sound of dripping rain. As soon as he got out of bed, his legs felt sore and heavy.

Yesterday, perhaps due to being stimulated, or perhaps because he'd quietly made up his mind about something, Rhode had gritted his teeth and run until he collapsed on the ground, unable to get up.

He'd even summoned a Canyon Swiftclaw to carry him home, letting it coil its tentacles around him and carry him on its back.

Before going to sleep last night, Rhode had deliberately applied a cold compress with a wet towel for a while and found some swelling-reducing medicine from a large box of supplies Erza had given him.

Looking at it now, he was glad he'd had the foresight.

Rhode dragged his sore legs to the bathroom to take care of personal business and wash up. After coming out, he decided to use more medicine.

"Oh no, I forgot to bring my clothes in!"

Rhode went to the balcony to check. Sure enough, it had rained quite heavily last night, and all his clothes were soaked.

He had no choice but to bring them in and put them in a basin with the sweat-soaked clothes he'd taken off yesterday.

After staring at the basin and agonizing for a moment, Rhode reluctantly sat down to wash clothes.

There was no other way. Besides these two sets and his pajamas, he only had one outfit left in his closet. Every time he opened it, it felt so empty.

If anything unexpected happened, Rhode would soon be in a predicament with no clothes to wear.

"I should buy a couple more sets when I have some extra money," he thought.

Rhode washed and wrung out the clothes with a sloshing sound, temporarily hanging them in the laundry room.

He considered the possibility of taking them to the guild to have Natsu dry them for a second, but quickly gave up – the risk was too great, he couldn't afford to gamble.

After a bit of hustle, Rhode, now tidied up, went downstairs to head to the guild.

However, the rain showed no signs of subsiding; if anything, it was getting heavier. Even Goodman hadn't come out to set up his stall today.

Opening the main door, Rhode realized a new problem – he hadn't bought an umbrella.

"This is too much..." Rhode lamented with a voice of poverty.

"Grrr~"

At the crucial moment, Warm emerged from a corner on the first floor, holding an umbrella in its mouth.

"Well done!" Rhode praised, summoned a River Crab, and jumped onto it, holding the umbrella as he headed for the guild.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to leave a note for Goodman explaining that he had borrowed the umbrella without permission.

The Canyon Swiftclaw walked slowly along the street according to Rhode's instructions. It didn't dislike the rain; in fact, it found the environment more comfortable.

Rhode sat cross-legged at the highest point of the Swiftclaw's shell, tilting the umbrella against the direction of the raindrops.

The streets of Magnolia were much quieter in the rain. The usual morning calls were mostly gone, and only a few pedestrians passed by sporadically.

They walked briskly through the puddles, holding umbrellas or wearing raincoats and rain boots.

Rhode had seen many such scenes before he traveled to this world, but... he looked down at himself and felt out of place.

Yes, he was an anomaly, an outsider who didn't belong in this world.

However, this small bit of self-pity completely vanished by the time he reached the guild entrance.

Because at that very moment, Laki was walking slowly from the intersection to the northwest, holding a wooden umbrella and wearing wooden boots. She also carried a wooden box in her other hand.

Her long purple hair swayed gently, appearing very familiar in the rain.

On the other side, Gray was also approaching, holding an exquisitely crafted ice crystal umbrella from another direction.

The rainwater flowed down the umbrella's canopy, neither freezing nor melting the ice umbrella, merely adding a beaded curtain-like decoration.

Noticing Rhode and Laki, Gray casually raised a hand: "Yo!"

Laki responded energetically: "Morning!"

"Morning!" The Swiftclaw disappeared, and Rhode's feet touched the ground. Looking at his two companions, who were as 'strange' as he was, he couldn't help but smile.

This, perhaps, was the meaning of the guild's existence.

The three of them walked into the guild hall. Laki glanced at the floor by the entrance: "I feel like we'll be mopping the floor non-stop today."

Rhode thought about how places like the cafeteria and supermarket handled rainy days and suggested, "How about laying down some thick cardboard at the entrance?"

"Good idea, let's do that, but..." Laki chose to cast her magic, "Wood Shape: Pure Love, Spotless!"

Swish, swish, swish... Thin wooden boards appeared both inside and outside the guild entrance. The upward-facing side was intentionally made quite rough.

"Shape Magic is so convenient," Rhode marveled again, while also wanting to complain about the ridiculous name.

'Spotless feet' would have been a more fitting name.

There wasn't much to do in the morning, so after a bit of busyness, Rhode found Gray.

"Natsu's weakness?" Gray blurted out, "He's hot-tempered and easily angered, a hot-headed fire idiot."

"But..." Gray thought for a moment, "That's how he usually is, but it's another story in battle.

His instincts are often as sharp as a wild beast's, and if you fight him seriously, he's very troublesome."

Although he usually called Natsu an idiot and didn't get along with him in terms of personality or magic, if Gray were to seriously evaluate Natsu, he would definitely give him a very high rating.

Unless it was in front of Natsu.

"Well, that's it. I'm definitely getting beaten up again today," Rhode fretted. "Doesn't it have any practical, obvious, immediate weaknesses?"

"Oh, right! Natsu asked you for a duel today!" Gray smacked his palm with his fist, interested in the prospect of beating up Natsu for someone else!

"If you're looking for an obvious weakness, there's one!" Gray said. "That guy can't handle transportation. You'll win for sure if you create a car under his feet!"

"Great idea, but I don't know Shape Magic!"

"I'll teach you right now!"

"Right now!"

"That's right, right now!" Gray excitedly threw his arms up, his shirt disappearing. "Do as I do..."

Rhode glanced at Gray's bare chest. "Sorry to bother you, but I don't think I'm suited to learning Ice Shape."

Becoming a pervert just to beat Natsu... Rhode didn't think it was worth it.

"..." Gray had just made the motion of holding his right fist against his left palm when he looked at the fleeing Rhode in confusion. "Huh? I haven't even started teaching yet."

While Natsu wasn't here yet, Rhode decided to find a quiet place to meditate for a while.

"Rhode," Laki called out, stopping him and handing him the wooden box she had brought. "The magazines you wanted are inside."

Rhode's hand grew heavy; the fifty-odd magazines were quite substantial. "Thanks... Why doesn't this box have an opening?"

"I didn't make an opening because I was worried they'd get wet in the rain," Laki explained. "Once you get back to a place where you can relax your mind, just give the box a good whack."

"...I understand. You've really thought of everything."

She meant he should just smash it open when he got home, right? Rhode, whose Common wasn't very good, took a moment to process her meaning.

Also, it turned out she had made this box herself before leaving. Wood Shape Magic was truly perfect for daily life.

Rhode put the box down and ran to the library entrance, sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes to meditate.

Feeling his magic grow bit by bit, Rhode felt the joy of accomplishment.

He wondered when his next summon would arrive. Hopefully, it would have at least some attack power by then.