The Next Target

"I can handle the rest of the places myself."

After tending to the spots he couldn't reach himself, Rhode felt awkward letting Mira help him continuously.

"Then I'll be going out now," Mira said, putting down the medicine bottle and tweezers. "You should rest a bit longer."

"Mhm, thanks."

Watching Mira leave, Rhode took off his T-shirt and began applying medicine to the bruises on his body, bit by bit.

He also took the time to review his fight with Natsu.

Besides leaving him with a body full of aches and pains, today's fight had also given Rhode quite a few gains.

Firstly, he was now someone who had genuinely fought in a battle. This was important; at least he wouldn't be intimidated before a fight even started.

Secondly, he had also learned a small trick for defending with magic.

Although his current magic power made defending against Natsu's punches a bit strenuous, against an ordinary person, he could basically tank their punches and kicks.

During his fight with Natsu, Rhode had basically mimicked Natsu's movements with his own punches and kicks.

When Natsu threw a punch at his face, he threw a punch at Natsu's face.

When Natsu sidestepped and elbowed his abdomen, he sidestepped and elbowed Natsu's abdomen.

Of course, Natsu hadn't used any magic at all, except for the two hits he landed on the River Crab.

Come to think of it, during their close-quarters combat, Natsu seemed to have intentionally left openings for him to attack and hadn't done much dodging or defending.

As a result, if one were to only count the number of hits landed and received, the two of them should be roughly similar.

However, the final outcome was Rhode lying on the ground in so much pain that he could barely get up.

Meanwhile, Natsu, acting as if nothing had happened, dusted himself off and carried Rhode to the infirmary.

"Thinking about it, it feels like Natsu was intentionally acting as my sparring partner..."

Rhode looked at his injuries and chuckled helplessly. "I get beaten up and I still have to thank him. What kind of situation is this?"

But when he hit the River Crab, it was probably purely out of curiosity and an urge to fight.

Right, he also needed to properly research that strange feeling he had when the River Crab disappeared.

After resting in the infirmary for a while, Rhode got up to help out front.

Besides Mira and Laki, there was another girl helping in the tavern.

From the front, her short black hair made her look like a tomboy, but in reality, she had a long braid tied at the back of her head.

She was wearing a short red qipao, black over-the-knee socks on her legs, with the guild's crest printed above the socks.

Rhode recognized her as Sally. She used Shape Magic, though she wasn't as proficient as Erza, only changing her weapons during battle.

It was said that her specialty was a pair of steel claws worn on her wrists... as one could imagine, she was a close-combat type, and a rather brutal one at that.

Sally's shifts were much shorter than Rhode's. Being a waitress was just a part-time job for her; her main source of income came from taking on missions with three other friends.

Besides Sally, there was another girl named Izzy, whose situation was similar, but Rhode had only seen her once when he couldn't speak, so he wasn't very familiar with her.

"Rhode? I heard from everyone that you had a fight with Natsu today."

Sally, holding a plate in one hand, flashed steel claws in her other hand, asking eagerly, "How was it? Want to have a match with me?"

It was obvious she was also a battle-lover.

Rhode decisively refused, "Spare me. I'm aching all over right now."

"Sally, my drink!"

Someone saw Sally stop to chat and couldn't help but urge her.

"Annoying, aren't I already bringing it?"

Well, this one had a short temper. It was best not to provoke her if possible.

Although her strength might not be that great, defeating the current Rhode shouldn't be a problem.

Rhode looked around and finally went to wait by the counter.

At this moment, Gray was leaning against the counter, a mission request form on the table, waiting for Mira to register it. "Yo, that Natsu guy, his fists are pretty heavy, huh?"

"Ah," Rhode said, touching his swollen face with a bitter smile. "Why don't I see him around?"

"He just took a job and went out with Happy." Gray picked up the commission form Mira handed back to him and waved it at Rhode. "I'm heading out for work too. See ya."

Rhode nodded. "Yeah, be careful on your way."

Just as Gray had walked a few steps, Mira called out to him, "Gray, your clothes!"

Gray looked down and found himself wearing only his shorts again. "When did this happen!"

Smiling as he watched Gray retrieve his shirt and pants, Mira poured Rhode a glass of water. "Are you bothered by Natsu?"

"Yeah, after all, I received his 'care,' I'm a little..."

Rhode held the water glass, not drinking, just staring at the gently rippling water surface. "A little uncomfortable."

It was natural to feel uncomfortable after being beaten, but the other party had held back at every turn, intentionally or unintentionally teaching him combat techniques, so he should also be grateful.

And looking at Natsu's demeanor, he seemed to be even younger than Rhode himself, which felt a bit awkward.

Rhode realized he tended to overthink things, getting caught up in various worries, finding it hard to be as straightforward as everyone else.

This would then lead him to consider if he was being unsociable or might be ostracized.

Afterward, he'd scold himself, thinking, "How old am I, still dwelling on these trivial matters?"

Moreover, when others were so sincere, it felt like a betrayal to be thinking such messy thoughts about them…

Mira watched Rhode's expression shift and change, only able to guess that he was frustrated from losing:

"You've only been learning magic for a few days, and to have this level of skill is already amazing. If you keep this up, you might be able to do some regular work next month."

"That's true, I should focus on training first." Who could tell what the future held? Maybe he was just unaccustomed to his first fight.

Rhode gazed at the people laughing and talking in the tavern. "Who should I challenge next?"

A boy with parted hair, the talkative Marcus from that morning, caught his eye.

He decided to try asking him.

—

Work, training, and savoring the exquisite cuisine of the guild's master chef—another fulfilling day.

Upon returning home, Rhode, just as Laki had said, smashed the wooden box that had no opening to retrieve the magazines inside.

Sosara was a weekly publication, but Laki had given Rhode a year's worth, plus some special and supplementary issues, totaling about sixty magazines.

The sixty magazines were neatly stacked on the table, forming a pile over a foot thick.

"What a shame to have to break such a seamless box... Should I give it to you as a nest?"

Rhode showed the wooden box, with one side broken open, to Warm.

The box wasn't large; it would definitely be big enough to hold a Poro.

However, Warm didn't like this kind of nest and retreated under the bed, shaking his head.

"Fine, don't take it. I haven't cleaned under the bed thoroughly, so don't get any dust on yourself."

Rhode tossed the broken wooden box near the fireplace, intending to use it as firewood, lamenting the convenience of Shape Magic once again.

He took out the Wind Chant Glasses and quickly began to browse the magazine's content.

"Grimoire Heart..."

This was one of the two most famous Mage guilds in the Kingdom of Fiore; the other, naturally, was Fairy Tail.

However, Fairy Tail had been dormant for a considerable period, only gaining more renown in recent years.

Rhode read this news from a weekly magazine that focused on Grimoire Heart.

If judging solely by scale and membership, Grimoire Heart surpassed Fairy Tail by a considerable margin, as Grimoire Heart had over twenty branch locations in addition to its headquarters, boasting a large number of members.

"Just the name 'Grimoire Heart' sounds so much like a Dark Guild..."

It wasn't until he saw some of Grimoire Heart's signature Mages and the incidents they had caused that Rhode's doubts were somewhat dispelled.

This guild was no less reckless than Fairy Tail.