Missing Out on a Hundred Million

Natsu had no patience to wait for the Guild Master or Levy to return. Upon hearing that Lidas could help, he immediately dragged him over.

Under Lidas's drawings, Mirajane's gestures, and soft whispers, Rhode finally understood what they wanted to ask.

But he had never actually seen a dragon. He'd almost been beaten to death by a spotted bear that looked like a pig... Speaking of which, do dragons exist in this world?

Rhode thought about the magical world and figured it wouldn't be strange if dragons did exist.

Natsu was very frustrated. "Mira, when will the old man be back?"

Mirajane replied, "Tomorrow or the day after. The routine meeting usually doesn't take too long."

Natsu immediately made a decision. "Happy, we're not working these few days. We'll wait until the old man gets back!"

The little blue cat raised its paw in response. "Aye!"

Natsu strode over to the table and sat down. "Mira, I want the Flame Set Meal!"

"Okay, coming right up." Mirajane relayed their order to the kitchen.

"Natsu means no harm, he's just a bit impatient."

Mirajane knew the reason Natsu was looking for a dragon, but it was a long story, and it was difficult to explain clearly to Rhode in the current situation. She could only try her best to tell him that Natsu meant no harm.

Rhode nodded. Although he didn't know the specifics, for a hot-blooded shonen protagonist, being impatient and impulsive was perfectly normal.

Just then, the blue cat stood on the table and raised its paw. "Mira, we want a grilled fish!"

Rhode's eyes widened. The cat could talk!

Mirajane smiled and said, "Happy isn't an ordinary cat."

Rhode nodded. It wasn't unacceptable for a cat in a magical world to talk.

However, the next tray that Laki brought out from the kitchen surprised Rhode even more.

There were two plates and a cup on the tray. Although the shapes of the food inside were discernible, they were clearly still burning with flames!

Wh-what is this... is this really food?

Mirajane tried her best to introduce them to Rhode. "That's Flame Pasta, Flame Fried Chicken, and a Flame Drink. They're cooked using a special method."

Seeing Natsu grab the flames with his bare hands and stuff them into his mouth, Rhode nodded hesitantly.

It was normal for food in a magical world to be a bit special.

Mirajane felt that Rhode might have misunderstood something. In fact, only Natsu ate like this in the entire guild.

In the following time, Rhode met all sorts of strange people and saw some interesting magic.

He even witnessed a brawl, initiated by Elfman and Natsu, which eventually affected a quarter of the pub.

When she saw Elfman fighting, Mirajane just watched with a smile. Apart from telling Rhode to move back a bit, she didn't do anything else.

Rhode couldn't help but doubt his judgment. Could it be that this Miss Mirajane wasn't as gentle as she seemed, and was just reserved because he was a stranger?

He had previously thought that the guild the protagonist belonged to would be a lively one. Now, it seemed a bit too lively.

Time passed in this atmosphere, which was both peaceful and unpeaceful.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the next day, Rhode's third day here, that things changed.

The Guild Master had returned.

And he brought a handsome blonde guy with him.

Many girls gathered around, exclaiming, "It's Hibiki of 'Blazing Nights'!"

"It's Hibiki, ranked number one in 'Mages We Want as Boyfriends'!"

"So handsome!"

Hibiki brought his index and middle fingers together and greeted the girls with a gentle smile, causing another wave of screams.

A handsome guy wearing glasses and a green jacket in the pub showed a flustered expression, then took advantage of the chaos to slip out of the guild.

Mirajane, holding a tray, smiled broadly. "Welcome back, Guild Master. You must be tired from your journey."

People in the pub greeted Makarov one after another. Natsu darted over directly.

"Old man! You're finally back. I have something I want to ask you!"

Makarov raised a hand to stop Natsu. "I have a rough idea of what you want to ask, but it's hard to explain clearly right now. Wait a moment."

"..." Natsu wanted to say more, but seeing the Guild Master's serious expression, he just glared at him indignantly.

Makarov asked Mirajane, "Is that child alright?"

"His name is Rhode. His injuries are recovering very well, though communication is a bit difficult," Mirajane said. "I'm already teaching him the common tongue, but it will take some time."

"Is that so? Thank you for your trouble." Makarov nodded. "I have a faster method here. Take him to the infirmary first."

Mirajane glanced at Hibiki, who was surrounded by girls, and nodded. "Okay."

Rhode followed Mirajane to the infirmary, feeling confused. Was it time to change his dressing?

His injuries had been recovering at an incredibly fast rate these past two days. Now, only his forehead was still wrapped in bandages. Rhode figured the medicine he was using must not be ordinary either.

While he was wondering, Makarov had already brought Hibiki into the infirmary.

Hibiki entered without a moment's hesitation and immediately approached Mirajane, performing a gentleman's bow.

"You must be Miss Mirajane, you're even more radiant than in the magazines! It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Hibiki from Blue Pegasus. Please, allow me to treat you to a drink."

Mirajane cupped her cheek with one hand. "Is this really the time for such talk?"

"Ah, you're right, my apologies." Hibiki knelt dramatically on one knee, extending a hand. "Then, are you free this evening?"

Rhode didn't quite understand what he was saying, but he had a feeling this person was quite eccentric, even by Fairy Tail's standards…

No, wait, there was someone in the guild who seemed very similar to him, who was it again?

Now wasn't the time to think about that. Rhode stood up, bowed slightly to Makarov, and said in somewhat stiff Universal Language, "Thank you for saving me!"

Makarov smiled. "You're learning quite well! However, it wasn't me who saved you."

Rhode looked confused.

Makarov's right hand suddenly stretched and enlarged, grabbing Hibiki and pulling him over.

"I didn't ask you to come all this way just to harass our guild's girls."

Rhode stared at Makarov's hand in shock. An old Luffy? An old Choji?

Hibiki, now free, tidied his clothes and hair, looking dazzlingly handsome.

"I understand the request. You want me to help him master the basic Universal Language as quickly as possible, right?"

"That's right," Makarov nodded. "The premise is that his body must not be harmed."

Hibiki nodded. "Of course, my magic can handle it perfectly. However, absorbing a large amount of information all at once might cause a headache for a short period. Is that acceptable?"

Mirajane painstakingly translated Hibiki's meaning to Rhode, seeking his opinion.

Learning a language quickly through magic, with the price being a headache during the process?

Rhode nodded decisively. A few minutes of magical headache or several months of self-study headaches? It was an obvious choice! Better a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one!

Makarov nodded. "Alright then, let's begin."

Hibiki raised his hands, and a golden magic circle appeared beneath them. In the center of the magic circle was a keyboard.

As Hibiki's fingers tapped, several screens formed by magical light appeared in the air, with boxes and lines of text flashing by rapidly, until only one screen remained.

Rhode was dazzled. Was this really magic, or some kind of future technology? It looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie.

Mirajane realized with a start. "This is Ancient Script Magic? I see, no wonder the Master asked you to come."

Hibiki smiled slightly. "Just to confirm, is basic Universal Language all that's needed? I also have 100 techniques for hitting on girls and 80 methods for making girls happy. Would you like me to teach him those as well?"

Makarov waved his hand. "Please, absolutely do not teach him such strange things."

"What a shame." Hibiki pointed a finger at Rhode's forehead, and golden light enveloped him.

Rhode had no idea what a great fortune he had just missed. He only felt a surge in his head as a flood of information poured in.

Pronunciation, writing, vocabulary, sentence structure…

"Aaaahhh…!!!"

The headache was even more intense than Rhode had imagined. It was a pain like having his fingers caught in a door, causing him to cry out and clutch his head.

"Rhode…" Makarov and Mirajane looked on with concern. Fortunately, the process ended quickly.

The golden light dissipated, and the keyboard and screens in front of Hibiki vanished. "Done."

Rhode collapsed onto the bed, his eyes vacant as he stared at the ceiling.

He still held his hands over his head, gasping for breath. "Finally… it's over."

Mirajane praised him. "That was very well said."

"Huh?" Rhode exclaimed in surprise. "I can understand what you're saying now!"