Natsu had no patience to wait for the Master or Levy to return. The moment he heard Laxus could help, he immediately dragged him over.
With Laxus's drawings, Mirajane's gestures, and her soft, patient explanations, Rhode finally understood what they wanted to ask.
But he truly had never seen a dragon. He had only seen a spotted bear that looked like a pig, and it had nearly beaten him to death... Come to think of it, did this world even have dragons?
Rhode considered the miraculous magic here. If dragons existed too, it did not seem that strange.
Natsu asked unwillingly, "Mira, when will the old man be back?"
Mirajane replied, "Tomorrow or the day after, probably. Routine meetings usually do not take too long."
Natsu immediately made up his mind. "Happy, we're not taking any jobs these next few days. We'll wait until the old man comes back!"
The blue cat raised a paw in response. "Aye!"
Natsu strode over to a table and sat down. "Mira, I want the Flame Set Meal!"
"Sure, it'll be right out." Mirajane relayed their order to the kitchen.
"Natsu doesn't mean any harm. He's just a little impatient."
Mirajane knew why Natsu was looking for dragons, but it was a long story, and it would be difficult to explain clearly to Rhode right now. She could only do her best to assure him that Natsu meant no harm.
Rhode nodded. Though he did not know the details, hot-blooded shonen protagonists being impatient and impulsive was perfectly normal.
At that moment, the blue cat stood on the table and raised a paw. "Mira, I want a grilled fish!"
Rhode's eyes widened. The cat had spoken!
Mirajane smiled. "Happy isn't an ordinary cat."
Rhode nodded. In a world of magic, talking cats were not that hard to accept.
However, the meal Laki brought out of the kitchen next left Rhode utterly stunned.
There were two plates and a cup on the tray. Though the contents were clearly shaped like food, all of them were blazing with roaring flames!
Th-this... Was that really food?
Mirajane did her best to explain to Rhode. "That's flame pasta, flame fried chicken, and a flame drink. They're prepared using special methods."
Seeing Natsu grab the flames with his bare hands and stuff them into his mouth in huge bites, Rhode nodded hesitantly.
Food in a magical world being a little unusual was normal too.
Mirajane felt that Rhode might have misunderstood something. In truth, Natsu was the only one in the entire guild who ate like that.
Over the following hours, Rhode met all sorts of strange people and witnessed some interesting magic.
He even watched a brawl break out, started by Elfman and Natsu, which eventually affected a quarter of the tavern.
When Mirajane saw Elfman fighting someone, she merely watched with a smile. Other than telling Rhode to step back a little, she did nothing.
Rhode could not help doubting his own judgment. Could it be that Miss Mirajane was not actually that gentle, and was simply holding back around him because he was a stranger?
He had previously thought the protagonist's guild ought to be a lively one. Now that he saw it for himself, it seemed a little too lively.
Time passed amid this atmosphere that was both peaceful and anything but.
It was not until the afternoon of the following day—Rhode's third day here—that things changed.
The Master had returned.
And he had brought along a handsome blond man.
Many girls gathered around, crying out, "It's Hibiki from Blue Pegasus!"
"It's Hibiki, number one on the 'Mage We Most Want as a Boyfriend' ranking!"
"He's so handsome!"
Hibiki pressed his index and middle fingers together and greeted the girls with a gentle smile, triggering another round of squeals.
A handsome bespectacled man in a green coat inside the tavern looked flustered, then quietly slipped out of the guild amid the chaos.
Mirajane held a tray and smiled brightly. "Welcome back, Master. You must have had a tiring journey."
The people in the tavern all greeted Makarov, while Natsu shot straight toward him.
"Old man! You're finally back! I have something to ask you!"
Makarov raised a hand to stop Natsu. "I roughly know what you want to ask, but it's difficult to explain right now. Wait a little longer."
"..." Natsu still wanted to say something, but seeing the serious look on the Master's face, he only stared at him sulkily.
Makarov asked Mirajane, "How is that child?"
"His name is Rhode. His injuries are recovering well, but communicating with him is a little difficult," Mirajane said. "I've been teaching him the common language, but it will still take some time."
"Is that so? You've worked hard." Makarov nodded. "I have a faster method. Take him to the infirmary first."
Mirajane glanced at Hibiki, who was surrounded by girls, then nodded. "All right."
Rhode followed Mirajane back to the infirmary in confusion. Was it time to change his bandages?
His injuries had recovered incredibly quickly over the past two days. Now, only a strip of bandage remained wrapped around his forehead. Rhode guessed that the medicine they had used on him was far from ordinary.
As he wondered, Makarov entered the infirmary with Hibiki.
The instant Hibiki entered, he did not hesitate for even half a second. He immediately stepped before Mirajane and gave her a gentlemanly bow.
"You must be Miss Mirajane. You're even more dazzling than in the magazines! It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Hibiki of Blue Pegasus. Please, allow me to treat you to a drink."
Mirajane held one hand to her cheek. "Is this really the time for that?"
"Ah, you're right. How rude of me." Hibiki dramatically dropped to one knee and extended a hand. "Then, would you happen to be free tonight?"
Though Rhode did not fully understand what he was saying, he had the distinct feeling that this man was exceptionally unconventional even by Fairy Tail standards...
No, there seemed to be someone in the guild who resembled him. Who was it again?
Now was not the time to think about that. Rhode stood up, gave Makarov a slight bow, and spoke in somewhat stiff common language. "Thank you for saving me!"
Makarov smiled. "You've learned quite well, haven't you? But I wasn't the one who saved you."
Rhode looked puzzled.
Makarov's right hand suddenly stretched and grew larger, directly grabbing Hibiki's entire body and pulling him over.
"I didn't bring you here just so you could harass the girls in our guild."
Rhode stared at Makarov's hand in shock. An elderly Luffy? An elderly Choji?
After being released, Hibiki adjusted his clothes and hair, as though he were shining with handsomeness.
"I understand the request. You want him to master basic common language as quickly as possible, correct?"
"That's right." Makarov nodded. "On the condition that it does not harm his body."
Hibiki nodded. "Of course, my magic can accomplish that easily. However, receiving such a large amount of information at once may cause a headache for a short time. Is that acceptable?"
Mirajane painstakingly conveyed Hibiki's meaning to Rhode and asked for his opinion.
Learning a language quickly through magic, at the cost of a headache during the process?
Rhode nodded decisively. A few minutes of pain from magic versus months of pain from studying on his own—was that even a choice? Better a short pain than a long one!
Makarov nodded. "Then let's begin."
Hibiki raised his hands. A golden Magic Circle appeared beneath them, and at the center of it—was a keyboard.
As Hibiki's fingers tapped away, several screens formed from magical light appeared in the air. Boxes and lines of text flashed past rapidly, until only one screen remained.
Rhode's eyes were dazzled. Was this really magic and not some kind of future technology? No matter how he looked at it, it resembled a scene from a science-fiction movie.
Mirajane suddenly understood. "Ancient Script Magic? I see. No wonder the Master invited you here."
Hibiki smiled faintly. "One final confirmation: only basic common language is needed?
I also have one hundred tips for striking up conversations with girls and eighty ways to make girls happy. Would you like me to teach him those as well?"
Makarov waved a hand. "Please do not teach him that kind of strange thing."
"What a shame." Hibiki pointed at Rhode's forehead, and golden light enveloped him.
Rhode had no idea what enormous fortune he had just missed out on. He only felt his head swell as countless pieces of information flooded into it.
Pronunciation, spelling, word formation, sentence patterns...
"Ahhhhhhh...!!!"
The headache was even more intense than Rhode had imagined. The pain was like having his head caught in a door, and he could not help clutching his head and crying out.
"Rhode..." Makarov and Mirajane could hardly bear to watch, but fortunately, the process ended quickly.
The golden light faded, and the keyboard and screens before Hibiki disappeared as well. "Finished."
Rhode lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He remained in the pose of clutching his head with both hands, gasping for breath. "It's finally... over."
Mirajane praised him, "You said that very well."
"Huh?" Rhode said in delighted surprise. "I can understand what you're saying now!"
Before you continue