It's Over, It's Over

His newly received wages hadn't even warmed in his hands before two-thirds of them had to be set aside for rent.

His disposable balance was only 40,000 J.

Last month, the Guild Master had borrowed 150,000 J from Rhode.

The payment for Hibiki's infusion of common tongue was 80,000 J, plus the medical fees for Porlyusica's treatment of his injuries.

The Guild Master hadn't mentioned these two items, but Rhode couldn't pretend he didn't know about them.

"I'll pay back 20,000 this month and keep 20,000 for living expenses. At this rate, it'll take over a year to pay it all off.

But in two months, the season will change, and I'll need to buy a lot of new things. It's better to save up more and pay it back all at once."

Rhode calculated his debts and earning speed, and the pressure immediately returned.

"Based on the combat power of Stone Beetles and Three Wolves, once I get Toads and Six Birds, I'll be able to handle low-difficulty extermination quests.

Considering the possibility of unexpected situations, it's safer to wait until I have at least one of the red or blue buffs before taking on quests...

It's best to team up with others."

Motivated by his wages, Rhode made himself a short-term plan that was both urgent and stable.

In fact, Rhode was already certified by the Guild Master and could take on many quests, but he felt it wasn't safe enough and wanted to train for another month or two.

At the tavern, Macao, having drunk several glasses of iced beer to cool off, raised his voice:

"Wakaba, did you secretly get a divorce?"

"How is that possible?" Wakaba asked, puzzled. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I haven't heard you complain about your wife for days," Macao said, feeling his reasoning was sound.

Speaking of which, Wakaba was even more perplexed:

"I don't know why my wife's attitude towards me has been so good lately, like when we first got married...

Except her fashion sense is a bit dated and she's gained some weight, there's really nothing to complain about."

Macao let out a drunken burp, then took several more gulps:

"Damn it, I thought you were as unhappy in your marriage as I am, why are you suddenly so happy!"

"What unhappy marriage?" Kana interjected.

"Didn't your wife divorce you because you were always focused on work and completely neglected the household?"

"I'm a man! Earning more money is for the family!" Macao argued, his face flushed, then his tone became dejected.

"And I've changed! I don't just focus on work anymore, I'm taking good care of Romeo too... Damn it, I want a happy marriage too!"

Seeing Macao's expression, Kana knew he was drunk and didn't bother arguing with him.

She held her small wine glass and gazed longingly at the large wine barrel in the corner...

Hmph, she drinks like that all day and tells me to drink less.

The drunken Macao was still pestering Wakaba: "Hurry up and tell me, how did you do it?!"

"I already told you I don't know!"

Rhode looked at Mira and gestured with his eyes, Your credit.

Mira smiled without saying a word.

Seeing that Macao was being unreasonable and might cause a scene, Kana reminded him: "Have you encountered anything unusual recently?"

"Unusual things... About a week ago, I was robbed. Maybe that scared her?"

Wakaba said, "You guys know, right? Rhode and Mira caught the robbers."

To thank Rhode, Wakaba had tutored him for several days... The rich experience of this old guild member benefited Rhode greatly.

He was even willing to tell Rhode which issues of "Sosara" were the best.

Completely worthless information!

Rhode immediately decided to write it down and sell the intel to other perverts later.

Macao was still stubbornly pestering him.

Wakaba, annoyed by the incessant questioning, finally decided to take matters into his own hands.

After work, Rhode went shopping for daily necessities.

He had originally planned to buy mosquito repellent, but ended up buying a mosquito net.

Repellent runs out and needs to be bought again, but a mosquito net can be used indefinitely—a money-saving tip from Rhode.

As Rhode was about to head home, he remembered Mira had just reminded him that tomorrow was the opening day of the Honey Sweet Shop, and he should bring the experience voucher.

So Rhode detoured to the clothing store.

He hadn't saved any money after all.

After leaving the clothing store, Rhode hadn't walked a few steps before he turned around again and entered the barbershop.

Not only would he not save money today, but he'd also have to spend a little more.

The snip-snip of scissors sounded above his head as clumps of hair fell.

Rhode stared at his reflection in the mirror, calmly contemplating whether he had been moved or had acted impulsively.

This didn't seem hard to determine.

The problem was how he appeared in Mira's eyes. If he were to label himself from her perspective, it would probably be:

Newcomer, companion, occasionally needs looking after, a bit more well-behaved than Natsu and the others, trains quite diligently... etc.

After counting, Rhode realized that he, like his other companions, likely only had a basic level of affection from Mira.

At most, they were a little more familiar due to working together daily and chatting often.

Rhode sighed; the road ahead was long.

Coincidentally, this gave him a little more motivation to train harder.

The next morning, after doing some stretching and hitting the punching bag to warm up, Rhode washed up and got ready to go out.

He told himself that he didn't need to overthink things at this stage and should just interact normally as usual.

However, his body was honest as he changed into new clothes and even took some time to style his hair in the mirror.

After finishing the morning's routine work at the tavern, the two of them left together.

Fortunately, the Guild Master was in today, and Sally and Izzy were also working part-time, so it was okay for Mira and Rhode to leave temporarily.

Other than feeling a bit uncomfortable from Laki's intense gaze, there was nothing else.

From her gaze, Rhode could tell that Mira, who gossiped about others all day, would also be gossiped about today.

Mira was wearing a beige dress today, the hem of which just covered her knees.

Because the sunlight was a bit unfriendly from the morning onwards, she had also put on a sun hat adorned with a large pink bow, exuding youthful charm.

Rhode hadn't paid much attention before, but now he noticed that Mira's head was just a little higher than his shoulders.

Their heights match quite well, pfft pfft pfft.

As he walked beside her, a faint scent wafted over from her side.

If it were before his transmigration, Rhode would have thought it was the smell of shampoo, cosmetics, or perfume.

But he had seen in magazines that there were quite a few magical products on the market aimed at women – magic that could change clothes' colors at any time, magic that could emit various floral scents.

Rhode wasn't sure if Mira was using these, but... her outfit looked good, and the scent was pleasant.

Mira seemed to be in a good mood. "Did you get a haircut?"

"Yeah, it's been almost a month since my last trim."

He felt embarrassed saying it was a deliberate cut, so he found a plausible excuse.

He also wanted to know her opinion, so he asked seemingly casually, "Does it look okay?"

Mira tilted her head, looking for a few more seconds. "It suits you very well. You look more handsome."

"Really?" Rhode smiled. "Thanks."

It was over. Even though he knew this compliment was likely just politeness, the joy in his heart couldn't be suppressed...

It's over, it's really over