Is Tatsuya a Wizard?

"It's taken care of." Hibiki said to Makarov, "Master Makarov, I'll be heading back first, then."

"Ah, good work." Makarov said. "I'll fill out the request form later and send it, along with the payment, to Blue Pegasus."

Rhode hurriedly said, "Thank you, Master, for saving my life, and thank you, Mr. Hibiki, for your help. I am grateful to heaven and earth!"

Mirajane covered her mouth and chuckled. "What kind of expression is that? Is Rhode going to become like Laki? How interesting."

Makarov looked at Hibiki, his eyes seemingly asking what was going on.

"Ah, well... since the knowledge was forcibly stuffed into him, he'll need some time to digest it."

Hibiki said awkwardly, "So he may occasionally use words improperly when he speaks these days.

Just help correct him a little, or perhaps I can try again once my magic improves?"

"N-No need! Please allow me to respectfully decline!"

Rhode had no desire to experience that skull-splitting headache again. Knowledge was something he ought to learn steadily on his own.

It definitely wasn't because he was afraid of pain.

Makarov nodded. "Then that's that. The request is concluded."

Mirajane saw Hibiki off, while Makarov stopped Rhode. "Rhode, right? Did Mira explain the general situation to you?"

"Well, because of the language barrier, I only understood part of it." Rhode said. "You were the one who rescued me from the forest, weren't you?"

Makarov said, "No. More accurately, I merely brought you back from the forest."

Rhode wore a puzzled expression. "Then the fierce beast that attacked me... didn't you defeat it with seven hands and eight feet?"

Makarov had no mood to correct Rhode's wording for the moment. He sat cross-legged on the chair beside the bed—despite sitting, he was still taller than when he stood.

Rhode felt that looking down on an elderly man was impolite, so he obediently sat down by the bed.

Makarov slowly said, "Actually, I went there because someone had witnessed monsters running wild: Strange Birds, Giant Frogs, Evil Wolves... even dragons."

"The mayor believed that a large group of monsters appearing in the eastern forest would endanger all of Magnolia City, so he commissioned me to investigate."

In truth, the main reason Makarov had personally gone to investigate was because Porlyusica lived in that forest, and he was somewhat worried about her.

"But when I arrived, there was only the corpse of a Hog Bear, a severely devastated forest, and you lying unconscious on the ground."

The more Rhode heard, the more frightened he became. It truly was incredibly fortunate that he had survived under those circumstances.

Perhaps he even had to thank the one that had sent him flying... Was it called a Hog Bear? What a strange name.

Makarov asked, "What do you remember about the beast horde?"

Rhode shook his head. "I don't remember any of that at all, but before I passed out, I think I heard lots of strange cries. Before that, the forest had been pretty silent."

Makarov nodded. In that case, the beast horde's rampage must have occurred around the time Rhode lost consciousness. Or perhaps... Rhode had accidentally done something that triggered the beast tide in the first place.

"Then what were you doing in the forest?"

"I... don't know." Rhode's face twisted with conflict.

"You may not believe this, but I merely tripped. When I got back on my feet, I was in the forest."

"I see." Makarov fell into thought. Suddenly being transferred from one place to another—he knew of several such cases.

For instance, Porlyusica, who had treated Rhode earlier, had suddenly appeared decades ago. According to her, she came from a world called Edolas.

Then there was Natsu. Natsu had suddenly appeared nearby six years ago. He could speak at the time but couldn't read, yet he claimed to have learned writing before.

Rhode's inability to communicate seemed more similar to Natsu's situation.

And when Natsu appeared, he had been searching for dragons, while Rhode's appearance had been accompanied by rumors of dragons. The two might have some connection.

Makarov guessed that the two of them might have been caught up in the spatial magic of a powerful wizard on another continent and directly transferred here.

"I roughly understand the situation now."

Rhode looked at him in surprise. "You believe me that easily?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Makarov looked into his eyes. "I'm somewhat confident in my ability to tell whether young people are lying."

"But..." Rhode realized it. Oh, right, this was a world of magic. Someone suddenly appearing out of nowhere didn't seem all that strange, did it?

Makarov asked, "So what do you plan to do next?"

"I... have nowhere to go for now." Rhode had considered it for two days. Staying here was probably the best choice at the moment.

If he went wandering around outside now, he worried that he would run into some Hog Bear or Hog Tiger the moment he stepped out. With bad luck, he would be dead.

But Fairy Tail was probably full of wizards, wasn't it? An ordinary person like him...

To survive safely, Rhode could only force himself to ask, "Can I stay?"

"Of course."

That was so casual! Rhode looked at the old man before him. Didn't he have even the slightest hesitation?

"You don't even know where I came from."

Makarov asked, "Are you willing to tell me?"

"I..." Rhode hesitated. He had no idea where to begin.

"Then tell me when you've figured out how to explain it." Makarov smiled kindly.

"There are plenty of children in the guild with nowhere to call home. Some of them can't even clearly explain where they came from. They were just as uneasy as you are now."

"But that's all right. It's precisely because people are uneasy that they need companions, that guilds exist."

"Everyone supports one another so they can live strongly together, treating each other as family. That is a guild. That is Fairy Tail."

Makarov told Rhode of his view of the guild, and his eyes seemed to shine.

For the first time, Rhode understood Fairy Tail's purpose. It was completely different from the quest guilds he knew from games and anime.

Fairy Tail seemed to be more than just an agency. It was a warmer place.

The process of joining the guild was incredibly simple.

Makarov took Rhode out front to find Mira and added Rhode's name to the member list.

"This is Magnolia City, located in the east of the Kingdom of Fiore. It has a population of roughly sixty thousand and has been a city where magic flourished since ancient times."

"Fairy Tail is the only official guild in this city. And then there's this..."

Because Rhode severely lacked common knowledge about this place, Mirajane had no choice but to begin with the geography.

When she got to Fairy Tail, she took out something resembling a stamp and had Rhode choose a color he liked, as well as where he wanted the guild crest inscribed.

Rhode rolled up his sleeve and asked Mirajane to stamp the blue crest onto his left arm.

The process was as simple as using an ordinary stamp.

Rhode touched the spot where the crest had appeared. It felt no different from before, so it seemed to be another wondrous kind of magic. "This won't fade, right?"

"Of course it won't." Mirajane put away the stamp and explained.

"This crest represents a Fairy Tail wizard. No matter where you are, you can use it to prove your identity."

"A wizard..." Rhode covered his arm and asked uneasily, "But I don't understand magic at all. What should I do? Will I be kicked out?"

"How could that happen? If you want to, you can simply start learning now." Mirajane said. "It's just that, at first, it'll be difficult to find requests you can complete."

"You don't know magic?" Makarov pointed at Rhode's chest. "Isn't that your Magic Item?"

"Huh?" Rhode picked up his necklace pendant for a look. It was a capital letter L, set over a blue circle rimmed in gold. Looking closer, there were even mysterious patterns within it.

"You're saying this is a Magic Item? That can't be right, can it?"

This thing was just the software icon from some five-versus-five competitive game. It had been a birthday gift from his roommate, Tatsuya.

Though it looked finely made and probably wasn't cheap, it was still just an ordinary pendant...

Could it be that Tatsuya, with those thick eyebrows and big eyes, was actually a wizard?