Open, Gate Connecting Another World!

"Good morning, Mirajane, Laki."

By the time Rhode arrived at the guild, Mirajane and Laki were already wiping down the tables.

Even though they had cleaned them last night, they still needed another wipe before opening for business.

"Good morning, Rhode."

Mirajane's smile was as bright as ever. "Also, you can drop the honorific. Just call me Mira, like everyone else does."

"Same for me. Just call me Laki."

"Mira, Laki?" Rhode tried saying their names, then politely added, "Then I'll presume upon your kindness."

Mira corrected him, "This isn't really a situation where you need to say 'presume upon your kindness.'"

Laki cupped her face in her hands, her long purple hair covering half of them as she wore a self-admiring expression.

"Maybe Rhode meant that he sees us as princesses or queens?"

Rhode denied it. "Sorry, nothing like that."

After helping out a little, Rhode sat at the counter and ate breakfast: a simple combination of milk and sandwiches.

It was much cheaper than the curry rice he had eaten yesterday, but it tasted great.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but even though it was the same food, it seemed to taste better on the day he had first awakened—perhaps he had simply been too hungry then.

Leaning against the counter as he enjoyed his breakfast, Rhode watched people gradually enter the guild.

The clothing styles in this world were incredibly varied. There were Chinese qipaos and mandarin jackets, Japanese kimono and yukata, as well as European-style dresses and tailcoats.

Modern, simple casual clothes like the sweatshirt Rhode was wearing were not uncommon either.

There were also some rather unusual outfits. For example, a pretty girl had just walked in wearing a pair of horns on her head, a tiger-striped high-slit gown, tiger-striped arm covers, and tiger-striped boots with soles shaped like tiger paws.

She looked like a little horned tiger, radiating a wild sort of beauty.

"That's Miki, Miki Chicken-tiger," Mira introduced. "She's known as the Ogre Princess."

"Huh?"

"You've been staring at her this whole time, Rhode. Could it be..." Mira wore a gossipy expression as she eagerly offered him advice.

"Miki really likes fighting. If you're interested in her, go challenge her to a fight. If you can beat her, she'll definitely see you differently."

"No, that's not..." There were too many things wrong with that statement, so Rhode carefully sorted out his thoughts.

"I just thought her outfit was unusual. And... aren't we all wizards? Why would she like fighting?"

Mira asked strangely, "Shouldn't wizards be good at fighting?"

"Magic..." Rhode fell silent. Was my understanding the strange one?

Thinking about it carefully, during the past few days at the guild, he had often seen everyone fighting, throwing punches that landed with solid thuds.

Yesterday, he had even seen Master punch two guys who had overturned a table straight into the floor...

Were the wizards of this world all following the close-combat path of Magic Warriors?—

The tavern was usually not very busy in the morning. Once Makarov arrived, Rhode began his first magic lesson.

"Generally speaking, using magic requires something called magic power."

"Magic power is a special kind of 'energy.' It exists within our bodies, but it is also widespread throughout nature."

"When the fluctuations of the 'energy' in our bodies resonate with the 'energy' in nature, magic takes tangible form."

"To achieve that, you need a considerable degree of mental strength and concentration..."

Since Rhode knew absolutely nothing about magic, Makarov had no choice but to start with the fundamentals.

As for more profound theories—the power of emotions, souls, and the 'heart'—those would have to wait until Rhode's magical training reached a certain level, or until he came to understand them himself.

"Is there magic power in my body?" Rhode had been worried about this all along. He was not even from this world.

Fortunately, Makarov put his mind at ease. "Of course there is. It's just not easy for you to sense it yet."

"For ordinary people, discovering and strengthening this 'energy' within their bodies is no easy task. The usual method is meditation."

"But in your case, you can first use another method to get a feel for magic power."

Rhode asked, "What do I need to do?"

"First, focus your attention on the pendant and try calling to it in your heart. Then try the incantation I adapted from Celestial Spirit Magic."

Makarov taught Rhode the incantation word by word, and Rhode repeated it like a parrot.

"Now that you've memorized it, give it a try."

"Here?" Rhode looked worriedly at the others in the tavern. "Won't it cause trouble?"

Makarov said, "Don't worry. With your current magic power, you can't summon anything too powerful. Even if you could, you wouldn't be able to sustain it."

"..." Rhode did not like that answer at all.

But since Master said it was fine, he would do as instructed.

He gripped the pendant on his necklace and stared fixedly at the gold-and-blue emblem. A few seconds later, he really seemed to sense some sort of connection between himself and it.

Rhode hurriedly recited the incantation. "I am One who communicates the path between two realms. You, creature of another world, answer my call and cross through the gate!"

The pendant shone with gold and blue light as magic power gathered in the air. Rhode clenched the pendant tightly and shouted the final line.

"Open, gate connecting another world!"

Bzzzz—

A deep, grand sound rang out, and a blue-glowing vortex appeared before Rhode, specks of starlight flickering within it.

Through the vortex, he seemed to feel the chill of another world and hear frigid winds howling across cliffs.

Amid that cold and grim atmosphere, a figure leaped out of the vortex.

The magical light and sound drew the attention of most of the people in the tavern.

This had to be a powerful, cold-blooded creature!

That was what everyone thought. Rhode thought so too.

Yet when the vortex vanished, there was only a palm-sized, fluffy white object on the floor.

"Wurururu?" The little creature made a strange sound, seeming somewhat confused.

But its gaze quickly settled on Rhode. Then it stuck out a large pink tongue, scampered toward him on its stubby little legs, and hugged his calf.

Rhode was a little stunned. The little furball looked familiar somehow, so he bent down, picked it up, and examined it closely.

Black, beady eyes. A round little body. Snow-white, soft wool like a sheep's, a pair of curled little horns atop its head, and a long tongue hanging out like a puppy's.

Rhode placed it on the counter and patted its head. The little creature rolled over contentedly, revealing a pink, heart-shaped belly.

"A Poro?" Based on his experience hanging around the Howling Abyss, Rhode recognized the soft, adorable little creature.

"Wurururu~" The little Poro sounded delighted, as though it had found someone to feed it.

Rhode: "..."

This magic had summoned something completely different from what I had imagined!