Taking a Job for the First Time
On the outskirts of Magnolia, Makarov led Hughes and the others through a somewhat weathered gate.
An overgrown courtyard lay before them, with a small two-story house beyond it.
"This is the house where Laxus and I used to live. I haven't been here in years. You'll have to make do tonight, and we can tidy it up tomorrow."
The old man looked around, sighing from time to time. He and Laxus had lived here together for years, and the house held too many memories for Makarov.
"Come in and have a seat! Make yourself at home!" Hughes called to Makarov as he pushed open the front door.
"I'm the owner of this house, you bastard!"
Makarov had been reminiscing about the sorrowful past just moments ago, but Hughes's words sent him roaring in anger, his head swelling to several times its size.
"Now that's more like it. I thought you'd been possessed a moment ago!"
Hughes, who had never liked hearing the people around him sigh and moan, dusted off his hands and teased him.
It wasn't as if Laxus were dead. Grandfather and grandson were both stubborn, but if they were willing to open up and have a few proper talks, there'd be no need for things to be so awkward.
Laxus was only seventeen or eighteen now. Although he was at the age when he was most prone to overthinking, he wasn't as paranoid as he would become later. Wouldn't talking it out be enough?
Sure enough, happy, carefree boys like Hughes were rare. He just had to make sure he didn't E his way to the point of no return.
Having finished patting himself on the back, Hughes peered inside. The place wasn't as dilapidated as he had imagined. It had simply gone untended for so long that dust covered everything. A little cleaning would do.
There were plenty of them, so working together wouldn't take much time.
"All right, everyone, time to get to work!"
"Lisanna can take the nooks and crannies. She's the smallest, so she can squeeze in.
"Elfman, you're in charge of the heavy lifting. Use your magic power on anything you can't move!
"As for the rest of the house, Mira, I believe you can handle it.
"And I'll leave the weeds in the courtyard to you, Master!" Hughes turned his little head and assigned everyone a job in no time.
Lisanna blinked. It seemed someone had been left out of those instructions. "Then what are you doing, Hughes?"
"Good question, but don't ask it again. I'm going to buy clothes, of course, and I'll get each of you a new outfit while I'm at it." Hughes pulled the 100,000 J from his pocket and waved it.
I've got money, and I'm going to spend it!
"Wait, that's not the point. You actually assigned an old man in his eighties to pull weeds for you at night?!"
Makarov, who had also been assigned a job, stared at him, dumbfounded. Even leaving his age aside, he was still the guild master, wasn't he? Was this right?
Hughes walked over, pushed his jaw shut, then crouched down and put an arm around his shoulders. "Hey, Master, come on. You're even sturdier than I am. You've got Granny Porlyusica head over heels for you. What part of you looks like a little old man in his eighties?"
"Don't talk nonsense! There's nothing going on. Porlyusica and I have just known each other for decades. We're friends, nothing more!"
Hughes was sorely tempted to roll his eyes. Damn it, next time I need to carry a recording Magic Crystal and show Makarov what his face looks like.
To stop the old man from running off and leaving him to weed the courtyard himself, Hughes kept sweet-talking him.
"This is your home, Master! It's perfectly normal to pull a few weeds in your own yard;
"Besides, this house is full of your memories, inside and out. I'm clumsy and prone to breaking things. If certain things get broken, it just won't feel the same!"
Makarov wrestled with himself briefly, but didn't fall for Hughes's argument. He shook his head. He didn't want to do any work for Hughes.
"Lisanna's only eleven. Can you really bear to make her work?" Hughes fixed Makarov with a stare, as if he were looking at a piece of trash.
Makarov slapped Hughes's arm off his shoulder. This kid was even more troublesome than the guild's problem children. With a sigh, he said, "I'll waive six months' rent. Hughes, you pull every last weed out of the courtyard."
"Yes, boss!" Hughes stood at attention and saluted with such dazzling speed that Makarov didn't know what to say.
Having turned into a weed-pulling fiend, Hughes squatted on the ground with his backside sticking out and worked swiftly, finishing the left side before moving to the right. The tune he hummed, however, was simply unbearable.
"Pull, pull, pull the weeds, all the way to Grandma's bridge;
"Grandma isn't home, out jumps the big bad wolf;
"Big bad wolf, so scary, gobbles Toad monsters one by one;
"Toad monster, don't you fear, Calabash King Kong is here;
"Little King Kong, what a loser, two bites and he's a lump;
"That lump is so delicious..."
Makarov, who had remained in the courtyard, listened with dark lines all over his face. "Hughes, go buy your underwear! I'll pull the weeds!"
"Oh, Master, still going strong in your old age! Over eighty, and you can still pull it out and weed!"
"Get lost, you bastard! Don't corrupt the kids in the house!" Magic power suddenly surged from Makarov. Using Giant Magic, he transformed into a giant and sent Hughes flying into the sky with a single punch, turning him into a shooting star.
"I'll be ba..."
At that moment, Makarov regretted accepting Hughes into the guild.
He didn't know whether the guild could become the number one guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, but it was bound to go under.
Especially when Hughes got together with Macao, Wakaba, Gildarts, and the others.
The next day, Hughes stood in front of the guild's job request board in his new underwear, his expression grave.
He had suddenly discovered something very important: he couldn't read the job requests...
Mira, dressed in fitted trousers and a half-sleeved top, her hair tied in a high ponytail, looked back and forth between Hughes and the request board.
Hughes had bought her clothes too. He couldn't very well let Mira fight in a skirt!
Hughes had spent every last J of the 100,000 Makarov had given him the night before. He had bought himself only a pair of new underwear and spent the rest on clothes for Mira and the others.
So now he had no choice but to take a few jobs.
"Mira, can you read them?" Hughes asked quietly.
Mira finally understood why Hughes had been standing there without moving. Was the writing in his world different from theirs? Then how could he understand what they were saying?
She wanted to ask but couldn't, and holding it in was agonizing.
At present, only she, Makarov, and Porlyusica knew Hughes was from another world.
"Should we start with the simplest D-Class job, learn how things work, and then try higher-ranked jobs?"
Mira pointed to a D-Class request. The job was simple: a Madam Yasulien in Magnolia had lost her beloved pet, an orange cat with magical beast blood.
All they had to do was catch the orange cat and hand it over to Madam Yasulien. The reward listed on the request was a full 100,000 J, more than some C-rank jobs paid.
As Hughes listened to Mira's explanation, the corners of his mouth twitched. A D-Class job, finding a cat...
I crossed into another world, and I'm Naruto?!
"Mira, this one. Let's tell the master we're taking it."
At the bar, Makarov, who had been busy all night, was still enjoying his drink. He took the request from Mira, looked it over, and handed it back once he had confirmed everything was in order.
"You remember what mages need to watch out for while on a job, don't you?"
Mira nodded. There were only a few rules, and she had memorized them long ago.
"Hughes, you tell me!" Makarov pointed at him. He could trust a good child like Mira, but Hughes needed closer watching.
"Oh, that. Macao just told me." Hughes patted his chest, brimming with confidence.
"No sleeping with anyone, no getting anyone pregnant, check the situation before you rob someone, and if you get caught, say you're a member of Phantom Lord."
"Macao, get over here!" Makarov's roar shook heaven and earth.