"Good morning, Miss Mirajane, Miss Laki."
When Rhode arrived at the guild, Mirajane and Laki were already wiping the tables.
Although they wiped them last night, they still had to wipe them again before opening for business.
"Good morning, Rhode."
Mirajane's smile was as bright as ever, "Also, no need for formal titles, just call me Mira like everyone else."
"Same here, just call me Laki."
"Mira, Laki?" Rhode tried calling their names, and said politely, "Then, I'll be presumptuous."
Mira corrected, "This isn't really a context where 'presumptuous' fits."
Laki cupped her face, her purple long hair covering half her hand, showing a narcissistic expression:
"Maybe Rhode wants to express treating us like princesses or queens?"
Rhode denied, "Sorry, that's not the case."
After helping out a bit, Rhode sat at the counter to have breakfast, a simple combination of milk and sandwiches.
The price was much cheaper than the curry rice he had yesterday, yet it tasted great.
Whether it was an illusion or not, the same food seemed to taste better on the day he just woke up—maybe he was too hungry at that time.
Rhode leaned against the counter enjoying his breakfast while watching people entering the guild one after another.
The clothing styles in this world were quite diverse, ranging from Chinese cheongsams and horse jackets to Japanese kimonos and yukatas, along with European dresses and tailcoats.
Clothes like what Rhode was wearing now—modern, simple casual wear and tracksuits—were also not uncommon.
Apart from these, there were some rather peculiar outfits; for example, there was a pretty girl with horns on her head, wearing a tiger-patterned high-slit dress, tiger-patterned sleeves on her arms, tiger-patterned long boots on her feet, and even soles shaped like tiger paws.
She looked like a little horned tiger, full of wild beauty.
"That's Mickey, Mickey Chickentiger." Mira introduced, "She has the nickname Ghost Princess."
"Huh?"
"Rhode has been staring at her since just now. Could it be..." Mira showed a gossiping expression, enthusiastically giving Rhode advice,
"Mickey loves fighting, so if you're interested, go and have a match with her. If you win, she'll definitely look at you differently."
"No, that's not it..." There were too many things to address, and Rhode organized his thoughts,
"I just thought her outfit was uncommon, and… aren't they all mages? Why do they like fighting?"
Mira curiously asked, "Shouldn't mages be good at fighting?"
"Mages..." Rhode was silent, is my understanding strange?
Giving it some thought, during his days at the guild, he often saw everyone fighting, exchanging solid punches.
Just yesterday, he saw the president punch two guys who flipped the table into the ground…
Could it be that the mages in this world are on some sort of demon warrior brawling path?
-----------------
The tavern usually wasn't too busy in the morning, and after Makarov arrived, Rhode began his first magic lesson.
"Generally speaking, to use magic, you need something called Magic Power."
"Magic Power is a special kind of 'Qi', it exists not only within our bodies but also widely within nature."
"When the 'Qi' within our bodies resonates with the 'Qi' within nature, magic manifests."
"To achieve this, a considerable level of Spiritual Power and Concentration is required..."
As Rhode knew nothing about magic, Makarov had to start from the basics.
As for more profound theories, concerning emotions, concerning the soul, concerning the power of the 'heart', those would have to wait until Rhode reached a certain level of magic practice, or until he realized them on his own.
"Is there Magic Power in my body?" Rhode was worried about this, as he wasn't even from this world.
Fortunately, Makarov reassured him, "Of course there is, it's just not easy to detect at the moment."
"For ordinary people, discovering and enhancing this 'Qi' within the body isn't easy, and generally, the method used is meditation."
"However, for you, you can initially feel Magic Power through another method."
Rhode asked, "How should I do it?"
"First, focus your attention on the pendant, try to call out to it in your mind. Then, try using a spell that I've adapted from Celestial Spirit Magic."
Makarov taught the spell to Rhode word by word, and Rhode mimicked him like a parrot.
"Once you remember it, give it a try."
"Here?" Rhode looked worriedly at his companions in the tavern, "Will it cause trouble?"
Makarov said, "Don't worry, with your current Magic Power, you can't summon a creature too powerful, and even if you could, you couldn't sustain it."
"..." Rhode didn't like that response at all.
But since the president said it was fine, he went ahead and did it.
He held the pendant, staring intently at the gold-and-blue symbol, and after a few seconds, he seemed to indeed feel a connection.
Rhode quickly recited the spell, "I am the one who bridges the worlds, you, creatures from the Otherworld, respond to my call, cross the threshold!"
The pendant emitted gold and blue light, and magic gathered in the air, Rhode clenched the pendant, shouting the final words:
"Open, the door to the Otherworld!"
Bzzz~~~
A deep atmospheric sound effect echoed, and in front of Rhode, a vortex emitting blue light appeared, with twinkling stars within.
Through the vortex, one could seem to feel the chill of another world and hear the sound of cold winds howling past cliffs.
In such a cold and chilling atmosphere, a figure leapt out from the vortex.
The glow and sound of magic caught the attention of most people in the tavern.
This must be a powerful and cold creature!
That's what everyone thought, and Rhode thought the same.
However, when the vortex disappeared, all that was left on the floor was a palm-sized, fluffy white object.
"Ulu-lu?" The little creature made a peculiar sound, seemingly confused.
But soon its eyes fixed on Rhode, and it stuck out a pink tongue, running with little effort towards Rhode, hugging his leg.
Rhode was a bit bewildered, the fluffy ball seemed familiar, so he bent down to examine it closely.
With beady eyes and a round little body, its fur was as white and soft as a sheep, with a pair of curved little horns on its head, and a long tongue like a puppy.
Rhode placed it on the counter to rub its little head, and the creature comfortably rolled over, revealing a heart-shaped pink belly.
"Poro?" Rhode recognized this cute little creature from his experience in the Wailing Abyss.
"Ulu-lu~" The little Poro's sound overflowed with joy, as if it found someone to take care of it.
Rhode: "..."
This magical summoning brought something entirely different from what I imagined!