Natsu was too impatient to wait for the Guild Master or Levy to return, so as soon as he heard Liddas could help, he immediately dragged him over.
Through Liddas's drawings, Mirajane's gestures, and soft, slow words, Rhode finally understood what they wanted to ask.
But he had indeed never seen a dragon; he had only seen a spotted bear that looked like a pig and was almost beaten to death... Speaking of which, are there dragons in this world?
Rhode thought about the miraculous magic, and it didn't seem strange for dragons to exist.
Natsu was very unwilling: "Mira, when is the old man coming back?"
Mirajane replied: "Tomorrow or the day after, the regular meetings usually don't take too long."
Natsu immediately made a decision: "Happy, we're not going to work these next few days, we'll wait until the old man comes back!"
The blue cat raised his hand in response: "Aye!"
Natsu strode to the table and sat down, "Mira, I want the Flame Set Meal!"
"Okay, coming right up." Mirajane relayed their order to the kitchen.
"Natsu doesn't mean any harm, he's just a bit impatient."
Mirajane knew the reason Natsu wanted to find a dragon, but it was a long story and difficult to explain clearly to Rhode in the current situation, so she could only try to tell him that Natsu had no ill intentions.
Rhode nodded; although he didn't know the specifics, for a shonen protagonist, being impatient and impulsive was quite normal.
At this moment, the blue cat stood on the table and raised his paw: "Mira, I want a grilled fish!"
Rhode's eyes widened; the cat talked!
Mirajane said with a smile: "Happy isn't an ordinary cat."
Rhode nodded; a talking cat in a world of magic wasn't something unacceptable.
However, what Laki brought out from the kitchen on a tray next greatly surprised Rhode.
On the tray were two plates and a cup, and although the contents still had the shape of food, they were clearly burning with roaring flames!
This, this, this... is this really food?
Mirajane tried to explain to Rhode: "That's Flame Spaghetti, Flame Fried Chicken, and Flame Drink, prepared with special methods."
Watching Natsu grab the flames with his bare hands and stuff them into his mouth, Rhode nodded hesitantly.
Food in a magical world, it's normal for it to be a bit special.
Mirajane felt that Rhode might have misunderstood something; actually, Natsu was the only one in the entire guild who ate like that.
In the time that followed, Rhode met all sorts of strange people and saw some interesting magic.
He even witnessed a brawl, started by Elfman and Natsu, which eventually affected a quarter of the tavern.
Seeing Elfman fighting, Mirajane actually just smiled and watched, doing nothing except telling Rhode to step back a little.
Rhode couldn't help but doubt his judgment; could it be that Miss Mirajane wasn't actually that gentle, but was just reserved in front of him, a stranger?
He had previously thought that the protagonist's guild should be a lively one, but now it seemed a bit too lively... Time passed in this atmosphere, both peaceful and unpeaceful.
It wasn't until the next day, the afternoon of Rhode's third day here, that things changed.
The Guild Master was back.
And he brought a handsome blonde man with him.
Many girls gathered around, exclaiming: "It's Hibiki of the White Night!"
"It's Hibiki, ranked first in the 'Magician Most Wanted as a Boyfriend' poll!"
"He's so handsome!"
Hibiki joined his index and middle fingers, and with a gentle smile, he greeted the girls, causing another wave of screams.
A handsome man in a green jacket and glasses in the tavern showed a flustered expression, then quietly slipped out of the guild amidst the chaos.
Mirajane held a tray, her face full of smiles: "Welcome back, Guild Master, you've had a long journey."
Everyone in the tavern greeted Makarov, and Natsu directly darted over:
"Old man! You're finally back, I have something I want to ask you!"
Makarov held up a palm to stop Natsu: "I probably know what you want to ask, but it's hard to explain clearly right now, just wait a moment."
... Natsu wanted to say more, but seeing the Guild Master's serious expression, he just looked at him, puffing out his cheeks.
Makarov asked Mirajane: "Is that child doing well?"
"His name is Rhode, his injuries are recovering very well, but communication is a bit difficult." Mirajane said, "I'm already teaching him the common language, but it will still take some time."
"Is that so, you've worked hard." Makarov nodded, "I have a quicker method here, let's take him to the infirmary first."
Mirajane glanced at Hibiki, who was surrounded by girls, and nodded: "Okay."
Rhode followed Mirajane back to the infirmary, wondering if it was time to change his dressing.
His injuries had healed incredibly fast these past two days; now only a bandage remained wrapped around his forehead. Rhode guessed that the medicine he was using was definitely not ordinary.
While he was wondering, Makarov had already entered the infirmary with Hibiki.
Hibiki entered without a second of hesitation, immediately going to Mirajane and performing a gentleman's bow:
"You must be Miss Mirajane, you truly shine even brighter than in the magazines! A pleasure to meet you, I am Hibiki from Blue Pegasus, please allow me to buy you a drink."
Mirajane cupped her cheek with one hand: "Is this really the time for such talk?"
"Ah, you are absolutely right, I apologize for my rudeness." Hibiki dramatically knelt on one knee, extending a hand, "Then, are you free this evening?"
Although Rhode didn't quite understand what he was saying, he felt that this person was quite unique even within Fairy Tail... No, there seemed to be someone very similar to him in the guild, who was it?
This was not the time to think about such things. Rhode stood up, bowed slightly to Makarov, and said in somewhat stiff common language: "Thank you for saving me!"
Makarov smiled: "Aren't you learning very well? But it wasn't me who saved you."
Rhode showed a puzzled expression.
Makarov's right hand suddenly stretched and enlarged, directly grasping Hibiki whole and pulling him over:
"I specifically invited you here, not for you to harass the girls in our guild."
Rhode watched Makarov's hand in shock; an elderly Luffy? An elderly Choji?
Hibiki, released, straightened his clothes and hair, appearing to shine with handsomeness:
"I understand the content of the request. You want me to help him master basic common language as quickly as possible, right?"
"Exactly." Makarov nodded, "The prerequisite is not to harm his body."
Hibiki nodded: "Of course, my magic can certainly achieve that. However, receiving a large amount of information all at once might cause a headache for a short period. Is that acceptable?"
Mirajane laboriously conveyed Hibiki's meaning to Rhode, seeking his opinion.
Learn a language quickly with magic, with the cost of a headache during the process?
Rhode nodded decisively. A few minutes of headache with magic versus several months of headache learning it himself—was there even a choice? Better a short pain than a long one!
Makarov nodded: "Then, let's begin."
Hibiki raised his hands, and a golden magic circle appeared beneath them, and in the center of the magic circle—was a keyboard.
As Hibiki's fingers tapped, several screens made of magical light appeared in the air, with squares and lines of text rapidly scrolling, eventually leaving only one screen.
Rhode was dazzled. Was this really magic, and not some future technology? It looked exactly like a scene from a sci-fi movie.
Mirajane realized: "This is Ancient Writing Magic? I see, no wonder the Guild Master invited you."
Hibiki smiled slightly: "One last confirmation, is only basic common language sufficient?"
"Actually, I also have '100 Tips for Chatting Up Girls' and '80 Ways to Make Girls Happy' here. Should I teach them to him as well?"
Makarov waved his hand: "Please, absolutely do not teach him such strange things."
"What a pity." Hibiki pointed a finger at Rhode's forehead, and a golden light enveloped him.
Rhode didn't know how much wealth he had just missed, only feeling his head swell as a flood of information rushed in.
Pronunciation, writing, word formation, sentence structures... "Ah ah ah ah ah...!!!"
The headache was more intense than Rhode had imagined, a pain like being caught in a door, making him instinctively clutch his head and cry out.
"Rhode..." Makarov and Mirajane watched with some pity, but fortunately, the process ended quickly.
The golden light dissipated, and the keyboard and screen in front of Hibiki also vanished: "Done."
Rhode lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He was still clutching his head, breathing heavily: "Finally... it's over."
Mirajane praised: "That was very well said."
"Huh?" Rhode exclaimed happily, "I can understand you now!"