Fairy Tail's secret recipe beef curry rice, the aroma of curry could be smelled from afar.
When the plate was placed on the table, a fresh scent of rice immediately filled his nostrils, the rice must have been of excellent quality.
Rhode picked up the spoon; on the left was the reddish-brown curry sauce, evenly cut beef cubes, potato cubes, and carrot cubes.
On the right was the rice, which appeared even whiter against the sauce; the color and aroma on both sides were so enticing that Rhode didn't know where to start.
This delightful dilemma didn't last for more than a few seconds; urged by his rumbling stomach, Rhode chose to scoop from the middle.
The curry and rice entered his mouth simultaneously; the savory, fresh, and aromatic flavors, with a hint of spiciness, filled his mouth, making his tongue and teeth work involuntarily.
Rhode wasn't very tolerant of spicy food; just a slight spiciness made fine beads of sweat break out on his forehead.
But once the spiciness subsided, he could even better appreciate the sweetness of the rice and the fresh aroma of the beef.
Rhode was immersed in this delicious plate of curry rice, unable to extricate himself.
"Rhode always seems so engrossed when he eats; it even makes my appetite better," Mirajane's voice sounded. "Does Rhode really like good food?"
"Of course, I like delicious food. I didn't pay much attention before, but now I seem to enjoy the process of tasting delicious food more and more."
Rhode thought for a moment, then added, "Maybe I was scared of starving a few days ago, or maybe it's because I almost died and started to cherish things I didn't cherish before."
Mirajane seemed to have returned to her gentle and considerate self: "In that case, you'll have to work hard; our menu here is very, very long."
"I'll try my best... haha." Rhode couldn't help but laugh. Try hard to eat? Work hard for food? Neither statement seemed quite right.
One delicious curry rice reduced Rhode's living expenses by 500J, which, for him, was well worth the price.
Besides that, he also found Mirajane to pay for his food expenses for the past few days, and his wallet shrank again.
Mirajane was a little worried that Rhode wouldn't last until next month: "Actually, you don't have to rush to pay these back; those few meals could be considered a 慰問."
"It's only natural to pay for food. I can't do anything about the medical expenses for now, but I can't let the Guild bear the food expenses anymore... although the money was extorted from the Guild Master."
"It's a temporary loan."
"Oh, oh, temporary loan, temporary loan."
Rhode carefully looked at the menu; if it was just one meal, a cheaper one would probably cost a few hundred J.
If he ate a lot but only ordered ordinary food, then a few thousand J would be about right.
Of course, if he went all out and ordered whatever looked good, there would be no upper limit.
Rhode, who wanted to enjoy delicious food, suddenly felt pressure. He asked, "Are there any jobs in the Guild that don't require magic?"
Mirajane tapped her chin with her index finger, thinking for a moment:
"If you're willing, you can work part-time as a waiter at the tavern. Because you need to set aside time to learn magic... the salary can only be about 120,000 J per month. Is that okay?"
Rhode didn't hesitate: "Of course, thank you!"
For a Magician, 120,000 J isn't a lot. A stronger one, like Natsu, could earn that by taking a bandit-sweeping mission for a day or two.
A weaker one would only need to take some life-related missions within the city and wouldn't even need half a month to earn 120,000 J.
Only those bottom-tier Magicians who could only take small missions worth a few thousand J would worry about this amount of money.
Unfortunately, Rhode was currently a 'quasi-magic apprentice,' even lower than a bottom-tier Magician.
This kind of work was already considered a favor to him; Mirajane even specifically mentioned setting aside time for him to learn magic.
Additionally, working as a waiter came with the benefit of two meals, so after deducting rent and some daily expenses, it would probably take him half a year to pay back the money the Guild Master lent him.
Mr. Hibiki's commission and Ms. Porlyusica's medical expenses would take even longer.
However, Rhode felt that in a few months, he should be able to take on some Magician missions, and paying off his debts should be faster then...
It was a long and arduous journey.
—
Since he decided to work as a waiter for a while, Rhode stayed to help clean up that day.
Tables and chairs had to be wiped and arranged neatly, the floor had to be swept clean, and after confirming no one was left, the main door was locked, and the lights were extinguished before leaving.
Rhode felt a bit like he was back in middle school, doing duty with his classmates.
After everyone said goodbye and went home, Elfman, when not out on missions, would usually wait for Mirajane to go together.
Rhode walked with the two for a short distance, and during their casual chat, he learned a shocking piece of news: "So Elfman is your younger brother? I always thought he was the older brother!"
"Oh, I'm not at the age where being praised for looking young makes me happy yet." Mirajane stroked her cheek with her right hand; she said she wouldn't be happy, but her smile never stopped.
Elfman also seemed very happy: "A Manly Man should be more mature!"
Rhode fell into thought; he had inadvertently complimented both the siblings with one sentence. Am I one of those people who are very good at talking?
I don't even know myself.
Because Rhode returned a bit late, the landlord had already locked the door and gone home.
Rhode took out his key, opened the door, and went inside.
The room was pitch black; Rhode, using the moonlight streaming through the window, found the staircase and carefully walked upstairs.
The entire house was made of wood, and the stairs naturally were too. Fortunately, there was no creaking sound when Rhode stepped on them, so it shouldn't be too old.
After entering the room, Rhode found matches and lit the candle on the table.
The technology level here wasn't very advanced; there weren't even electric lights, and many people still used candles and oil lamps.
Although there were magic-powered lamps, and their prices had dropped a lot in recent years, they were still much more expensive than oil lamps.
So, Mr. Goodman hadn't prepared any magical equipment for this old house that hadn't been lived in for many years.
Water was conveniently available through tap water, but if he wanted hot water, he had to boil it himself.
After washing up, Rhode simply wiped his body with cold water, pondering whether he should use the Guild's bathroom.
"It seems I'll have to buy some home appliances in the future—should they be called home magical tools here?"
"Money, money..." Rhode, who had left school in a strange way, had to start worrying about his livelihood.
Thinking about the salary from working at the tavern and the rewards from Magician missions, Rhode began to look forward to life after learning magic.
With infinite anticipation for his future life, Rhode fell into a deep sleep.
—
Rhode opened his eyes; sunlight slanted through the window onto his face. He suddenly sat up with a start: "I'm late!"
"Fresh apples, crispy pears!"
"Water spinach is cheaper!"
"Fresh zucchini, come take a look!"
Outside the window, noisy hawking sounds had already begun, and Rhode suddenly felt a sense of displacement.
He lay back heavily, raising his arm to cover his eyes: "It seems I haven't had to attend morning classes for a long time. What a joyous occasion?"
After a long silence, Rhode got up to wash, changed into the new white T-shirt and black capri pants he bought yesterday, ran his fingers through his bangs a few times, then went downstairs.
A moment later, he clattered back to his room, found the necklace on his bedside table, put it on, and left.
"Morning, Mr. Rhode, did you sleep well?" The landlord, Goodman Rail, greeted him warmly.
"Brother Goodman, you're here so early."
"Just arrived, about to open for business."
The window on the first floor was a single piece, a large wooden board about two meters long and one meter wide.
After opening a few latches from the inside, it could be pulled outwards and tilted down from the outside.
After propping up two wooden legs folded on the side, it immediately became a platform for displaying goods.
Rhode found it interesting; no wonder the door wasn't in the exact middle but was deliberately placed closer to the side.
He helped Goodman set up the awning, then prepared to leave.
"Wait a moment, consider this a thank-you gift." Goodman tossed a key-chain-sized object towards Rhode.
Rhode caught it and placed it in his palm. He saw it was a small wooden plaque, two or three centimeters in size, with difficult-to-discern characters carved on it, and a red string tied with a beautiful knot.
"What is this?"
"A good luck charm. Although it's just an ordinary handicraft, the wooden plaque was carved by me, and the knot was tied by my wife."
Goodman smiled, "I heard that Magicians sometimes take on dangerous requests, so be careful."
Goodman's shop mainly sold handicrafts like wood carvings and woven pendants. He made this one while stocking up yesterday.
"Thank you." Rhode wanted to say that it would be a long time before he would take on dangerous missions, but he didn't say it aloud, only carefully accepted the other party's kindness.
He found that the feelings of loneliness and insecurity from surviving alone in a different world seemed to have dissipated a little more.