"Without a doubt, that's a high-quality magic item." Magic power doesn't lie; whether that pendant was a magic item, Makarov could tell at a glance.
Perhaps Rhodes survived such a beast tide thanks to this pendant—even though he didn't know how to use it himself.
Rhodes took off the necklace. The fine metal chain piled into a small heap, and the pendant lay quietly in his palm. The golden letter and blue circular background reflected tiny specks of natural light.
He examined it over and over; aside from being oddly attractive, he couldn't figure out what was special about it.
"That jerk Tatsuya didn't even give me an instruction manual back then!" Rhodes blurted out in his mother tongue.
Makarov and Mirajane looked at him in confusion.
Rhodes handed the necklace to Makarov and asked, "Master, do you know how to make the most of this thing?"
"Using a magic item doesn't necessarily require understanding magic, but once you can use it, you can be considered a mage."
Makarov took the necklace and said a string of words that sounded like a tongue twister.
Rhodes pondered the logic in his words, and then saw that the necklace, which had been ordinary in his own hands, began to emit light in Makarov's.
"I see, it's an item similar to a Celestial Spirit Key. This pendant can only be used by you."
"Celestial Spirit Key?" Rhodes didn't understand. "What's that?"
Mirajane thoughtfully helped explain, even using a light pen to draw a diagram for Rhodes:
"Celestial Spirit Magic involves signing contracts with Celestial Spirits, summoning them from the Celestial Spirit World to assist you. Those who use Celestial Spirit Magic need to possess special keys; it's a type of Holder Magic."
Mirajane's drawing skills were a bit lacking; compared to Reedus, you could say they were abstract.
This resulted in Rhodes being unable to tell what kind of creatures Celestial Spirits were from the drawings, but he could roughly understand what kind of magic it was.
He used a term he could understand: "Summoner?"
"That's pretty much it." Makarov returned the necklace to Rhodes.
"I'll teach you the basic knowledge about magic power, and I'll also share the tricks I know about Celestial Spirit Magic.
"Additionally, the guild's library has materials on Celestial Spirit Magic... So, would you like to learn this kind of magic?"
"I want to learn," Rhodes nodded.
A summoner, huh? Rhodes could more or less guess what this League of Legends game icon-shaped pendant could summon.
Those over a hundred heroes—if he could summon a few powerful ones, he'd be invincible, right?
"Then it's decided; I'll teach you magic later. For now, let's talk about some practical matters."
"Practical matters?"
Rhodes was kicked out.
His injuries had mostly healed, so he needed to move out and couldn't keep occupying the infirmary.
For Rhodes to find a place to live on his own in an unfamiliar city—or rather, an unfamiliar world—he was somewhat anxious.
Fortunately, the Master introduced him to a house not far from the guild, less than a kilometer away in a straight line.
Rhodes had already gone to see it. It was a storefront facing the street; the first floor was used as a shop, and the second floor could be lived in.
The landlord's name was Goodman Riel, a young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
A few years ago, he had always lived here, but after getting married, he moved out and only came over during the day to open the shop.
The house had all the amenities: kitchen, toilet, bath—the bathroom even had a bathtub. The bedroom wasn't large, but more than enough for one person.
The rent was 80,000 J per month. Rhodes wasn't very familiar with the currency here, but according to Mirajane, this price was quite cheap in Magnolia.
As for the price, the landlord's reason was that since the second floor was idle anyway, having a mage move in could even enhance security.
Rhodes felt that perhaps the landlord was giving face to the Master; it was said that he occasionally went to the guild's tavern for drinks.
However, even though the rent wasn't high, Rhodes couldn't come up with the money.
The money to pay the rent was lent to him by the Master—a total of 150,000 J, with the remaining 70,000 J for his living expenses and to buy some daily necessities.
150,000 J—just hearing the number felt large, but after seeing the denominations of the banknotes, Rhodes felt much relieved.
These thousand-J banknotes and ten-thousand-J big bills... the actual value was probably much less than RMB.
However, after borrowing the money, Rhodes realized that the meals he had eaten and the medicines he had used these past few days seemed to have gone unpaid.
Especially those medicines—with such good effects, they certainly weren't cheap.
Then there was the remuneration for Mr. Hibiki, who helped him learn the language; logically, he should pay for that too.
But at the time, he didn't understand anything, his mind was in chaos, and he forgot to ask how much money was needed.
"Who transmigrates and ends up heavily in debt right away..."
With complicated feelings, Rhodes went to nearby shops to buy towels and other toiletries, and also needed to buy a few changes of clothes.
Then he discovered that the money didn't seem to go very far.
A slightly thicker towel cost 500 J; a toothbrush, toothpaste, and cup set was 1,000 J; soap was 100 J; shampoo was 500 J...
Adding in necessities like toilet paper, bed sheets, pillows, quilts, he casually spent nearly 20,000 J.
"Will the remaining 50,000 J be enough for a month's food expenses?"
Rhodes recalled that the Flame Combo Meal that Natsu ate seemed to cost over 1,000 J; ordinary food probably wasn't that expensive, and if worst comes to worst, he could cook for himself.
Spending another 20,000 J or so to buy a few pieces of clothing should be about right... better to cut that in half, save another 10,000 J just in case.
"Fortunately, it's summer now," Rhodes felt relieved for a second, then suddenly realized he might need to buy a mosquito net.
His wealth shrank once again.
After a busy half-day, Rhodes finally bought everything he needed and brought it back.
While it was still daylight, Rhodes decided to go to the guild to have dinner.
There weren't as many people in the guild as during the day.
Among those remaining, most were like Rhodes, wanting to settle dinner here.
A few were drunk—some snoring loudly, others with flushed faces arguing with people, seeming ready to fight at any moment.
Natsu, who had previously been chasing Rhodes to ask questions, wasn't there either—he must have gotten his answers from the Master by now.
Mirajane placed the plates and cups from the tray onto the guests' table, then looked at Rhodes. "Rhodes, you're back. Have you finished moving?"
"Almost. I plan to have dinner here; is that okay?"
"Of course! What would you like to eat?"
Rhodes thought for a moment. "I'll have the same as that person just now; it seems tasty."
"Alright, one Super Devil Spicy Curry Rice." Mirajane gave him a look as if she were watching a brave warrior, even clenching her fist to cheer him on. "Be sure to finish what you ordered!"
"Wait, wait a minute!" Rhodes hurriedly stopped her. "You know my common language isn't that good; I think I just heard some alarming words. What dish was that?"
Mirajane blinked innocently. "Curry rice."
"What about the adjectives before that?"
"Just 'Super Devil Spicy,' that's all."
Rhodes raised a hand. "I think the words 'just' and 'that's all' aren't used that way."
Mirajane pointed to the person who had ordered earlier. "No problem; see, he's enjoying it."
Rhodes was distraught. "He's breathing fire!"
"Aww~~ I thought you'd like this kind."
"I earnestly implore you to absolutely, definitely, please change it to something normal."
"What a pity—I was hoping to see an interesting expression. Also, in that last sentence, you could have just used the word 'please.'"
Mirajane left with a light laugh, not forgetting to help Rhodes correct his language habits.
Rhodes couldn't understand whether this girl had a really bad personality or simply liked to watch the fun.
She wasn't like this yesterday...
Could it be because he no longer needed care?
Rhodes felt conflicted; please bring back the gentle and considerate Mirajane...