Fairy Tail's specially made beef curry rice—the aroma of curry could be smelled from afar.
When the plate was placed on the table, his nostrils were immediately filled with the fresh fragrance of rice; the rice used must be of high quality.
Rhodes picked up the spoon. On the left was reddish-brown curry sauce, evenly diced beef, potatoes, and carrots.
On the right was rice that appeared even whiter against the backdrop of the sauce. The colors and aromas on both sides were so enticing that Rhodes didn't know where to start.
This blissful dilemma didn't last more than a few seconds; under the urging of his "temple of five viscera," Rhodes decided to dig in from the middle.
Curry and rice entered his mouth at the same time—salty, savory, fragrant—with a hint of spiciness filling his mouth, making his tongue and teeth involuntarily work together.
Rhodes wasn't very good with spicy food; just a bit of heat caused fine beads of sweat to form on his forehead.
But once the spiciness subsided, he could savor even more the sweetness of the rice and the freshness of the beef.
Rhodes was immersed in this delicious plate of curry rice, unable to extricate himself.
"Rhodes seems to be very engrossed every time he eats; even my appetite is improving," Mirajane's voice sounded. "Do you like gourmet food, Rhodes?"
"Of course I like delicious food. I didn't pay much attention before, but now I seem to enjoy the process of tasting gourmet food more and more."
Rhodes thought for a moment and added, "Maybe I was scared of being hungry in the past few days, or maybe because I almost died, I've started to cherish things I didn't value before."
Mirajane seemed to return to her gentle and considerate demeanor. "In that case, you have to work hard; our menu here is very, very long."
"I will work hard... haha." Rhodes couldn't help but laugh. Work hard to eat? Work hard for eating? No matter which way you put it, it sounds a bit off.
A delicious plate of curry rice reduced Rhodes' living expenses by 500J; in his own words, it was worth every penny.
In addition, he settled the meal expenses of the past few days with Mirajane; his wallet shrank once again.
Mirajane was a bit worried that Rhodes wouldn't make it to next month. "Actually, you don't need to rush to repay; those meals can be considered as a gesture of kindness."
"Paying for meals is only right; I can't manage the medical expenses for now, but I can't let the guild bear the meal costs... even though the money was cunningly taken from the guild master."
"It's a temporary loan."
"Oh, right, a temporary loan."
Rhodes carefully looked at the menu. If it's just a meal, the cheaper ones cost at least a few hundred J.
If you have a bigger appetite but only order regular food, then a few thousand J would be about right.
Of course, if you indulge recklessly and order whatever is tasty, then the sky's the limit.
Rhodes, who wanted to enjoy gourmet food, suddenly felt the pressure. He asked, "Is there any work in the guild that can be completed without using magic?"
Mirajane touched her chin with her index finger and thought for a moment.
"If you're willing, you can work part-time as a waiter in the tavern. Since you need to leave time for learning magic... the salary can only be about 120,000J per month. Is that okay?"
Rhodes agreed without hesitation. "Of course, thank you!"
For a mage, 120,000J isn't much; someone stronger like Natsu can earn it back by taking a mission to eliminate bandits, which takes one or two days.
For those weaker, as long as they take some local, everyday tasks within the city, earning 120,000 wouldn't take half a month.
Only the low-level mages who can only take small tasks of a few thousand J would worry about this amount of money.
Unfortunately, Rhodes currently belongs to an even lower level than the lowest mages—a "prospective magic apprentice."
This kind of work is already considerate for him; Mirajane even specifically mentioned leaving time for him to learn magic.
Additionally, working as a waiter comes with the benefit of two meals included. In this way, after deducting rent and some daily expenses, it would take about half a year to repay the money he borrowed from the guild master.
Mr. Hibiki's commission fee and Ms. Porlyusica's medical expenses would take even longer.
However, Rhodes felt that after a few months, he should be able to take on some mage tasks, and repaying debts should be faster...
The road ahead is long and arduous.
Since he had decided to work as a waiter for a while, Rhodes stayed behind that day to help clean up.
All the tables and chairs needed to be wiped down and arranged neatly, the floor cleaned thoroughly, ensure no one was left behind, lock the main door, and extinguish the lights before leaving.
Rhodes found a bit of the feeling of doing duty with classmates during middle school.
After everyone said goodbye and went home, Elfman usually waited for Mirajane when he wasn't out working.
Rhodes would walk with the two for a short distance. During their chat, he learned a shocking piece of news: "So Elfman is your younger brother? I always thought he was the older brother!"
"Oh my, I'm not yet at the age where being told I'm young would make me happy." Mirajane touched her cheek with her right hand; though she said she wouldn't be happy, she couldn't stop smiling.
Elfman seemed happy too. "As a man, one should be more mature!"
Rhodes fell into contemplation; he had inadvertently praised both siblings with one sentence. Am I the kind of person who's good at talking?
I didn't even realize it myself.
Because Rhodes returned a bit late, the landlord had already locked the door and gone home.
Rhodes took out his own key and entered.
Inside the house, it was pitch black. Rhodes, using the moonlight streaming through the window, felt his way to the staircase and carefully walked upstairs.
The house was made entirely of wood, and so were the stairs. Fortunately, when Rhodes stepped on them, they didn't creak, so they weren't too old.
After entering his room, Rhodes found matches and lit the candle on the table.
The technological level here wasn't great; there weren't even electric lights. Many people still used candles and oil lamps.
Although there were lamps powered by magic energy, and their prices had dropped significantly in recent years, they were still much more expensive than oil lamps.
Therefore, the landlord hadn't equipped this old house, which hadn't been lived in for many years, with magical devices.
As for water, there was convenient tap water; but if he wanted hot water, he had to heat it himself.
After washing up, Rhodes directly wiped his body with cold water, pondering whether to use the guild's bathroom.
"Looks like I'll need to get some home appliances in the future—or should I call them household magical tools here?"
"Money, oh money..." Rhodes, who had left campus in a strange way, had to start worrying about making a living.
Thinking about the salary from working in the tavern and the rewards from mage tasks, Rhodes began to look forward to life after learning magic.
With infinite expectations for his future life, Rhodes fell into a deep sleep.
Rhodes opened his eyes; sunlight slanted through the window onto his face. He suddenly sat up. "I'm late!"
"Fresh apples, crispy fragrant pears!"
"Morning glory greens are cheap!"
"Fresh zucchinis, take a look!"
Outside the window, the noisy cries of street vendors had already started. Rhodes suddenly felt a sense of dislocation.
He fell back heavily, raising his arm to cover his eyes. "Seems like I don't have to attend morning classes anymore—should I be happy?"
After a long silence, Rhodes got up to wash up, changed into the white T-shirt and black cropped pants he bought yesterday, brushed his bangs a few times, and went downstairs.
Moments later, he hurriedly ran back to his room, found the necklace on the bedside table, put it on, and left.
"Good morning, Mr. Rhodes. Did you sleep well?" The landlord, Goodman Reil, greeted warmly.
"Brother Goodman, you're here so early."
"Just arrived, about to open up."
The window on the first floor was a large wooden board about two meters long and one meter wide.
After unlocking a few clasps inside, it could be pulled outward and folded down entirely.
By propping up the two folded wooden legs on the sides, it instantly became a platform to be used as a display shelf.
Rhodes found it interesting; no wonder the door wasn't in the middle but deliberately placed to the side.
He helped Goodman set up the sunshade and then prepared to leave.
"Wait a moment, consider this a token of thanks; this is for you." Goodman tossed a keychain-sized item to Rhodes.
Rhodes caught it and placed it in his palm; he saw that it was a small wooden plaque of about two or three centimeters, with barely recognizable characters carved on it, and a red string tied into a beautiful knot.
"What is this?"
"A safety talisman; although it's just a common handicraft, the wooden plaque was carved by me, and the knot was tied by my wife."
Goodman smiled. "I heard that mages sometimes take on dangerous commissions; you need to stay safe."
Goodman's shop mainly sold handicrafts like wood carvings and woven hanging ornaments; he had made one yesterday while stocking up.
"Thank you." Rhodes wanted to say that it was still too early for him to take dangerous missions, but he didn't say it out loud; he just carefully accepted the kindness.
He found that the feelings of loneliness and unease from surviving alone in a different world seemed to have dissipated a bit.