"I'll take care of the rest myself."
After dealing with the spots he couldn't reach, Rhode felt embarrassed to keep asking Mira for help.
"I'll head out now," Mira set down the bottle and tweezers. "Take a good rest."
"Yeah, thanks."
Watching Mira leave, Rhode took off his T-shirt and began applying ointment to the bruises on his body.
He also reflected on the fight with Natsu.
After today's battle, aside from leaving Rhode with a heap of injuries, it also brought him some gains.
First, he became someone who has genuinely fought in a battle, which is crucial, at least he wouldn't be scared stiff at the mention of a fight anymore.
Moreover, he learned a small technique to use Magic Power for defense.
Although with his current Magic Power, it's a bit tough to defend against Natsu's punches, but against ordinary people, he can pretty much take the hits head-on.
During the battle with Natsu, Rhode was imitating Natsu's moves with every punch and kick.
When Natsu punched his face, he punched back.
When Natsu side-stepped and elbowed, he did the same.
Of course, except for the couple of times he punched the River Crab, Natsu didn't use any magic.
On careful thought, during the hand-to-hand combat, Natsu seemed to intentionally leave openings for him to attack, and didn't really dodge or defend.
So if you only count the number of hits landed and received, they should be about the same.
It's just that in the end, Rhode was left lying on the ground in pain, hardly able to get up.
While Natsu, as if nothing had happened, dusted himself off and carried Rhode to the infirmary.
"Now that I think about it, it feels like Natsu was purposely playing the role of a sparring partner..."
Rhode looked at his injuries and smiled helplessly, "Got beaten and still have to thank him, what a situation."
But the time he hit the River Crab seemed purely out of curiosity and an itch in his hands.
Also, the strange feeling when the River Crab disappeared needed some thorough investigation.
After resting for a while in the infirmary, Rhode got up to help out at the front.
At the tavern, besides Mira and Laki, there was another girl helping out.
She had short black hair that looked like a tomboy from the front, but she actually had a long braid tied at the back.
She wore a short red cheongsam with black over-the-knee socks, the guild emblem printed above the socks.
Rhode recognized her as Sally, who used Requip Magic, though not as proficient as Erza, only changing weapons during a fight.
It's said that her best weapon is a pair of steel claws worn on her wrists... obviously a close-range type, and a rather fierce one at that.
Sally worked fewer shifts than Rhode, being a waitress was just a part-time job, her main income came from teaming up with three other friends to do tasks.
Besides Sally, there was another girl named Iz in a similar situation, though Rhode had only seen her once and didn't really know her.
"Rhode? I heard from everyone you fought Natsu today."
Sally balanced a tray in one hand and a flash of light revealed her steel claws in the other, eagerly asking, "How about it, want to have a match with me?"
Clearly, she's a battle fanatic too.
Rhode promptly declined, "Spare me, my whole body aches right now."
"Sally, my drink!"
Someone spotted Sally pausing to chat and couldn't help but urge.
"So annoying, I'm on it, aren't I?"
Yep, her temper's fiery, best not to provoke her if possible.
Although her strength might not be formidable, she could certainly beat Rhode at his current state.
Rhode surveyed his surroundings and finally waited by the counter.
Gray was leaning against the counter, with a task sheet on the table, waiting for Mira to register it. "Yo, Natsu's fists are heavy, right?"
"Yeah." Rhode smiled wryly, touching his swollen face, "Why haven't I seen him around?"
"He just took a job and went out with Hapi," Gray said, shaking the Delegation Letter returned by Mira at Rhode. "I'm off to work too, see you."
Rhode nodded, "Yeah, take care on the way."
Gray had just walked out when Mira called after him, "Gray, your clothes!"
Gray looked down to find he was once again left with just his boxer shorts. "When did this happen?"
Watching with amusement as Gray retrieved his coat and pants, Mira poured Rhode a glass of water, "Thinking about Natsu?"
"Yeah, after all the 'attention' I got from him, it's a bit..."
Rhode cradled the water glass, yet didn't drink, only gazed at the gently rippling surface, "it feels a bit awkward."
Getting hit naturally felt uncomfortable, but since the other party deliberately held back, intentionally or unintentionally teaching him battle techniques, he ought to be grateful.
Moreover, seeing Natsu seemed to be younger than himself, made it more awkward.
Rhode found himself prone to minor anxieties, contemplating things, unlike everyone else's straightforward nature.
This in turn led to worries about possibly being unsociable or ostracized.
Then he would reprimand himself for overthinking about irrelevant details at his age.
And since others were so sincere, it felt unfair to hold such thoughts about them...
Mira watched Rhode's changing expressions, guessing that he was feeling frustrated over losing the fight:
"You've only been learning magic for a few days, to reach this level is already impressive; keep this up, and you might be doing some regular jobs by next month."
"Yeah, I'll focus on my training for now." Who can say what the future holds, maybe it's just a matter of getting used to fights for the first time.
Rhode glanced at the people laughing and chatting in the tavern, "Who should I ask next time?"
A spiky-haired boy, who had been quite chatty this morning, Marcus, came into his view.
Maybe I should ask him to give it a try.
-----------------
Work, training, savoring the guild chef's exquisite cuisine, it was another fulfilling day.
After returning home, Rhode, just as Laki suggested, broke open the sealed wooden box to retrieve the magazines inside.
Sosala is a weekly publication, and what Laki gave Rhode covered a year's worth, along with some extra and special editions, about sixty volumes in total.
Sixty magazines were neatly stacked on the table, forming a pile about an arm's length high.
"Such a pity for a box so perfectly sealed... want to use it as a nest?"
Rhode presented the smashed side of the wooden box to Warm.
Though small, the box could still comfortably fit a Poro.
However, Warm didn't fancy such a nest, shaking its head and retreated under the bed.
"Never mind, I haven't thoroughly cleaned under the bed yet, don't get covered in dust."
Rhode tossed the broken box next to the fireplace, planning to use it as firewood, another day envying the convenience of Shaping Magic.
He pulled out Wind's Glasses and began skimming through the magazine content quickly.
"Master of Ghosts..."
This is one of the two most renowned Mages' Guilds in Fiore Kingdom, the other naturally being Fairy Tail.
However, Fairy Tail had remained dormant for quite some time until recent years when its fame began to grow.
Rhode read about this news in a weekly issue focusing on Ghost.
In terms of size and numbers, Ghost surpasses Fairy Tail a lot, because besides its headquarters, Ghost also has over twenty branches, with numerous members.
"It's just that the name Ghost sounds almost like a Dark Guild..."
Only after seeing some of Ghost's signature mages and the incidents they caused did Rhode slightly dispel his doubts.
This guild in its unruly ways isn't much different from Fairy Tail.