Chapter 89: Let's Duel!
Chapter 89: Let's Duel!
When Rod finished his practice and returned to the guild hall, he immediately felt several pairs of eyes fixated on him. This reminded him of the two geese glaring at him yesterday. Coincidentally, Crow and Nicky were among the crowd.
Flirting with the guild's flower really does stir up everyone's anger.
Rod clenched his fist and said with a bit of arrogance, "Anyone up for a fight?"
Thump, thump, thump! About a dozen people stood up in the guild hall, their eyes filled with hostility. Even Makao and Wakaba, who usually treated him well, were part of the group.
A wise man knows his limits, so Rod quickly said, "Alright, you guys start. I don't want to fight today."
He was kidding, of course. The guild's rules for member brawls were that fists came before magic. Fighting a dozen people without using magic? That would definitely end in a beating, and a fruitless one at that.
No benefits and losing face in front of Mira? He'd have to be crazy to go through with it.
"Damn Rod, show some backbone!"
"Sure, if you've got the guts, let's settle this in the back yard. Magic is fair game!"
This time, it was the others who backed down.
Dueling Rod with magic?
If they couldn't take him down in the first few seconds, the duel would quickly turn into a mob attack. The moment he felt threatened, giant wolves, strange birds, and stone beetles would trample over his opponents.
Who could stand up to a summoner who could call forth over twenty monsters at once?!
Now, whether Rod challenged someone or was challenged, there were usually strict rules in place. Only Natsu, Gray, and Cana could handle him without such restrictions, as they knew Rod couldn't last long against a full barrage of wild monsters.
The small challenge fizzled out due to mutual hesitation, but some decided to get Rod involved in the next guild-wide brawl.
Rod decided he needed to be more careful when walking alone at night from now on.
Mira seemed busy today, as there were more people than usual looking to take on jobs. It was probably the start of the month, and many were short on cash or wanted to work hard early on to slack off later.
Fairy Tail had over a hundred members, and about half of them lived this way. They were young, without families to support, and only had to worry about rent and living expenses. Since they had no major financial pressures, they usually spent their days eating, drinking, and laughing with their guildmates, with little interest in improving their strength.
Many had quirky personalities and found it hard to make friends outside the guild, making the guild their most comfortable place to be. Problem children in the guild weren't limited to just Natsu and Gray.
Rod, with his positive and proactive attitude, was fundamentally different from the slackers. While he didn't take on many missions, he was always striving to improve. And he didn't run out of money at the start of the month because that's when the guild paid its wages.
Last month, Rod had been absent for a few days due to a mission, so he only received 100,000 J. Mira seemed to have been lenient when calculating his pay, as he thought it should have been around 80,000 J.
To thank her for her kindness, Rod decided to think of a nice way to invite her for some sweets later.
"Rod, two pan-seared silver cods here!"
Rod relayed the order to Mr. Cook and then shouted back, "Crow? You still dare to call me? Want me to add a bucket of chili sauce to your dish?"
Crow wasn't fazed at all. "Try it if you dare. Mr. Cook will kill you."
That was a problem. Wasting chili sauce and ruining his masterpiece would indeed get him chased by Mr. Cook with a knife.
A moment later, the serving window not only sent out the plates but also a Poro.
"What are you doing here? Got kicked out?"
Rod picked up Worm, feeling the little guy had gained some weight.
"Rumble!" Worm seemed delighted, his tiny horns twitching.
He jumped down from Rod's arms and ran back to the pass-through window, using his small paws to pull out a basketball-sized cloth bag.
Worm opened the bag and showed its contents to Rod.
"Is this... Poro Delicacy?" Rod looked at the cookie-like treats in the bag with surprise. "Did you succeed?"
"Rumble-rumble~" Worm nodded and shook his head.
It was quite a feat for the small, round, fuzzy ball to make such a complex gesture.
"Did you succeed in part?" Rod thought for a moment. "Poro Delicacy 1.0, then?"
"Rumble!" Worm handed Rod a cookie as big as a plate, gesturing for him to try it.
Rod hesitated for a moment, remembering that Mr. Cook had mentioned turning this into a guild specialty snack.
Well, might as well give it a try.
He broke off a small piece and fed it to Worm, grandly declaring, "Poro Delicacy, Poro gets to taste it first!"
The dirty human, using the adorable Poro just because he was worried it might not taste good.
Rod watched Worm's expression. Good, it didn't seem bitter, spicy, or strange in any way.
Seeing Worm’s happy face, Rod felt a tiny bit of guilt, resolving not to make Worm clean under the bed next time.
The Poro Delicacy was soft and sweet, like a chiffon cake, with a delightful texture for a snack.
The effects were unclear, but given Worm’s recent growth, it seemed to be helping.
The research funds were well spent...
But was it the Poro Delicacy that made him grow, or just from spending too much time in the kitchen?
...
By mid-September, Magnolia was gradually transitioning into autumn.
Two light rains had fallen since the beginning of the month, washing away most of the summer heat.
Feeling the cool morning air with Worm by his side, Rod was increasingly glad he had decided to prepare his autumn and winter clothes early.
The latest issue of Weekly Sorcerer had advertised many new autumn styles, and clothing prices in the city were starting to rise.
Rod decided to go shopping after work today and pick out some already "outdated" clothes.
Men's clothing, after all, doesn’t go out of style that quickly.
Choosing simple and elegant designs, avoiding unusual colors and patterns, would minimize the risk of a fashion disaster.
The downside was the high chance of clothing duplicates.
But that wasn’t a problem. He could always have the guild emblem printed on the clothes.
By changing the color, position, and size of the emblem, even the same design could look different.
And since Mira was in charge of the emblems, he could get her input on the design.
Rod’s straightforward thinking was that all the effort of matching clothes was just for a specific audience.
He might as well have Mira design them to his liking. Plan in action.
Apart from handling everyday chores, Rod hadn’t neglected his training.
He had already developed a good level of proficiency with the Crustacean Crab form and was preparing to receive the next monster.
Additionally, there had been new progress with his summoning magic—new areas in the Rift had lit up, and today he planned to try summoning from one of them.
Regarding the guild’s membership, while there wasn’t an exact number, during the civil war, Biggs said there were about a hundred people present (as seen in the illustration).
That was during the Harvest Festival, the guild’s biggest event of the year, so most members should have been there.
Considering a few might have been unable to make it, saying there are over a hundred members isn’t far off.
(End of Chapter)
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