Fairy Tail: I don't want to be the president

Chapter 7 Money, Money

Fairy Tail's secret beef curry rice, you can smell the aroma of curry from a long distance away.

When the plate was placed on the table, the aroma of rice immediately filled my nose. The rice must be of high quality.

Rod picked up the spoon. On the left was brown-red curry soup, evenly chopped beef, potatoes and carrots.

On the right was the rice, which looked even whiter against the backdrop of the soup. The color and aroma of both sides were so tempting that Rhodes didn't know where to start.

This happy entanglement did not last for a few seconds. Urged by his stomach, Rhodes chose to move the spoon from the middle.

The curry and rice went into his mouth at the same time, salty, fresh, fragrant and with a slightly spicy taste filling his mouth, making his tongue and teeth work involuntarily.

Rhodes couldn't eat spicy food very well, and just a little bit of spiciness made his forehead sweat.

But after the spiciness wears off, you can actually taste the sweetness of the rice and the freshness of the beef.

Rhodes was immersed in this delicious plate of curry rice and couldn't extricate himself.

"Rod seems to be very devoted to eating every time, even my appetite has improved." Mirajane's voice sounded, "Does Rod like food very much?"

"Of course I like delicious food. I didn't pay much attention to it before, but now I seem to enjoy the process of tasting food more and more."

Rhodes thought for a moment and added, "Maybe he was scared of being hungry a few days ago, or maybe he almost died, so he started to cherish things that he didn't cherish before."

Mirajane seemed to have regained her gentle and considerate self: "In that case, you must work hard. Our menu here is very long."

"I'll try...haha." Rhode couldn't help laughing. Try to eat? Try to eat? Either way, it seemed a little wrong.

A delicious curry rice reduces Rod's living expenses by 500J, which he himself said was worth the money.

In addition to this, he asked Mirajane to pay for the food expenses for the past few days, and his wallet shrank again.

Mirajane was a little worried that Rhodes wouldn't make it to the next month: "Actually, there's no need to rush to pay it back. You can consider those meals as a consolation."

"It's only natural to pay for meals. We can't afford the medical expenses for now, and we can't let the guild pay for meals anymore...even though the money was stolen from the guild president."

"It's a temporary loan."

"Oh, just borrow it for now."

Rhodes looked at the menu carefully. If it was just a meal, the cheaper one would cost several hundred J.

If you have a larger appetite but only order normal food, a few thousand J will be enough.

Of course, if you are in a hurry to have a meal and want to eat whatever is delicious, there is no limit to what you can eat.

Rhode, who wanted to enjoy the food, suddenly felt the pressure. He asked, "Is there any work in the guild that can be done without magic?"

Mirajane pointed her index finger at her chin and thought for a moment:

"If you want, you can work part-time as a waiter in the tavern. Because you need to set aside time to study magic... The salary is only about 12 J per month. Is that okay?"

Rhodes said without hesitation: "Of course, thank you!"

For a wizard, 12 J is not a lot. A stronger wizard like Natsu can earn it back in a day or two by taking on a mission to wipe out bandits.

Those who are a little weaker can earn 12 in less than half a month by taking some life-related tasks within the city.

Only low-level magicians who can only take small tasks worth a few thousand J would worry about this little money.

Unfortunately, Rhodes is now a 'quasi-magic apprentice', which is even lower than the bottom magician.

This kind of work was considered a favor to him, and Mirajane even specifically mentioned setting aside time for him to learn magic.

Another benefit of being a waiter is that he gets two meals provided. This way, after deducting rent and some daily expenses, he can pay back the money the president borrowed from him in about half a year.

Mr. Hibiki's commission and Ms. Poliuska's medical expenses will take a little longer.

However, Rhode felt that after a few months, he should be able to take on some wizard missions, and he should be able to pay off his debt faster...

There is a long way to go.
-
Since he had decided to work as a waiter for a while, Rhodes stayed to help clean that day.

The tables and chairs must be wiped and placed neatly, the floor must be swept clean, and after making sure that no one is staying, the door must be locked and the lights must be turned off before leaving.

Rod found a little bit of the feeling of doing duty with his classmates in middle school.

Everyone said goodbye to each other and went home. Elfman usually waited for Mirajane to join him when he was not out working.

Rod would walk with the two for a short while, and during the casual chat, he learned a shocking news: "So Elfman is your younger brother? I always thought he was the older brother!"

"Alas, I'm not old enough to be happy when someone praises me for my youth." Mirajane stroked her cheek with her right hand. She said she wouldn't be happy, but she kept smiling. Elfman seemed very happy too: "As a man, you should be more mature!"

Rhodes fell into deep thought and accidentally praised the siblings. Am I the kind of person who is good at talking?
I don’t know myself.

Because Rod came back a little late, the landlord had already locked the door and went home.

Rhodes took out the key himself, opened the door and went in.

The room was pitch black. Rhodes groped his way to the stairs with the help of the moonlight coming in through the window and walked upstairs carefully.

The entire house was made of wood, including the stairs. Fortunately, there was no creaking sound when Rhodes stepped on it, so it should not be too old.

After entering the house, Rhodes found a match and lit the candle on the table.

The level of technology here is not very high. There is not even electric lighting. Many people still use candles and oil lamps.

Although there are lamps that use magic as energy, and their prices have dropped a lot in recent years, they are still much more expensive than oil lamps.

So the landlord did not prepare any magical equipment for this old house that had not been lived in for many years.

There is convenient tap water, but if you want hot water, you have to boil it.

After washing up, Rhodes wiped his body with cold water and wondered whether he should use the guild's bathroom.

"It looks like I'll have to buy some household electrical appliances in the future - should they be called household magic props here?"

"Money, money..." Rod, who left campus in a strange way, had to worry about his livelihood.

Thinking about the salary for working in the tavern and the rewards for the wizard's missions, Rhodes began to look forward to life after learning magic.

With infinite expectations for future life, Rod fell into a deep sleep.
-
Rhodes opened his eyes, the sunlight shone obliquely on his face through the window, and he sat up suddenly: "I'm late!"

“Fresh apples and crispy pears!”

“Macaroni is cheap!”

"Fresh squash, take a look!"

There was a noisy hawking outside the window, and Rhodes suddenly felt a sense of dislocation.

He lay back heavily, raising his arms to cover his eyes: "It seems that I don't have to go to morning classes anymore, is this a good thing?"

After a long silence, Rod got up, washed, changed into the white T-shirt and black cropped pants he had bought yesterday, and went downstairs after smoothing his bangs.

After a moment, she ran back to the room, found the necklace on the bedside table, put it on and left.

"Good morning, Mr. Rhodes. Did you sleep well?" The landlord Goodman Riel greeted him warmly.

"Brother Goodman, you're here so early."

"We just arrived and are about to open."

The windows on the first floor are located on a large wooden board that is about two meters long and one meter wide.

After opening a few buckles on the inside, you can pull the entire thing outwards and let it fall.

After spreading out the two wooden legs that are folded at the sides, it immediately becomes a platform that can be used as a shelf.

Rhodes found it interesting. No wonder the door was not opened in the middle, but was deliberately placed on the side.

He helped Goodman put up the awning and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, consider this as a thank you gift. This is for you." Goodman threw a keychain-sized object to Rhodes.

Rhodes took it and placed it in his palm. It was a small wooden sign about two or three centimeters in size with some difficult-to-recognize words engraved on it and a red rope tied with a beautiful knot.

"what is this?"

"It's a lucky 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 and said, "I heard that wizards occasionally take on dangerous commissions, so please be careful."

Goodman's shop mainly sells handicrafts such as wood carvings and woven pendants. I made one while preparing stocks yesterday.

"Thank you." Rhodes wanted to say that it was too early for him to take on dangerous missions, but he didn't say it out loud. He just carefully accepted the other party's kindness.

He found that the loneliness and uneasiness of surviving alone in a different world seemed to be dispelled a little.

(End of this chapter)