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 fragrance of rice immediately filled my nose. This rice must be made of high-quality rice.

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

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

This happy entanglement did not last for a few seconds. At the urging of the Five Zang Temple, Rhodes chose to use the spoon from the middle.

The curry and rice went into his mouth at the same time. It was salty, fresh and fragrant, with a slight spicy taste that filled his mouth, making his tongue and teeth work involuntarily.

Rhodes wasn't a big fan of spicy food, and just a little bit of spicy food made beads of sweat break out on his forehead.

But once the spiciness wears off, you can actually appreciate the sweetness of the rice and the aroma of the beef.

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

"Rhode seems to be very involved in eating every time, and 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 while and added, "Maybe it's because I was hungry a few days ago, or maybe because I almost died, I started to cherish things that I didn't cherish before."

Mirajane seemed to have regained her gentle and considerate look: "In this case, you have to work hard, our menu here is very long."

"I will work hard...haha." Rhodes couldn't help but laugh, eating hard? Working hard to eat? Either way there seems to be something wrong.

A delicious curry rice can reduce Rod's living expenses by 500J. From his own words, it is well worth the money.

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

Mirajane was a little worried that Rhodes wouldn't be able to survive the next month: "Actually, there is no need to rush to pay back these. Those few meals can be regarded as condolences."

"It's only natural to give money for meals. We can't help with medical expenses for the time being. We can't let the guild bear the food money anymore...even though the money was stolen from the guild president."

"It's a temporary loan."

"Oh, borrow it for now."

Rhodes looked at the menu carefully. If it was just a meal, the cheaper one would cost about a few hundred dollars.

If you have a larger meal but only order ordinary food, then a few thousand J will be about the same.

Of course, if you are in a hurry to have a meal and order whatever is delicious, then there is no cap.

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

Mirajane tapped her chin with her index finger and thought for a moment:

"If you want, you can work part-time as a waiter in a tavern. Because you have to leave time to learn magic...the salary can only be about 120,000 J per month. Is that okay?"

Rhodes did not hesitate: "Of course, thank you!"

For a magician, 120,000 J is not much. For a stronger one like Natsu, he can earn it back in a day or two by taking on a mission to wipe out bandits.

The weaker ones only need to take on some life-related tasks that are within the city, and it will take less than half a month to earn 120,000.

Only those low-level magicians who can only accept small tasks of a few thousand J will worry about this little money.

Unfortunately, Rhodes now belongs to a 'quasi-magic apprentice' who is even lower than the low-level magicians.

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

In addition, one of the perks of being a waiter is that he takes care of two meals. In this way, after deducting the rent and some daily expenses, it will take about half a year to repay the money lent him by the president.

Mr. Shipicki's commission fees and Ms. Porlyusica's medical expenses will take a little longer.

However, Rhodes feels that after a few months, he should be able to take on some wizard missions, and repaying the debt should be faster...

There is a long way to go.

—

Since he decided to be a waiter for a while, Rhodes stayed that day to help with the cleaning.

Tables and chairs must be wiped and arranged neatly, the floor must be swept, the door must be locked after confirming that no one is stranded, and the lights must be blown out before leaving.

Rhodes 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 when he was not working outside.

Rhodes would walk with the two of them for a short while. During the chat, he learned a shocking news: "So Elfman is your brother? I always thought he was my brother!"

"Oh, I'm not yet at the age where I'll be happy if I'm praised for being young." Mirajane stroked her cheek with her right hand, saying she wouldn't be happy, but in fact she didn't stop smiling. Elfman also seemed very happy: "If you're a man, you should be more mature!"

Rhodes was deep in thought and accidentally praised his two siblings. Am I the kind of person who is good at talking?

I don't even know.

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

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

It was pitch dark inside the house. Rhodes used the moonlight coming from the window to reach the stairs and walked upstairs carefully.

The entire house is made of wood, and so are the stairs. Fortunately, there was no creaking sound when Rhodes stepped on it, so it shouldn't be too old.

After entering the house, Rhodes found matches and lit the candles on the table.

The level of technology here is not very advanced. There is no electric light. Many people still use candles and oil lamps.

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

Therefore, the landlord did not prepare any magic equipment for this old house that has not been lived in for many years.

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

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

"It seems that I will need to buy some household appliances in the future - should this be called household magic props?"

"Money, money..." Rhodes, who left campus in a strange way, had to worry about making a living.

Thinking about the salary from working in the tavern and the remuneration from the magician mission, Rhodes began to look forward to the life after learning magic.

With unlimited expectations for his future life, Rhodes fell into a deep sleep.

—

Rhodes opened his eyes, and the sun shone slantingly on his face through the window. He sat up suddenly and said, "Late!"

"Fresh apples, crispy pears!"

“Macaroni is cheap!”

"Fresh horned melon, take a look!"

Noisy sales calls could be heard outside the window, and Rhodes suddenly felt a sense of dislocation.

He lay back heavily and raised his arms to cover his eyes: "It seems that you don't have to go to morning class for a long time. Is that gratifying?"

After being quiet for a while, Rhodes got up, washed up, put on the white T-shirt and black cropped pants he bought yesterday, pulled back his bangs a few times, and then went downstairs.

After a while, he 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?" Landlord Goodman Riel greeted warmly.

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

"I just arrived and it's about to open."

The windows on the first floor are in one piece, a large wooden board about two meters long and one meter wide.

After opening a few buckles on the inside, you can pull it completely outward and fall down.

After unfolding the two wooden legs folded on the side, it immediately becomes a platform used as a shelf.

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

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

"Wait a minute, think of it as a thank you gift, this is for you." Goodman threw an object the size of a keychain towards Rhodes.

Rhodes caught it and put it in his palm. He saw it was a small wooden sign measuring 2 to 3 centimeters, with indecipherable words engraved on it, and a red rope with a beautiful knot.

"What's this?"

"Although the Peace Talisman is just an ordinary handicraft, the wooden sign was carved by me myself, and the knot was tied by my wife."

Goodman smiled and said, "I heard that magicians occasionally take on some dangerous commissions, so please pay attention to safety."

Goodman's store mainly deals in handicrafts such as wood carvings and woven hangings. I made one while stocking up yesterday.

"Thank you." Rhodes wanted to say that it was too early for him to take on a dangerous mission, but he didn't say it out loud and was just careful to accept the other party's kindness.

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

(End of chapter)