Fairy Tail: I Absolutely Refuse to Be the Guild Master

Mirajane tidied up the dishes and left, but soon returned, bringing someone with her.

An oddly-shaped individual.

—His body was as round as a huge ball, but his limbs were slender, and his face wasn't fat at all, making him appear very unbalanced.

Based on his experience from watching "Detective Conan," Rhodes suspected that this fat person was a fake.

Mirajane introduced him, "This is Reedus—Ree-dus."

After Rhodes repeated the name, Reedus greeted him as well.

Rhodes realized that the four people he had met since waking up were all extremely distinctive—those who were beautiful were stunning, and those who were strange were bizarre—making them unforgettable.

Seeing Rhodes's puzzled expression, Reedus took out a paintbrush and a drawing board and quickly began to paint on his own round belly.

First, he drew Rhodes, then the old man who had just left.

Then... the two figures actually jumped off Reedus's body and started moving!

"A Magic Brush like Ma Liang's? Super Beast Imitation Drawing?" Rhodes immediately thought of stories he knew.

Reedus didn't understand Rhodes's words and continued painting.

A forest appeared, and the two little figures entered the forest and began to perform.

'Rhodes' collapsed in the forest, 'Old Man' stretched out his arms, which grew longer and larger, and scooped up Rhodes with both hands to take him away.

Then the pink-haired lady appeared, administering medicine to 'Rhodes,' followed by 'Rhodes' waking up and Mirajane entering—familiar scenes.

Rhodes watched in astonishment; he understood that Mr. Reedus was explaining the situation to him in this way.

He could indeed comprehend it, but... this method was truly fantastical.

If it wasn't some high-tech projection technology, then it was... magic? Sorcery?

After the little figures finished demonstrating, they turned into pools of paint, and with Reedus's wave of the brush, they flew onto the drawing board.

He then took out several sheets of paper to show Rhodes.

The first was a map, marking the forest where Rhodes had fainted and his current location.

The second depicted a wooden building, likely the house they were currently in.

The third was a 'group photo' featuring dozens of people.

Rhodes stared at the third one the longest; he easily spotted the short old man, Mirajane, and Reedus.

Then... he saw some familiar characters.

Natsu, Happy, Erza, Gray!

"Fairy Tail?"

Despite finding it hard to believe, Rhodes finally realized which world he was in.

If that's the case, then the strange beast, Reedus's magic, and the unique appearances of the people he'd met, with their colorful hair—all made sense!

But why did it have to be Fairy Tail?

If it were One Piece or Naruto, Rhodes knew more about the plot. Fairy Tail... he wasn't familiar with it!

He recognized those few people only because a roommate had put up some posters in the dormitory.

Besides those characters and Wendy and Lucy, who weren't in the picture, Rhodes knew almost nothing about Fairy Tail!

Noticing Rhodes's expression, Mirajane asked, "What's wrong? Do you recognize someone in here?"

Hearing her voice, Rhodes looked at her in confusion.

"Sorry, I forgot again," Mirajane said regretfully. "If Levy were here, maybe she could understand what you're saying."

Reedus asked, "Can't we get Warren to communicate with him?"

Mirajane replied, "Even with Warren's 'Thought Projection' magic, he can only transmit sounds into the other's mind. If they don't understand the language, they still won't understand."

"Then... should we teach him our language directly?"

Mirajane nodded, "That's all we can do now. Although it's a bit inefficient, I hope Levy can find another way."

"Feel free to ask if you need my help," Reedus said, lifting his paintbrush to indicate that he could assist with illustrations during teaching—animated, three-dimensional ones.

"Alright, I'll be counting on you then, Reedus."

Rhodes's literacy lessons began promptly.

He felt very conflicted; even if he wanted to return to school, he didn't know how.

And this place was so dangerous—if he wasn't lucky next time he went out, he might get eaten by wolves.

For the moment, Rhodes didn't know what to do, so he decided to follow their arrangements.

Since they were friends of the main characters, they probably didn't have any bad intentions.

Realizing that they wanted to teach him to read and speak, Rhodes began to study eagerly.

No matter what he planned to do next, he had to solve the communication problem first.

Mirajane somehow found a textbook that looked like it was for teaching kindergarten children to read and used it to teach Rhodes literacy.

She used a magical pen to assist in teaching—a pen that could write glowing characters of different colors in the air.

Seeing Rhodes's curious expression, Mirajane went out to borrow another light pen and taught him how to use it, hand over hand.

She guessed that Rhodes might never have seen magic before.

Rhodes found it fascinating that magical tools could be used by people who didn't understand magic.

In other words, as long as he held this pen, could he be considered someone who could use magic?

...

Perhaps because there was nothing else to do, Rhodes was very focused.

His literacy lessons progressed quickly; it didn't take long for him to grasp the basic syllables.

Next, he would continue learning specific words.

However, Mirajane seemed quite busy; every now and then, someone would come with a piece of paper for her to register and stamp.

Unfortunately, Rhodes didn't recognize the words on it and didn't know what was written.

Some people came and went in a hurry; others curiously asked about Rhodes's situation.

Mirajane patiently explained to everyone and also introduced their names to Rhodes.

But there were too many people; relying solely on unfamiliar pronunciations without understanding the meanings, he couldn't remember any of the names.

The more people came to find Mirajane, the more embarrassed Rhodes felt.

—It seemed he was delaying Miss Mirajane's work and causing trouble for others.

Mirajane didn't mind; after all, the guild master had entrusted her with this task.

And people were just coming to her to register missions, and the distance between the infirmary and the main hall wasn't far. Once people understood the reason, they didn't mind.

"You."

"You."

"Me."

"Me."

Mirajane taught word by word, and Rhodes, like a babbling child, mimicked her parrot-like.

Mirajane pointed to her eyes, "Eyes."

"Eyes."

"Look."

"Look."

Rhodes noticed that Mirajane's eyes were very beautiful. He initially thought her pupils were black, but upon closer inspection, they were a light shade of blue.

Her distinctive double eyelids made her eyes look large and spirited. Her eyelashes weren't long but were just right.

Her thin eyebrows slightly drooped, giving her a very gentle appearance. Paired with slightly downturned eye corners, there seemed to be a hint of sadness.

However, when she smiled, her eyes curved into slits, making her appear even more approachable.

"Rhodes?"

"Ah, sorry." Rhodes realized he had zoned out.

"It's okay. It seems our lesson has gone on for quite a while." Mirajane glanced at the time and gently stood up, supporting her knees. "Wait a moment; I'll go get something to eat."

She repeated her words, accompanying them with gestures.

Rhodes seemed to understand a word or two, and combined with her gestures, he could roughly guess her meaning.

Only then did he notice that, unknowingly, it was already getting dark. Without realizing it, he had spent half a day on a foreign language lesson.

He used to think foreign language classes dragged on, but now it was the opposite.

Maybe it was because he really had nothing else to do.

His second meal in this world was a large bowl of steaming ramen.

The bowl was a large white porcelain one, with red patterns of peculiar shapes around the rim.

The chopsticks were ordinary brown ones; judging by the touch and weight, they seemed to be regular wooden chopsticks.

The key was the noodles in the bowl with shimmering oil, deep red char siu pork, a fried egg with white edges and a yellow center, a few pieces of leafy greens, and finely chopped scallions...

The beautiful presentation and color combination made his appetite surge.

Rhodes picked up the chopsticks and grabbed a large mouthful of noodles, but then thought it might look impolite to eat like that, so he loosened his grip, leaving only half.

He gently blew on the hot noodles; before they even entered his mouth, the aroma filled his nostrils, making his mouth water.

When the noodles entered his mouth, the fresh and chewy texture made Rhodes admire the chef here, and he even wished for some garlic.

Even without it, there was soft, juicy char siu with a slight sweetness to accompany the meal.

The fried egg was cooked just right; biting off half the yolk offered one flavor, and letting the remaining half soak in the broth provided another.

Then, a piece of blanched but still slightly crisp green vegetable cleansed his palate, and he could start another round of feasting.

As Rhodes ate, he forgot about manners and began slurping audibly.

After finishing the food, he didn't forget to sip a few mouthfuls of the clear broth—pure, mellow, and rich. Indeed, with noodles this good, the soup wouldn't be lacking.

Rhodes exhaled deeply, a layer of fine sweat on his forehead. The lingering taste in his mouth and the warmth in his stomach brought him immense happiness.

"That was delicious, thank you!"

"As long as you like it." Mirajane placed a glass of water on the bedside table with a smile, took the ramen bowl, and left.

When she returned this time, Mirajane was carrying a small bag and was accompanied by a big guy.

The big guy wore a dark blue high-collared jacket; through the open collar, a tattoo could be seen on the left side of his neck.

—It was the same symbol as on the ramen bowl, but in black.

Only then did Rhodes remember that it was the symbol of Fairy Tail.

He hadn't noticed where Mirajane's symbol was.

"Elfman, my younger brother," Mirajane introduced.

Elfman had a scar at the corner of his right eye, making him look a bit fierce even though he wasn't intentionally making an expression.

Rhodes memorized the name Elfman but didn't understand the word 'younger brother.'

However, looking at Elfman's demeanor and his white hair like hers, he guessed this was her older brother?