Shiver~
A mysterious chill instantly flowed through his body from the inside out.
It was like an electric current.
Facing it directly, both Mirajane and Erza couldn’t help but shiver.
Though they weren’t yet fully developed, their straight, slender legs inexplicably went weak.
Their once-sturdy knees buckled inward several times in a very girlish manner before they could barely steady themselves…
“Is this… Fear Magic?”
“Weren’t we supposed to be testing attack power?!”
“You idiot, haven’t you realized yet…”
“You brat/Edward! How dare you trick/look down on me!”
Once the two girls recovered, their eyes instantly turned blood-red.
An aura seemingly from hell swirled around them, making them look like Shura demons.
The people present were immediately silenced by fear.
Onix’s move was called Scary Face?
This was the real Scary Face!
Natsu and Gray, who were usually like fire and ice and feared neither heat nor cold, were now clutching each other tightly, as if seeking even a tiny bit of warmth from one another.
“Hey! Where’s that kid?! / Where did that Edward guy go?!”
Voices sounding like they came from the deepest abyss made the scene so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Yet no one answered.
Who would dare to cross these two Female Devils at a time like this?
In any case, as long as they played deaf and dumb, the ‘good fortune’ would surely fall upon…
“Hey! Natsu! Gray! We’re talking to you!”
That’s right.
It fell right onto Natsu and Gray’s heads!
“He, he, he-he-he ran into the guild…” they stammered in unison.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?! / From now on, speak up sooner about stuff like this!”
“YES!!!” they shouted together.
Well, they didn’t have the catchphrase “Aye~” yet.
…
As the culprit, Edward had naturally made his getaway long ago.
He ran into the guild, removed his mark, chose a color, and restamped it all in one smooth motion.
The reason it took a little while was that the color scheme Edward chose was quite special.
It was a two-tone pattern: red on top and white on the bottom.
So it took some time to mix.
As for the new location, Edward chose the palm of his hand.
There wasn’t any particular reason for it.
He just thought it would look cool when showing it off, like Vegeta about to fire a blast or Iron Man about to fire a repulsor.
Finally, after borrowing some money from the Master, he immediately ran while the going was good.
So by the time those two Female Devils charged into the guild, he had already been gone for a while.
“Where is he?!”
“I’m asking you, where is he?!”
Erza and Mirajane each grabbed Natsu and Gray by their collars.
They interrogated them like reincarnated Yakshas.
“I-I don’t know~~”
“S-Sorry~~”
…
Edward was carrying a decent amount of money…
The currency of this world is Jewel (J).
Its purchasing power is similar to the Japanese Yen of his previous life—100,000 J.
It was enough for Edward to use for a while.
After all, he didn’t plan on renting a house.
Even though he had the authority to change the coordinates of the Secret Realm entrance once, setting it in a rental house wasn’t the most appropriate choice.
He didn’t know if he would ever get that authority again.
What if the landlord stopped renting to him?
As for inside the guild…
That wasn’t a private place after all; he had to maintain some boundaries.
…
Not knowing what to do for the moment, Edward began wandering around the City where he might be living for a long time.
If he saw a suitable location, it wasn’t out of the question to set the portal there.
After all, although that forest was right behind the guild, strictly speaking, it wasn’t that close.
In his previous life, Edward hated spending time on commuting the most.
Since Magnolia was split by a large river, Edward chose to walk along the riverbank.
The sound of the babbling water was very healing.
Unknowingly, Edward arrived at that butcher shop from yesterday.
He now had sufficient funds.
Compared to the option of buying raw meat and cooking it himself, his heart was now leaning more towards eating out at a restaurant.
On one hand, he was lazy; on the other hand, being in a new place and not tasting the local flavors felt quite unreasonable.
So after standing at the door for a moment, he turned around to leave.
But then he heard:
“Hey! You kid!”
Edward recognized the butcher’s—no, the meat shop owner’s—voice and realized the man was likely calling him.
He looked back.
Then he saw a black shadow flying toward his face!
Edward didn’t panic.
He calmly raised his hand and caught it steadily.
It was a black plastic bag.
The texture…
wasn’t great.
But Edward knew this was the feel of raw meat.
“This is…”
Edward looked at the owner in confusion.
The latter said with that face that looked even scarier when smiling,
“Take it and cook it. It’s not a prime cut, but I guarantee it’s fresh.”
“I…”
It was obvious.
His act of lingering at the door had caused the other party to misunderstand.
Edward opened his mouth, wanting to explain himself.
After all, in his previous life, being thought of as having no money in one’s pocket was quite damaging to one’s self-esteem.
However, Edward’s mouth only twitched before he stopped himself.
Was this sympathy?
Pity?
No, it was kindness.
And Edward didn’t want to reject this long-lost kindness.
The hearts of the people in this world seemed to still be warm.
“Next time, I’ll come with money.”
In the end, Edward just bowed to the owner and left with the meat, which was only the size of a palm but felt heavy.
…
As the ancients said: Plans can’t keep up with changes.
Edward, who originally wanted to find a restaurant to eat at, had to turn around and walk toward a general store after getting a piece of high-quality pork tenderloin. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping . com.
Now, the things he needed had actually increased.
Pots, pans, bowls, ladles, firewood, rice, oil, and salt.
And since he was going from being a wild man back to modern living, buying a tent or a sleeping bag would also be excellent.
After all, he remembered that’s how Ash slept in the wild during his travels.
Regrettably, even here in a magical world, there didn’t seem to be a spatial backpack like Brock’s.
Of course, there might be, but they just weren’t accessible to the general public.
…
Clang~ Clang~
Edward arrived at the restaurant that the Master had told him was the best value in Magnolia.
Just as he was about to enter, a familiar white-haired girl suddenly jumped out in front of him.
She provided her own quirky sound effects and struck a playful pose.
Her hands formed a calyx shape to cradle her face, as if saying she was a delicate flower.
Was this meant to be a surprise for Edward?
Or an Astonish?
However, to Lisanna’s disappointment, the emotions visible on Edward’s face weren’t very rich.
Uh…
Lisanna felt a bit awkward.
Edward said speechlessly,
“Why are you here? It couldn’t be…”
“To eat, of course!”
Lisanna was wearing a somewhat plain pink dress.
Fortunately, she was pretty.
“Heh heh.”
Edward would rather believe that Natsu and Gray were on brotherly terms, or that Mirajane and Erza were best friends who shared everything, than believe Lisanna would leave her sister and brother behind to come out and eat alone.
But Edward also realized he had chosen his words poorly.
Lisanna’s tailing—ahem, tracking—ability couldn’t possibly be so good that he hadn’t noticed her at all along the way.
Not to mention he had run quite fast when he left the guild.
“Waiting for the rabbit, huh?!”
Edward said, both impressed and speechless.
Keep in mind, he had obtained a piece of top-tier ingredient.
He had wavered for a long time before deciding to come here first to check things out.
Besides, Lisanna couldn’t possibly understand a Chinese stomach’s pursuit of fine food.
So she really just waited it out.
At the same time, Edward found it a bit strange.
Why is this little girl always pestering me?
Because I’m good-looking?
Hmm!
Very likely!
He remembered he used to receive quite a few love letters when he was a kid.
It was only as his age and weight grew in tandem that the opposite sex around him gradually thinned out until they completely vanished.
“Well, since you’re also here to eat, let’s just go together. Consider it a thank you for the Helping Hand you gave yesterday.”
“Why be so polite? We’re all comrades now; helping each other is only natural.”
Lisanna waved her hand like a little adult.
“Oh, I see. Then I won’t treat you.”
“No way!”
Seeing that this rascal Edward really was just going to bypass her and walk into the shop, Lisanna quickly moved her short little legs and strode in after him.
Ding-ling~
The wind chime hanging on the door swayed, letting out a pleasant, soft ring.