"It's not that. There are no nobility or royalty in my country.

Being able to spend so many years just studying must have been thanks to things like government policies, social order, and productivity.

Of course, family support is also very important."

Rhodes suddenly fell silent. Except for those first few days after arriving here, he hadn't allowed himself to think about these things, let alone mention them.

The guild master had told Rhodes that if he traveled more in the future, he might find clues about the "spatial magic" that brought him here.

If he couldn't find anything, then the guild would be his home.

Just like Natsu—six years had passed since Natsu's foster father, Igneel, had "disappeared."

Natsu was still searching for any trace of his beloved family, but at the same time, he had found new family.

Rhodes didn't know the details of Natsu's circumstances, but it seemed different from his own.

He himself might never have a chance to go back.

'But that's not necessarily a bad thing. A magical, dreamlike world, full of sights waiting to be seen.'

That's what Rhodes told himself. He then threw himself into work, studying, and training, trying to live a fulfilling life for now and leave those worries behind.

Mira found it hard to imagine what kind of country Rhodes was describing.

A place with good quality of life and social order that allowed even children from ordinary families to continue their education into adulthood.

A place that comfortable without a king or nobles. Was that even possible?

She didn't continue asking, as Rhodes had paused when he mentioned family.

Before she could offer any comfort, Rhodes drained his drink in one go and stood up, saying, "Please take care of Levy. I'm going back to train for a bit."

Mira nodded and simply reminded, "Don't overexert your magic."

…

The days in August were long, and when Rhodes headed home after work, it was still broad daylight.

As he walked, he summoned Warm, giving his unreliable little buddy a good, vigorous rub to relieve some stress.

"Grroo~" Warm made a disgruntled noise, clearly hating the heat and wanting to return to its cooler resting place.

"Hold on, aren't you a bit bigger now?"

"Grroo?" Warm looked up, puzzled.

"I think when I first met you, you were a whole size smaller."

Rhodes hadn't noticed before since they were together every day, but now, having been apart more often lately, he realized that Warm had grown.

"Don't rush off just yet—let me weigh you first. Next time, I'll have a point of reference."

"Ooo~" Warm's tiny horns drooped. It felt like its master was just being vengeful, and weighing it was just an excuse.

"Rhodes!" Two familiar figures were waiting on Rhodes' way home.

"Jet, Droy? What's up?"

Rhodes stopped. Honestly, after witnessing their failed confessions earlier, it felt a bit awkward seeing these two now.

Droy stammered, unable to get the words out, but Jet was more direct: "We need to talk to you about Levy!"

"Uh?" Rhodes thought for a moment. "You want me to keep it secret for you?"

Jet denied it, "No way. We just got rejected; there's nothing embarrassing about that!"

"Actually, keeping it a secret would be best," Droy mumbled, but Rhodes didn't hear, and Jet shot him a glare.

Jet got to the point: "Here's the deal."

Rhodes summarized, "So, you rushed to confess today because I've been spending time with Levy recently, which made you feel threatened?"

Droy added, "And she always looks really happy whenever she's around you."

Of course she's happy. Don't any of these people realize how much fun learning is?

"You guys are overthinking it. Levy is purely enjoying the joy of gaining new knowledge—she genuinely loves anything related to languages."

Droy asked uncertainly, "Really?"

Rhodes replied, "You grew up with her. Don't you know how much she loves studying languages? Especially ancient ones."

Jet looked a bit embarrassed. "Whenever she got into studying that stuff, we were either sleeping or hiding far away."

Rhodes rubbed Warm's little horns, speaking firmly:

"I'm certain that Levy doesn't have those kinds of feelings for me, and I don't have them for her either. She's just not my type."

Jet and Droy looked like they were on the verge of tears, realizing they had made fools of themselves.

"If you need to cry, go ahead. Then think carefully about how to handle your relationships with her. Levy did make her rejection pretty clear."

Rhodes said goodbye to the two unlucky-in-love guys, feeling a sense of relief.

Thank goodness neither of them was the pushy type. Otherwise, he might've faced some cliché like, "I won't believe you unless you prove it to me," or, "Beat us, or you can't go near Levy."

It was so much easier dealing with people who were straightforward and reasonable.

On the way back, Rhodes noticed a small stall selling watermelons packing up for the day.

He thickened his skin and brought Warm over, asking the stall owner to weigh it—without actually buying a watermelon.

'Man, why were watermelons so expensive?'

Just wait until I make some good money. Then I'll buy two at a time—eat one myself, and share the other with the guild.

Rhodes quietly noted down Warm's weight, bought some of its favorite snacks, and let it return to the Howling Abyss to cool off.

…

After work, Rhodes followed his usual routine—physical training, punching the sandbag, then showering, doing the minimal housework, and finally sitting at his desk to organize information from magazines.

The nearly sixty magazines that Laki had lent him were finished by last week, but he hadn't returned them yet.

He had considered making a scrapbook of the interesting clippings, but unfortunately, they weren't his.

Rhodes gritted his teeth—he would definitely return them tomorrow.

He was currently flipping through two weekly magazines from this month that he had bought himself. The price was about the cost of a few beers—still affordable.

This week, Sorcerer Magazine was introducing a mage guild called Mermaid Heel, which consisted entirely of female members.

Supposedly, the guild was quite popular, and many male mages had tried to apply but were rejected.

Some stubborn ones kept coming back every day, pestering them.

They were eventually knocked out by the members of Mermaid Heel, put in a little dress, heavily made up, and left tied up at the guild's entrance for a whole day and night.

After that, it became an unspoken rule among mages that just because Mermaid Heel was full of women, it didn't mean they could be underestimated.

And they definitely weren't to be trifled with.

The magazine especially highlighted a talented mage named Kagura, whose mastery of both swordsmanship and gravity magic made her stand out among her peers in the guild. She was poised to become a future pillar of Mermaid Heel.

The bob haircut and the katana reminded Rhodes of a woman named Raiden Mei.

A past he didn't want to recall—Rhodes figured he had long since outgrown his phase of crushing on 2D characters.

He quietly noted down the information about Mermaid Heel and Kagura, put down his notebook, and began his evening meditation.