"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 governnt 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 ntion 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 ho.
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 sa ti, he had found new family.
Rhodes didn't know the details of Natsu's circumstances, but it seed 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 ntioned 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 ho after work, it was still broad daylight.
As he walked, he summoned Warm, giving his unreliable little buddy a good, vigorous rub to relieve so 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 t 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 weigh you first. Next ti, 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 ho.
"Jet, Droy? What's up?"
Rhodes stopped. Honestly, after witnessing their failed confessions earlier, it felt a bit awkward seeing these two now.
Droy stamred, unable to get the words out, but Jet was more direct: "We need to talk to you about Levy!"
"Uh?" Rhodes thought for a mont. "You want 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 ti 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 , 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 so cliché like, "I won't believe you unless you prove it to ," 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 waterlons packing up for the day.
He thickened his skin and brought Warm over, asking the stall owner to weigh it—without actually buying a waterlon.
'Man, why were waterlons so expensive?'
Just wait until I make so good money. Then I'll buy two at a ti—eat one myself, and share the other with the guild.
Rhodes quietly noted down Warm's weight, bought so 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 rmaid Heel, which consisted entirely of female mbers.
Supposedly, the guild was quite popular, and many male mages had tried to apply but were rejected.
So stubborn ones kept coming back every day, pestering them.
They were eventually knocked out by the mbers of rmaid 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 beca an unspoken rule among mages that just because rmaid Heel was full of won, it didn't an they could be underestimated.
And they definitely weren't to be trifled with.
The magazine especially highlighted a talented mage nad Kagura, whose mastery of both swordsmanship and gravity magic made her stand out among her peers in the guild. She was poised to beco a future pillar of rmaid Heel.
The bob haircut and the katana reminded Rhodes of a woman nad Raiden i.
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 rmaid Heel and Kagura, put down his notebook, and began his evening ditation.
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