Winter is almost over, but tonight, fine snowflakes suddenly started to fall again.
In the dark sky, no stars could be seen, and a bonfire was burning fiercely, occasionally making crackling sounds.
Three ghosts floated around, moving firewood to places untouched by snow, whispering ghostly talk as they worked, as if discussing whether to move the fire pile.
The reason they dared not act on their own was that their boss was sitting in front of the firepile, reading a book, while his wife sat cross-legged on the other side, eyes closed in meditation.
After a long while, Mira's long hair fluttered, and on top of her head, some sparse snow grains were swept up by a small whirlwind and spun around, flying to the sides.
Mira let out a gentle sigh and opened her eyes.
She glanced at the busy ghosts, then at Rhode who was absorbed in his reading. She tiptoed around him, wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, and leaned over to look at the book he was holding.
Rhode's cheek was tickled a bit by her hair, he rubbed against her face and continued reading.
Tiny snow grains dropped onto the pages; most bounced off and rolled away, though occasionally one would melt on the paper, leaving a tiny wet spot.
Rhode, feeling a bit of pity, touched that wet spot with the tip of his finger, relieved it hadn't blurred the words, then reluctantly closed the book, no longer daring to let the pages get snowed on.
"What interesting magic did you find, reading so intently?" Mira helped brush the snow off his head, taking the opportunity to pat his head, "Didn't even notice it's snowing."
"Of course, it's some powerful magic." Rhode put the book into his storage space and laughed, "As soon as it's cast, it'll make the beauties nearby fall for me, want to give it a try?"
Mira snorted: "Go ahead, see if I won't send you to jail!"
Rhode chuckled, saying: "Actually, I saw the 'Eye of the Demon', it seems quite useful."
"Don't learn that, okay?" Mira reached out and covered Rhode's right eye, "You don't have an artificial eye, and an eye patch like the Second looks very ugly."
Rhode caught her mischievous hand: "I didn't say I want to make it like him, just casually researching."
The two chatted a bit about magic and their respective training before washing up, then tumbling into the tent with each other.
The three emotionless ghosts expressed they hadn't heard anything and diligently watched over the fire pile.
As night grew deeper, the inside of the tent also quieted down, the couple whispered to each other.
Although there was no one around in this barren village to eavesdrop, Mira quite enjoyed speaking softly: "How long have we stayed in the village?"
Rhode calculated and said: "About half a month now, I guess."
"Yukino still hasn't come to find us."
"Hmm… Maybe the visit went smoothly."
The two of them purposely stayed in Jasmin Village for half a month, mainly for Mira's sake.
Mira wished that this place where she was born and grew up would hold Rhode's footprints, would leave memories for both of them.
So during these days, they would stroll through the village, go to town to buy things.
They would, like ordinary Hunters, go into the mountains to bring back some lost little animals in ordinary ways.
They would also, like ordinary fishermen, carve ice to catch fish or drill ice while fishing in frozen ponds...
Moreover, Mira had mastered the Second Magic Source earlier, and needed some time to properly train, as well as practice new forms and new magic.
This unnoticed barren village seemed quite suitable for the couple to spar with magic.
Additionally, when leaving the Royal Capital, they had told Yukino that she could come to find them here if needed, so they stayed a few days longer.
Since they had waited so long without any sign, it seemed there wouldn't be a need for help.
Mira suggested: "How about we continue traveling tomorrow?"
"Sure, shall we follow the original plan?"
Mira thought for a moment: "Since it has already been disrupted, I want to slightly change the itinerary."
"Where to?"
"I want to go somewhere a bit warmer, how about the seaside?"
"Good suggestion." Truth be told, Rhode liked swimsuits, and he immediately mentioned a few places he wanted to visit with Mira, "Akane Beach? Harujion Tourist Bay? Or Kao'er Alu Resort?"
Mira smiled mysteriously: "None of them, it's Antilu Leina Mu."
"Sounds a bit familiar." Rhode thought for a while, then softly asked, "Is it that famous tourist city in the South?"
He didn't get a reply, only Mira's even breathing reached his ears.
"..." Women are such liars.
The promised next round ended with her chatting herself to sleep.
Rhode sighed helplessly, covered her shoulders, and closed his eyes to sleep.
Early next morning, Rhode received a little bit of interest.
After that, the two packed their bags, sorted out the fire pile, and walked out side by side.
After stepping out, Mira turned back to look at her dilapidated house for a long while.
Over the days, the two had tidied up the yard quite decently, but now they were about to leave.
Rhode put his arm around her shoulder and suggested again: "Do you want to rebuild the house?"
Mira shook her head: "No need, this is fine."
Rhode said: "Why not come back here when we retire in the future?"
Mira asked: "Not with everyone else?"
"That bunch will undoubtedly still be the same, even when they're old. How could we live a quiet retirement life with them?"
Mira seriously envisioned the scenes of old age and laughed out loud: "True enough."
The two joked around, setting out again on their journey.
Antilu Leina Mu is a seaside tourist city located in the southern part of the Fiore Kingdom, further south than Harujion.
It's not directly south, but rather the southeast.
The people there don't know what cold is; all year round, it's just hot and hotter.
The good news is that the sunshine is splendid there, the beach is beautiful, and the sea water is very clean, highly favored by tourists.
At the same time, the reason why Antilu Leina Mu is so well-known also has a very important factor—the Mages' Guild Mermaid's Heel is situated there.
Rhode suddenly remembered this after renting a car in town and setting off.
The legendary guild that only recruits female mages, what was his wife planning?
Testing the officers?
On the carriage, Mira was holding a newspaper and suddenly said: "Look here."
"Where?" A distracted Rhode glanced out of the carriage.
Mira puffed up her cheeks: "What are you thinking about? Have you already drifted away to 'Dancing Princess of the Sea'?"
"...No way." Rhode's survival instinct kicked in, "Even if there's a real mermaid, no one can surpass my wife."
Mira laughed sweetly, saying: "Alright, I'll definitely let Lucy pass it on to Aquarius."
"..." No worries, Lucy surely wouldn't dare to say it.
Even if she does, it would be Lucy who suffers, as long as Lucy's around, Rhode is innately invincible.
However, Rhode didn't respond further and instead asked: "What do you want me to see? Did our companions relapse again?"
Mira didn't deny: "There are incidents related to them… but I'm more concerned about this."
Rhode glanced at the headline: "Independent Guild—Sin of the Witch?"
Mira nodded: "Yes, witnesses say that it's a guild organized by Ultear, currently there are only two members, but within one week, they've already eradicated six Dark Guilds."
Ultear and Melty, this was the first time Rhode heard of their news since returning from Celestial Wolf Island.