Rhode went to the Royal Palace again, and came out as a Duke.
The King said it was to thank him for quelling the nation's bandit problem single-handedly.
Rhode emphasized it was two people.
But the King replied, "It's all the same. Anyway, you've been promoted to Duke, and Mirajane will become Duchess. Are you planning to divorce?"
How could that be possible?
Rhode reluctantly accepted.
"So that's it, I've taken all the credit for your achievements, and overshadowed your brilliance."
"It doesn't matter, the King was right." Mira rolled her eyes at Rhode, "My accomplishments are actually your achievements—do you think I changed my last name for fun?"
Rhode looked at Mira; although the answer should be no, he knew his wife well enough to know she might do such a thing just for fun.
A demonic claw rested on Rhode's shoulder, "Or are you really considering the possibility of divorce?"
"I swear, even if Natsu falls in love with vehicles, Gray quits his stripping habit, Kana stops drinking, Lucy no longer hands out benefits, Elfman stops mentioning manliness..."
Rhode raised three fingers, rattling off a long list of companions' names, though he kindly skipped Wendy, only mentioning the others, "Even if all those things happen, I, Rhode, will never divorce Mirajane."
Mira gave him a peck on the cheek; there really was no stronger vow than that.
The two took some time to tour their fief. The Earl's Mansion—now to be called the Duke's Mansion—had only just taken shape after a month and would still need some time to be completed.
The fief had expanded in size, reportedly reaching the historical limit for noble territories in the Gioa Kingdom.
This month, Kerland Town was supposed to pay taxes, but it was directly included in the construction funds.
So Rhode didn't really feel anything about gaining an extra piece of land.
Only while strolling through the town, people respectfully called him 'Earl.'
The residents were still on the Earl's version, as the Duke's investiture document would arrive in two days.
Rhode found a concealed place to leave a Magic Array for a Hex Flying Gate, and then he and Mira went to sail on Saphire Lake.
They planned to visit the neighboring Belrum Kingdom.
Rhode remembered that during the Ten Wizard Saints meeting last time, Hayberion mentioned that the seventh of the Ten Wizard Saints, Rentao O, was killed while dealing with a water monster in Belrum Kingdom.
That 'water monster' appeared by the Saphire Lake and was suspected to be related to the Gate of the Underworld.
Rhode hadn't found any useful clues in the Gioa Kingdom, so it was convenient to check out Belrum Kingdom and investigate Saphire Lake as well.
Unfortunately, even after sending river crabs to search the lake for a day and using two jokes to summon the Marine Sub-Dragon to work for two days, they still hadn't found much.
Before leaving, the Marine Sub-Dragon said, "By the way, Purgatory has been complaining about you lately."
"Huh? Why?" Rhode asked, "I haven't had him fight any boring opponents recently."
"True, but you also haven't let him fight at all."
"...That's also true because there hasn't been anyone worth his time lately."
The last time he was called out was to briefly restrain an enemy while dealing with Raven's Tail.
Recently subduing those bandit gangs, calling out the Purgatory Sub-Dragon to set fire to the mountains wasn't necessary, was it?
"It's not just that; he said he hasn't had any dragonlings to play with for a long time, very boring."
"Aren't your time perceptions different from mine? A few months feels long?"
"It feels long when we're not sleeping." The Marine Sub-Dragon suddenly burst into laughter,
"Hahaha, sleeping makes long time short, that's why we master Time Magic! Hahaha!"
"Hehe..." Mira laughed softly, finding the Marine Sub-Dragon amusing.
"..." Rhode realized this joke from the Marine Sub-Dragon was rather philosophical, "Then go tell him we're heading back to the Guild soon, and Natsu and Gajeel will come over to get beaten... I mean, to play."
The Marine Sub-Dragon left immediately, eager to laugh for two days before talking to the Purgatory Sub-Dragon about the new joke.
"Huh? Isn't this the famous 'Demon Couple'?" A magnetic male voice came over, "You guys came to Belrum too?"
Mira recognized the person and said in surprise, "Mr. Hayberion?"
"You, a Vampire, actually call others demons." Rhode was more casual in his speech than last time they met, introducing with an arm around Mira, "My wife, Mirajane."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Demon Mira." Hayberion greeted politely, "Sorry I couldn't attend your wedding due to urgent business."
"Never mind, it was a long way after all, and you're so busy." Rhode said, "You came here for..."
"Because I received your letter recently, and I happened to have just completed a commission in Belrum Kingdom yesterday, so I thought of Rentao's incident nearby and came to have a look."
Hayberion, like performing a magic trick, pulled out a wine glass and a bottle of red wine, elegantly poured himself a glass of milk, and swirled it.
Mira had heard of the Ten Wizard Saints' hobby from Rhode, yet witnessing it herself was still a bit novel.
Hayberion noticed her gaze and extended the glass, asking, "Care for a drink?"
"No need, thank you."
Rhode had already talked to her about not drinking random things from others when out and about.
Hayberion looked at Rhode, "How's your investigation going lately?"
"Not well, that guy left no trace after his self-destruction. It's like he was just here to kill someone." Rhode said helplessly, "Nothing unusual in the lake, there were big fish, but no water monster."
"Is this where Mr. Rentao met his end?" Mira looked around, "It doesn't seem like a major battle happened."
"That's because it's been over two years, of course there's nothing left." Hayberion replied, "There used to be some residual toxins here, but for the safety of the water supply, it was cleaned long ago."
"Toxins?"
"Yes, though it's not that Demon Barrier Particles you mention, it analyzed to be a certain highly penetrating liquid toxin."
Does the Gate of the Underworld really like using poison?
Rhode and Hayberion chatted for a while and took a stroll around the lake, when suddenly Hayberion said, "By the way, do you remember Brellins?"
After some thought, Rhode said, "The President of the Rays of the Rising Sun?"
Hayberion nodded, "He'll probably fill the vacancy in the Ten Wizard Saints next month, ranking just after you, the eighth of the Ten Saints."
Rhode asked, "Didn't that old man Uluvheim say he was going to cause him trouble? What happened?"
"Uluvheim personally observed his strength evaluation, and then challenged him to a fight, which seemed to acknowledge his strength." Hayberion shook his head, "But doing such a crude thing in front of the Council is indeed lacking in dignity."