Rhode casually dealt with this nameless small group and continued on his journey; the battle process was trivial.
Now, not far from the Royal Capital, leaving people here would naturally lead to a law enforcement team picking them up.
The couple is now heading to Kerland Town in the eastern part of the Gioa Kingdom.
The King has entrusted the newly appointed Count Rhode with this town and several surrounding villages, as well as the associated farmland, forests, etc.
The total area is approximately 150 square kilometers, or 225,000 acres, equivalent to half of the Maldives.
Since the eastern side borders Saphire Lake, the water resources here are abundant, the land is very fertile, and freshwater fisheries can be developed.
As Constanton mentioned, this is the best place outside the Royal Capital.
So here's the question, why are there no bandits near such a good place?
When Rhode finally arrived at this town, he got the answer.
Saphire Lake is the largest freshwater lake on the Ishujal Continent, located at the center of the continent, known as the 'Blue Gem in the Palm.'
Besides bordering the Gioa Kingdom, it also shares borders with three other countries.
The Gioa Kingdom's borders are surrounded by mountains, except for the area that is adjacent to Snake Grass Bay on the west; only Saphire Lake here provides convenient transportation.
Therefore, merchants from three countries have preferred to take this water route into the Gioa Kingdom since ancient times.
These merchants usually bring strong escorts, where general bandit groups find it unappealing to attack.
Moreover, as a critical border area, even those unruly nobles aren't foolish enough to mess around here, so the local military forces are quite reliable.
The Gioa Kingdom has a rather long 'lake shoreline,' and the boundary of Rhode's territory occupies only a negligible small segment.
Nonetheless, bandit groups are still unwilling to operate near this area. Because some merchant escorts are too proactive, they often initiate bandit hunts.
Rhode and Mira, posing as travelers, toured this fairly prosperous town.
Because Rhode's assent was sought today, the estate belonging to the Count has yet to become widely known.
However, some people recognized the Ten Wizard Saints and the retired Fiore's First Beauty Mage.
Reputation is quite useful; it made their inquiries much easier.
Mira's enthusiastic fans were eager to share knowledge without withholding anything.
Back when Mira was a model, she had mostly male fans; but after marrying, over this month, the number of female fans significantly increased.
Perhaps it's because she married the youngest, most promising, and handsomest among the Ten Wizard Saints.
Many girls regard her as the epitome of success.
In fact, Rhode himself didn't know that during those days when he just 'resurrected' and frequently appeared in newspapers, he already had many admirers.
After all, the engagement took place six or seven years ago, when these young girls were still children and couldn't remember.
But unfortunately, he quickly went from resurrection to marriage, leaving these girls with broken dreams before they could take any action.
Subsequently, many of them 'defected' to Mira's fan camp.
"Miss Mira, where did you buy your wedding dress? I saw it in the newspaper and thought it was so beautiful!" After answering a string of questions, the fan lady finally asked the question she wanted.
"That one…" Mira told her the name of the bridal shop, then curiously asked, "Can Fiore Kingdom newspapers be seen here?"
"Because it's a neutral country and a major magic nation, with a magic technology reform initiative, many people are watching Fiore Kingdom."
The fan lady enthusiastically pointed the way, "Look, that bookstore over there specifically helps townspeople subscribe to Fiore's newspapers."
"So that's it…" Mira casually chatted while asking about many things in town.
Too bad she wasn't much concerned about bandits, nobles, and such matters, so she couldn't provide information on these topics.
Thus, Rhode went to the small bookstore, pretending to choose books and newspapers, listening to the several people outside reading the newspaper and 'debating politics.'
After feeling he had overheard enough, he casually bought two newspapers and left.
The two of them visited for half a day, confirming that this town was indeed a good place.
Moreover, the king's words were verified to some extent; at least, the surface situation was exactly as he said.
To understand more, they needed to visit other places.
So they planned tomorrow's itinerary, intending to visit several places frequently raided by bandit groups.
Rhode opened the Hex Flying Gate, held Mira's hand, and in seconds returned to the room where the array had been placed beforehand.
Mira laughed, "I find this magic increasingly convenient."
"Right?" Rhode tossed the newspaper onto the table, just about to dive into a 'what to eat tonight' kind of high-end topic, when a headline caught his attention, "A prison break at the Advisory Council?"
Mira exclaimed, "How could that happen?"
Rhode unfolded the newspaper, meticulously reading its content.
It was speculated to have happened the day before yesterday, when six major criminals from the Advisory Council's main prison suddenly disappeared.
What's absurd is that it was noticed that the prisoners went missing only yesterday.
The prison's gate hadn't been opened these past two days, the keys weren't lost, and all the walls remained intact.
If it weren't for the disappearance of six major criminals, they wouldn't have even known the prison was invaded.
Initially, it was deemed an escape.
The warden suspected that Jellal, together with the original Oracion Seis members, orchestrated the escape.
Although the prisoners all wore Demon Sealing Stones, the warden believed Jellal and the others were capable of such a feat.
However, later the trace examination department came to investigate, concluding it was an external prison break.
The person used a rare form of Time Magic, first quietly circumventing the guards' notice to destroy the wall, then perfectly restoring the wall when leaving with the prisoners.
The mage capable of such feats, the Council first considered Ultear, a former council evaluator just like Jellal.
Back in the day, these two were a team, and Ultear had ample motive.
Moreover, she was very familiar with the Advisory Council, even if the newly reformed Advisory Council had changed significantly over the years, places like the prison hardly needed alteration.
Although the guards got some formidable weapons and the defense capability of the architecture was reinforced with excellent materials.
But… even the toughest materials are meaningless against Ultear's magic.
The Council was furious, launching a massive hunt and issuing a warrant, yet still with no result.
Mira couldn't fathom, "Wasn't Sin of the Witch not wanting to become a Dark Guild? Why break into the prison?"
"Taking Jellal away is probably because Ultear believed Jellal was being manipulated by her, and his crimes were her fault…"
Rhode didn't want to comment on whether this rationale is correct; he merely recalled her saying similar words, so she indeed had motive.
But…
Rhode couldn't understand: "Why did she take the Oracion Seis?"
The only connection Ultear had with the Oracion Seis was that they were both misled by the same mastermind; was it perhaps a case of shared misfortune?
"Perhaps when dealing with Dark Guilds, she and Melty felt their power was insufficient?" Mira tried to think from Ultear's perspective, "The Oracion Seis were misled onto the wrong path like her, maybe she also hopes for these people to achieve redemption…"
If one were to think optimistically, that's probably the case.
However, Rhode thought of someone: "What about Yukino? Will she see her sister again?"