"If it's a routine meeting, Macao would go." Makarov said, "This time it's a gathering initiated by Hayberion among the Ten Wizard Saints..."
"It could be considered a private gathering, but occasionally some necessary information is reported to the Council, so you could also think of it as a small meeting."
Ginanna thought for a moment and asked, "Hayberion? Seems like he's a big shot ranked second among the Ten Wizard Saints?"
"Well... he was second before, but his current ranking... I'm not sure, haha."
Makarov had been slowly catching up on new information these past two days, but hadn't asked about the rankings of the Ten Wizard Saints.
After all, he usually doesn't care about these things, he almost forgot his own rank.
Rhode asked, "Did he mention why they are gathering?"
"This... I forgot to ask. Anyway, we'll know when we get there, hahaha." Makarov laughed carelessly.
"..." As unreliable as ever, Rhode asked, "What's the location?"
"At a mountain resort hotel in the Bosco Kingdom."
"Neighboring country, huh?" Rhode considered the timing. Magnolia isn't far from the border, and now with flying ships available, it should be doable.
"We considered that four of us are in the Fiore Kingdom, so we chose a nearby location. Hayberion usually operates in the more distant Pegrandi Kingdom."
The Pegrandi Kingdom is located in the northeast of the Ishujal Continent, occupying nearly half of it with its size, roughly 20 times that of the Fiore Kingdom.
However, that country implements a federal system, with regions relatively independent, and occasional conflicts.
Although it appears quite intimidating, its outward demeanor is of a rather laid-back nation.
Aside from sometimes mediating wars of nearby small countries, it mostly keeps to itself.
Perhaps due to this laid-back attitude, even with its vast land and population, the number of Mages' Guilds is only about twice that of Fiore.
The headquarters of the Council, ERO, is located in that country.
The countries with the most mages on Ishujal Continent are Pegrandi and the Fiore Kingdom.
One has a huge territory, the other small, yet both favor peace. Ironically, it's the countries with average strength that tend to squabble.
It's quite natural for a Ten Wizard Saints member like Hayberion to be active in that large country.
Rhode had seen a picture of that person, wearing a bow tie and holding a wine glass, initially giving off a gentlemanly vibe.
Upon closer inspection, his pointed ears with a black cloak give a vampire count feel.
Combine that with his 'vampire magic'...
Rhode somewhat suspected whether this person might originate from a Dark Guild.
Such a person choosing the wine-rich Bosco Kingdom as a gathering place seems quite fitting.
Makarov said, "Anyway, get ready. We'll set off tomorrow morning and rent a new high-speed small flying ship."
"Alright." Rhode nodded, glanced at Mira, and asked, "Can we bring family?"
Makarov replied, "A great senior is attending tomorrow, don't cause a fuss."
"Oh, then I'll go prepare." Rhode took Mira's hand and left, "Let's go, time is of the essence."
Taking Mira along wasn't for any nefarious purpose, there was indeed preparation work to do.
First, Rhode's Ten Wizard Saints Cloak needed some adjustments. If there wasn't enough time, they could browse clothing stores for a suitable coat and print the Ten Wizard Saints emblem on it.
Then, there was the matter of buying the wedding rings they had agreed upon yesterday, needed for the wedding and to be worn afterwards.
If time allowed, they also wanted to look at formal wear, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow but seemed to need rescheduling.
Although the latter two tasks were wedding preparations... they were still preparations.
The first place they visited was the tailor shop where they previously ordered a coat for Mira, one of the few stores in Magnolia that retained its original charm.
The original owner had many more wrinkles on his face, but there was a new girl in the shop, seemingly the owner's daughter, currently still an apprentice.
Rhode stated his requirement, but the owner said the shop was overwhelmed with orders and could only start on his in three days at the earliest.
Moreover, they specialized in 'meticulous craftsmanship'. For simple requests like Rhode's, he might as well try a new store.
The two had to switch to another shop and finally found a larger shop east of the church, placing an urgent order that would be ready in two hours.
The freed-up time could be used to visit the jewelry store to look at rings.
Faced with the dazzling array of items in the glass cases, Rhode felt a bit dizzy—yellow circles, white circles, transparent diamonds, and gems of various colors...
He had some admiration for the ring designers; it was impressive how many styles could be created from such a small ring.
Mira, however, was eagerly looking at them one by one, occasionally picking one up to try on.
She seemed to really like these sparkling things.
After a while, as Mira's enthusiasm waned a bit, she said, "Bisca mentioned that when selecting wedding bands, they should be simple rings, as they'll be worn for a long time and need to be comfortable."
...So why did you just try on so many flashy ones?
That certainly was not something he could say.
"Among the ones you tried, did you have any particular favorites?"
Mira showed her left hand: "My favorite is this one."
On her middle finger was a wooden ring, though it had some unique patterns, they paled compared to the store's offerings.
But the joy on her face was unmistakably genuine.
Rhode held her left hand with both of his: "You're surely the best wife in the world."
The two slowly looked through all the rings in the case, eventually choosing a pair of sleek silver rings.
Though called plain bands, they actually had some patterns, and even a tiny magic crystal embedded in them.
The staff mentioned these were new products this year, with a magic that could project stored photos when activated.
They were trying to create a real-time communication ring, but unfortunately, the Communication Magic Crystal couldn't yet be miniaturized to that extent.
Afterwards, they looked at formal wear, picked up the finished coat from the tailor, and had dinner at a floating restaurant before heading home for a rest.
After showering and thinking about the international trip tomorrow, Rhode began drawing a magic array in the room.
When Mira returned from her bath wrapped in a towel, she saw a series of blue light circles of varying sizes rising from the floor to the ceiling.
Each light circle had intricate runes flickering on it.
When Rhode finished the final stroke, the circles began rotating at various speeds, finally all descending onto the floor to combine.
Mira asked curiously, "What magic is this?"
Rhode exhaled gently and answered, "Hex Flying Gate."