Mira pushed open the door, toweling the water from her hair. "I'm done washing."
"Mm." Rhodes responded absently, eyes still glued to the book in his hands.
Mira paused mid-step. That wasn't his usual reaction at all.
Her thoughts wandered. 'Could it be… the legendary seven-year itch?'
They hadn't officially held a wedding yet, but it had been seven years since they'd first gotten together. Counting the time, the numbers matched perfectly.
As the idea flickered through her mind, she couldn't help but chuckle at herself. 'No way. That's ridiculous.'
She leaned over beside him, deliberately brushing her damp hair across his cheek.
"Mmm."
Rhodes laughed and dodged, scooping her up onto his lap in the same motion. With one hand, he pressed down the book on the table, and with the other, steadied the sphere still wrapped in Mira's towel.
Mira settled easily, continuing to pat down her hair, but her eyes couldn't resist sneaking a glance at the book. "What are you reading so seriously?"
Rhodes deadpanned, "It's a manual for an unrivaled martial art. Master it, and you can open your meridians and become an invincible sage among ten thousand."
Mira gave him a playful kick on the shin with her heel. "Speak in human terms."
"The gist is the same," he teased, then pointed to the section of text. "It's the latest research in the magic world this year, the Second Magic Origin."
"The Second Magic Origin?" Mira repeated curiously.
"Think of a magician's body as a container for magic power," Rhodes explained. "That container determines our limit. But within it, a lot of space usually goes unused. That unused potential is what scholars call the Second Magic Origin. If we can tap into it, it's like opening a whole new container inside ourselves. Our magic capacity skyrockets."
Mira's eyes lit up. She shifted slightly in his lap. "So… to solve my ridiculous magic consumption problem, the best short-term fix would be to open the Second Magic Origin?"
"Exactly. Compared to the 'First Origin,' which we've all trained to some extent, the untouched Second Origin grows rapidly once unlocked. You'd see a sharp improvement for a while."
Mira slapped his arm with a little laugh. "Stop messing around, I'm trying to be serious."
"Who told you to wiggle around like that?" Rhodes grumbled, adjusting her more firmly against him before continuing. "Anyway, the research wasn't just theory. They published the method right alongside the findings, and plenty of mages have already verified it."
Mira's smile brightened. "Then everyone can catch up with this era quickly. Hmm… wait. You haven't already opened it, have you?"
"Maybe. And it's not just me," Rhodes said with a shrug. "The Master, Gildarts, Laxus, even you and Erza, our Second Origins may have awakened naturally during our battles. We just haven't trained them consciously yet. There's still plenty of room to grow."
"Does it say how to check?" Mira leaned forward to flip the pages herself. The towel around her shoulders loosened dangerously.
Rhodes' patience finally snapped. He swept her up in both arms and tossed her lightly onto the bed. "No need to overthink it. I'll help you check."
"Ah...!"
After a rigorous, complex, thorough, and comprehensive "examination," the two finally embraced and whispered a few mushy words. Mira's cheeks were still pink when she gave Rhodes a playful punch in the chest.
"What did you find out, Doctor Rhodes?" she asked in mock exasperation.
Rhodes held her close with exaggerated seriousness. "It's highly likely your Second Origin is already open. But for something this important, I think we'll need to… re-examine carefully to be sure."
"You're impossible!" Mira pushed against his shoulders in pretend rejection, but she quickly slipped back into his arms, pressing her face against his chest. "Later," she murmured.
Rhodes stroked her soft hair, smiling to himself. "Alright. But I can't be left waiting for nothing."
Her muffled voice came from his embrace. "Then… what else do you want?"
He leaned close to her ear. "Can you transform into that tail from earlier today?"
The next morning, "Professor Rhodes" opened his lecture hall right at home.
He explained the concept of the Second Magic Origin to Elfman and Lisanna, then handed them reference books and reminded them to study diligently. He and Mira had already decided to bring their siblings along once they officially began training.
Later at the guild, Rhodes summarized the key points onto a notice and pinned it to the bulletin board. Most of Fairy Tail's members, who rarely touched books or newspapers, hadn't even heard of the Second Origin.
Levy was the second person to spot the unusual posting. "The Second Magic Origin, oh, I read about this yesterday! I was planning to ask you about it."
"What's that?" Nab asked, staring blankly at the board. As expected, he didn't understand a thing, so Levy began explaining.
Rhodes eyed Nab's round belly with disapproval. "I'm asking seriously, have you guys really trained properly these past six years?"
"Of course I have!" Nab answered, a little too quickly. His guilty look made it obvious his "training" hadn't been all that diligent.
"In short," Rhodes said firmly, "anyone who wants to increase their magic power quickly should look into this carefully. Study it, and if you run into problems, ask me."
And if questions still couldn't be answered, Rhodes thought, he had enough connections now to swallow his pride and invite a Wizard Saint to guide them.
The topic stirred a small discussion throughout the guild. Just as Rhodes suspected, hardly anyone had been paying attention to recent magic world discoveries.
When asked why, they replied with puffed-up righteousness that even if they did read newspapers and magazines, they only looked for Rhodes' news. How could they care about anything else?
Rhodes was left speechless.
All he could do was accept their "loyalty", and plan to "take care" of them more thoroughly during training.
But for now, the Second Origin was set aside.
Because today, something else was even more important.
Though the agreed-upon time hadn't yet arrived, Yukino had already come to Fairy Tail early.
Rhodes went to greet her with a warm smile. "Good morning, Yukino. Did you rest well?"
Expressionless as always, Yukino gave a polite bow. "Good morning. The hotel recommended by Saint Rhodes had an excellent environment."
Mira still found Yukino's gentle demeanor charming. With her usual hospitality, she beamed. "Have you had breakfast? Our guild makes some of the best morning dishes, you must try them."
Yukino hesitated, but at Mira's warm smile, she softly nodded. "Thank you, Lady Mirajane."
After breakfast, Rhodes asked a few curious questions about Sabertooth, which Yukino answered carefully. When the time felt right, she stood, raised her hand, and drew out a shining key.
"Open-Gate of Libra!"
...
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