Ron didn't bother with fire or wind magic.
His Natural Meditation Technique specialized in the water and earth elements, so he saw no need to waste time or energy studying the other two.
After confirming that his affinity for fire and wind magic was mediocre at best, he fully committed to practicing the Dewdrop Spell and Earth-Tilling Spell.
By the time the last class ended in the afternoon, Mason had already seen off the students in his class. He then found Ron, and the two of them headed to Harper's lab together.
It was nearly dinnertime, and they planned to grab some grilled skewers at Lyle's BBQ joint as a group.
As usual, Harper had been cooped up in his lab all day, researching explosive potions and various new fire-element blast spells.
As for the meditation potion research, that had been taken over by Professor Hicks, who, along with a few assistants and lab techs (Edith among them), continued the study.
Thanks to the early success of the meditation potion, Harper had secured a generous amount of research funding—enough to sustain his work for quite a while.
Just as the three of them reached the lab door, a small explosion rang out from inside, followed by the scent of burning chemicals.
Edith pushed the door open, and Ron and Mason followed her in.
Inside, Harper was sweeping shards into a trash can, shaking his head and muttering, "Flamingo feathers really are too volatile… Pairing them with Stardust Meteorite fragments makes them impossible to control."
Hearing his muttering, Edith rolled her eyes. She said sharply, "And whose fault is that for refusing to add a stabilizing agent? When the potion explodes, who are you gonna blame?"
"Ah, Edith, that's where you don't get it." Harper gave her a patronizing look. "Any blast potion with stabilizer in it is just fake! A real explosive potion doesn't need training wheels. Add a stabilizer, and it's nothing more than a sparkly prop for clowns!"
Mason saw Edith ready to fire back and quickly jumped in. "Alright, alright, let's not get into it. It's almost dinner time—let's hit the BBQ place!"
Edith let out a snort and walked out of the lab. Harper, with no shame whatsoever, immediately followed her, plastering on a smile and tossing out corny jokes.
Other than being incredibly stubborn when it came to his research, Harper had no concept of dignity—especially when it came to flirting with women.
Ron and Mason were already used to the way those two bickered, so they just chuckled and followed along.
They made their way to the Ruby District on Aikley Street.
From a distance, Ron spotted Nora standing at the entrance of Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop, having just seen off a customer.
"Hey, the shop has a new employee? I don't remember seeing her before," Mason asked curiously.
"Yeah, just hired her today," Ron replied with a nod, walking toward the storefront.
Nora spotted Ron and didn't immediately return inside. She stood gracefully at the entrance, a small smile on her face. "Good evening, Manager!"
"I'm heading next door to grab BBQ with some friends. I'll bring you something back, alright? I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on the store," Ron said.
"Okay, thank you, Manager!" Nora nodded eagerly. At the mention of BBQ, she practically started drooling.
Just then, Harper suddenly stepped forward with a red rose in his mouth—where he got it, no one knew—and made an exaggerated gentleman's bow. "My lovely lady, may I have the honor of your company for dinner?"
Nora instinctively raised her hand to guard herself and took two steps back, looking a bit awkward. She glanced at Harper—who was shorter than her—and then turned to Ron with hesitation. "...Manager?"
Ron could only shake his head, caught between laughter and disbelief. Edith, without a word, stepped forward and grabbed Harper by the ear, dragging him away as he yelped, "Ow ow ow—!"
"Enough nonsense," Edith scolded, rolling her eyes and pulling him into the BBQ joint.
Mason gave a wry chuckle and said to Nora, "Don't mind him. That guy reacts like this every time he sees a pretty girl. Just ignore him."
"Thank you," Nora nodded.
Mason waved it off and headed inside.
Ron smiled and pointed briefly at Nora's left hand, but didn't say anything, then followed the others in.
Nora, a little embarrassed, adjusted her sleeve and slipped the dagger hidden in her left palm back up her sleeve before returning inside to watch the shop.
Carrying a concealed weapon and instantly entering a defensive stance at the first sign of danger—those were habits Nora had developed from years of surviving on the streets. It wasn't something she could change overnight.
Ron had actually been thinking about inviting Nora to join them for dinner, but since she didn't really know Edith or the others, he decided against it.
On one side was a girl who'd grown up a drifting orphan, and on the other were mages from a prestigious institution like the Chaos City Magic Academy. It was hard to imagine they'd have much in common.
Forcing them together would just make everyone uncomfortable.
"That girl's pretty cute. Tell me, Prince Ron, did you personally recruit her?" Mason teased, now familiar enough with Ron to joke around.
"Don't be ridiculous, she's only sixteen," Ron replied with a laugh. "She's just a shop assistant, not a bride candidate."
"Sixteen's already an adult, isn't it?" Harper chimed in with a sleazy grin. "Sounds like the start of a steamy workplace romance—boss and employee?"
Ron slapped him on the back of the neck and sat down at the table. "What's wrong with you guys? Let's just play cards!"
Edith and the others also sat down. As they waited for the BBQ, they played cards and chatted casually, leaving the previous topic behind.
Ron, however, couldn't help feeling a bit wistful.
His worldview was still shaped by the values of his original world. Sixteen, in his mind, was still just a school-age kid.
But in this world, fourteen was already considered adulthood—many had to start working to support their families by then.
By sixteen, most were already married. In that sense, Nora really was at a typical marrying age.
Give it another couple of years, and she'd probably be considered a "leftover woman" in the eyes of society.
With that thought, Ron couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
By that logic, as an eighteen-year-old prince, he was already a "leftover man," wasn't he?
But that wasn't quite the same.
At least in the royal family, adulthood didn't officially begin until eighteen.
Ordinary families didn't have the money or awareness to invest in their kids' education. As soon as a child was strong enough, they were sent out to work, which was why fourteen had become the default age of adulthood.
But noble families were different.
They understood the importance of education, and their financial stability allowed them to keep their children in school longer. Still, it wasn't uncommon for them to arrange engagements by sixteen, and once the children came of age, they'd marry.
And just thinking about it made Ron suddenly panic.
He was already this age… What if someone had already arranged a fiancée for him?