"Feel free to explore to your heart's content."

Luna's voice carried casual permission as the group dispersed across the landscape.

The six girls immediately scattered like excited tourists, pointing at various features and chattering about the impossible beauty surrounding them.

"Look at those flowers!" Carmen called out, gesturing toward a patch of blossoms that seemed to glow faintly. "They're actually luminescent!"

"The grass feels different," Nell observed, crouching to run her fingers through the vibrant green blades. "Softer somehow. And there's this... energy to it?"

Dia wandered toward a small stream, watching as the crystal-clear water sparkled with more than just reflected light. "The water here is saturated with mana. I can feel it from here."

"..."

Celis drifted toward a cluster of flowering trees, her gentle smile widening as she examined their properties with obvious familiarity.

Her fingers traced the bark delicately, as if greeting an old friend.

Aurelia remained near Nero, though her golden eyes tracked across the horizon with obvious appreciation.

The divine warrior's usual vigilance had softened slightly, replaced by genuine wonder at the peaceful sanctuary.

"This place is..." she began quietly.

"Safe," Nero finished for her. "Completely isolated from the chaos outside."

She nodded, her expression carrying relief that she rarely showed so openly.

Nero himself walked toward a plateau edge overlooking the sprawling paradise below.

His mind began roughly estimating the size of the land.

'This island spans roughly... 5 square kilometers?'

The assessment came naturally from his enhanced senses and some basic knowledge of estimation.

The island is small by actual territorial standards.

But definitely massive for personal property.

And as for the mana concentration...

*Wooosh...*

He could actually feel it against his skin, a subtle electric sensation that made the air itself seem alive.

Even someone like him who wasn't primarily a mage could sense the dense magical energy saturating everything.

It was like standing in a room where someone had just sprayed perfume, except instead of scent, it was pure power permeating the atmosphere.

"..."

His mind raced with possibilities as he surveyed the perfect natural paradise stretched before him.

'... This is a completely isolated sanctuary. No interference from outside forces. No prying eyes. Perfect for...'

Establishing a proper base.

Creating something permanent rather than constantly moving from place to place.

And not to mention, a training ground for his growing collection of summons.

A fortress that couldn't be found, let alone breached.

Nero could already imagine it.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Luna's voice came from beside him, the petite high elf having approached silently.

Her differently colored eyes gleamed with obvious pride as she gestured broadly at her domain.

"The island exists in dimensional space parallel to normal reality," she explained with academic enthusiasm that made her seem almost childlike despite her centuries of experience.

"Accessible only through portals I personally control and calibrate. Unauthorized entry is essentially impossible without my explicit permission or someone breaking through dimensional barriers that would require SSR-tier spatial magic to even attempt."

She continued, clearly enjoying showing off her work.

"The defensive barriers generate naturally from the dimensional displacement itself. Anyone trying to force their way in would face resistance equivalent to swimming through solid stone. And the soil..."

Her expression shifted to something almost reverent, the kind of look researchers got when discussing their favorite discoveries.

"The magical concentration is so rich that even mundane plants develop supernatural properties after a few growth cycles. I've documented seventeen separate instances of common herbs spontaneously developing alchemical potency that would normally require years of careful cultivation and enhancement rituals."

"What about time?" Nero asked, his strategic mind already thinking of training schedules and long-term planning. "Does it flow differently here?"

"Synchronized perfectly with the outside world," Luna confirmed with a hint of smugness at her own technical achievement.

"Some pocket dimensions experience temporal distortion, accelerated or decelerated flows that cause complications. But I specifically calibrated this space to match external progression down to the millisecond. No worrying about spending a day here and finding weeks have passed outside, or vice versa."

"..."

Nero nodded slowly, his respect for Luna's abilities were growing.

Creating and maintaining a space like this required incredible magical knowledge and power.

The theoretical understanding alone would be beyond most people.

Actually implementing it at this scale and stability?

That put Luna in a category of genius that lived up to her title as Great Sage.

The convenience alone was staggering for their purposes.

***

After sufficient exploration where everyone gathered their thoughts about the paradise, the group naturally gravitated back toward the villa.

Frila and Isabell were still chattering excitedly about the various magical phenomena they'd observed.

Zara had collected samples of interesting plants, handling them with her characteristic careful precision.

The structure grew more impressive as they approached.

Three stories of elegant architecture that somehow felt both grand and welcoming.

Natural materials like wood, stone, and crystal blended seamlessly with obvious magical enhancements that reinforced the structure beyond mundane limitations.

Perfectly maintained gardens surrounded the building, showing varieties of plants that definitely hadn't existed on pre-merger Earth.

Clean pathways led to a main entrance that opened smoothly at Luna's gesture, the doors responding to her presence without any visible mechanism.

The interior...

"..."

Nero blinked in surprise.

He had expected something like a wizard's tower interior.

… Cluttered workspace, magical equipment everywhere, organized chaos of an obsessed researcher who prioritized function over form.

Papers scattered across surfaces, half-finished experiments taking up valuable living space, the kind of mess that came from someone who lived in their work.

But instead, the space looked almost... homey?

Modern convenience blended with clean aesthetic in ways that suggested actual interior design consideration.

A comfortable living room with plush furniture arranged for conversation rather than just function.

Soft cushions, tasteful decorations, even what looked like landscape paintings on the walls.

Kitchen visible through an archway, equipped with both mundane cookware and what appeared to be magical enhancement tools, all organized with meticulous care.

Everything is spotlessly clean, organized, and genuinely pleasant.

It looked like a place someone actually lived in rather than just conducting a full-time research 24/7…

"..."

Luna's piercing deadpan stare made him pause mid-observation.

Those heterochromic eyes narrowed with obvious suspicion.

"You just thought of something rude, didn't you?"

The accusation came with such certainty that Nero couldn't even deny it convincingly.

'As expected of a genius. What a terrifying intuition.'

He wryly thought.

"Well… I expected it to be more... laboratory-like?" he admitted boldly, meeting her gaze without flinching. "Considering your personality and all. You know, the whole 'obsessed researcher' vibe you give off."

"How rude."

Luna crossed her arms, her expression shifting to offended dignity that would have been more intimidating if she wasn't so… vertically challenged.

"I am an elegant lady who knows how to separate research work and personal life, thank you very much. I enjoy luxurious but also relaxing things. One of the reasons I settled on this island was specifically to have a purely peaceful, elegant place where only I can live without disturbance from lesser minds."

She gestured at the well-appointed interior with obvious pride, her chin lifting slightly.

"The villa represents my refined tastes and appreciation for comfort… Just because I dedicate myself to magical research doesn't mean I live like some uncivilized hermit in a cave surrounded by test tubes and failed experiments."

'... Yeah, I doubt that.'

Nero's internal skepticism was immediate and powerful.

Her being able to separate personal and research work sounded questionable at best.

He would bet his whole money that her laboratory upstairs was exactly the chaotic mess he'd imagined.

"... You thought of something rude again, didn't you?"

Luna's eyes narrowed further, her intuition apparently razor-sharp.

"No."

The blunt denial came without hesitation, his expression completely neutral.

'She's really sharp too.'

Reading people that accurately without any visible tells was genuinely impressive.

***

The group explored the villa systematically, moving from room to room as Luna provided commentary.

The first floor held the living room, kitchen, and a bathroom with fixtures that looked more advanced than anything from pre-merger Earth.

"The water heating is maintained through runic arrays embedded in the plumbing," Luna explained with obvious pride in her work.

"Much more efficient than conventional heating elements. Perfect temperature every time, never runs out, and the mana consumption is negligible."

She demonstrated by turning on a faucet, steam rising immediately from perfectly heated water.

The second floor contained visitor bedrooms with multiple rooms and comfortable furnishings, a recreational area with books and games that suggested Luna occasionally entertained herself with non-research activities, and what looked like a small library filled with texts on various subjects.

"Everyone will be staying on this level," Luna announced, gesturing broadly at the accommodations.

"The rooms should be more than adequate for your needs. If you require additional space or specific amenities, I can adjust the spatial dimensions accordingly."

"This is way better than the inn," Carmen observed, testing one of the beds. "These mattresses are incredible."

"Only the best materials," Luna replied with a hint of smugness. "I'm a prestigious researcher, not some ascetic who sleeps on stone floors and eats gruel."

When they reached the third floor, however...

"This level is restricted."

Luna's tone shifted to something more serious and cold.

"Why?" Dia asked curiously, her hand reaching toward the door.

"My laboratory and personal bedroom are situated here," the high elf explained bluntly, her expression stern. "There are times I handle dangerous research. Volatile experiments. Materials that could be hazardous for all of you without proper training or magical resistance."

She fixed each of them with a look that promised unpleasant consequences.

"Unstable transmutation reactions. Dimensional rifts that could tear someone apart. Alchemical compounds that would melt your organs if you breathed them… Do not enter without my explicit permission. The consequences could be severe and I won't be responsible for your stupidity if you ignore this warning."

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