Chapter 554: Moment of Social Death
"Know what?" Lucy blinked, startled.
A tall, handsome man, one of those types who looked like they deserved a punch, appeared beside Gray, hands casually in his pockets. He flashed Lucy a confident grin.
"I’m Gray’s partner."
"Huh? HUH?"
Lucy nearly leapt out of her boots.
When did Loke sneak over?
"Loke?" everyone called out in surprise, except for Wendy, who wasn’t that familiar with him.
"Long time no see, everyone," Loke waved cheerfully, then turned toward a nearby familiar face.
"And Lisanna, I was shocked when I heard the news. It’s a little late to say it, but... welcome back!"
Lisanna smiled sweetly. "Thank you. I was also surprised when I found out you were a Celestial Spirit. Should I call you Leo now?"
Loke chuckled. "Both names are important to me. You can call me whichever you prefer."
Technically, Loke had joined Fairy Tail three years ago, and Lisanna had vanished during the Edolas incident two years ago, so they hadn’t spent much time together.
Mainly because Mira had given Loke a very firm warning back then.
Lucy, still reeling, stared at him.
"Wait, wait a second, why are you Gray’s partner?"
Gray blinked at her. "You didn’t know?"
Lucy shook her head frantically.
Loke scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I had some personal matters to deal with, so I didn’t get the chance to tell you."
He didn’t elaborate on what those "private matters" were. But everyone present, except Wendy, had a pretty good idea.
"This was something I agreed on with Gray last year," Loke explained, smiling again.
"So, Lucy, I’d like to formally request to temporarily terminate our contract during the S-Class Exam."
"Oh, and don’t worry," he added smoothly. "I opened the gate using my own power. It doesn’t consume your magic, and it won’t interfere with you summoning other Celestial Spirits."
"So don’t stress!"
"I’m very stressed!" Lucy grabbed her head in despair.
She had planned to observe the other examinees, gather intel, and stay ahead of the curve. Now her strongest Celestial Spirit had just walked off with Gray.
Still, she couldn’t say no.
The word "agreement" carried weight. If Loke and Gray had promised to team up, she would respect that.
Even if she wanted to scream into her pillow.
Elfman frowned. "But if Loke’s your partner, doesn’t that break the rules?"
"Nope," Gray said. "He never left Fairy Tail."
"I’ve decided to leave Fairy Tail."
Two voices echoed at once.
Everyone froze. Even Loke himself.
All eyes turned toward Rhodes.
He was holding a sheet of paper, and above it hovered a palm-sized holographic projection of Loke, speaking in a solemn tone.
Rhodes looked up at Loke, amused.
"Th-that," Loke, usually calm and composed, was clearly rattled.
What Rhodes held was Loke’s farewell letter. From that time when he had quietly planned to vanish from the guild.
He hadn’t expected it to still exist.
The miniature projection of his younger, dramatic self adjusted his glasses and bowed his head solemnly:
"From this day on, I will no longer be a member of Fairy Tail.Please don’t look for me. I have a destination I must reach.
Goodbye... no, farewell forever."
"Why do you still have that?!" Loke shouted, face turning red.
It was one of the very few black marks on his otherwise dignified life as Leo the Lion.
Rhodes shrugged, completely unfazed.
"I thought it was hilarious. I kept it for research."
"In fact," he added thoughtfully, "I usually study the letters Mira writes me. Yours was just a backup."
’Well, looks like it finally came in handy.’
As Loke’s projection faded away, a flicker of magic danced at Rhodes’ fingertips. With a gentle tap of the paper, the image reappeared once again, melodramatically reciting the farewell letter.
"Give that back to me right now!" Loke lunged at Rhodes.
But Rhodes nimbly sidestepped and tapped the edge of the page, effectively rewinding the projection like a playback bar.
"Goodbye... no, farewell forever."
"Stop playing it!" Loke shouted, diving again.
Rhodes dodged with ease, tapping once more.
"Goodbye... no, farewell forever."
"Goodbye... no, farewell forever."
Again and again, the same heartfelt farewell echoed through the room as Loke sank to the floor in defeat. With each replay, his sense of dignity dropped a little lower until he lay sprawled on the guild floor, wishing he could crawl into a crack and vanish.
There lay Leo the Lion, Fairy Tail’s once-dashing Celestial Spirit, looking pitifully close to tears.
And yet, not a single person moved to help him up.
Not Gray, not Elfman, not even Lucy, who usually had the most sympathy for her spirits. All of them were clutching their sides, struggling to hold back laughter.
’Serves him right. Who told him to disappear on everyone without a word?’
Rhodes finally crouched down and offered the page back. "Alright, alright. No more jokes. You can have it back."
Loke looked up at the circle of grinning faces and, despite his embarrassment, felt oddly touched.
Until Rhodes added with a straight face, "Storage fee: ten thousand Jewels."
"Give me back my dignity!" Loke snapped, snatching the page from Rhodes.
Fully re-energized by rage and shame, he turned with false pride and declared, "Lucy, lend me some money!"
"No way!" Lucy shouted, hands on her hips.
"Come on now," Loke grinned shamelessly. "Even if I’m Gray’s partner, the one I love most will always be you."
He scooped her into a sudden princess carry and began striding dramatically toward the door. "Then how about a long-overdue heart-to-heart?"
"What heart-to-heart? And what do you mean long-overdue? We’ve never had one!" Lucy shouted, flailing.
"Then we can start now," Loke replied with a wink.
Lucy bonked him on the head and wriggled free. She stomped back toward the others, fuming. "Honestly, what kind of Celestial Spirit acts this casual?"
"Nice one, Loke," Macao and Wakaba chimed in with teasing grins, giving him a synchronized thumbs-up from the perfect angle.
"Hey!" Lucy squeaked, clamping down her skirt as her cheeks turned bright red. "That’s too much!"
Rhodes casually looked up at the ceiling. "I didn’t see anything."
"Gr-Gray-sama!" Juvia twisted her fingers shyly. "Juvia... Juvia can also..."
"Huh?" Gray looked at Juvia, either genuinely clueless or pretending not to notice. He gave her a casual pat on the shoulder. "Are you talking about the S-Class Exam? You got selected too, right? I’m kind of looking forward to fighting you."
"Juvia~~~"
The word fighting immediately sent Juvia’s imagination spiraling. Her cheeks flushed bright red, and her whole body quivered like she might melt into a puddle at any moment.
"Rhodes, time to move!" Max called from across the room, waving a job flyer in his hand. It was time to take on a mission to earn some living expenses.
"Coming!" Rhodes called back. Before heading off, he turned to Wendy and whispered, "Keep an ear out and help me figure out who everyone else is partnering with."
Then he left with a wave.
Not long after he was gone, Elfman turned to the group with a serious look. "If any of you run into my si... I mean, if you run into Rhodes... do you have the confidence to take him on?"
Lisanna gave her brother a teasing look. "Wow, Elfman. As soon as you become opponents, you stop calling him brother-in-law?"
Wendy tilted her head, thinking it over. "But... isn’t it fine even if you lose to Rhodes? I mean, there are two promotion slots this year, right?"
Gray shook his head. "No, you’re misunderstanding. It’s not two guaranteed slots. It’s a maximum of two."
Lucy blinked. "Wait, what does that mean exactly?"
Gray explained, "The number of S-Class promotion slots just sets the upper limit. That means even if they say two people can pass, it’s totally possible that no one makes it."
He crossed his arms and looked serious. "If you start thinking of Rhodes as someone to automatically avoid, then you’re already halfway to being eliminated. Whether we like it or not, he’s still someone we can’t afford to overlook."