Libra, whom they had met before, appeared once more before the group, balancing two small trays in her hands.
The veil on her face bore a faint mark, as though it had been stained with water or oil. On one tray sat a wine glass, on the other a piece of roasted meat.
Libra swayed gently, yet the trays remained perfectly balanced.
Yukino didn't notice at first, and immediately asked, "How is it?"
Libra replied calmly, "Found him."
"?"
Yukino blinked in confusion. 'Found him? Did she mean she had found Leo of Leo?'
Libra continued, "The message has also been delivered. Leo said to let me stay and join the banquet too."
Everyone stared at the trays. So that was the use of Libra's scales, to carry food and drinks?
No, that wasn't the point. Rhodes frowned. "A banquet?"
Could Loke really still be throwing banquets while Lucy was missing? Did they run into some sort of fake?
Libra clarified, "It is a banquet hosted by the Celestial Spirit King, for Lucy Heartfilia and her friends, celebrating the safe return of an 'old friend.'"
"…"
Rhodes slowly set his teacup down. The porcelain groaned under his grip, cracks spreading across its surface.
Of course. With the time difference between the Celestial Spirit Realm and the Human World… he'd already guessed what had happened.
Sure enough, Libra said next, "That is to say, the missing person you were searching for has in fact been attending a banquet, celebrating merrily in the Spirit Realm."
Crack!
The teacup in Rhodes' hand split apart.
Good. Very good.
So while everyone here had been running around for days, cutting their pay to help with extra missions, searching high and low, even getting threatened with fake 'hostages', Lucy and the others had been partying at a banquet.
Perfect.
Rhodes was not angry at all.
Neither were the others.
They chuckled. But the faint black aura curling from their bodies told a very different story.
A bead of sweat rolled down Yukino's temple. Her instincts screamed at her to retreat, but her pride as Sabertooth's Star Spirit Mage forced her to stand tall.
Fairy Tail… truly terrifying.
...
Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, Happy, Carla, and Warm suddenly reappeared in the same room they had left a week ago.
As Rhodes had instructed, no one had touched their luggage. Even the hole in the floor hadn't been repaired.
The returnees looked around in a daze.
Wendy whispered, still in disbelief, "A week… just like that?"
"They're lying!" Natsu leapt to his feet, furious. "That Celestial Spirit tricked us! We were only there for two hours at most!"
Gray rubbed his temple. "But Loke and that old bearded guy both said one day in the Spirit Realm equals three months in the Human World. Two hours… yeah, that's a little over a week."
Lucy clenched her fist and turned furiously on Virgo. "Why didn't you tell us beforehand?!"
"I forgot," Virgo said without hesitation. Then she produced a washboard from under her skirt, knelt on it, and even placed three bricks on her legs. "Princess, please punish me."
"What good is punishment?! Give me back my time!" Lucy wailed.
Virgo nodded solemnly. "Then please punish me even harsher."
Lucy nearly burst into tears.
It had all started when Virgo suddenly appeared out of the ground, declaring that the Spirit Realm was in crisis and begging for their help.
But when they arrived, they discovered it was nothing more than a banquet prepared by the Spirit King and every Celestial Spirit Lucy had contracted, meant to celebrate their efforts.
When Natsu, Gray, and Happy heard the word "banquet," they hadn't needed any convincing. Warm too had fallen instantly, dazzled by the mountain of food.
Lucy, Wendy, and Carla had asked a few questions, but in the end went along. Erza thought about it more seriously, but since it was only a banquet, she judged it wouldn't take long.
Besides, how could they reject the kindness of their friends in the Spirit Realm?
So they ate, drank, and enjoyed the otherworldly dishes and scenery. Two hours passed in a flash.
Then three Celestial Spirits appeared in a rush.
Loke introduced them as Libra and Pisces.
Just as they were about to exchange greetings, Libra announced gravely that she had been entrusted with a message for Leo.
Lucy, who had been listening in, stiffened.
"Someone from the guild is missing?"
Then she relaxed. "Oh, it's just us who are missing."
It wasn't until Libra finished her report that Lucy realized the weight of it. 'Seven whole days had passed!'
If it were just ordinary days, it wouldn't matter. But they were in the middle of a mission!
The group begged Virgo to return them immediately, but even after coming back, the problem remained.
Carla was the first to voice it: "What happens if we fail to meet the client's deadline?"
Happy drooped his ears. "Aye… after such a delay, the client will definitely scold us. It might even be counted as a failed mission."
Even Erza couldn't help but lean against the wall, clenching her fist in frustration. "I actually made such a careless mistake!"
Warm, however, tilted his head in confusion. For him, an hour and a week felt about the same. Honestly, it would've been better to stay in the Celestial Spirit Realm and eat more.
Wendy absentmindedly picked him up, she had originally meant to scoop up Carla, but distracted as she was, she grabbed the wrong one. Hugging Warm like a cat, she asked, "What should we do now, Miss Erza?"
"We can only grit our teeth and apologize to the client first," Erza said firmly. "We'll also contact the guild. At worst, we'll complete the mission without taking the reward."
Her words carried the same weight as Rhodes's style of problem-solving: the guild's reputation came before all else. If that meant working for free, so be it.
"My rent."
"My living expenses."
The group groaned miserably in unison, but no one blamed their Celestial Spirits. Though the Spirits had forgotten to warn them about the time difference, they had only acted out of goodwill.
Since it had already come to this, they could only swallow their pride and make amends.
Just as they were about to leave, a blue light flickered in Lucy's room. A familiar figure emerged from the glow.
"Rhodes?" Erza's hand almost reached for her sword at the wave of magic power. "Why are you here?"
"Why do you think a Celestial Spirit delivered a message to Loke?" Rhodes's smile was polite, but his eyes held a sharp glint. "Of course, because some idiots went missing without a word."
Only then did it sink in. Their companions had indeed found another Celestial Spirit Mage to pass along the message. Rhodes being here meant he must have spent days investigating… maybe even shouldering the fallout they had caused.
Erza's defensive aura vanished at once. The others lowered their heads guiltily, unable to meet his gaze. "We're sorry. We caused you so much trouble."
"It's fine, it's fine," Rhodes said lightly. "All I did was soothe the client's anger for you and finish the mission at a discounted price. Oh, and I apologized to the hotel for your overdue rent and repair fees, that's all..."
With each word, their spines curved lower until they were nearly bent double.
They pictured themselves feasting and dancing in the Spirit Realm, while their guildmates had been patching up their mistakes. Shame weighed heavily on every face.
After he'd teased them enough, Rhodes sighed. "Forget it. Let's go back to the guild first. Everyone, stand here."
They obediently lined up.
Rhodes drew a glowing blue circle with his finger, enclosing them all.
Happy tilted his head curiously. "What's this?"
"Ah!"
"Wahhh!"
The next moment, the group was swallowed in blue light, screaming as they shot across the sky like orbs, through houses, forests, mountains, and rivers, until they landed on the guild rooftop.
Rhodes and Warm stood calmly, unaffected. But for the others, who had never experienced it before, the effect was devastating.
Natsu collapsed instantly, clutching his mouth, cheeks puffed like he was ready to hurl.
Happy and Carla staggered dizzily into each other with a bonk and crumpled to the ground.
Lucy bent at the waist, holding her stomach. She wanted to complain but knew if she opened her mouth, her lunch would come out first.
Gray leaned heavily against the guild's clock pillar, his face a sickly shade of green.
"I...I'm so dizzy..." Wendy groaned, eyes spiraling as she sank to the floor, completely forgetting she had magic that could cure such ailments.
Erza, strong as ever, wobbled but forced herself to stand straight. "Is this… ugh… subspace magic? It's… truly incredible."
Rhodes smiled. "It's nothing special. I just used the time others spent at a banquet to learn magic."
"…"
Erza had no retort. She rubbed her forehead until the nausea subsided a little, then quickly changed the subject. "Let's go down."
"Good idea," Rhodes agreed, then paused. "But I forgot one thing."
Erza frowned. "What?"
Rhodes's "apologetic" smile appeared. "I came back too fast just now. Your luggage is still at the hotel. I forgot to bring it, so we'll have to go get it."
Erza's face paled. "I think..."
Gray, suddenly wide awake, blurted, "We'll go ourselves!"
Lucy waved her hands frantically. "No! Please!"
"We don't have any luggage there!"
Natsu clutched his stomach, wailing. "Waaaaah..."
Rhodes only chuckled. "Too late."
The blue light swallowed them again.
Seconds later, the entire group was sprawled miserably on the floor of their Hotel room once more.
"So… nauseous…"
"Did we… reach heaven…?"
"Mmm… mmm…"
The group lay sprawled out like wilted plants, groaning pitifully. After a few minutes, they sluggishly recovered just enough to stand. Under Rhodes's prodding, they dragged themselves off to fetch their luggage.
But the moment Rhodes began making that familiar circling motion with his hand, realization struck them like lightning.
Wait, why did they come back after getting their luggage?!
They should have bolted while they had the chance!
It must've been those two brutal round-trips that scrambled their brains.
"Ahhhhhhh—!"
Before they could escape, the blue light swallowed them again. They were hurled through the air like screaming meteors, enduring a ride that felt like a roller coaster, pendulum, and drop tower all stitched together by a sadistic carnival master.
A few seconds later, they slammed back onto the guild's rooftop, bodies limp and souls half gone.
But Rhodes wasn't finished. His voice rang out with the silky menace of a demon.
"Ah, sorry… I forgot one more thing. The hotel room hasn't been checked out yet. Would you mind coming with me one more time?"
"HELP!!!!"
Their cries of anguish echoed across Magnolia, raw, tragic, and desperate, before being abruptly cut off by another flash of blue light.