Charles had figured he could enjoy a bit of quiet before the Ten Commandments moved in earnest—time that would be great for research or for teaching Arthur.
But he couldn't withstand how the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins started stirring things up.
First, Diane finally woke up from her coma—only to be suffering memory loss.
That wasn't because she'd taken a blow to the head in battle, but because Gowther had secretly erased her memories of King.
The cause went back to when Gowther went berserk in the Liones capital. Diane's rebuttal—that "the memories with the one most important to you are the most precious"—triggered Gowther.
So Gowther deleted her memories of the person most precious to her.
It sounded like kids throwing a tantrum, yet he did something that excessive for that reason.
Charles looked at Diane, who was uneasily huddled in a corner, and sighed helplessly.
He raised a fist and brought it down on Gowther's head without mercy.
Clutching his head with both hands, Gowther said expressionlessly, "Why hit me? I oppose unreasonable violence."
Charles pointed at Diane. "Look what you did. Undo the spell, now."
Meliodas shot Gowther a look of disgust. "You again, Gowther! Stirring up this kind of mess."
To Meliodas's scolding, Gowther only cocked his head and stuck out his tongue.
Charles cracked him on the crown again. "Enough. Lift the spell already. You won't find a heart that way."
Charles also figured it out—given Gowther's nature, this wasn't just a spat. He wanted to study Diane's emotions to obtain a heart of his own.
Gowther tilted his head at Charles, puzzled. "Cannot comprehend. All knowledge can be obtained through study and experience. Why not this?"
Charles's tone turned serious. "A heart isn't knowledge. You can't learn it from someone else. If you want one, go feel for yourself."
Gowther kept his head cocked, looking like he hadn't understood at all.
Charles didn't say more. Gowther already had what you'd call a heart—he just didn't recognize it.
And that isn't something you grasp by being told; in the end, you can only rely on yourself.
Even so, Charles's words had a big impact—enough for him to restore Diane's memories.
Plus, with the magic-control bracelet Merlin left behind, they didn't have to worry about Gowther going berserk for now.
Charles had just decided to go check on Arthur's daily training when a spatial rift opened in front of him and someone stepped out.
Seeing Charles, King said, "It's you. Where's Diane? I need to talk to her."
Charles pointed behind him. "Go find her over there."
Without another word, King flew off in the direction Charles indicated.
Watching his back, Charles could feel King's magic had shed its skin—just like in the original course of events, he'd awakened after fighting Albion.
Then Charles glanced down at the dog-like creature that had followed him out of the spatial rift.
Oslo, a being that lives in the gaps between worlds, and so can traverse space.
Ban and Elaine, riding Mama Hawk, had fallen behind King precisely because of Oslo's ability.
If Charles didn't have so many projects on his plate lately, he really would have liked to study it, too.
While Charles examined Oslo, Meliodas came out as well.
Spotting Charles, Meliodas brightened, hurried over, and said, "Charles, perfect timing—I've got something to ask you."
Standing before him, Meliodas said, "I hear you've been training Arthur lately."
"I have," Charles said with a nod.
"Good," Meliodas grinned. "That's what I wanted to bring up. If you're already training him, why not train the others too?"
Charles sighed. "You do know how to give people extra work."
Meliodas patted his shoulder. "There's a saying—the capable do more. You're the only one I can ask."
"Honestly, I can't say no to you," Charles said. "If the boss is asking, I won't refuse. Intensive training it is—leave it to me.
But as for you… what you need isn't boot camp."
Meliodas's smile faded. "Yeah. Merlin and I are heading out right away to reclaim my power. While we're gone, I'm leaving things here to you."
…
Meliodas was a man of action. Saying he'd reclaim his power, he set out that very day.
Riding Mama Hawk, Meliodas took Merlin, Elizabeth, and Hawk to the Druids' hidden dwelling to take back his strength.
On Charles's side, he began intensive training for Arthur, Diane, and King.
Diane sat cross-legged on the ground, looking distressed.
"What 'pulse of the earth'? I can't sense anything!"
The giants are the earth's favored children; their strength comes from the ground beneath their feet.
They have a battle dance which, performed, lets them merge with the earth and boost their power level dramatically.
Charles certainly didn't know it, nor could he teach it—but he had another method.
In the world of Fairy Tail, mages have a way to increase their magic: synchronizing their magic with the magic of nature.
Seven years later, when Team Tenrou was freed from Fairy Sphere, they trained to enter the Grand Magic Games and make up for the seven-year gap.
Under Capricorn's guidance, Lucy used that method to train and quickly raised her magic.
Though an accident cut the training short and they had Ultear forcibly open her Second Origin, Lucy herself said that method could've quickly filled the seven-year gap.
Diane, like Lucy, had a pure nature—and as a giant, a child of the earth, it shouldn't be hard for her.
Sure enough, before long Charles saw Diane—who'd been shaking her head moments earlier—go quiet, her breath linking with the earth.
Nodding in approval, Charles went to find King, who was slacking off in the woods.
"After Sacred Treasure Release, you should've felt the change. Only now do you truly wield the Fairy King's power. But it's not enough—what good is a Release you can only sustain for a few minutes?"
He dodged the spirit spear's volleys as he spoke. Chastiefol's appearance after Release had changed dramatically—more ornate now.
Most importantly, its power had jumped by who knew how much; the vast magic sheathing it made that clear.
"Your magic used to be like a seed," Charles continued. "It finally sprouted. What you need is for it to grow—and fast.
When it fully matures, you should grow your own wings. And as for how to make it grow, I don't need to tell you."
Panting, King said, "No need—this one will do it!"
Dodging another strike from the Spirit Spear, Charles said, "Then you'd better hustle. By the way, Diane already finished her training. If you fall behind, you might be the one needing her protection later."
If Charles tried to motivate him another way, the Sin of Sloth could ignore it—but mention Diane, and King had no defense.
Predictably, even without Charles watching, King wouldn't slack off.
After draining King's magic dry, Charles left. For growing magic, this blunt method was the most effective.
Lastly, he found Arthur and halted his sword drills.
Of the three, Arthur was the most headache-inducing. He had the greatest potential, but also the worst issues. Otherwise, Merlin wouldn't have trained him so long without achieving her aim.
"Hey, Arthur—this isn't the kind of training you're missing. What you need is presence."
"Presence?" Arthur looked troubled. "How do I train that?"
"Some people are born with an overwhelming presence. Some forge an unbreakable will through trials.
But you don't have that kind of time left—so there's only one option.
Arthur, do you have the resolve to stake everything?"
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