Princess Hisui could hardly believe her father would say such a thing.
"How could that be? Mr. Rhodes has never done anything to harm the kingdom or the world. On the contrary, he has thwarted the schemes of multiple ambitious figures and saved countless lives on more than one occasion."
King Toma let out a long sigh.
"That is precisely why I have never directly regarded him as an enemy."
Princess Hisui pressed her lips together. "Then… what exactly did that person say?"
Toma's voice grew heavy.
"That individual claimed that the true cause of the dragon attack is very likely Rhodes himself. That he is a scout for the dragons, lying in wait for the right moment to summon the dragon horde."
"The legendary magic capable of summoning dragons is the proof. It is because he serves the dragons that he is granted their protection."
"You also heard him say that the future experienced by those travelers is different from ours, there is no Rhodes there at all."
"That is because he is not like ordinary people. He is a being that exists outside the flow of time itself, an envoy that connects this world to the realm where dragons dwell. It was he who came from beyond time and altered our 'history.'"
"And the Eclipse Gate, which disrupts space-time, can interfere with his existence. Eclipse Plan Two threatens the dragons directly, and therefore threatens the completion of his mission."
"So no matter which plan we choose, whether it is time travel or the cannon, he will inevitably attempt to obstruct it. He will never allow the Eclipse Gate to open."
"This…" Princess Hisui wanted to dismiss it as absurd.
Yet the more she thought about it, the more the explanation seemed disturbingly consistent.
According to records, Rhodes had indeed appeared out of nowhere. Everything prior to his joining Fairy Tail was a blank slate.
Such cases were not unheard of, but under these circumstances, it became impossible to ignore.
Moreover, his ability to summon dragons was undeniably suspicious. And his sudden, forceful opposition to the Eclipse Plan could be interpreted in another light.
If one viewed it from the worst possible angle, even his repeated acts of stopping catastrophes could be seen as protecting the dragons' world from human interference.
Every action, when twisted enough, could be made to fit that narrative.
Princess Hisui clenched her fists.
"But compared to a mysterious future traveler with unknown motives… Mr. Rhodes's credibility should still be higher, shouldn't it?"
Toma nodded gravely.
"That is true. But both sides present arguments that cannot be easily dismissed. At present, we cannot tell which is correct."
"The true dilemma lies here: whether or not the Eclipse Gate should be activated."
"If the future traveler is right, then the E-Cannon requires preparation time. By the time the dragons appear, it will already be too late, we will miss our only chance to save the world."
"But if Rhodes is right, then activating the Gate would mean opening the door to the world's destruction. The consequences would be equally unbearable."
Father and daughter both fell silent under the crushing weight of that choice.
If this were merely the Eclipse Plan meant to eliminate Zeref, there would still be room to recover, even failure would not mean immediate annihilation.
But now, a single wrong decision could place the ruin of their kingdom, and their family, directly before their eyes.
"That's the situation."
Inside a specially prepared room layered with soundproofing, anti-eavesdropping enchantments, and multiple barriers, the two Guild Masters of Fairy Tail, four S-Class Mages, Jude, and the two Lucys were holding an emergency meeting.
Toma E. Fiore finished recounting all the information he had deliberately withheld from Rhodes.
Then, his form dissolved, splitting into two small, floating blue figures.
Before heading to the palace, Rhodes had borrowed Gemini from Lucy.
If the King did not trust him, then there was no reason for him to blindly trust the King either.
No matter how sincere someone appeared, no one could be more reliable than Gemini when it came to extracting the truth.
And now, the facts proved his judgment correct.
Mavis leaned forward, eyes sparkling as she examined the two adorable figures.
"Gemini really is amazing at gathering information."
Makarov sighed heavily.
"Stealing classified information straight from a king's mind… if we were caught doing something like this, the fallout would be enormous."
Even for someone accustomed to chaos, that was saying something.
Laxus snorted and crossed his arms.
"No matter how big that trouble is, it can't be bigger than ten thousand dragons."
Mira chuckled softly.
"We just need to resolve this cleanly. Don't worry Master, Rhodes is very cautious. There's no need to write a self-reflection report."
Future Lucy exclaimed in amazement,
"That's incredible! How did Gemini even get close to the King. Normally, someone would notice something like that, right?"
Rhodes snapped his fingers.
His figure, and Gemini's, vanished instantly. At the same moment, another "Rhodes" appeared seamlessly in the same spot, strolling out as if nothing had happened.
But Rhodes's real voice came from a different direction.
"Gemini's hands are very small. If, while the King is walking, his wrist brushes lightly against his cloak, and Gemini touches a similar spot at the same time, he won't find it strange at all."
If he wished, Rhodes could perfectly conceal himself and subtly guide Gemini's movements, choosing the optimal timing without drawing attention.
From the surveillance crystals' perspective, all that would be visible was his illusion leaving the palace alongside Mira. As long as Mira provided a little cover, nothing would appear abnormal.
Rhodes and Gemini reappeared elsewhere, and the illusion dissipated in perfect synchronization.
"I borrowed a bit of the First Master's magic," Rhodes said lightly. "It worked remarkably well."
This time, he might as well call himself "Trickster Rhodes."
Hearing her magic praised, Mavis immediately straightened her posture, her expression clearly saying 'Go on, praise me more.'
Unfortunately, Erza didn't give the First Master time to bask in it and pulled the discussion back on track.
"The situation is extremely unfavorable for us. Because of that other future traveler's interference, the King now distrusts Rhodes, and possibly Fairy Tail as a whole."
"Even if Future Lucy personally speaks with him, it probably won't help much. That makes cooperation with the royal family very difficult."
Lucy suddenly had a bold idea.
"Then… could Gemini impersonate the King and issue an order to stop the Eclipse Plan?"
Rhodes shook his head.
"That would require abducting the King first. And Gemini's transformation only lasts five minutes, it would be exposed almost immediately."
"In that case," he added calmly, "it would actually be more effective to have Mira use her magic to impersonate him."
"But we should absolutely not do that unless we're completely out of options."
Mavis: "..."
The guild's younger generation was getting terrifyingly competent.
Was the King of a nation really someone they could casually discuss impersonating?
One of them proposed it seriously. Another analyzed it just as seriously.
'How did the Third Master even manage to raise a guild like this?'1
For the first time, Mavis genuinely wasn't sure whether she should feel proud or worried.
Rhodes continued, unfazed.
"The best course of action is to locate the other future traveler and have Gemini touch him. Once we do that, the truth will be clear."
Gemini waved its tiny hands.
"Whirly whirly~ That person appeared suddenly… and disappeared just as suddenly."
"In the King's memory," Gemini added, "when he left, it felt like being pulled into a black vortex. Then, gone. The guards searched thoroughly, but found nothing."
Mira thought for a moment and suggested,
"Should we contact Crime Sorcière? They might have discovered something on their end."
Rhodes nodded.
"Let's ask them."
"Then, since there are no matches tomorrow, we'll split into groups and search different parts of the capital. We'll use the day off to track him down as thoroughly as possible."
...
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