"That's too much, Ultear, you've done enough already," Melty advised with concern.
"I'm fine, the sooner it's done, the sooner the Royal Capital can return to order." Ultear, exhausted but persevering, worked on repairing the bridge in front of her and trudged towards the next building.
"But aren't you forgetting that overusing Lost Magic can..."
Ultear gasped for breath and asserted, "It's okay, I know my limits."
Rhode approached and greeted, "Hey, keeping busy?"
"Just putting the Arc of Time to its proper use," Ultear replied, "It's times like this that make learning this magic seem worthwhile."
"Mr. Rhode, please help persuade Ultear!" Melty reacted swiftly, "If she keeps going like this, her body won't hold up."
Rhode thought for a moment, then smiled, "Since Ultear is so insistent, I'll help restore some magic power for now."
Seeing the blue aura surrounding her body, Ultear felt her magic power rapidly recover and smiled, "…Thank you."
Melty said disappointedly, "Why are even you doing this? It's not just about magic power..."
"Melty!" Ultear scolded Melty lightly, but due to her fatigue, it lacked severity.
Rhode winked at Melty and inquired, "How's everyone else doing?"
Melty, lacking understanding, missed the hint, and pouted silently.
Ultear answered, "Kono went to see her sister, Hot Eye is helping around with his Earth Magic, Laser, Midnight, and Jellal are quietly helping move things, Cobra..."
Rhode asked, "What about him?"
Ultear glanced at him, "He seems particularly interested in someone from your guild, always trying to 'listen in'."
"Oh~" Rhode understood, "That perverted stalker is him, huh."
During a meal today, Mira shared some gossip about how Ginanna felt like she was being watched during the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts.
Some of the girls in the guild said Ginanna was vain, others said she encountered a perverted stalker, seemingly planning to catch the creep.
It turns out, that person is Cobra.
The capture plan will likely have a hard time succeeding, that guy's hearing is too sharp.
Melty was finally a bit distracted, "Per-perverted stalker?"
Rhode nodded, "Yeah. Remember to tell him, if he wants to meet, just come by directly, we won't stop him."
Ultear nodded but felt Cobra was struggling with his emotions.
"Alright, now that my magic power has recovered a lot, I need to hurry."
Rhode said, "Then I won't disturb you, but make sure to rest when needed, rebuilding the Royal Capital isn't that urgent."
"I got it, thanks." Ultear replied absentmindedly, but her body honestly began preparing magic.
Melty stamped her foot in frustration.
However, as Rhode passed by Ultear, he suddenly punched her in the stomach.
"Ah..." Ultear showed a look of disbelief and collapsed, clutching her stomach.
Rhode quickly caught her.
Melty was dumbfounded, "You, what are you doing?!"
"Didn't you want her to rest? Tried talking, but she wouldn't listen, so there you go." Rhode pushed Ultear towards Melty, "Here, take her."
Melty blankly caught Ultear, "Then why did you help her restore magic power?"
"You think sneaking up on Ultear is easy? She's too vigilant, needed to relax her a bit." Rhode justified, "Besides, her condition was so bad, magic power severely lacking, I was worried I might hurt her."
Melty opened her mouth, momentarily speechless, "Tha... thank you?"
"No problem, contact us if you need help, bye." This time Rhode really left.
Melty stared at Rhode's back, dazed, what is this, he hit my beloved Ultear, yet I still have to thank him.
...
"In 7 years, the Black Dragon Acronologia will rule the world, no one can stand against him, even my Dragon Control Magic is ineffective against him...
"The holy attribute power in me was taken from Stinger, I personally killed him...
"I wanted to become the Dragon King, but you stopped me, I hope you have a way to deal with Acronologia...
"Floros is also dead, probably about a year later.
"No, not because of a dragon, but killed by Gray of your guild. If possible, please stop Gray.
"I don't know the specifics, I heard he was corrupted by evil for power and joined the Black Mage Sect. Floros and I took on the investigation task, then I failed to protect Floros...
"During that time, the Gate of the Underworld seemed to be plotting something bad, I heard the slogan was 'return to Zeref's side,' but their plan was disrupted by a group of dragons, so they failed...
"The young lady... Minerva joined the Dark Guild after leaving the Royal Capital, and then disappeared without a trace, probably also taken by the group of dragons...
Future Rogue was very cooperative during the interrogation, maybe because he felt hopeless after his dreams were shattered, or perhaps he was awakened and hoped for a different history here.
It might have also been because Rhode told him that the Gemini Constellation could easily access information from his mind, and Cobra could hear his inner voice, meaning he'd have no privacy at all.
In any case, Future Rogue laid out all the information he deemed important.
Unfortunately, the Gate of the Underworld on the other side was dealt with by dragons; it took a long time before people got the news, so he didn't know their location either.
Feeling he'd explained enough, Rhode didn't trouble him further, after all, the histories were different, and there was no need to rely entirely on his information.
On another note, Future Lucy had already said her goodbyes to Jude, and also to everyone in the guild, before coming to find Rhode, "I'm ready."
She had grasped all the necessary magic knowledge, memorized the necessary information, and even had the First Generation help strategize her actions after returning, making Future Lucy feel completely prepared.
However, Rhode sized her up for a moment, then said, "Wait a moment, I'll be back to the guild."
Rhode returned via Hex Flying Gate, coming back in less than 10 minutes with a large backpack for Future Lucy.
"So heavy!" Future Lucy almost couldn't hold it, "What's this?"
Those familiar with Rhode all wore understanding expressions.
Makarov looked up at the sky, thinking Rhode had outgrown the habit, but... it was rather nostalgic.
Mira cheerfully explained to Future Lucy the use of the Bursting Magic Crystals and Magic Books inside.
"..." Future Lucy listened blankly; it seemed like enough to blow up the Royal Palace.
She questioned, "Isn't this over the top... I'm not going on a terror attack..."
"You don't have the key, or any other proficient magic, and you're short a hand, how can you go without some protection?"
Speaking, Rhode took out a Kingdom Knight Order soldier's standard arm armor, personally helping Future Lucy put it on,
"This can activate a Magic Shield, without affecting the movement of this hand, so even with one hand, you can hold up the shield while using the Magic Book."