Makarov held an incredibly high prestige within the guild, and whenever he spoke, especially if the topic involved a banquet, the guild would erupt with excitement.
But today… the atmosphere wasn't as lively.
Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Cana, Gajeel, Juvia, the more hot-blooded members especially, were all staring at Makarov, waiting for something. Expectant. Restless.
Even Mira leaned in, whispering carefully:
"Master, um… everyone is waiting."
Makarov blinked. "Waiting for what?"
"That," Mira whispered again.
Makarov's expression turned serious.
"That'? "Is it really necessary? There's no need to use that as punishment today, surely?"
The guild collectively twitched.
Fairy Tail's scariest punishment, that, was legendary. But this time, Mira wasn't talking about punishment at all.
"I mean the Grand Magic Games selections," Mira clarified helplessly."You said two months ago you'd choose the participants. Everyone has been training very hard."
And it was true.
Ever since Rhodes and Mira's wedding, people had been pushing themselves nonstop.
But these past two months were especially brutal.
Elfman had bulked up so much he looked like he'd been chiseled out of muscle, one and a half times bigger, and one arm thicker than Lisanna's waist.
Juvia's "upgrade", as she called it, was her transformation into "Juvia 3.0," claiming she was now even more charming and even more in love with Gray.
To everyone else… she just changed outfits.
Even the calmer members of the guild had shown changes.
Everyone except Wendy.
Her only visible change was that her hair had grown a little longer.
Finally, Makarov remembered.
He stroked his beard, eyes moving across each expectant face.Then, with all the seriousness of a man pretending to have a plan, he turned to Rhodes:
"Rhodes, what do you think?"
Rhodes: "??"
Makarov coughed twice, putting on an air of dignity that fooled absolutely no one.
"Ahem. Actually, two months haven't passed exactly, so my observation period is not yet over!"
Natsu immediately exploded.
"Old man, you totally forgot!"
"Natsu, you just returned from a long mission," Makarov deflected, wagging a finger.
"You must be tired. You should take a few more days to rest. Or train more.
Who knows, Gajeel and the others might've surpassed you while you were gone?"
Lucy sighed. "He definitely forgot."
"Lucy!!" Makarov barked.
"Sir!!" Lucy stood at attention like an obedient soldier.
Makarov softened immediately, patting the air gently.
"Actually, Lucy, I think you have tremendous potential. I'd hate for you to fall behind because you missed a few days.
So work hard, alright?"
"Yes!" Lucy brightened instantly.
Makarov continued trying to pacify everyone with vague encouragements and non-answers.
He managed, barely, to stall for time.
The guild eventually eased up and returned to celebration-mode, just as Makarov wanted.
But tonight, no one stayed up until dawn; everyone left early to resume training.
Later that evening, once things quieted down, Makarov turned again to Rhodes.
"Rhodes… what do you think now?"
"What do I think?" Rhodes rubbed his chin. "Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Juvia, they're all strong candidates.
Freed's magic is great for strategy.
Evergreen's Petrification Eye could be miraculous.
Cana and Elfman are dependable.
Lucy and Wendy also..."
Rhodes paused, counting on his fingers.
"Actually, there are too many choices."
"That's the same as saying nothing!" Makarov groaned, thinking exactly the same thing.
It was a good thing that the children were all excellent, but each of them had their own specialties, and the differences between them weren't large enough to make the decision obvious.
This wasn't like choosing an S-Class Wizard, where a few clearly outshone the rest.
Here, everyone was strong in different ways.
Rhodes finally said, "Let's wait a bit. The new tournament rules will be released in a few days. Once we see the format, it'll be easier to judge who's actually suitable."
Makarov nodded helplessly. "That's all we can do for now."
Time passed quickly, and while guild life remained peaceful, a subtle tension lingered in the air.
During this time, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy, the three Dragon Slayers, each came to Rhodes voluntarily, asking him for additional training.
Rhodes understood immediately.
So he arranged for one or two dragons to "mentor" them every day.
Natsu and Gajeel lived in agony but were full of enthusiasm.
Happy lived in bliss.
Wendy… wasn't sure whether she was lucky or being tortured by "special treatment."
Then, near the end of June, Loke suddenly returned to the guild with Lucy at his side.
Mira took one look at Lucy's expression and instantly understood:
Loke had appeared while Lucy was taking her morning bath again.
"Good morning. As beautiful as ever, Mira. That fellow Rhodes is a lucky man."
Mira smiled warmly. "It's been a while since you visited the guild. Would you like a drink?"
"Just water. I've been busy lately." Loke immediately and naturally draped an arm around Lucy's shoulder. "Lucy is furious. Says I haven't been visiting her enough."
Lucy shoved his arm off with a shout. "Who would get mad over something like that?! And stop saying things that cause weird misunderstandings!"
Loke burst out laughing. Teasing Lucy was one of his favorite pastimes.
Watching the two bicker, Mira smiled and imitated Happy's tone: "They're totally flirting~"
"We are NOT!!" Lucy shouted, then turned red and pouted at Mira. "Miss Miraaa~ don't learn from him!"
Mira covered her face playfully. "But it is pretty entertaining."
Loke looked around the guild. "Is Rhodes not here?"
"He's in the back reading documents," Mira replied. "The Grand Magic Games rulebook arrived today… It's thick."
She indicated the size with her hands, it was basically a brick.
"Then I'll go see him. I've got a little something."
Loke gave Lucy a wink as he left.
"Lucy, I'll take you on a date when I get back."
"You don't NEED to come back!!"
Rhodes lifted his eyes as Loke entered the office.
"The Celestial Spirit King has a message for me? What is it?"
Rhodes closed the heavy rulebook, set it aside, and took off his glasses.
Loke straightened slightly. "The main purpose is to express gratitude. Originally, the King planned to summon you, and everyone involved, to the Celestial Spirit Realm. But considering the time difference, we decided to push the banquet back a little."
Rhodes chuckled. "Good. I definitely can't go right now."
Even a simple banquet in the Celestial Spirit Realm would take at least a couple of hours, And that would translate to nearly a week passing in the Human World.
They'd miss the Grand Magic Games completely.
"Besides that," Loke continued, "there are also a few… gifts."
"So courteous?" Rhodes raised a brow. It wasn't like he disliked presents, he was very curious what the Spirit King considered "gifts."
Loke raised one finger.
"First, permission to consult any information within the Celestial Spirit Realm."
Rhodes froze.
"…!"
Loke looked extremely smug at Rhodes' reaction. He knew this would hit the bullseye.
"The library and archives of the Celestial Spirit Realm contain knowledge and records spanning ancient to modern times, things that could be considered secret history.
However, much of that information is normally forbidden from being disclosed externally.
The King is under enormous pressure to give you this."
Rhodes swallowed.
This was… extremely tempting.
"And that," Loke said with a grin, "was the first gift."