"Lucy... and... another Lucy?"
Jude had just finished watching the match when Reby and Lisana invited him over, saying his daughter wanted to see him.
Then, he saw two Lucys standing elegantly before him, one smiling, the other crying.
After thinking for a moment, Jude suddenly realized, "Ah! I get it, it's a Star Spirit, right? The one that can transform into you."
Future Lucy couldn't hold back any longer and suddenly hugged Jude, crying out, "Daddy!"
Jude, not knowing what had happened, hugged her back and gently patted her on the back to comfort her.
While Future Lucy was still crying, the current Lucy quickly explained the situation.
Jude sighed deeply, saddened by the fate of his other daughter.
Thinking about the Eclipse Gate and the royal plot Lucy just mentioned, he quickly said, "You absolutely must not get involved in that matter!"
"Why? Dad, what do you know?" Lucy, realizing this was related to Celestial Spirit Magic, quickly asked, "Did Mom say anything about this?"
"..." Jude was silent for a while, "I don't understand much about magic, but fourteen years ago, Reela did something, saying it was the Heartfilia family's ancestral mission.
When I tried to ask more, she wouldn't say much, fearing it would bring danger to me. However, I know it was related to the royal family, and it was after that incident that Reela's health began deteriorating, eventually leading to..."
Both Lucys were a bit stunned: "Mom... helped the royal family initiate the Eclipse Gate?"
Reby quietly said, "Is it due to the side effects of magic that Lu's mom's health declined?"
Mira speculated, "Or maybe the last attempt failed, and Mrs. Reela suffered magic backlash. Now, fourteen years later, the royal family is prepared to try again."
Mebius spoke, but Jude couldn't hear, so Rhode asked on her behalf, "Can you confirm if that magic was the Eclipse?"
Jude shook his head: "I don't know, but Lucy, whether it's the current you or the Future you, if the King asks you for help, absolutely refuse. I feel it's not something good."
Lucy nodded: "Understood."
Future Lucy, however, said, "But we've already been dragged into this, and even if I don't get involved, it seems that gate is still being opened."
"Yukino," Mira suddenly said, "Other than Lucy, Yukino is also an excellent Star Spirit Mage."
Even if Yukino is not considered, Princess Jade herself understands Celestial Spirit Magic, this isn't something Lucy can solve by not participating.
After some discussion, Rhode stood up: "I'll go see the Princess."
Mira stood up with him: "I'll go too."
Rhode looked into her eyes, unable to voice a refusal.
Then Lucy also said, "I want to go too."
"No, if anyone goes, it should be me." Jude was adamant about not letting Lucy near the Royal Palace, "If they still care about our past relationship, perhaps I can bring you to see the King."
"Let's leave it at that, too many people going would only cause trouble." Rhode stopped others, "The President and everyone else can support from outside.
"If you're worried, have Wolian stay near the Royal Palace, and we can maintain telepathic communication. I'll also leave Warm behind, so if anything happens, Warm can respond, and you can take other actions."
Rhode felt the worst possible outcome would be that the other side reveals nothing and detains them for confidentiality, but it wouldn't be life-threatening.
"This is the most prudent way." Mebius nodded to Makarov.
Makarov pondered and said, "Hmm... let's do that, be careful."
Both Lucys said in unison, "Mr. Rhode, Dad is in your care."
"Don't worry." Rhode smiled at them, feeling a bit strange.
In stories, it's always the father asking the protagonist to take care of the daughter. Why is it Lucy asking me to take care of her dad here?
"Oh, by the way, do me a favor." Rhode thought of something and whispered a few words to Lucy.
Elfman and Lisana couldn't help but caution Mira and Rhode to be careful, as did others.
There were even some with fierce expressions, intending to storm into the Royal Palace to get to the bottom of things, only to be knocked out by Erza with one punch.
Rhode instructed Erza and Laxus to look after both Lucys and keep an eye on those troublemakers before setting off.
Jude, watching him give a series of precautions before leaving, finally understood who Lucy meant was the reliable senior in the Guild.
...
The owner of the Sun Tavern was puzzled today.
Recently, Fairy Tail had been treating his place as a temporary base, causing quite a commotion daily and often breaking some tables, chairs, dishes, cups, and bowls.
At first, he worried these people were there to cause trouble. But luckily, they compensated for everything they broke, and their daily spending wasn't low.
Especially that one called Kana, who noticeably boosted sales.
However, today, they seemed to have arrived a bit late and looked quite low in spirits, eating and drinking less than usual.
More importantly, it was too quiet, which made the owner uneasy.
"Could it be that Fairy Tail didn't do well in their matches today?"
That shouldn't be the case. The owner watched the broadcast today; they clearly swept the top two positions in the water combat and won all the duo fights...
As he was mulling over these thoughts, someone called for wine, and he quickly brought it over.
Three streets away from this shop, there was a Moonlight Cafe.
Wolian was sitting with the Lane Engine Squad trio, drinking coffee.
Troy focused on eating, while Reby and Jet chatted about the matches, and Wolian pretended to chat with them while actually using telepathy to contact Rhode.
"How's it going, anything happening?"
"We just entered the Royal Palace gates, and Princess Jade agreed to see us. The King seems to be handling something outside and hasn't returned yet."
"Got it."
"The concealment of Telepathy Magic is quite good, and so far, no one has noticed it."
"Well, of course, 'Interception and Anti-interception' of Telepathy Magic is a very important practice."
"By the way, how is your research with the Kingdom's researchers going? The portable personal telepathy-specific Magic Crystal... is that the name?"
"That's such a long name; I'm surprised you remembered it. That's a tentative name during the research phase, and it'll be changed later.
The research is progressing well, and the latest by next year, soonest within this year, we can apply and even promote it. We'll surely make a big profit... I specifically took leave to support you."
"Thanks for the support, our Fairy Tail's great inventor~"
Rhode bantered with Wolian while observing the soldiers leading the way and the guards along the route; it seemed nothing had yet been created to 'intercept' Telepathy Magic.
The three soon arrived at the entrance to the Princess's palace.