"Mira, I'm back," Rhodes called as he entered.
Mira glanced past him curiously. "Where's Juvia?"
Rhodes pointed upstairs. "Flat out in bed."
Mira chuckled softly. "Still not feeling well?"
"Hmm…" Rhodes thought about Juvia's state. Honestly, it was hard to say whether she was sick or just enjoying herself.
"How did the investigation go?" Mira asked.
Rhodes shook his head. "We can pretty much rule out the townsfolk. It's not them."
"Then next..."
"We'll stick to the plan. Let's send out commissions to other guilds."
"Alright." Mira pulled out several blank request forms from behind the counter and set two pens on the table, handing one to Rhode.
As Rhode started writing, he suddenly noticed Kinana was on duty that day. "Strange, I don't see Laki."
"Someone in town posted a request for a Molding Mage, so Laki went to help," Mira explained, already filling out her own form. "Who should we list as the client?"
"Put me down, no, actually, let's check with the Master later. If possible, it'd be better under the guild's name. It'll be taken more seriously."
Mira left the client line blank for now and smiled. "Honestly, I think the Saint Ten title would be taken just as seriously."
Rhode gave a helpless laugh. "Forget it. If I put that down, half the smaller guilds might be too scared to even accept."
He finished writing:
Consultation Request: Inquiry regarding Celestial Spirit Magic
Reward: 100,000J
Requirement: Celestial Spirit Mage capable of communicating with active Spirits (Zodiac preferred)
Location: Magnolia, Fairy Tail
Commission Date: December 23
At present, the only solid clue Rhode had was that Virgo had contacted the team before. To get more information, they would need to reach the Celestial Spirit World through other Spirits.
Rhode remembered Lucy's old complaints, how Loki liked to flirt with female Spirits and even passed odd bits of knowledge to Virgo and Aries. Aquarius and Scorpio often went on dates, sometimes fighting about them. In other words, the Celestial Spirits talked to one another regardless of who their summoner was.
So, if they could find another Celestial Spirit Mage, they could have that Mage pass a message through their Spirit to Lucy's contracted ones. With some luck, one of Lucy's Spirits might even come through on their own.
The trouble was that besides Lucy, Fairy Tail didn't currently have another true Celestial Spirit Mage, and Rhode's "fake" setup was useless.
That meant they'd have to seek outside help. But they didn't know which guilds had Spirit Mages, so their only choice was to cast the net wide.
Thankfully, the commission system allowed tasks to be posted to multiple guilds at once, with the first to respond taking the job. Of course, less scrupulous clients sometimes double-dealt, letting multiple guilds fight it out and paying whichever finished first.
That often led to conflict between guilds. Since Magicians couldn't target the client, the competition usually got ugly. Erza herself had clashed with the Quatro Cerberus guild in a mess like that once.
Rhode wouldn't risk creating disputes. His plan was simple: the moment one guild accepted, he'd cancel the others.
It was a bit of extra work, but he couldn't just go around bluntly asking: "Hey, does your guild have a Celestial Spirit Mage, and what keys do they hold?"
That kind of question went back to the days when guilds guarded their resources like military secrets. Even now, though times had changed, some things were still sensitive to ask outright.
Posting the request formally made things much easier.
If a guild didn't accept, it didn't matter. Whoever did accept definitely had a Celestial Spirit Mage, and by accepting, they agreed to share that fact. Trust between guilds meant they also believed Fairy Tail would honor the unspoken rule of protecting personal information.
Rhodes and Mira filled out ten commission forms in one sitting, checked each other's wording carefully, and confirmed there were no mistakes before heading to see the Guild Master.
"Plenty of people already went out asking questions this morning." Makarov thought it was unnecessary to stir up such a fuss, but in the end he waved it off. "Forget it, do as you like. Post it under Fairy Tail's name, but you two are responsible for handling the responses."
The pair nodded, then sent their commissions out: eight to the biggest guilds, and two to smaller guilds they remembered might have Celestial Spirit Mages.
...
On the road between Magnolia and Tenrou Town, the two Raven Tail members who had once spotted Rhodes now crouched in wait with their comrades.
The red-haired girl grew restless. "Are you sure he'll even pass through here?"
"Of course," Kuro replied. "Nullpudding and I saw them fly overhead with our own eyes."
"But we've been waiting since last night, and he hasn't come back at all…"
"Quiet, Flare! Do you think we'd bother lying about something so boring?" Nullpudding, the squat, purple-skinned man, snapped with irritation.
Obra, in his black top hat, simply stared at her in silence.
"S-sorry…" Flare shrank back, cowed by their harshness.
Kuro, however, wasn't convinced. "That guy looked like he was in a rush. Who knows how many days it'll be before he returns? Sitting here like this is pointless."
Nulpudding crossed his arms. "Orders are orders. The Guild Master said to wait."
Even if ambushing a Wizard Saint sounded insane, Kuro and Obra's magic together might create an opening. Then he and Flare only had to hold off Mira.
"Demon Mirajane" might have a frightening reputation, but after six years out of the spotlight, how strong could she really be?
Hearing Ivan's name invoked kept them in place. They reasoned that Rhodes had flown out, but surely on the return trip he wouldn't be in such a rush, maybe he'd use a Magic Four-Wheeler or something slower.
They waited until nightfall.
A small paper doll fluttered into view.
"Guild Master Ivan?" Nullpudding immediately recognized his magic and reported, "The target hasn't appeared yet, we..."
Ivan's voice echoed through the doll. "No need to wait. The plan has changed. Kuro and Nullpudding, I want you to investigate something else. Tell Flare and Obra to return."
"Yes, Guild Master." Confused, the group dispersed as ordered.
...
At the Saber Tooth guild hall, a commotion broke out.
"Check out this commission!"
"What's so exciting about consulting Star Spirit Magic? Teaching requests like that are common."
"The client, look at the client!"
"Fairy Tail? That's the guild making noise again, the one that used to be Fiore's strongest six years ago!"
A crowd gathered at the board. Guilds asking each other for help wasn't rare. But for the former number one to seek help from the current number one…
It felt satisfying. Proof that Saber Tooth now stood at the top.
Fairy Tail was the past; Saber Tooth was the present.
As for the rumors that one of the Wizard Saints from Fairy Tail had crushed five Dark Guilds in a single strike just days ago? The Saber Tooth members scoffed. Their own strongest could probably do the same. If the standards for Wizard Saints weren't stricter now, their Guild Master, the young mistress, or Sting himself might already have been chosen.
For Saber Tooth to have three Wizard Saints while Fairy Tail only had two, it wouldn't be strange at all.
"The commission requires a Celestial Spirit Mage. Isn't our new recruit the perfect fit for this?"