Lucy stomped her feet, fuming and threatening to make Loke pay for his teasing.
Rhodes wanted to say he had already seen more than enough, but he decided to let Lucy off the hook today.
He patted her shoulder. "Go to the back and contact the Princess and Yukino. Tell Yukino to prepare a report and submit it as soon as possible."
"Okay!" Lucy nodded. "I think Libra will also go to communicate with her."
Mira led Lucy to use the guild's communication crystal.
Erza ordered breakfast and sat down to eat.
Natsu and Happy suddenly realized something. "We haven't had breakfast yet!"
One ordered the Flame Set Meal, and the other ordered Fish Porridge.
When they finished eating and paid, Happy flipped his tiny wallet upside down and shook it.
Two coins clinked onto the table and rolled to a stop.
Happy stared at the coins. "Natsu, our food money's almost gone."
"It's fine, we still have our secret stash…" Natsu said confidently, patting his chest, then froze.
The "secret stash" had been completely spent just a few days ago.
"Oh no!" Natsu clutched his head in panic. "That means we'll be broke soon! Work! We need to find a job!"
He bolted toward the request board in an instant.
Happy asked Gray and Erza to join, but Gray wasn't in the mood to work lately, and Erza said she needed to take turns guarding Lucy. She'd go out again in a few days.
Rhodes quickly noticed the mission Natsu had chosen and approved it without hesitation, agreeing for Happy to go with him.
In times of extreme food shortage, Natsu's destructive power tended to decrease significantly.
Of course, once their wallet started filling again, his destructive power would also recover, slowly but surely.
Perhaps that was Natsu's version of "growth." The number of times the guild had to advance money for his repairs was, at least, very slowly going down.
Meanwhile, rumors of the Abandoned Celestial Spirits spread quickly among Celestial Spirit Mages.
The Magic Council took the matter seriously and acknowledged the efforts of Yukino and Lucy.
After confirming the authenticity of their reports, there might even be official recognition.
Because of this, Celestial Spirit Mages became much more cautious.
They began working in pairs or taking jobs close to their guilds. For a time, the movements of the rebellious Celestial Spirits were greatly restricted.
Within the guild, Rhodes often heard talk of mages successfully defeating a Celestial Spirit.
Lucy, in particular, was enjoying something close to noble treatment.
Even though Loke had promised to protect her, the guild's vigilance around her hadn't relaxed.
Lucy was always accompanied when going out or coming home, and every night a different girl stayed over at her house.
Erza, Cana, Bisca, and even Juvia had all shared her bed.
Although Juvia insisted she was simply "gathering intel on her love rival," everyone could tell her real motive was just to be closer to Gray.
Mira also stayed over occasionally. Her "rotation schedule" always seemed to line up perfectly with the days when her relatives visited Magnolia.
That coincidence made some people suspicious about how coincidental it really was.
Fortunately, aside from Lucy occasionally feeling a bit overwhelmed, nothing bad had happened so far.
During this time, there was a mission reporting the appearance of two suspected rebellious Celestial Spirits, Greater Cloud and Lesser Cloud.
Lucy immediately wanted to go.
Just as Rhodes was about to volunteer to join her, Laxus suddenly stepped forward.
"Grandpa said you've got other things to handle, right? For a mission with no set return date, I'll go instead."
It was rare to hear him so naturally call the Master "Grandpa," and even rarer to hear him show such straightforward concern. It left Rhodes a little touched, and surprised.
Still, if Laxus was going, that was definitely reassuring.
Rhodes turned to Lucy. "What do you think?"
"Ah? Uh, I'm fine."
Lucy didn't usually talk much with Laxus, so his sudden appearance behind her startled her. But she could tell he wasn't the same as before. His presence now felt calm, dependable, and strong.
Lucy suddenly realized what she had just said sounded a little too forward and quickly corrected herself.
"I mean, thank you for helping me. I'll be in your care."
"You're welcome."
Laxus had wanted to add because we're comrades, but apparently his daily quota of sincerity had already run out.
He simply kept his usual cool expression, making it impossible to guess what he was really thinking.
Lucy left with Laxus, feeling slightly flustered. Just as they reached the guild doors, they were stopped by the entire Thunder God Tribe waiting outside.
The first person she noticed was Freed, his long green hair gleaming in the light. He was biting a handkerchief, muttering bitterly, "To think he'd personally escort Lucy…"
When the two finally approached, Freed hurriedly straightened up, instantly turning into the picture of a loyal attendant. He fussed over Laxus's luggage, reminding him of every little detail, looking for all the world like a worried housewife packing for her husband's trip.
Bickslow, as usual, grinned mischievously, his tongue sticking out as his dolls floated behind him.
"I'll let you in on a secret," he said in a teasing singsong. "Laxus might've had girlfriends before, but he's single now. So if you want to win him over, all you need to do is show a little charm."
"Who said anything about chasing him?!" Lucy snapped, her cheeks puffing. Then curiosity got the better of her. "Wait, he's had girlfriends before? Tell me about that instead!"
Bickslow ignored her and kept teasing. "Still, if that happens, wouldn't Natsu be the pitiful one? You two have a thing, right?"
His floating dolls chimed in, bouncing around Lucy's head: "Have a thing, have a thing, have a thing!"
"So noisy!" Lucy groaned. "It's like being surrounded by a thousand Happys!"
After finally escaping Bickslow's verbal ambush, she was confronted by Evergreen, who pointed her elegant fan right at Lucy and declared, "Listen, rookie! Since you're traveling beside Laxus, you must be ready to fight to the death as his personal guard. Do not disgrace the Thunder God Tribe!"
Lucy sighed, exasperated. "When did I join your Thunder God Tribe?"
Elfman stepped forward at that moment, scratching his chin. "Evergreen, Laxus and Lucy are teaming up to protect her, not for her to protect him."
"Elfman?!" Lucy perked up immediately, her eyes sparkling with interest. "Oh-ho, could it be… you two are?"
"Idiot!" Evergreen's face turned scarlet as she turned away sharply.
"Didn't I tell you not to call me that in front of other people?!"
"Ah… sorry," Elfman said sheepishly. "I wasn't thinking."
He was so used to being casual with the Thunder God Tribe that he'd completely forgotten Lucy was technically an outsider.
Lucy's lips curved into a mischievous smile. Mimicking Happy's sing-song voice, she trilled, "Ha~ve~a~thing~!"
Not to be outdone, Bickslow and his dolls swooped back in, surrounding Evergreen while chanting gleefully, "Have a thing! Have a thing! Have a thing!"