Everyone returned to their lodgings, and Team B still stuck together as a group of five.
Jubia and Wendy went to wash up, leaving Laxus, Rhode, and Gajeel in the room.
Gajeel showed a mischievous grin, asking, "So, I hear the First Generation intends to take you on personally. Feeling the pressure?"
Rhode looked at him, "Heard it from Reby?"
"Yeah... But isn't there another point? And don't look at me like that, it's creepy!" Gajeel instinctively felt Rhode's gaze was infuriating.
Rhode casually replied, "If there's any pressure, it should be on you. Take, for instance, combat-type competitions: if I were the First Generation, I'd have Team A take you down one by one, and finally gang up on me."
Gajeel felt this strategy was quite familiar, just like when they dealt with the Ghosts back then.
He immediately felt a bit dejected.
Rhode ignored him, took out a large stack of books and his notebook, flipping through them and contemplating with a frown.
Laxus asked, "So, no results yet?"
"Hmm... It's quite troublesome because it involves time and all, can't guarantee we can send Future Lucy back."
Earlier, using the Hex Flying Gate, Rhode made a trip back to the guild, hauling back a pile of books from the library on space-time magic theory.
After looking over the Book of Solar Eclipse today, he felt inspired and troubled: "If the Eclipse Gate is destroyed, Future Lucy and the other future person might simply vanish."
"Vanish?" Laxus asked, "You mean die or...?"
Rhode explained, "I think it's more akin to 'repatriation,' going back to the world and time point they originally belonged to.
"However, 'repatriation' might come in two possibilities: one is the disappearance of the gate on their side, and the other is correcting the 'error' in this time travel, sending them back to their own 'past,' with the time node likely the same as when they came to us."
Laxus pondered a bit, "So, we need to stop the Eclipse plan and utilize it at the same time?"
"Yes, the best outcome is protecting our future while rescuing Future Lucy's past. But we're not yet at a hundred percent certainty, so..." Rhode handed his notebook to Laxus, "You help out with the research too."
He suddenly remembered that Laxus, being a self-taught super magic person, definitely had a solid foundation in magic theory.
"..." Laxus remained silent for three seconds, "I'll try."
Truthfully, he wasn't fond of this kind of studying, having learned the super magic by sheer stubbornness.
However, if there's no choice but to do it, it's not impossible.
At least, it's for Lucy and the Fairy Tail on that side.
Laxus perked up.
"Why not ask the First Generation for assistance?" Gajeel asked, "With something so important, yet she still has to spend energy memorizing participant details."
Rhode shook his head, "You may have some misunderstanding about the First Generation, memorizing that bit isn't even consuming energy for her.
"At this point, she might have already memorized that Book of Solar Eclipse conveniently and is now pondering how to leverage the eclipse."
Gajeel: "..."
Though Rhode seemed to exaggerate, he felt it made sense.
Fairy Tail seemed never short of oddities, the First Generation's extraordinary memory wasn't surprising at all.
Looking around, two of the three in the room were immersed in books and thinking, leaving him feeling out of place doing nothing.
Not willing to accept this, Gajeel picked up a book, leaning against his bed to read.
When Jubia and Wendy returned in pajamas, what they saw was a heavy learning atmosphere.
The seriousness of Rhode and Laxus made them hesitant to speak upon entering.
Luckily, Gajeel lying in bed with a book covering his face, gave off a slight snore, easing the atmosphere a bit.
"Um..." Wendy tentatively called, "Brother Rhode?"
"Hmm?" Rhode glanced at them and smiled, "Oh, don't mind us, just get your usual rest. We'll be sleeping soon as well."
Lack of sleep might affect kids' growth… mainly because who knows what might happen tomorrow, they needed to be well-rested.
Jubia and Wendy quickly went to sleep, while Rhode and Laxus researched magic late into the night, then shut the lights to rest.
Silence settled in the deep of night.
Around two AM, about a hundred meters away from the inn, an ordinary-looking passerby gradually turned transparent, becoming completely invisible.
Silently arriving outside Rhode's room, he pressed his body against the wall and with force, melded through it, entering the room.
Turning back, he confirmed under the moonlight that his reflection wasn't on the glass, nor his shadow on the ground, so he tiptoed towards Rhode's bed.
Rhode was sleeping on a standard single bed, wearing short-sleeve pajamas due to summer, with a light quilt casually covering his stomach.
Around his neck, the pendant and specially-designed strap glimmered faintly in the moonlight.
The intruder's face lit up with delight, cautiously reaching out with his left hand for the pendant, while his right hand drew a small scissor-like tool, intending to snip the seemingly metal strap.
Then, he was struck heavily on the back of his head, causing him to reveal himself and fall to the floor.
Gajeel jolted awake, sitting up straight, the book covering his face falling onto his lap: "I dozed off accidentally! What happened?"
"Shh!" The Rhode on the bed vanished, the real one showing himself, motioned for Gajeel to lower his voice, not to wake Wendy, "Interesting, this is my first time encountering someone trying to steal my necklace."
He squatted down, flipping the intruder, unfamiliar face, with a tattoo resembling a hand on his arm.
"Seems a bit familiar, this isn't a Mages' Guild emblem, is it?"
Gajeel came over for a look, whispering, "It's from the Thief's Guild, Mercury's Hand, I've caught their people before.
"This guy... seems to be their ace, it's said that if commissioned, he can even swipe a wine glass from the king's banquet."
Rhode chuckled, "Not sure about his thieving skills, but he's got guts, daring to steal from me."
Gajeel cracked his knuckles, "So, do we interrogate him?"
"No need, we'll take him straight to Gemini tomorrow."
Rhode retrieved the magic book given by the second-generation president, found the specified page from the bookmark, reviewed the information, then drew several spells over the thief's body to block magic flow.
Gajeel crafted iron shackles and ankle cuffs with negative comfort, binding him tightly.
To prevent noise, even a bit gag attached to an iron hoop was crafted for his mouth, treating him like less than human.
For such inhumane acts, Rhode expressed appreciation, then lay back on his bed to continue sleeping.
On the other side, Laxus, who had been on alert, relaxed upon realizing it was nothing serious, closing his eyes to resume sleeping.