Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 486: Magic Crystal

A group of oddly dressed travelers walking into the city should have raised eyebrows, but to their surprise, they attracted very little attention.

Other than a few passersby stealing glances at the pretty girls in the group, no one looked twice.

Their magic tools were all well hidden, and although a patrol or two passed by on the streets, none stopped to question them.

As the sky began to darken, they found an apartment inn. Lisanna took the lead in booking a suite.

Rhodes kept his eyes peeled for anything suspicious, while Lucy, ever carefree, announced with a stretch, "I’m going to take a bath! Lisanna, Wendy, come with me?"

Lisanna cheerfully accepted, but Wendy shook her head. "I want to stay with Carla tonight."

Natsu, who had been unusually quiet, sat by the window and opened it slightly. "I need to get used to the air here," he muttered.

Once Rhodes confirmed the place was safe, he settled into a chair and unfolded the map. "According to Carla, the route she received leads straight to the Capital. If they wanted to set a trap, they’d have done it here while we were vulnerable. Sending us to the Capital seems... inefficient."

He tapped a finger on the parchment. "Logically, news of Erza’s and Sugarboy’s defeat should have already reached the Capital, unless they haven’t had time to report it."

After all, Erza’s mount had been destroyed. She probably didn’t have the mobility to return quickly.

That would mean the royal army might still be in the dark.

Which only made it harder to explain who exactly was transmitting these "messages" into Carla’s mind.

After a simple meal and some washing up, the team settled in for the night.

Some lay awake deep in thought. Some worried. Some dreamed peacefully. But regardless, they all woke up to the promise of a new day.

Early the next morning, they packed up, bought dry rations and fresh water, and made their way to the city gates.

But just as they were about to leave...

RUMBLE—

A deep, mechanical roar echoed from above. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"What’s that sound?" Wendy asked, turning her head to the sky.

Rhodes squinted upward. A massive airship was descending from the clouds, white steam billowing from exhaust ports behind it.

The ship slowed, its rear vents releasing pressure as the propellers below shifted and rotated gently. It hovered lower and lower, clearly preparing to land.

Lucy shielded her eyes from the morning sun. "It’s enormous!"

"It must be here to resupply," Lisanna guessed. "There’s an airship dock nearby, I think."

Natsu leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Wait... what’s on the deck?"

Lucy followed his gaze. "It looks like magic crysta—"

She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly wide-eyed. "Those crystals are huge! Don’t tell me...!"

Wendy gasped, covering her mouth. "That’s... that’s the magic crystal our companions were turned into!"

Happy hovered uncertainly. "But I thought they were all sent to the Capital? Why would they be here?"

Carla, eyes sharp, studied the crystals carefully. "No... look closely. Those crystals have cut marks."

Hearing Carla’s words, everyone’s expressions tightened. Magnolia had been turned into a giant magic crystal, and now someone had cut off a large piece, could that cause damage to their comrades? Could the crystal even be restored?

"If they’re chopping it up..." Wendy murmured, her voice trembling.

Natsu clenched his fists, eyes burning with resolve. "Then let’s seize that ship!"

"I think it’s a great plan! This is my moment to shine!" Lucy stepped forward, unusually fired up, even more so than Natsu.

Rhodes considered it for a moment, then nodded. "We definitely need to take that ship, and this time, we’ll be counting on Lucy."

"Even you, Brother Rhodes?!" Wendy looked stunned.

With Rhode’s approval, Lucy lit up with excitement. "Leave it to me!" she declared, confidently charging toward the docking site.

"Wait—!" Rhodes quickly reached out and grabbed her by the back of the collar.

Normally, that would’ve stopped her without issue. But Lucy had sprinted forward too energetically. The sleeveless top she wore today only had three buttons, and the top one wasn’t even fastened. Rhode’s tug popped the last two buttons, and the shirt came off in his hand.

Rhode’s eyes caught a flash of smooth, fair skin, and nothing else. No visible straps. No backup layer.

His brain froze.

"S-Sorry!" He turned away instantly, covering his eyes with a palm as if trying to wipe the memory clean. "I didn’t mean to—!"

’I’m dead.’ The thought flashed in his head. ’My sister-in-law is right here. I’m so dead.’

Lisanna was stunned. Wendy squeaked and covered her eyes, but peeked through the gaps between her fingers.

Carla slapped her own forehead. "How indecent."

Lucy, at first, didn’t even realize. She took a few steps, felt a suspicious bounce, looked down, and shrieked. "KYAAAH!"

She crouched down and hugged her chest, face crimson, glaring at the shirt now dangling helplessly from Rhode’s outstretched hand.

Natsu blinked and tilted his head. "Huh. Lucy’s just like Gray, doesn’t like wearing clothes."

"I am NOT!" Lucy snapped. "Mr. Rhodes! I can’t believe you’d do something like this too!"

"I really didn’t mean to!" Rhodes panicked, turning even more red than she was. He shoved the shirt at Lisanna like it was a hot coal.

But in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help wondering why Lucy said "too." That single word... suggested there were other stories he hadn’t heard yet.

Lisanna accepted the shirt and shot him a mischievous look.

And with her long white ponytail styled like Mira’s, that look sent a chill straight down Rhode’s spine.

Lisanna gently draped Lucy’s shirt over her shoulders. With the buttons popped off, there was no way to fasten it properly, so Lucy could only clutch the front closed with her hands.

Trying his best to act like nothing had happened, Rhodes cleared his throat. "Anyway, back to the mission. We can’t just charge in and hijack the airship. First, we need to figure out how many troops are on board and where that magic crystal came from."

"But there’s no way they’d just tell us," Rhodes continued. "And even if we captured a couple of soldiers to interrogate, who knows if they’d give us anything useful. That’s why..." He glanced at Lucy. "This part depends on you."

Lucy gave him a resentful glare, still flustered about earlier, but she quickly pulled herself together. "Alright, what do you want me to do?"

Rhodes pointed at the keys on her belt. "Gemini."

Lucy’s eyes lit up. "Ah—! Got it!"

She instinctively tried to clap, only to remember her top was still loose. She quickly covered herself again and blushed. "You mean... I summon Gemini, have them copy a soldier, sneak aboard the ship, and extract info straight from their mind! That way, we get both intel and an opportunity to strike!"

Rhodes gave her a thumbs-up. "Exactly. We’re counting on you."

Lucy freed one hand just long enough to pump her fist. "Leave it to me!"

Natsu grinned, impressed. "So that’s how we’re doing it! Heh, you really aren’t the dumb Rhodes from this world!"

"..." Rhode’s brow twitched. ’Only now are you figuring that out?!’

But Natsu’s excitement quickly faded as he frowned. "Still... I hate sneaky stuff like this. It feels underhanded."

"Oh, that’s fine," Rhodes replied with a smirk. "After Gemini infiltrates, you can make a scene on the ship. Draw as much attention as possible. Just don’t expect us to help if you get your butt kicked."

"Who do you think would lose to a bunch of no-name goons?! I’ll have them crying for their moms!"

Happy tugged at Natsu’s pants leg. "Natsu... you do realize that’s a ship, right?"

"??"