Carla patted Wendy's calf and reminded her, "Wendy, you should definitely stay away from this kind of man in the future."
"...Brother Rhode must have his reasons." Actually, Wendy didn't know how to argue back.
Lucy held her face in her hands, "Even if I agree, we don't have any clothes prepared. Should we go to town to buy some?"
Talking about buying this special kind of outfit, Lucy recalled an unpleasant memory — Natsu and Hapi seemed to have tricked her into dressing up as a maid this way before.
Logic kicked in for a second, and Lucy looked at Rhode with suspicion.
Resourceful Rhode pulled out some compliments that Mira was tired of hearing, made some modifications, and poured them all into Lucy's ears.
Lucy was immediately flustered by the compliments and didn't have time to think.
Rhode seized the moment, "For clothes, why don't we ask Balrog for help? She loves giving you girls clothes to wear."
"Oh right." Lucy took out the Virgo Constellation key, "Open, gate of the Virgo Constellation, Balrog!"
A pink-haired maid made a dazzling entrance, complete with a washboard, looked around and, seeing no enemies, knelt down on the spot, "Princess, is today outdoor training?"
"It definitely isn't!" Lucy hurriedly told her the request.
"No problem, Princess."
Rhode added, "We need two sets."
"Yes, I'll be back right away." Balrog disappeared with the washboard.
Lucy asked, "Why do we need two sets?"
Rhode replied, "Because we need Gemini to transform into you, to go to the other side and lure them, increasing our success rate."
The group patiently waited, and the more Lucy thought about it the more she felt something was off, "Mr. Rhode, is this plan really not a joke?"
Rhode said, "Of course, I'm serious. I designed it based on a reliable theoretical foundation.
"But because it involves some confidential content, I can only reveal part of it after the plan succeeds, and another part after I've asked back at the Guild."
After he said this, even Carla couldn't help but doubt her own judgment. Could it be he really wasn't trying to mess with Lucy?
After waiting for about eight or nine minutes, Balrog appeared before them with two bee-patterned outfits.
— This was yet another Star Spirit that could run out on its own without being summoned.
Rhode calculated the time in the Star Spirit Realm — did the round trip take only 6 seconds? The efficiency was too high.
"You really do have all sorts of outfits." Lucy took the clothes and mercilessly sent Balrog away.
Then she summoned Gemini, explained the battle plan, and had Gemini transform into her own appearance.
"Bilibili~" Gemini instantly turned into Lucy.
This time, she appeared in casual wear, not a robe.
But since they had to change clothes, Gemini immediately grabbed the hem of her top and cheerfully lifted her shirt up.
"Don't undress now!" Lucy quickly grabbed Gemini's hand, but their strength was equal, and Lucy couldn't overpower herself.
So, she could only rush in front of Rhode, waving both hands to cover his eyes, "Don't look, don't look!"
Rhode turned around and said, "She's wearing underwear, what's there to see?"
Gemini said in Lucy's voice, "Now I'm going to take off my underwear~"
Lucy screamed, "Don't say it out loud!"
The Lucy transformed by Gemini said, "What's the big deal, we're all companions here."
"Companions can't see either!"
Rhode scratched his ear and said helplessly, "Lucy, do you realize what it's like for others to hear you argue with yourself?"
Lucy covered her forehead, "I don't want to know."
Wendy felt a bit sorry for Lucy and reminded her, "Miss Lucy, can't Gemini transform into your current state?
"So, there's no need for them to change clothes, just let Gemini touch you after you've changed."
"Ah!" Lucy suddenly understood, then loudly questioned Rhode, "It should've been done like this from the beginning, why did you let Balrog bring two sets of clothes?"
"I just didn't think of it." Rhode innocently said, "You don't know your own Star Spirits' abilities?"
"..." Lucy was frustrated, realizing it was truly her own fault.
Gemini returned to its original form, and Lucy quietly changed into the bee outfit.
The yellow and black striped top and knee-length skirt, the similarly striped knee-high socks, the bee wing decorations on the back, and the bee antennae-like hairpins on the head.
When Rhode was allowed to turn around, he was indeed stunned by the adorable outfit.
He quietly put away the extra bee outfit.
To see if his wife would like it when they got back.
The group waited a little while in place until the Baggs trio arrived as promised.
All three were startled by Lucy's costume, thinking the Asterion Star Spirit was actually in human form.
Rhode detailed the battle plan, and they immediately began their arrangement.
The designated battlefields were divided into two locations: Position One on the hillside where the Three-headed Snake and apple trees appeared, and Position Two in the valley where they fiercely fought the bee swarm yesterday.
Rhode set up Hex Flying Gates at the two locations, allowing Gemini and Lucy to go to these places respectively.
The Baggs trio was tasked with ambushing at Battlefield One, where the Four-headed Dog wanted to settle the score with the Three-headed Dog.
Rhode and Wendy Charuru naturally took charge of Battlefield Two, they would personally protect the real Lucy to avoid the bait being actually eaten by the bees.
To catch all of Asterion's 33 primary star bodies in one fell swoop, Rhode specially arranged a sufficient number of wild monsters to lie in wait around.
Due to varying concealment abilities among everyone, Rhode utilized the Alchemy Mist from the Alchemy Technology Sub-Dragon.
Nobody present knew Invisibility Magic, so it was their first experience of this bold hiding method.
After both sides were prepared, Rhode used Illusion Magic to send the signal.
Gemini and Lucy both saw a nail-sized bee flying a figure-eight pattern before disappearing in front of them.
The two Lucys immediately started their performances.
Then Rhode learned that Lucy had actually studied dance, and she danced quite alluringly.
Her moves and expressions could already be described as sensual.
Rhode switched to the River Crab view on Position One's battlefield and found that Gemini, turned into Lucy, danced even more sensually due to her lack of shame.
Wendy, her face flushed, covered her eyes, slightly afraid to watch; Miss Lucy was being too bold.
Rhode couldn't help but fall into thought.
Why had Lucy's beauty trap failed in the past?
The first situation occurred at Position One's battlefield.
A daylily flower in the corner moved unnaturally, but didn't turn into a bee, instead, it vanished directly.
Soon after, Baggs and his team heard the sound of dogs barking.
Gemini continued to dance fearlessly, quietly waiting for the Cerberus to approach.
On the other side, small black dots appeared in the sky at Position Two's battlefield, and the buzzing of bee wings became increasingly clear.
Unlike Gemini, Lucy wasn't that calm and exclaimed, "It....it really is coming!"