Carla asked, "Because Lucy is a Star Spirit Mage?"
"Sort of," Rhode replied, "Do you remember those two from Illusory Butterfly Wings?"
Lucy said, "You mean Miss Phil and Mr. Dor?"
"Yes, that Mr. Dor is a Star Spirit Mage. You see, he was injured way worse than Phil, almost lost his life," Rhode said,
"Miss Phil also mentioned, the bees for some reason crazily attacked Mr. Dor. I think these abandoned Star Spirits might have some grievances with Star Spirit Mages, that's the first point."
"..." Lucy thought for a while but couldn't come up with a reason, the proposal to redraw the constellations wasn't led by Star Spirit Mages...
"Are there second and third points to the first point?" Lucy saw Rhode nodding and said miserably, "Are there so many reasons to make me the bait?"
Rhode held back laughter, "The second point is because of Carla's previous prophecy."
"Lucy being chased by bees, while Rhode laughs on the side," Carla repeated the 'future' she had seen before.
"That's right, I figured Carla's prophecies are usually pretty accurate. Lucy, you're really good at attracting bizarre things, so the success rate might be high."
"That's too much!" Lucy protested, "So I was so embarrassed fighting the bees, and you and Wendy were hiding and laughing at me!"
Rhode tried to soothe the victim's emotions, "No no, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing with joy for the plan's success. Wendy can prove this!"
Wendy hesitantly said, "Y-yeah..."
Lucy glanced at Wendy, who looked guilty, then quietly stared at Rhode.
Rhode refused to meet her gaze and instead turned to Gemini:
"Could I trouble you to go back and check on those Star Spirits' statuses? We'll wait another day here and return once we've confirmed the task is resolved."
Gemini waved cheerfully, "No problem!"
Minnie also said happily, "Leave it to us!"
The two little ones seemed to completely obey Rhode's orders, deliberately disappearing without greeting Lucy.
Lucy weakly said, "Whose Star Spirits are you..."
Baggs and his two minions came over, immediately complaining, "We almost got into danger; did something happen here?"
Rhode said, "Here too, the Cerberus you were responsible for came over."
The two briefly exchanged information and explained the situation to each other.
Baggs grumbled, "Does this count as completing it? Star Spirits can't really die, right?"
"We're also waiting for news from the Star Spirit Realm," Rhode said, "Generally, after an attack like that, even normal Star Spirits wouldn't be able to come out for quite a while.
"So at least it's temporarily resolved. If anything happens later, the Star Spirit Realm will intervene."
"Alright then, we're leaving," Baggs said, without any longing, "As previously agreed, the reward doesn't concern us."
Carla was surprised, "The reward for the Cerberus is 1.5 million, you're just walking away from that?"
Rhode said, "Baggs, even though he's a drunkard, is quite straightforward."
They conducted a final inspection of the battleground surroundings to ensure there were no issues before returning to the village.
Rhode explained the situation to the village chief, stating that the task was in its final confirmation stage, hence they needed to stay an extra day.
The village chief not only had no objections but was delighted at their responsibility.
The group enjoyed a day of generous hospitality, and it wasn't until the afternoon of the next day that Gemini finally returned with news.
Gemini: "The Star Spirit King just sensed that abandoned Star Spirits have escaped confinement and secretly fled to the Human Realm."
Minnie: "However, their purpose is still unclear, and the method of escape has just begun to be investigated."
Gemini's voice suddenly deepened, sounding like the Star Spirit King's:
"'Old friends, if you encounter Star Spirits wreaking havoc in the Human Realm, please, by all means, help defeat them. All Star Spirits with guilt shall face severe punishment. I absolutely will not allow them to affect the relationship between the Star Spirit Realm and the Human Realm!'"
Minnie gestured upward, "That's what the King said."
Lucy worriedly asked, "Are there other abandoned Star Spirits that have come to the Human Realm?"
Gemini said, "Basically all the abandoned Star Spirits..."
Minnie continued, "All of them have come."
Lucy was a bit panicked, "Isn't that really bad? If they're all as strong as these three..."
Gemini: "No need to worry, they're just like ordinary Star Spirits, some are strong, some are weak, and some can't fight at all."
Minnie: "The Cerberus Constellation and Asterion Constellation are two of the stronger ones, and paired with the Quadrans Muralis Constellation, they became quite troublesome."
Wendy asked, "Miss Lucy, how many abandoned constellations are there?"
"Well... a lot, I never specifically counted them," Lucy thought and estimated,
"Widely circulated ones are about 30+, lesser-known ones are also about thirty, and if you count those that only circulate within small communities, or are privately named, they're countless. Gemini, do you know the exact number?"
"Regarding all the constellations that have appeared throughout history, even the Star Spirit King doesn't know. Crookes might not have records either."
"However, any constellation capable of birthing Star Spirits must have reflected some astronomical pattern during certain periods in history."
"Only such constellations represent the status of the Star Spirit Realm at the time, thus gaining more recognition from astronomers."
"If a few people or individuals randomly name them according to personal preferences, they can't reflect the situation of the Star Spirit Realm at that time, hence there would be no corresponding Star Spirits."
Gemini and Minnie spoke in turn.
Lucy recalled her learned knowledge:
"So, there are probably only 60 or so constellations meeting such criteria... No, 60 is already a lot, almost reaching the number of official Star Spirits."
With trouble in the Star Spirit Realm, Lucy definitely wanted to help, but with over 60 'fugitives' scattered worldwide, she had no idea where to find them.
Rhode said, "I've actually encountered other abandoned Star Spirits, our guild may have received similar commissions."
Lucy was surprised, "When?"
Rhode said, "On the 1st of last month, Mira and I went to Mermaid's Heel and happened to take a rescue mission. The attacker was a huge 'Ghost Ship'."
"Ghost Ship? A ship-shaped Star Spirit?" Lucy pondered for a moment, guessing, "Canopus?!"
"Yes, it should be it," Rhode said, "At the time, I didn't think it was an abandoned Star Spirit. Now that I think about it, when that ship disappeared after being defeated, it was exactly like these three Star Spirits."
And then Rhode looked at Lucy, "Additionally, there was another coincidence, on the attacked ship, there was also a Star Spirit Mage."
Lucy: "!!!"