Rhode is a broad-minded person; even when his teammates complain about him, he doesn't hold a grudge and resolves their seasickness issues.
Once they were feeling a bit better, Laxus and Gajeel finally remembered to ask about the mission.
Rhode found it inconvenient to talk to them through a window, so he called Mira and Jubia to switch to River Crabs as well.
As for the passenger ship, they directly settled half of the fee and let the ship owner return since they hadn't traveled far from the city.
"This emergency mission is assigned by the President," Rhode said, "He requires us to arrive in the Royal Capital a day in advance to investigate any signs of Dark Guild or Black Magic Sect activities around."
Gajeel asked, "Is someone attempting to cause trouble in the Royal Capital?"
"Isn't that impossible? At a critical time like this, the Royal Capital should be heavily guarded," when discussing topics not involving Gray, Jubia's thoughts were rather clear.
"In the upcoming days, almost every Mages' Guild from across the nation will come here; under such circumstances, causing trouble... Isn't that like declaring war against the entire Kingdom?"
"That's how it would normally be," Rhode repeated the information Precht provided.
"I see." They nodded; if it involved Zeref, anything could happen.
Those fanatics never adhere to common sense.
The more people there are in the Royal Capital, the greater the destruction they could cause.
Such a dangerous and critical mission makes dispatching a team like theirs quite reasonable.
Rhode asked, "Is everyone clear on the mission details?"
Seeing everyone nod, he smiled slightly, "Well, the truth is, we just used this as an excuse to slip away."
Gajeel and Jubia were momentarily stunned; can such a big issue be used as a pretext?
Laxus maintained a stern expression, internally grumbling about what his geezer is up to.
Only Mira chuckled, sensing something fun was bound to happen.
"Our true mission is to become Fairy Tail's second representative team, secretly advancing to the finals without the first team members knowing, and then surprise them."
"What's the point of that..." Gajeel grumbled, "Why do we need to be sneaky to participate in the competition?"
"Secretly doing things behind Gray's back makes Jubia feel guilty."
"Surely it's the President's idea of fun," Mira said with a grin, "I'm also looking forward to seeing their expressions when they suddenly see us, without knowing the truth."
Laxus thought about his unreliable grandfather, feeling it's indeed a trick he might pull.
What can he do as the grandson? Naturally, he must play along.
He asked, "I only have an issue with the team name; although I don't know who's on the other team, they should be called the second team, right?"
Rhode stated, "If we register them as the second team during enrollment, we'd be exposed."
"The President will register them directly under Fairy Tail Representative Team; the differentiation will naturally happen in the main competition. If you don't like the second team, you could call it Team B or Team Beta."
Rhode spoke enthusiastically, but except for Mira, the other three were uninterested.
Jubia, compared to sneaking off to the Royal Capital for such matters, wanted to go cheer for her dear Gray early.
Seeing their lackluster expressions, Rhode pulled out a trump card:
"The President says the winning team can boss around the other team for a day, but if we're exposed before the main competition, we'll lose that right."
"Boss around…"
"The other team…"
"For a day?"
Laxus, Jubia, and Gajeel all envisioned amusing scenarios.
Even Mira began anticipating Erza being submissive.
Rhode didn't care; if he didn't know what to do by then, he could easily bully Lucy.
As for losing?
If this lineup still loses, he might as well crash into two pieces of tofu on Mira's chest.
Two Void Swift Crabs quietly accelerated amid the mischievous and oppressive laughter.
Since they set off near evening, the two River Crabs followed the water route hastily using Acceleration Skills, arriving at the Royal Capital while it was still dark.
"It's beautiful!" Jubia was visiting the Royal Capital for the first time, naturally her first encounter with its nightlife.
"Not a big deal," Gajeel scoffed, "Where do we stay tonight?"
"The rules state that after registration, participants will be assigned lodging by the staff, but at this hour... Let's just find a place ourselves," Rhode estimated the registration staff had finished work by now.
…
Early the next morning, Rhode guided the team to register, then moved to the Ferris Wheel Hotel designated by the organizers.
That's the Ferris Wheel Hotel that Rhode and Mira deliberately experienced last time they visited the Royal Capital.
With ample time remaining, they split up to 'investigate' various places around the Royal Capital.
Meanwhile, at Fairy Tail.
Makarov announced some regrettable news, "Rhode and his team received an emergency mission; they might not return during the competition period, so the participant roster has been adjusted."
"How could that be?"
"We've lost three aces at once!"
"Without them, who can defeat Jura?"
Below, a burst of noise ensued, Jet and Troy grew pessimistic.
But Natsu clearly wasn't fazed; he felt even more thrilled:
"So what if Rhode and Mira aren't here, or if Laxus isn't either? Fairy Tail won't concede just because they're absent!
"All the more reason to win the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts, and surprise them upon their return!"
Makarov attempted to hold back his laughter, but thinking it over, he realized he didn't need to; as President, seeing the kids so motivated should make him happy.
He clapped his hands to quiet everyone: "Let's announce the participants: first, Erza as Captain."
Erza stepped forward calmly.
"Then, Natsu and Gray."
"Oh!" Natsu responded, clapping his fists together.
Gray smiled softly.
"Next is Lucy."
"Eh?" Lucy couldn't believe it, "Me?"
She glanced at the Thunder God Tribe nearby, felt there were many stronger than her.
"It's fine for Lu," Reby comforted, "Just summoning Loki will do."
The others thought of Loki and Aquarius and felt it shouldn't be an issue either.
Makarov didn't provide explanations, continuing, "The last participant is... Kana!"
No response came.
Macao nudged Kana, who hugged a barrel of drink, "Wake up; the President chose you for the competition."
"Huh?" Kana mumbled drunkenly, "Are you challenging me to a drinking match?"
Macao sighed, "Seriously, drinking so much first thing in the morning."
Kana generously waved it off, "No worries, take this barrel as my concession."
Makarov finally spotted Kana's position, pondering whether to switch participants?