At night, Rhodes sat at his desk with a notebook spread open, scribbling and sketching with a pen. Every few seconds he tapped the barrel against his temple, thinking, then went back to writing.
The door swung open. Lisanna walked in wrapped in a bath towel, supporting Mira, who was dressed the same way.
"Brother-in-law, I've delivered Big Sis safely."
"Thanks for the hard work. It'd be even better if you could help massage her back too."
Lisanna refused without hesitation. "Absolutely not. That's a husband's job."
Mira bathed with her younger sister occasionally. Every time they finished, Lisanna insisted on helping Mira up the stairs personally. Mira thought she was being dramatic. Her belly had grown, sure, but she could still do a dozen backflips if she felt like it. Stairs were nothing.
But Lisanna believed in being careful. And on this point, she would not be argued with.
She helped Mira settle onto the edge of the bed, then leaned over Rhodes's shoulder to peek at his notebook. "What's this?"
"A training plan." Rhodes didn't look up.
Lisanna watched for a moment. Her brow furrowed. "Why does a training plan have lines of dialogue? And they're highlighted."
"Atmosphere. Saying the right things at the right moments boosts everyone's enthusiasm."
"I think if you actually say these lines out loud, everyone will immediately want to challenge you to a fight."
"Is it really that bad?"
Lisanna nodded solemnly. "Mhm."
Rhodes passed the notebook to Mira. "What do you think?"
Mira read through it and chose her words carefully. "These are... a bit harsh."
"Hmm." Rhodes winced slightly as he crossed out most of his carefully crafted motivational lines. "Fine. I'll cut it down to just one sentence."
The next morning, Rhodes and Mira arrived at the guild a little late.
The moment they walked through the doors, they were hit by a wall of noise. A crowd had mobbed the counter, shouting over each other at Makarov.
"Master! I want to sign up for the training camp!"
"I was here first!"
"I was CLEARLY first! Old man, write my name down already!"
Makarov appeared to be asking something, but his voice was completely buried under the chaos.
Lucy and Levy were sitting at a table further back, looking equal parts guilty and bewildered.
Rhodes decided against wading through the crowd with a pregnant wife in tow. He sat down across from Lucy and Levy instead. Mira settled in beside him.
"What happened?" Mira asked, looking around with genuine curiosity.
Both girls immediately put their hands together and bowed their heads.
"Sorry!"
Rhodes chuckled. "For what? Explain."
Lucy spoke first, guilt written across her face. "When we were chatting yesterday, we might have... accidentally leaked a tiny bit of what you told us, Miss Mira." She held up her thumb and forefinger, pinched close together, trying to emphasize just how tiny the leak had been.
Levy picked up the thread. "But everyone seems to have misunderstood. They think the guild is hosting a training camp where you automatically become an S-Class mage just by participating."
"And they also think spots are limited. That if they don't sign up fast, they'll miss out."
"The result is... that." She gestured toward the mob at the counter. "Some of them showed up before dawn."
Lucy sighed heavily. "How could they misunderstand it that badly? It's obviously that you only become S-Class by passing the training camp's trials. Right?"
Mira smiled sweetly. "I never said that."
Lucy and Levy's eyes went wide. "You didn't?!"
"I only said the Master is suspending this year's S-Class Promotion Exam, and that Rhodes is starting a training camp." Mira tilted her head. "I never said there was a connection between the two."
Levy stared blankly. "Then doesn't that mean..."
Lucy finished the thought. "We misunderstood Miss Mira's meaning, and then misled the entire guild?"
"Lucy. Levy." Rhodes shook his head with theatrical grief. "How wicked of you both."
Lucy's face flushed and she opened her mouth to apologize again.
But Levy knew Rhodes better than that. She narrowed her eyes, looking between Rhodes and Mira, who was clearly trying very hard not to laugh.
"You two did this on purpose, didn't you?"
Mira's composure cracked. "Oh dear. We've been found out."
Rhodes gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder. "We could have just denied it, you know."
"Oh. Right." Mira's expression reset instantly. Perfectly innocent. "We didn't do anything."
Levy gave them both a flat look. "Hey..."
Lucy finally caught up. "Huh?! Wait... this was a prank?!"
Mira put on an innocent expression. "But you promised me yesterday you wouldn't tell anyone else."
Lucy and Levy had no argument for that.
They turned to Rhodes. "What do we do now? Should we help the Master sort this out?"
"No need," Rhodes said. "Have faith in the Master's wisdom."
Two giant hands dropped over everyone's heads the moment he finished speaking, flattening the crowd at the counter straight into the floorboards.
Lucy looked at Rhodes.
"The Master's wisdom," she said flatly.
"Hm." Rhodes considered it. "Maybe his wisdom told him it was the most efficient approach."
"Master!" Mira called across the guild. "Please don't wreck the hall."
"Sorry, got it!" Makarov beamed at her, then snapped his expression back to something stern and slapped a stack of papers onto the counter. "Anyone signing up for the training camp fills out their own form. No limit on spots. But once your name goes down, there is no backing out."
Everyone scrambled up off the floor and rushed the counter, grabbing forms and filling them out, lining up to hand them in one after another.
When the last form landed on the pile, a brief silence fell over the room.
Natsu squinted at the stack. "Erza? You're already S-Class. Why did you sign up?"
Erza looked genuinely puzzled. "What does S-Class have to do with it?"
Happy tilted his head. "Isn't this the camp where you get promoted to S-Class at the end?"
Erza turned the registration form around and pointed to the header. "'Fairy Tail's First Comprehensive Mage Ability Enhancement Training Camp.' Nothing in here mentions S-Class promotion." She looked around at everyone. "Did none of you read what you were signing?"
"WHAT?"
The room erupted. Every head dropped back down to stare at the forms already submitted with their names on them.
Makarov slapped another sheet onto the counter. A rough outline of the training camp. Rhodes slid a second sheet alongside it without a word, the tentative detailed schedule.
Warren read through it. The color drained from his face. "I want to quit."
A flash of blade caught the light directly in front of him.
Freed's expression was pleasant in the way that very cold things sometimes appear pleasant. "The Master stated clearly that once a name is submitted, there is no withdrawal. The rules are absolute."
Rhodes patted Warren on the shoulder. "Allow me to introduce the training camp's specially invited inspector. Freed Justine. If you feel like testing the rules, feel free to see whether you can break through his Rune Magic first."
Warren swallowed.
Freed's relationship with rules was not something anyone in the magical world took lightly. There were stories from his time working alongside the Council that senior officials would quietly review their own conduct before entering a room he was in. He was not the sort of person you pushed.
Warren, Macao, Wakaba and several others let out quiet sounds of despair.
Erza turned to face them. "There is nothing to worry about. Rhodes completed every one of these drills himself at one point, and I will be right there alongside all of you this time." Something shifted in her expression. Her eyes lit up and she raised a fist. "We will keep each other accountable and see every single item through to completion!"
Warren's thoughts, in his distress, broadcast themselves into every mind in the room through his Telepathy Magic without him meaning to.
It's over. Erza is serious.