Makarov led the entire guild in a frantic escape, without a shred of loyalty.
As the last remaining shred of conscience in Fairy Tail, Rhodes decided to stay behind and see how things would play out.
Mira stayed too. Rhodes suspected she might have done it just to see how this disaster unfolded for fun. No, no, surely not. Mira was kind at heart. Definitely.
Strangely, the audience didn't seem alarmed by Fairy Tail's mass exodus. Perhaps they assumed it was part of the performance. In fact, they followed suit with noisy cheers and applause, fleeing the theater as if it were scripted, fully immersed in the "drama."
It was as if watching the entire stage crumble after a ferocious battle was just another interactive moment for the extras. The crowd seemed thrilled, even more engaged as they made their "dramatic escape."
In the end, all that was left of the once-grand theater was a pile of smoldering rubble. And standing atop the wreckage, in the spotlight that no longer existed, were the survivors: Natsu and Gray, knocked flat on the ground; Erza standing tall as she took a proud bow; and Lucy, who tugged her cloak tighter around herself as she offered a hesitant, reluctant bow.
At that moment, Erza truly believed she had delivered a powerful and meaningful performance. Lucy, on the other hand, was still wondering whether this had been a success or an absolute catastrophe.
Mira approached, clapping with a bright smile. "Congratulations! That was a resounding success!"
"Thank you," Erza replied solemnly, accepting the praise with all the grace of a professional actor. "Though I still have much to improve, I appreciate your support."
Lucy blinked. "Wait… this counts as a success?"
"Of course it does," Mira said with certainty. "Everyone left with big smiles."
Rhodes nodded beside her. "If the audience was happy, then that's a success."
"That's… actually kind of nice," Lucy said, her expression softening. Then her eyes widened. "Wait! I think I saw master and the others weren't they all here earlier?"
"Mm-hmm," Rhodes said. "Master brought the whole guild to see the show. But once he realized how much damage was done to the theater, he ran off with everyone to avoid footing the bill."
"Ahhhh!" Lucy clutched her head, horrified. "The entire theater collapsed!!"
She was always a little slow to process chaos.
"It's alright. Really," said a voice from behind the broken stage.
A middle-aged man stepped forward, Rabian, the director of the Shezad Theater and the client who'd hired them in the first place.
With a calm smile, Rabian said, "No need to pay for damages. I'll even honor the payment I promised. Thank you. But…"
"But?" the group echoed.
"You'll have to stay, thank you. And continue performing… for at least a week, thank you."
It seemed "thank you" was his verbal tic. Polite or persistent? Rhodes figured it was probably both.
"No problem!" Erza agreed before Lucy could even speak, eyes sparkling. "We'll perform as many times as you want!"
She already looked ready to dive straight into rehearsals.
Lucy wanted to complain that Erza had agreed far too quickly, but then again, considering the damage they caused, working to pay it off felt like the only reasonable option.
Still, she turned to Mira hesitantly. "Is working off the debt really okay?"
Mira gave her a reassuring smile. "If the client says so, and you agree, then it's fine."
"I guess there's no other choice," Lucy sighed. She definitely couldn't afford to pay for an entire building.
Rabian immediately perked up. "Then let's get moving. Thank you! We'll begin clearing the ruins and set up an outdoor stage right away!"
At this point, Rabian no longer cared about the theater building, he'd realized these wizards were the real spectacle.
"Oh! Miss Mirajane, isn't it? Thank you!" Rabian rushed over to Mira, rubbing his hands with hopeful energy. "Would you consider joining our acting troupe? Thank you!"
Rhodes, who'd raised his fist instinctively, relaxed. He thought the man was charging in for a fight.
Mira smiled sweetly and waved her hand. "Thank you for the invitation, but we've got our own responsibilities. We'll be heading back soon."
"What a shame. Thank you," Rabian sighed, genuinely disappointed.
"Anyway, we'll take our leave for now," Rhodes said. "The guild renovation starts tomorrow, and there's a lot to prepare." He found Rabian likable enough. With Erza involved, he didn't worry they'd be treated unfairly.
Suddenly, Natsu and Gray sprang to their feet. "Wait, the guild renovation's finished?!"
Rhodes nodded.
"Darn it! We stayed here for too long and missed such a big moment!" Natsu groaned.
"You can still help with the next phase," Rhodes said flatly. "But try not to cause any more disasters."
Erza thumped her chest armor confidently. "Don't worry. I've got it all under control!"
However, things never quite go as expected.
...
They had parted ways on August 28th, and it was now September 8th when they finally reunited back at the guild.
Even though they had taken a day to rest after returning, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and even Happy looked completely worn out.
Only Erza, bright-eyed and full of energy, stepped up to the counter and handed in their mission report. "Being an actor was a great experience. I'd love to do something like that again!"
"No way..." Lucy groaned, slumping over the counter. Despite being exhausted, she still had the strength to complain. "How is Erza still this energetic?"
"Isn't it wonderful to bring joy and comfort to an audience through a moving performance?" Erza said, her eyes sparkling with conviction. "To help them forget their troubles, even just for a little while. That's meaningful work."
She practically radiated with righteousness and pride.
"Our performance wasn't nearly that noble." Lucy whimpered, "And that director pushed us way too hard! We had to do three shows a day!"
The worst part was that their client wasn't some villain they could beat up. No, they had wrecked his theater, and Erza was treating the whole thing like sacred duty.
And apparently, the man had been divorced by his wife because she didn't support his passion for the arts. Lucy just didn't have the heart to get mad at someone like that.
"Well, well..." Mira said gently, smiling all the while. "At least you got paid in the end, right? That's something."
"Yeah... I guess." Lucy sighed. Technically, she did get compensated. But emotionally? Never again.
"But I have to say, I was really surprised when I came back, the guild's renovation looks amazing!"
"Not quite done yet," Mira replied. "Only the first floor's finished so far. Listen carefully, you can still hear the construction upstairs. It'll be a few more days before everything's complete."
"That's fine. The place already feels much bigger, even though the footprint hasn't changed," Lucy said, leaning on the counter and glancing around.
"That's because they redesigned the layout. Most of the old rooms have been shifted upstairs or down to the basement," Mira explained. Then something came to mind. "Oh! The bar's hiring new servers. Lucy, want to give it a try?"
"Uh... I'm more into adventuring than serving drinks."
Mira gave her a sly grin. "They might give you a really cute server uniform~"
"Who would become a waitress just for the uniform?" Lucy rolled her eyes.
But to her dismay, Erza perked up instantly, stars in her eyes. "What kind of uniform? Can I try it on?!"
Lucy facepalmed. "I forgot... she's the real danger here."
Mira giggled behind her hand. Erza was definitely the most enthusiastic one when it came to this sort of thing.
"Hey. I haven't seen Mr. Rhodes around."
"He's in the library," Mira replied, her tone slightly cooler. "It was just renovated yesterday. He's helping clean and organize it."
"With Levy," she added, pouting faintly.
"Miss Mira, are... you okay?" Lucy asked cautiously.
"I'm fine," Mira said, swirling an empty wine glass between her fingers. "Rhodes and Levy get along well. He's even been learning some word magic from her. Nothing strange about two people spending time alone in a dim little room."
Though she didn't say anything else, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.
Erza, blissfully unaware, nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Rhodes also asked me about Requip magic once. We were alone in a room too. It's totally normal."
Lucy stared at the cup in Mira's hand, now visibly cracked.
She leaned in toward Erza and whispered, "Uh... maybe don't say anything else. I think Rhodes might already be in trouble."
...
Stones PlZzzz