Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master

After a moment of silence, Makarov finally spoke. "You can take time off, but not just yet."

"Why not?"

"I may need your help with the investigation regarding the Tower of Heaven."

"I already wrote a report. I'll send it out soon."

"That's not enough. Can you guess what day it is today?"

"September 23. The month's almost over, but we still have, wait..." Rhodes paused as realization hit him. "Ah… the Harvest Festival is coming."

Early October marked the annual Harvest Festival, the most important event for Magnolia and Fairy Tail alike.

In the coming two weeks, guild members out on missions would start returning, and with them, a backlog of tasks would pile up.

Rhodes considered rounding up some strong hands from the guild to deal with the upcoming wave of work, or squeezing in a few jobs himself to earn a bit of extra money.

"Besides, with the Council currently inactive, you don't even have to write self-reflections. You should have more free time to help with daily guild affairs."

"Who said I don't have to write? Just because the Council's inactive doesn't mean it's gone. I'll still need to submit everything once they're back in action. I'm very busy."

"How busy could you be? Don't you always procrastinate until the deadline anyway?"

"Nonsense. I'm just thinking things through."

"Sure you are."

"Seriously, I am busy!"

"Right. Got it."

...

At the headquarters of Grimoire Heart, Master Hades was speaking into a crystal ball. "Did you retrieve it?"

The figure within the crystal ball was none other than the missing Ultear. "Yes. I acquired it while the Council was in chaos."

"Hehehe… eight years of planning, and everything is going exactly as intended. You've done well, Ultear."

"It was quite entertaining. Jellal was so adorable. In all those years, he never realized I was the one pretending to be the 'Voice of Zeref's Ghost.'"

"That's the beauty of influencing someone from a young age. They're so much easier to mold. But I heard Jellal was captured. You might be implicated. We should avoid unnecessary attention for now."

"Let's leave the next steps to our 'allies.' Weren't the Oración Seis searching for 'that' artifact? The Council's archives contained quite a bit of useful information."

"Then I'll leave the rest to you."

"Yes, Master Hades."

The communication ended. Ultear played idly with the crystal ball, murmuring, "It's easiest to brainwash someone when they're still little..."

She smirked. "Is that so, Master Hades?"

...

That night, under the soft glow of a crescent moon, Rhodes and Mira rode out of the city atop a river crab.

The Master had refused to join them, grumbling about something. In any case, they had already summoned one dragon, summoning another didn't seem like a big deal anymore.

"Where are we heading this time?" Mira asked as she curled up in Rhodes' arms, finding the coziest spot to lean.

"Let's head to the usual place," Rhodes replied, wrapping an arm around her waist. His other hand slipped beneath her shirt and began tracing gentle circles around her belly button.

Mira didn't stop him. In fact, she placed her hand over his, enjoying the warmth and comfort.

Especially when she had stomachaches, she could spend the whole day with him rubbing her belly like this.

"Isn't it kind of far?"

"Yeah," Rhodes nodded. "But thinking about the ruckus that mountain dragon caused last time, we'd better go even farther this time."

The moonlight was faint, and the farther they got from town, the darker the night became.

Fortunately, the scuttle crab had excellent night vision and moved swiftly. It carried them to their destination in no time.

The crater ruins left behind from the last time the Mountain Dragon departed still lay scattered in the area. Wind and rain had swept through recently, and now tufts of weeds had begun growing between the stones.

Though it had only been two or three months, nature was already reclaiming the rubble.

"Let's do it here," Rhodes said, hopping down from the river crab.

Mira looked at him, surprised.

Noticing she hadn't followed, Rhodes asked, "What's wrong… Oh, right."

Smiling at the thought of his delicate and lovely fiancée, Rhodes extended a hand. "Come on, I'll carry you down."

"It's nothing," Mira replied, a little surprised. Rhodes used to 'accidentally' slip his hand a lot before, but today he was being unusually well-behaved.

Still, she wrapped her arms around his neck and didn't refuse the offer to be carried.

"Ready," Rhodes said, waiting for her to get her footing. Then he took two steps forward and lifted his pendant. "Summon: Blue Sentinel, Mountain Dragon!"

A towering golem, four to five meters tall, materialized. It immediately bestowed blue buff on Rhodes. Seeing that there were no enemies nearby, it instinctively added one to Mira as well.

This was routine during sparring sessions. Rhodes never relied on mana regeneration to gain an unfair advantage over Mira.

Then the massive form of the Mountain Dragon emerged, appearing groggy as though it had just been awoken from a nap.

Sensing the change in atmosphere, the Mountain Dragon lifted its head and gave a slow shake. Its broad snout twisted into an expression of mild exasperation. "Why not just summon him directly? Why bother me?"

"I figured I should check if you two have already communicated."

"We're practically sleeping in the same nest—what do you think?" The Mountain Dragon's form started to fade, becoming translucent. "Hurry up. That guy's got a short fuse. If you take too long, he might come out yelling about how he's going to pummel you."

To be fair, "sleeping in the same nest" wasn't entirely accurate.

Rhodes could perceive the dragon pit clearly. It was a split cavern in the canyon, one side was earthy and khaki-colored, with a yellow stone symbol on the wall where the Mountain Dragon lay dozing.

The other side blazed red, with a flame-shaped mark seared into the rock. A crimson dragon stood on that side, fire radiating from its form.

The two halves of the dragon pit seemed clearly divided, each side respecting the other's space.

This made Rhodes worry slightly about the future. If more dragons were summoned, would they end up clustered together like Voidmites, constantly bumping into each other?

Judging from the Mountain Dragon's earlier tone, the next one might not be in the best mood. Rhodes gave Mira a reassuring look, then gripped his pendant and spoke the full incantation. "I am..."

"Summon: Purgatory Dragon!"

Whoosh—

As magic flared, it felt like a blast of hot wind erupted outward. The air around them turned scorching.

The weeds atop the rubble dried up in an instant, then ignited and crumbled into ash.

"Aaaanghhh—!"

A thunderous roar echoed across the plain, blazing heat radiating from the swirling flames now burning before them. Even the ground began to smolder and crackle, transforming the once-neutral field into a scene out of a fiery underworld.

Rhodes and Mira quickly leapt onto the sentinel's shoulders. It backed up more than ten meters to give them some distance.

From that safer vantage point, they could finally get a proper look at the new behemoth.

The Purgatory Dragon had a body similar in shape to the Mountain Dragon, but its coloring was a deep, searing red, exuding intense heat like it was forged from flowing magma.

Its neck, chin, and wings were as black as obsidian, gleaming like cooled volcanic glass against the molten red of the rest of its body.

It flapped its massive wings, sending waves of heat rolling outward.

But the Infernal Dragon didn't take flight. Instead, it scanned its surroundings before locking eyes with Rhodes.

"Your name is Rhodes?" it asked in the dialect of this world—rough and guttural, like chewing gravel.

"That's me," Rhodes answered. Despite the dragon's aggressive tone, he kept his voice steady.

The Infernal Dragon snorted, clearly impatient. "What have you been stalling for? I've been waiting ages."

It pointed at its own forehead.

"Stop talking. Now punch me, right here. Don't hold back. Come on, hit me with everything you've got."