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

"I've long heard that Fairy Tail is an unruly guild, but I never expected it to be this barbaric," Arcadios muttered, his hand still resting uneasily on his sword.

When he arrived at the guild to retrieve the Princess, the sight that greeted him looked less like a wedding reception and more like the aftermath of a war. His first thought was that an assassin had struck, and he had nearly charged in with his men to cut down the culprits on the spot.

If Princess Hisui hadn't quickly stopped him, Arcadios was certain something irreversible would have happened. His impression of Fairy Tail plummeted immediately.

"Perhaps that's true if you measure them by ordinary standards," Princess Hisui replied lightly, leaning against the carriage window with an almost mischievous smile. "But don't you think they're… interesting?"

Arcadios wisely held his tongue. In his mind, it was reckless and unorthodox, allowing the Princess to be caught in such a dangerous brawl. Still, he knew when not to push.

He shifted the subject. "Your Highness, how is that matter progressing?"

Hisui knew he was referring to the Eclipse Project. "The incident a few days ago was only a misunderstanding," she explained. "They were simply looking for a Celestial Spirit Mage to search for clues about their missing companion."

Since it wasn't a sensitive secret, Hisui had casually asked Lucy directly, using her own status as a fellow Celestial Spirit Mage. Lucy had readily shared her account of the 'disappearance.'

Arcadios nodded. "That's good. Then the next steps can move forward without obstruction."

"Exactly," Hisui agreed, her tone turning more serious. She couldn't ignore the warnings Makarov and Rhodes had shared about Zeref and Acnologia. If even Fairy Tail acknowledged them as threats beyond their power, then the royal family had no choice but to act.

To protect Fiore, they had to continue with the plan, whatever it took. Even if that meant relying on forbidden magic that could never be revealed to the public.

Back at the guild, once Princess Hisui and her entourage had departed, Rhodes let out a long sigh. "In the end, it turned out like this again."

Banquet or ball, it never mattered. With Fairy Tail, it always ended in chaos.

Now the guild was a far cry from the noisy celebration it had been all day. Guests from other guilds, Council members, even Fairy Tail's own mages lay scattered about, some sleeping, some drunk, some simply unconscious.

Silence finally settled over the guild.

Mira glanced fondly at Lisanna and Elfman dozing side by side, then turned her eyes to Rhodes and smiled softly. "But everyone had fun… at our wedding."

Rhodes wrapped an arm around her and chuckled warmly. "Yes. At our wedding."

Like doting parents, the two quietly went about tidying up. They adjusted the heat from the magic stove, draped blankets over Wendy, Lisanna, Lucy, and the others, and made sure no one would catch a chill in the night.

By the time they were finished, it was already late.

"So," Mira asked, her voice lowering as her cheeks flushed slightly, "what do we do now?"

Rhodes swept her into his arms without hesitation, his lips brushing her ear. "What else? I don't plan on spending our wedding night in the guild, do you?"

"Hmm..." Mira's face burned bright red. It was true, the thought of staying here hardly seemed right. Something… more special was in order.

After quietly closing the guild's heavy front doors, Rhodes carried Mira into the night sky. They slipped away to their home, pulling the curtains shut in a hurry.

"Wait, at least let me take off the wedding dress first."

"No," Rhodes murmured with a playful grin. "What I want… is the wedding dress."

...

The next morning, the couple woke up a little later than usual. With no one else at home the night before, Rhodes and Mira had been freer, less restrained.

When Rhodes opened his eyes, he was met with Mira's gentle gaze.

A grin tugged at his lips. "Good morning, my dear."

The nervous flicker on Mira's face melted away, replaced by a radiant smile. She quickly kissed him and echoed, "Good morning, my dear."

She'd heard the rumor somewhere, that if a married couple said those words on their first morning together, their marriage would always remain sweet. She'd reminded Rhodes several times yesterday, afraid he might forget.

Seeing her so earnest and adorable, Rhodes pulled her into his arms, unable to resist the warmth of the moment.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, they finally got up and began tidying the house.

Determined to uphold her ideal of being a "perfect wife," Mira insisted on preparing breakfast herself. Rhodes had tried to help in the kitchen but was quickly driven out after making more mischief than progress, so he resigned himself to fixing up the yard instead.

The small courtyard was still a mess from Lucy and Levy's play yesterday, and that enormous spider web was still hanging crookedly. Rhodes rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

When breakfast was ready, Mira appeared in the doorway, dressed in soft loungewear with an apron tied around her waist. Her long hair was loosely gathered and draped over one shoulder. As she untied the apron strings, she called out sweetly, "Time to eat."

At the same moment, she noticed Rhodes standing on a stepladder, a nail in his mouth, hammer in hand, repairing a cracked board on the wall.

Their eyes met. Both paused, taking in the scene.

'We really got married,' they thought at the same time.

The guests, meanwhile, felt more than a little embarrassed as they departed Fairy Tail. Jura and Kagura, who were normally so composed, couldn't believe they had ended up brawling at their friends' wedding and even spent the night in the guild hall.

But Fairy Tail, of course, held no grudges. The guild only laughed, because the more friends they had close enough to let loose like that, the better.

The Council members, on the other hand, were deeply mortified. To cause a ruckus inside Fairy Tail of all places, and with the Princess herself present? Nearly being mistaken for assassins by the Royal Guard was a humiliation none of them would soon forget.

Lahar, wearing glasses with cracked lenses, shot a frigid glare at Doranbalt. It had been him who started the chaos last night, and who seemed to enjoy it the most.

If they hadn't worked together for so many years, Lahar might have suspected Doranbalt was Fairy Tail's undercover agent.

Still, he swallowed his frustration. Better to leave quietly than give the guild more reason to laugh at them. He politely bid farewell, counted his men, and marched the team away in order.

Doranbalt, meanwhile, remembered all too well the "good deeds" he'd pulled last night. A sense of doom pressed on him. For a fleeting moment, he even thought of staying at Fairy Tail. He shook his head fiercely to banish the idea and muttered to himself:

'Maybe I should just erase Lahar's memory, tell him he blacked out from drinking…'

Once the guests had gone, Fairy Tail got to work cleaning up, as naturally as breathing.

"Rhodes, all your wedding gifts are stacked in the back," Max called. "Don't forget to take them."

"Got it, thanks," Rhodes replied.

Levy carried over a stack of papers and cash. "Mira, we didn't spend the full budget. Here are the receipts and what's left."

Mira accepted it with a smile. "I see. Thank you for working so hard."

Erza came forward, looking uncharacteristically awkward. "Um… the compensation bill for the cathedral just arrived…"

She'd wanted to cover it herself, but money had been tight for her lately.

Rhodes and Mira answered at once, "Of course we'll pay for it. It's our wedding day, we won't let the bridesmaids shoulder that."

Just then, Kinana, wiping down the bar, found something under the counter. "Oh! There's money here, along with a note from Simon. He says it's compensation from his sister, Kagura."