"Gray, are you heading out on a mission?" Lucy called out, her voice tinged with frustration as she continued her part-time job behind the counter.
"Why didn't you call me?"
"Ah, sorry," Gray replied with a shrug. "I'm going solo this time. Not planning to team up."
He waved the request slip casually and turned to leave.
"Eh? Why?" Lucy's eyes lit up, she had been hoping for an excuse to escape her work.
Gray kept walking, waving her off. "Ask someone else. I'm in a hurry."
"Rival."
Lucy flinched. That voice, she didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
A gloomy aura hovered around Juvia like a storm cloud. She stood brooding in the corner, her tone mournful. "Gray-sama didn't even invite Juvia… Juvia is so lonely… so envious of Edolas Juvia…"
Lucy was about to ask Rhodes what was going on when Natsu and Happy suddenly burst into the guild, snatched a request slip off the board, and bolted to the counter.
"Natsu? You're going on a mission too? I..."
"Sorry, Lucy, I'm going solo!" Natsu shouted as he grabbed the approved request and sprinted out.
"Aye!" Happy echoed.
Lucy stared, dumbfounded. "What's happening?!"
But Natsu and Happy were already gone.
She turned to see another wave of guild members crowding around the counter to register missions, looking urgent and unusually enthusiastic.
"These are the same people who were lazing around yesterday," Lucy muttered. "Why the sudden motivation?"
She looked to Lisanna. "Do you know what's going on?"
"Hmm… rushing to make rent?" Lisanna tilted her head. Having only recently returned to the guild after two years, she was still catching up.
Lucy frowned. "But some of these guys don't even rent a place…"
At that moment, Erza walked up beside them, arms crossed and wearing a satisfied smile.
"It's that time again," she said, watching the flurry of activity with amusement.
Finally, someone who knew what was going on.
"What time?" Lucy asked, eager for answers.
Erza didn't answer directly. She glanced Lucy up and down, then said with an elegant smile, "You've still got a long way to go."
She turned her eyes to Lisanna. "You too."
Then, without another word, Erza walked off gracefully.
Lisanna blinked, then her eyes lit up with realization. "Ah! I remember now! It's that time…"
Lucy was practically shaking her. "What time?!"
But Lisanna only smiled mysteriously and put a finger to her lips. "You'll find out in a few days."
"That just makes me more curious!" Lucy grumbled, scratching her cheek like a restless cat. She had just seen Levy and Jet heading off in different directions too. 'What was going on?'
"Lucy, more wine over here!"
"Yes!"
"And two more here!"
"Coming!"
Lisanna watched Lucy running back and forth across the guild hall and chuckled. "I'll help too."
"Really?" Lucy looked at her, surprised but grateful.
"No problem at all. I worked as a waitress in the guild back in Edolas," Lisanna said with a cheerful smile. "Mira-nee and my brother-in-law will probably be busy soon anyway, so I'll help lighten the load."
She had originally planned to rest a bit longer before rejoining the daily bustle, but seeing everyone working hard made her eager to jump in.
After a hectic stretch, the guild finally settled down. The sun hung lazily in the afternoon sky, casting long streaks of light across the floorboards.
Lucy finally found a moment to breathe. She leaned against the counter, still catching her breath, and asked Rhodes and Mira quietly, "What exactly is going on lately? I keep hearing people talk about this time or this period, what does that mean?"
Rhodes gave her a deliberately profound look. "There's an important day coming up," he said, lowering his voice dramatically. "It's… Lisanna's death anniversary."
"Onii san!" Lisanna immediately glared, puffing her cheeks in mock anger.
"Rhodes," Mira sighed, giving him a gentle smack on the arm. "Don't joke about that. We already visited Lisanna's grave, remember?"
"Miranee~!" Lisanna huffed, turning to scowl at her sister. "You too?!"
Rhodes held up his hands in surrender, grinning. "Sorry, sorry. It just popped into my head. We came back in such a rush that day, I forgot we hadn't done any actual maintenance for her grave."
"Oh, that's right…" Mira tapped her chin. "With everything that happened, we didn't get a chance to tend to the cemetery."
Lisanna paled. "I still have a grave?!"
Without another word, she darted out the front doors, muttering something about finding the priest immediately.
"I was going to ask Elfman to go with her," Mira said, watching her sister sprint away. "But he took a quest earlier. Hopefully the priest doesn't faint when she shows up alive and well."
Mira giggled softly, feeling a little flutter of joy. It was strange and silly, but somehow… exciting.
Just then, Cana slipped up to the counter, moving like a shadow, and whispered, "Mira, register this for me."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Sure. But why are you being so sneaky?"
Cana leaned in with a sigh. "Because Gildarts won't stop clinging to me. I told him to act like normal, but he just won't listen."
Mira glanced around the guild. "Is he asleep again?"
"I got him drunk," Cana muttered, glancing over her shoulder. "So hurry up. I want to leave for work before he wakes up. I told him we could just go back to how things were, but he won't listen."
"Alright," Mira said, writing down the mission slip slowly with a teasing smile. "But… aren't you going to leave the guild again this year? Didn't you disappear every year around this time."
Cana's face flushed red. "Don't bring up the past!"
Now that she thought about it, she really had been acting like a fool back then.
Lucy, catching the strange exchange, tilted her head curiously. "Wait, Cana used to leave the guild?"
"I said stop talking about it!" Cana gave Mira a desperate look, silently begging her not to spill any more embarrassing secrets. "I'll buy you dessert when I get back."
"Fine," Mira said with a sigh, reluctantly agreeing. "But that's a huge sacrifice. I was really looking forward to sharing that story."
Cana puffed out her cheeks, then changed the subject quickly. "By the way, Rhodes, shouldn't this be the year you get picked? Want me to help you out?"
She spoke casually, but her tone held a rare sincerity. She wasn't even thinking of competing seriously this time, she was willing to be his partner instead.
"I've already teamed up with someone," Rhodes replied. "But don't sell yourself short. Why not take it seriously this time? You might surprise yourself."
"I used to take it seriously," Cana mumbled. Then she broke into a smirk. "Hmph, fine. But don't come crying to me later."
"Hah!" Rhodes laughed, slipping his arm around Mira's shoulders. "Just hope you don't end up facing Mira. I'll ask her to go easy on you… or maybe not."
"You two!" Kana pointed accusingly. "Isn't that cheating? The examiner and the examinee are practically family!"
Then it hit her, she had an examiner in her family too.
Rhodes caught the shift in her expression and realized the same thing. Uh-oh. Cana was technically a special case too.
Cana turned on her heel and strode out, head held high. On her way out, she skillfully ducked past the still-snoozing Gildarts without making a sound.
Moments later, Wendy and Carla arrived at the guild.
As soon as she entered, Wendy went straight to the counter and tugged on Rhodes's sleeve. "Brother Rhodes, everyone's saying that 'that' is coming soon. Do we need to prepare anything?"
Lucy nearly fell over. "Seriously?! Even Wendy knows? What is that?! Why does everyone know except me?!"
She clutched her head in frustration. She wasn't even the newest member anymore!