Rhodes said calmly, "My suggestion is to seal it, not destroy it. If a truly unavoidable crisis arises in the future, something like the destruction of the world, we could use it to send information back to the present and prepare in advance."
The Minister of State immediately objected. "However, once this kind of Magic becomes known, there is always the risk of it being abused."
"There are many dangerous forms of Magic in this world," Rhodes replied. "Even if we destroy the Eclipse Gate today, we cannot guarantee that future generations won't develop something even more destructive.
"Since that's the case, keeping a known and functional Magic under strict control is not necessarily a bad option.
"Of course," he added, "the Eclipse Gate must be placed under extremely heavy restrictions so that it cannot be activated easily."
The people present exchanged looks. "Restrictions?" someone asked.
Rhodes nodded. "For example, first apply a powerful magical seal directly to the Gate itself, then completely encase it within solid rock.
"Outside that rock, add another layer of Sealing Magic, one that only Fairy Tail can open. Then, around that seal, construct a hidden chamber that only the Royal Family can access."
He paused briefly before concluding, "With layered safeguards like this, the Gate could only be opened with the consent of both parties. We would agree never to activate it unless the nation is facing an absolute crisis. What do you think?"
The room fell silent.
After a moment, the King slowly nodded. "That is indeed a more appropriate solution."
As for why the responsibility should fall to the Kingdom and Fairy Tail rather than any other guild, no one said it out loud.
But the reason was obvious.
Trust.
Princess Hisui then asked, "How should we respond to the Council?"
"It's best that the Council doesn't learn about this Magic at all," Rhodes said, shaking his head. "Otherwise, there's no telling what unreasonable demands they might make."
The King agreed immediately. "Keeping it hidden is the wisest choice. Eclipse Magic is illegal by international standards. If its existence were exposed, the political pressure would be enormous."
The group then discussed how to respond to the Council's inevitable inquiries. The agreed upon explanation was simple.
Because the Grand Magic Games gathered an unusually large number of Dragon Slayers, several dormant Dragons were disturbed and attempted to retaliate.
As for why the Dragons appeared near the Royal Palace, one of them possessed spatial abilities, and the presence of Dragon remains beneath the palace attracted their attention.
Thus, the Royal Palace became their chosen point of emergence.
If the Council doubted this explanation, they could seek confirmation from Atlas Flame himself.
That Dragon's temperament was relatively mild. As long as the investigators didn't act aggressively, they wouldn't be harmed.
If necessary, Atlas Flame could even be invited to the Council for questioning.
Rhodes personally stated that he would assist with persuasion if required.
Once that issue was settled, the Knights Commander spoke up. "During last night's battle, soldiers reported that, aside from the extensive support provided by Mr. Rhodes, members of Crime Sorcière also rescued many troops in distress.
"As Commander, I have a duty to express the soldiers' gratitude. However, their identities…"
The King raised a hand. "Crime Sorcière did help protect the Royal Capital. It is only proper that we acknowledge that."
He continued more gravely, "However, their past crimes cannot be ignored. Given the circumstances, the Kingdom can only offer them limited convenience within Fiore."
In short, while Crime Sorcière had earned merit, it wasn't enough for Fiore to publicly absolve them without facing criticism.
Still, the implication was clear. The Kingdom's military would not pursue them, and discreet assistance was not off the table.
Rhodes had no objections. If he were the King, he might even consider recruiting them outright, but Toma and Hisui did not yet place that level of trust in them.
A measure of leniency was already a favorable outcome.
After addressing several additional matters, Rhodes felt as though he had unintentionally become the Kingdom's chief strategist.
Finally, he raised his own request.
"I'd like to use the Eclipse Gate's residual magic to send Future Lucy back to her time," Rhodes said. "There's also no need for Future Rogue to remain here."
"This…" The others exchanged uneasy glances. They clearly hadn't expected that request.
Given what had just happened, the idea of activating the Gate again made them instinctively wary.
Rhodes reassured them. "Don't worry. The remaining magic power is insufficient to cause any large scale effect.
"You can supervise the entire process. I guarantee that I won't release anyone unnecessary from the Gate, nor allow any unauthorized person to enter it."
The few people hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded in agreement.
Rhodes's credibility was extremely high at this point, and his deterrent power was undeniable. Since he had spoken frankly and even sought their opinions, they chose to place their trust in him.
It was indeed inappropriate for the two Future People to remain here.
Even Future Rogue, who deserved punishment, ought to return to his own time and space.
After all, they had already decided to conceal the existence of the Eclipse Gate, so quietly sending the two away was the best possible solution.
Rhodes finalized the timing for activating and resealing the Eclipse Gate with them, then left first to make preparations.
Meanwhile, the King began preparing to receive Lahar.
On his way back, Rhodes saw many busy soldiers. They were cleaning the battlefield, clearing rubble, and preparing for postwar reconstruction.
However, he repeatedly encountered groups of soldiers gathered together, speaking loudly among themselves.
Rhodes caught words like "impossible," "ghost," and "miracle."
After passing by three such groups, he finally stepped forward out of curiosity and asked, "Did something happen?"
"Ah, Mr. Rhodes!"
The soldiers immediately became nervous, subconsciously forming ranks and even saluting.
"There's no need to be so formal," Rhodes said calmly. "I'm just curious. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Yes!"
The leading soldier stepped forward and pointed toward the street and the buildings on both sides. "Last night, I personally saw this entire street destroyed. The tall buildings on both sides collapsed, and they were also damaged by those bugs. In short, the destruction was extremely severe.
"But when we arrived just now to clear the ruins, we found everything completely intact, as if no battle had ever taken place here."
Rhodes carefully sensed the surroundings.
A trace of familiar magic lingered in the area. It felt like Ultear's.
Looking at the restored streets and buildings before him, he quickly understood what had happened.
Arc of Time really is useful in situations like this.
If we could lure Ultear back into the guild, then no matter how badly the guild gets destroyed during battles, reconstruction would never be an issue again.
What a talent.
"Don't panic," Rhodes said, calming the soldiers. "Someone is using magic to help repair the Royal Capital. You should go assist in areas farther away from here."
After sending the soldiers off, Rhodes made a mental note to inform the King later.
Then, he activated Void Vision, located Crime Sorcière's position, and flew toward it.
...
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