Summoner of the Fairy Tail - Chapter 274

Utterly oblivious to everyone else’s gaze, Calvin kept his head down, lost in complex, frustrated thoughts. It wasn’t until Makarov gave a light cough that Calvin returned to reality.

“Calvin, what are you thinking about?” Makarov asked expectantly, hoping to hear a perfect solution.

Usually, Calvin never disappointed Makarov, but he honestly couldn’t provide a definitive answer this time.

“Nothing much, just thinking about the Eclipse Project…” Calvin replied softly, his voice carrying a hint of bitterness that betrayed his frustration.

“Do you have any ideas? Why not share them with us?” Makarov pressed on.

“I have a vague idea, but it’s still unclear. Let me think a bit more,” Calvin responded, pretending to be calm and casual. In reality, he was incredibly anxious. Seeing Lucy’s hopeful eyes filled him with even more guilt.

He realized he should have stationed a summoned creature to protect Future Lucy from the beginning instead of letting her hide alone.

Calvin’s mind had been in turmoil since discovering that Lucy’s keys had been stolen. With Future Lucy captured and the Zodiac keys stolen, the conditions for the Eclipse Project had been fully met. All that was left was waiting for the solar and lunar alignment on July 7th to be activated.

Calvin was confident in his theory: over ten thousand dragons came through the Eclipse Gate; otherwise, there was no way that many dragons could be hiding across the continent.

The thought of a sky filled with dragons, even for someone as strong as Calvin, sent chills down his spine.

“I have no choice. If I can’t stop this with words, I’ll use force to prevent it from happening!” Calvin resolved it internally. If push came to shove, he’d do everything he could to stop it, even if it meant being hunted by the kingdom afterward.

“At worst, I’ll pin it all on Jellal. He’s already used to being blamed for everything!”

However, there was a problem: the Eclipse Gate absorbed magical power, meaning that magic users couldn’t cast spells near it. Calvin’s summoned creatures wouldn’t be able to approach either, as they would be absorbed into pure magical energy—something he had tested the night before with his Phantasmal Insects.

Without magic near the Eclipse Gate, how was Calvin supposed to stop the kingdom from activating it? The kingdom would indeed deploy soldiers around the gate to prevent any interference. Calvin knew he didn’t stand a chance when facing an army without magic.

Despite racking his brain and running his hands through his hair repeatedly, Calvin’s only viable solution was to convince the kingdom to abandon the Eclipse Project.

After coming to this conclusion, he looked up at his comrades and said, “I’ll sneak into the castle tonight to recover Lucy’s keys. Since they stole from us in secret, we’ll take them back the same way. As long as we leave no trace, we should be fine!”

“Oh! We’re doing it? I’m coming with you!” Natsu, always the most excited by Calvin’s plans, eagerly leaped into action.

“Erza, keep an eye on him. If he comes along, it’ll turn into a brawl,” Calvin said without glancing at Natsu, directing his instructions straight to Erza.

“Are you sure you want to go alone? Do you need any help?” Ezra asked, nodding her understanding while also giving Calvin a look filled with determination, clearly eager to join in.

Suddenly, Calvin felt that maybe Erza wasn’t the most reliable option. Although she was their leader and always kept the rowdy group in check, she had moments of rash behavior—especially when it came to her friends.

Recalling these instances, Calvin turned toward Makarov with a severe expression and said respectfully, “Master, please watch over them. I promise not to cause any commotion while dealing with this. Please allow me to handle it alone.”

Makarov took a deep drag of his pipe, exhaling slowly before saying, “Alright, I’ll leave it to you. Take care of the Eclipse Project and retrieve Lucy’s keys.”

With that discussion settled Calvin returned to his room, where he stayed quietly, seemingly doing nothing but lying on his bed. However, he was far from idle—his primary focus was watching the king’s every move.

The Phantasmal Insects Calvin had summoned had no offensive or defensive capabilities, but their stealth was unparalleled as scouting creatures.

From the moment the king woke up in the morning, the insect had observed his every move: dining, working, even relieving himself. For the entire day, Calvin closely monitored the king’s actions.

Yet, throughout the day, the king did nothing suspicious, merely handling routine affairs and discussing the Grand Magic Games. There was no mention of the Eclipse Project.

What Calvin found even more surprising was the revelation that the king was, in fact, the pumpkin-headed host of the games. Oddly enough, Calvin didn’t mind this detail.

As evening fell and night approached, the king retired to bed, and still, Calvin found nothing out of the ordinary. With the Eclipse Project just two days away and Arcadios imprisoned, it was strange that the king seemed indifferent. Wasn’t this the time to ramp up preparations?

Since Calvin’s surveillance began the night before, the king hadn’t interacted with Lucy’s keys. Arcadios remained locked up as well. “So where exactly are Future Lucy and the Zodiac keys being held…?” Calvin murmured to himself.

“The king’s demeanor is too calm. It’s abnormal! No matter how skilled someone is at hiding their emotions, they would still show some worry before executing such an ambitious project like the Eclipse Plan. But the king acts as if he knows nothing about it and is just eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s final match…”

Calvin couldn’t shake his confusion. If the king were behind everything, his composure was too flawless.

“No, my thoughts are too scattered!” Calvin washed his face and tried to organize his thoughts. As he did, something clicked.

The flaw in his theory was the fact that the Minister of Defense was able to oppose Arcadios!

“The king is the ruler of Fiore. His authority is absolute. If he wanted to execute a plan, there would be no need for secrecy, because even the Minister of Defense wouldn’t dare oppose him. He wouldn’t need Arcadios as a decoy to attract attention.”

“The person who needs Arcadios is someone within the castle, someone second only to the king in status but lacking real power. They would need to avoid the Minister of Defense’s scrutiny.”

“Such a person would either be a royal relative or a member of the court, like the queen or a concubine. I recall the king has no siblings, and his wife passed away. That leaves only one person—a highly intelligent daughter.”

“That’s it! I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner. If anyone could order Arcadios around and have the resources to build the Eclipse Gate, it’s Princess Hisui!”

The more Calvin thought about it, the more confident he became. He had no choice but to make this assumption because he no longer had time to continue monitoring the king.

Rather than being confident that Princess Hisui was the true mastermind, Calvin hoped it was her. He had no other leads to save Future Lucy.

“Alright… It’s time to head to Mercurius Palace and confront Princess Hisui directly!”

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