CHAPTER 764: HOROLOGIUM

As they spoke, more patients arrived at the clinic, escorted by anxious family members.

Wendy immediately began treating them one by one.

Each time she finished, the families thanked her profusely, many asking about the treatment costs. Wendy waved her hands in embarrassment. "There’s no extra fee. Everything’s covered under the mission reward."

The later rounds of treatment took a little longer, giving Lucy a chance to ask every question she’d been holding back.

Rhodes gently reminded her, "Don’t just question the doctor, ask the eyewitnesses too."

The villagers who had just been healed were all eager to cooperate. They shared everything they knew in detail.

After all, they wanted the terrifying bee attacks resolved as soon as possible so life in the village could return to normal.

When Village Chief Ussop returned and saw them discussing the mission, he quickly spoke up.

"Actually, I guided those two mages before, and I saw the bees attack people myself."

Lucy perked up. "Right! I never asked, what kind of mages were they?"

The Chief rubbed his chin, thinking. "One used fire magic. The other kept shouting something like ’Ur...Ur something,’ and could summon a huge bear, very, very big!"

"A giant bear?" Lucy’s eyes lit up. "Could it have been Ursamajor?"

"Yes! That’s the name! A bear as big as a house, it swatted two bees away with one paw!"

Wendy blinked in surprise. "Miss Lucy, you know that kind of magic?"

Lucy nodded. "That should’ve been a Celestial Spirit Mage, he must’ve been using the Celestial Spirit of Ursa Major, Ursamajor. It’s said to be a powerful Spirit with immense strength and defense."

As a Celestial Spirit Mage herself, Lucy knew the names of all eighty-eight constellations by heart. Even if she didn’t know every Spirit’s abilities or appearance, she could recall their categories and natures with ease.

In that sense, she was more knowledgeable than Rhodes.

Rhodes had studied Star Spirit Magic in the past, so he remembered some of the constellations’ names and general traits, but he was nowhere near Lucy’s level of mastery.

"What happened next?" Rhodes asked. "How did that battle go?"

The Chief’s expression turned sheepish. "Well... we were suddenly surrounded by over twenty of those giant bees. The two mages protected me and fought their way out. They killed more than ten before retreating to the village.

"After that, they went out again, but when they returned... they were carried back by a woman with very long legs."

Rhodes gave him an odd look. ’Really? That’s what he remembers most, her legs?’

Lucy leaned forward. "A woman? Was she their companion?"

The old doctor shook his head. "No, she wasn’t. That strange woman vanished right after she brought them back. She said she was a Celestial Spirit and asked us to contact the guild."

"I remember her!" said one of the newly healed villagers. "She looked strange, white hair, black bodysuit, and legs that made up two-thirds of her height! Her feet looked like blades, or maybe steel spikes!"

Rhodes’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Camille? The description immediately brought to mind a certain hero from another world. But if she was a Celestial Spirit, then...’

Lucy seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "Perhaps she was the Celestial Spirit of Circinus, Cehine."

Wendy, however, focused on something else entirely. "Excuse me, were those two mages badly hurt?"

The doctor replied, "Miss Phil, the one who used fire magic, wasn’t too badly injured. But Mr. Dole, the Celestial Spirit Mage, was in critical condition. His wounds weren’t just poisoned, he had fractures and severe trauma as well."

Carla glanced toward Lucy with a faintly teasing tone. "Celestial Spirit Mages sure live dangerously."

"Eh...eh!?" Lucy flinched and forced a nervous laugh. "Th-that’s not necessarily true! Mr. Dole must’ve gotten hurt protecting Miss Phil!"

She tried to brush it off, but then noticed Carla’s sly look and panicked. "You didn’t see anything, did you?"

"I didn’t see anything," Carla began, but then paused mid-sentence as a few fleeting images flickered in her mind.

This time, though, she didn’t panic. Calmly, she said, "Actually, now I did see something."

Lucy leaned in. "What did you see? What did you see!?"

Carla pointed straight at her. "I saw you being chased by bees, while he," she jabbed a paw toward Rhodes, "was laughing on the sidelines."

Lucy glared indignantly at Rhodes.

"Mr. Rhodes! Why didn’t you save me!?"

Rhodes sighed helplessly. "It was just a vision, not reality yet."

"But Carla’s predictions are always accurate!"

Rhodes shrugged. "Then when that future happens, I’ll have a talk with the future me."

Lucy pouted pitifully. "Then go persuade him now!"

"How am I supposed to..." Rhodes pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Has your intelligence been infected by Natsu?"

"Hey!" Lucy stomped her foot, cheeks puffed.

Wendy hurriedly interjected, "Miss Lucy, Brother Rhodes would never let anything bad happen to you."

Rhodes nodded lightly in agreement. He truly wouldn’t let anything serious happen to her, though maybe... a little injury for experience’s sake wasn’t out of the question.

When the last of the villagers had been treated, the group finally departed, heading toward the nearby town.

Wendy wanted to check on the two injured mages from Phantom Wing, while Rhodes knew that the Quatro Cerberus would be arriving soon, and he needed to rendezvous with them.

As soon as they left the village boundary, Lucy clung to Rhodes’s sleeve and refused to let go, her eyes darting warily at every buzzing sound around them.

Rhodes didn’t dare pull too hard for fear of tearing the fabric. Instead, he tried to calm her down.

"Relax. My two Crabs scouted the area three times around the village and even ran both sides of the riverbank. They only saw normal bees, none bigger than a fingernail, let alone a fist."

Lucy still looked unconvinced. "Maybe they’re hiding somewhere!"

"This is actually a sign that she trusts you," Carla said dryly.

"Normally, she’d summon Horologium by now."

"Oh! Right!" Lucy’s eyes lit up, and before anyone could stop her, she whipped out a silver key.

"Open, Gate of the Clock! Horologium!"

In an instant, an old-fashioned grandfather clock with arms and legs appeared before them. Lucy was already curled up inside its pendulum chamber like a child hiding under a blanket.

Her lips moved inside, but no sound came out. Instead, the clock itself spoke in a polite, merchant-like tone:

"’Now I feel much safer.’ Beep, that’s what she said."

Carla smacked her paw against her forehead. "She actually did it."

Horologium’s pendulum swayed gently as it continued speaking,

"’Wendy, Carla, would you like to come inside? We can squeeze a little.’ Beep, that’s what she asked."

If it weren’t for the robotic voice, Rhodes might’ve thought this was one of those Misaka Sisters.

"No thank you, Miss Lucy," Wendy declined with a nervous smile.

"We’ll stay out here."

Still, considering Carla’s predictions tended to come true, Lucy’s behavior wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Rhodes tapped the clock’s wooden casing, curious. "So this is Horologium, huh? Seems pretty solid."

"Hello there," he greeted.

The clock’s pointer hands turned slightly. "Hello, Mr. Rhodes. Nice to meet you."

This time, there was no robotic suffix or echo, it seemed the spirit was speaking on its own.

Rhodes tilted his head, eyeing the swinging pendulum. "So, from what Carla said, Lucy often hides inside you, blocking the pendulum. Does that... affect your timekeeping accuracy?"