Yajima led the members of Fairy Tail in handling the aftermath, systematically distributing the magic beast materials to everyone.
Of course, the money still had to be collected.
After all, Yajima was a member of the Magic Council, and while returning the materials was the right thing to do, he couldn't just let the money go as well—that would have been too irresponsible.
Yajima still had to maintain his position in the Magic Council, so he couldn't afford to act recklessly just for momentary satisfaction.
Naturally, no one had any objections.
They were all reputable figures and had no reason to covet the Magic Council's funds.
Moreover, everyone was honest.
No one tried to pull any tricks—they reported the exact numbers they had submitted, without exaggeration.
When the total numbers reported by each party were tallied, they matched the inventory records of the Magic Council perfectly.
This made things much simpler.
It was just a matter of exchanging payment for goods, with everyone stepping forward one by one to reclaim their belongings.
"We really owe our thanks to the two from Fairy Tail. If not for their intervention, this matter wouldn't have been resolved so smoothly."
Marco and Makarov, who had stepped forward for this cause, naturally received everyone's praise.
Fairy Tail once again stole the spotlight, and even Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel—the three kids who had captured Deville in the first place—gained some fame.
"Hahaha! I'm a celebrity now!" Natsu puffed out his chest, laughing smugly.
"I could've caught him alone, but you two just had to butt in. Guess you lucked out."
Gajeel shook his head.
Though Natsu had been the one to finally capture Deville, Gajeel was clearly dissatisfied, believing the credit should have been his—after all, he had charged in first.
"Liar! I caught him first!" Natsu immediately glared at Gajeel.
"Stop arguing. We've also caught Org's attention."
Gray, however, didn't compete for this so-called "glory."
His expression was troubled.
After capturing Deville, Councilman Org's reaction had been far from pleased—he had left in a visible rage.
Unlike Natsu and Gajeel, who were still basking in their triumph, Gray understood the situation better.
He knew being on Org's radar was anything but good.
Especially after learning from Marco that Org was the councilman who had been constantly targeting Fairy Tail, Gray found the whole situation increasingly frustrating.
They really hadn't needed to step into the spotlight like this!
"So what if he remembers me? You think I'm scared of him?!" Natsu couldn't care less.
He was all bravado—some lousy councilman meant nothing to him!
Youthful recklessness made him fearless, though he might feel differently once he grew older.
As for Gajeel, he was a bit more subdued.
After all, his previous guild had been disbanded by the Magic Council, and some of his comrades had even been imprisoned.
Though Fairy Tail had played a significant role in that, he had come to understand the authority of the Magic Council all too well.
.....
Amid the joyous atmosphere, the mission to guard Nord Forest and repel the Beast Tide came to an end.
Most people began leaving one after another, with only a few choosing to stay behind to hunt more magic beasts.
Although the number of magic beasts dwindled as the Beast Tide subsided, patience could still yield some prey.
The Fairy Tail guild didn't linger either and set off on their return journey.
Since they had come from far away, hardly anyone chose to stay behind alone—most returned with the main group.
At this moment, Marco's mission was successfully completed.
[Ding! Mission "First S-Class Mission" completed!
Mission Progress:
Objective 1: Stop the magic beast rampage (Completed)
Reward: Random Bronze Saint Cloth.
Objective 2: Ensure no casualties during the magic beast rampage (Completed)
Reward: Random Silver Saint skill.
Claim rewards now?]
The system notification popped up, and Marco was surprised to see that "Objective 2" had also been completed.
Truthfully, Marco hadn't been able to guarantee this outcome.
Though he had done his best, there was always the possibility of an unlucky casualty—the scope of this objective was simply too broad.
'It's good that it's completed. All that effort wasn't in vain.' Marco was naturally very satisfied with the final result.
He had painstakingly erected the "Ishgar Wall," sealing off the entire defensive line single-handedly to hold back the Beast Tide from Nord Forest.
His efforts had genuinely helped people, turning what could have been a grim casualty count into a perfect "zero."
'Claim rewards.'
Without hesitation, Marco chose to claim both rewards from Objectives 1 and 2.
Under a plain and unremarkable visual effect, a Bronze Saint Cloth was unlocked—far less spectacular than the grand display accompanying a Gold Saint Cloth.
[Congratulations! The Draco Bronze Saint Cloth has been unlocked!]
Seeing the name of this Saint Cloth, Marco couldn't help but feel a surge of delight.
'Looks like luck is on my side today—a jackpot from a single draw.'
He was, of course, extremely pleased with this outcome.
The Draco Bronze Saint Cloth—belonging to one of the Five Bronze Saints—was more like a "limiter" for Shiryu, but it still had plenty of merits.
Far from being worthless, this was a Saint Cloth imbued with the "power of the dragon."
The Draco Bronze Saint Cloth slumbered deep beneath the Lu Shan Great Waterfall, a Saint Cloth transformed from a dragon.
Over countless years, it had been tempered day and night by the waterfall's torrential flow, like a cascading galaxy.
Counterintuitively, the Draco Bronze Saint Cloth was renowned for its hardness, boasting a brilliance and durability far surpassing that of diamonds.
Though it was frequently destroyed, it was, in fact, the hardest among the Bronze Saint Cloths—even surpassing some Silver Saint Cloths in toughness.
The Draco Bronze Saint Cloth possessed the "Draco Shield" and "Dragon Fist," renowned as the sturdiest shield and most destructive fist among the Bronze Saint Cloths.
It offered both unparalleled defense and devastating offense, embodying the "strongest shield" and the "sharpest spear" simultaneously.
'If I had to say, this Saint Cloth might even be stronger than the Cygnus Saint Cloth—at the very least, it has more memes than Cygnus does.'
Marco was somewhat expectant about the effects of the Draco Bronze Saint Cloth.
Once the constellation of Draco was illuminated, it wasn't hard to guess what ability would be unlocked—it had to be the signature Dragon Fist, the "Rozan Shoryuha."
-----------------------------
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator