The addition of newcomers brought fresh colors to Fairy Tail and paved the way for more Western Continent residents to join.
Whether from the Western Continent or Ishgar, everyone was treated equally within Fairy Tail.
Bisca and Alzack formed their own team, working together on missions.
Though not exceptionally strong individually, their combined firepower made handling ordinary tasks effortless.
Both possessed decent potential, destined to become outstanding Mages in the future.
As for other Western Continent immigrants, they settled smoothly in Magnolia.
The rapidly developing town was in dire need of labor, and as long as these immigrants were willing to work hard, making a living in Magnolia wasn't difficult.
Grateful to Marco for this opportunity, they no longer had to resort to scams, theft, or violence to survive.
Though the Fiore Kingdom's local governance was lacking, its numerous Wizard Guilds were far from incompetent.
Locals could pool funds to commission guilds to resolve issues—a convenience unique to this magical nation.
Guilds played a pivotal role in maintaining public order, handling bandits, thieves, and fraudsters, with many Mages eager to take on such justice-driven requests.
Natsu, for instance, found these straightforward combat missions ideal, unlike tasks requiring complex strategizing.
Thus, Western Continent immigrants attempting to prosper through crime in Fiore would find no lasting success.
Elsewhere, distrust and unemployment forced them into desperation, but in Magnolia, acceptance and jobs kept them from wrongdoing. Most were ordinary civilians at heart.
Marco's decision to take over these immigrants mitigated unnecessary conflicts, benefiting all.
Integration into Magnolia posed little issue.
Racial differences were minimal—Marco barely noticed any distinction.
Language barriers were nonexistent, and no complex religious divides existed.
With these three factors, assimilation was effortless.
Over time, terms like "Western" or "Eastern Continent" faded unless emphasized, making the inclusion of these immigrants low-risk.
Marco even proposed that Fiore's government formally legitimize their status, truly integrating them as citizens.
Fiore's territory was sizable, geographically resembling the Iberian Peninsula, yet its population barely reached 20 million—sparse compared to the Iberian Peninsula's 50-60 million.
In terms of an area familiar to Marco, it would be roughly equivalent to Tokyo plus London.
The combined population of these two regions exceeds a hundred million—five or six times that of the Fiore Kingdom.
Therefore, in Marco's view, the Fiore Kingdom was indeed sparsely populated with vast undeveloped land.
Having such easily assimilated immigrants was naturally something they should strive to take in.
Marco had discussed this matter with Hisui.
Although the young princess hadn't considered it as deeply, she still supported Marco's idea.
Because Hisui didn't want to see those immigrants driven to their deaths—her desire to help them stemmed from simple kindness.
After finishing her conversation with Marco, Hisui returned to the "City of Flowers," Crocus.
However, Marco wasn't optimistic about her "advice" having any effect.
Hisui's father, the current king Toma E. Fiore, didn't strike Marco as particularly reliable.
Though the man wasn't bad or stupid, it was obvious at a glance that his heart wasn't in being king.
In Marco's eyes, Toma E. Fiore probably wanted to be a Mage more than anything.
He was deeply interested in matters related to Mages, and beyond that, he might have preferred being a reclusive farmer—either way, he had far more enthusiasm for those roles than for being king.
Under Toma E. Fiore's rule, the Fiore Kingdom couldn't exactly be described as suffering, because this unreliable king wasn't foolish in major affairs, nor had his moral compass slipped.
As long as he occasionally attended to governance, the kingdom wouldn't descend into chaos.
But to say it thrived, or that it was truly safe and prosperous, would be a stretch.
His ambitions simply lay elsewhere, which was why Marco doubted Hisui's "advice" would work—Toma E. Fiore simply wasn't interested in these matters.
However, Hisui was quite confident about this.
She believed she could persuade her father to act, especially by framing it as Marco's suggestion.
Her father greatly admired Marco and would undoubtedly take his words very seriously.
It had to be said, Hisui's approach was certainly unconventional.
With Hisui away from the guild visiting family, only Lucy remained in Marco's class—no, there was also Gray, who was auditing.
Speaking of which, Gray's presence as an auditor put a lot of pressure on Lucy, because as the formal disciple, her "talent" paled in comparison to his.
Gray had only been auditing the lessons for a few months before successfully forming a connection with the Cygnus Celestial Spirit constellation—far faster than Lucy.
Though Lucy had recently managed to establish her own connection with the Cygnus constellation, she had practiced much longer than Gray.
She quickly realized that his talent far surpassed hers.
"So why not officially take Gray as a disciple?" Lucy was puzzled.
Gray clearly had better aptitude and was more suited to inheriting the "Cygnus Celestial Spirit Magic," especially since they both specialized in ice magic.
So why was Gray only watching? He didn't even qualify for Marco's personal guidance.
"He has his own path. There's no need to force it."
Marco shook his head but didn't elaborate further, as the specifics involved Gray's private matters.
"...
"Lucy bit her lip, genuinely feeling a bit disheartened
. In comparison, she seemed to be the least talented one.
If she compared herself to Hisui, she could still justify it by saying they weren't of the same constellation.
But when compared to Gray, those excuses didn't hold up—after all, Gray shared the same constellation as her.
"Gray has been practicing Ice-Make Magic since childhood, so it's only natural he's more skilled in this area. Don't compare yourself to him; he's a special case."
Seeing Lucy's visibly troubled expression, Marco spoke up to console her.
You could compare yourself to anyone, but why pick the one with 100% compatibility?
That's just asking for misery.
"..."
Lucy was speechless.
She had her own thoughts too—if not Gray, who else could she compare herself to?
Marco, her teacher? That would be even more discouraging.
Gray was the only one who shared her "Cygnus Celestial Spirit Magic," so it was hard not to measure herself against him.
While Lucy was feeling down, Gray was riding high on his success.
He had finally achieved his goal—mastering the "Diamond Dust Punch" and "Cygnus Celestial Spirit Magic."
His personal strength had grown significantly, making him far more powerful than before.
After mastering the techniques, he immediately began searching everywhere for Natsu, eager to reclaim his pride and settle the score.
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