'Being able to train continuously is the best scenario.' Marco thought to himself as he looked at the two skills, "Pegasus Meteor Fist" and "Diamond Dust Fist."
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"These two skills... Can they be used together?"
Marco stopped in his tracks and began brainstorming intensely.
To his surprise, he found some clues—Seiya of Pegasus had indeed used "Ice Techniques" before!
"Does this mean these two skills can truly be fused together?" Marco's eyes sparkled with excitement, as if he had discovered a new toy.
With this realization, even if all his skills reached the max level, it wouldn't matter.
He could explore various combinations of skills, forging a path no Saint had walked before—the fusion of different techniques.
"Crystal Wall!"
Marco returned to the ruins and conjured a wide "Crystal Wall" as a target to test his new idea.
"Pegasus Diamond Fist!"
Marco swung his fist, attempting to combine the two skills—using the form of the "Pegasus Meteor Fist" to unleash the "Diamond Dust Fist."
"Hum!"
Magic energy surged, and icy air spread everywhere.
As Marco's fist moved, countless phantom punches struck the "Crystal Wall," covering it with freezing energy.
"It worked, but not entirely."
Marco retracted his fist and stood still, examining his hand with a strange expression.
Although he had indeed used the "Pegasus Meteor Fist" to release freezing energy, the combined effect was far from one plus one equaling two—or even greater.
"This might not even reach the effect of one." Marco sighed.
The road ahead was indeed long and challenging.
This was only the first step toward success, and achieving the desired outcome would not happen overnight.
Dispelling the "Crystal Wall," Marco finally left the ruins and returned to Crocus.
He immediately went to report to King Toma, not intending to evade responsibility.
Destroying a small area was one thing, but leveling an entire forest and flattening a mountain was excessive.
Compensation was necessary.
The reason he sought out King Toma was that the land belonged to the royal hunting grounds.
"It's fine. Consider it a loss during this major event." King Toma replied with a laugh, explaining that the area was his private property—destroyed or not, it didn't matter, as Marco had saved the entire royal capital!
Even if it hadn't been his private land, he wouldn't have allowed anyone to hold Marco accountable, and he'd simply cover any compensation himself.
Now, King Toma looked at Marco with immense respect, having witnessed his actions firsthand.
The terrifying vortex that had enveloped the royal capital was shattered by Marco's single punch, and the sky wasn't just visible to him—even the evacuated residents of the capital had seen it.
"Actually, it wasn't shattered—more like it was fed until full," Marco explained with a smile.
The azure dragon he had unleashed was mostly devoured by the vortex, and the cyan hue filling the sky was just the magical energy that had spilled out.
"Regardless, you've saved Crocus. If anything like this happens again, we'll fully cooperate with Mystogan. I'll issue him a special permit—whenever it's needed, just approach the local authorities. They'll assist upon seeing the permit."
King Toma's expression turned serious as he accepted Marco's proposal without hesitation, trusting both Marco and Mystogan, and believing that Fairy Tail would never misuse the permit he granted.
"Besides that, I'd like to grant you Magnolia as your fief. Would you accept the title of Duke in the Fiore Kingdom?"
After signing the permit and giving Mystogan the authority to coordinate evacuations nationwide, King Toma's eyes lit up with another idea.
His trust in Fairy Tail and Marco had deepened, and he was eager to strengthen their ties with additional benefits.
The "City of Magic," Magnolia, already bore the deep imprint of Fairy Tail.
Its rise and fall were intertwined with the guild's fortunes, so he had no qualms about gifting the entire city to "Fairy Tail" as a gesture of goodwill.
Of course, this was contingent on Marco becoming the guild's master in the future—essentially, the fief was meant for Marco.
If Marco led "Fairy Tail," Magnolia would naturally become the guild's territory.
This move also symbolized King Toma's support for Marco's succession as guild master.
"Uh..." Marco was visibly taken aback by the king's offer.
Truthfully, he hadn't expected such boldness from King Toma—giving away all of Magnolia?
But he wasn't keen on the duke title.
Accepting it would make him a vassal of the Fiore Kingdom, and though he'd grown up in Fiore and was technically one of King Toma's subjects, that was different from formally becoming a noble.
As an ordinary commoner, he bore little heavy responsibility.
While "every commoner has a duty to their country," by the time "commoners" were called to action, the situation would likely be dire.
Under normal circumstances, they'd never be asked to contribute
.However, once one becomes an official and holds the title of duke, the burden on their shoulders becomes heavy.
While enjoying the conveniences brought by power and status, corresponding responsibilities must also be borne.
Some people can enjoy the privileges of power and status without taking on responsibilities, but Marco couldn't do that—his conscience wouldn't allow it.
Therefore, whether to accept this title was quite important to him.
"If it weren't a matter of life and death for the kingdom, the royal family would never trouble you."
As if sensing Marco's thoughts, King Toma immediately added.
"..."
Looking at the sincere expression on King Toma's face, Marco was genuinely tempted—well, tempted by the conditions King Toma had proposed.
Marco's concern was that after becoming this duke, he would have to involve himself in every minor issue in the Fiore Kingdom.
As a subject, this was unavoidable.
But the privilege King Toma offered was highly targeted: it essentially made Magnolia a "state within a state."
Unless it involved matters of life and death for the Fiore Kingdom, Magnolia and its surrounding suburbs would be fully autonomous, with no obligations to the king or the government.
"Alright, I accept."
King Toma had already made his case so compelling that Marco could no longer refuse.
To put it plainly, "the offer was just too good"—so good that Marco couldn't turn it down.
"Excellent! Then I shall bestow upon you the title of Grand Duke of Roses, with Magnolia as your fiefdom!"
Seeing Marco finally agree, King Toma breathed a sigh of relief.
Although this approach might seem somewhat ingratiating, he felt it was entirely worth it. Marco had truly helped him a great deal.
First, he assisted in further consolidating the stubborn noble factions in the southern part of the kingdom.
Then, he became Hisui's mentor.
And now, he had saved the capital Crocus
Compared to what Marco had done for the royal family and the Fiore Kingdom, King Toma felt that what he was giving wasn't excessive—just a single city, and one that heavily relied on the existence of Fairy Tail at that.
By rounding it off, it was almost like getting something for nothing—a fantastic deal, really.
"Grand Duke of Roses... Well, Grand Duke of Roses it is."
Hearing the title, Marco smiled.
He already had the nickname "Star Rose God," and now he was growing roses deep in the eastern forest of Magnolia, which was also within his fiefdom.
So, being called the "Grand Duke of Roses" wasn't inappropriate.
"By the way, what about the matter of immigrants from the Western Continent we discussed earlier? How are your considerations progressing?"
The freshly minted "Grand Duke of Roses" hadn't forgotten the suggestion he had made earlier.
The guild and Magnolia had taken in many immigrants from the Western Continent, and he naturally wanted to ensure their stability.
"I believe it's a good idea. If handled properly, it could indeed strengthen the kingdom. We will implement it as soon as possible." King Toma replied immediately.
Marco was right—the people from the Western Continent weren't much different from those of the Fiore Kingdom and could be easily assimilated.
Absorbing them would increase the population.
There were still many areas within the Fiore Kingdom that could be developed.
Bringing in immigrants from the Western Continent wouldn't risk conflicts; instead, they could be sent to cultivate new lands.
Organized and led by the Fiore Kingdom government, the Western Continent immigrants were to establish new settlements and develop those mountainous forests.
As for whether the Western Continent immigrants were willing?
Those who wanted to live properly and have their own homes would undoubtedly be willing, since the government provided food and accommodation, supporting them until they could become self-sufficient.
Why wouldn't they agree? It was certainly better than wandering homeless.
Every prosperous city began this way—without the hard work of pioneers, how could later generations enjoy comfort?
As for those unwilling, those who preferred to turn to banditry—they could await the iron fist of the authorities.
The Fiore Kingdom had no place for them to survive, and the Magic Guilds scattered across the land were not idle.
"Hmm, I'll keep an eye on the follow-up of this matter." Marco nodded.
Since it was his own proposal, he naturally needed to monitor it closely. T
hough well-intentioned, he didn't want it to spiral into chaos.
Through their interactions during this period, Marco's impression of King Toma had shifted somewhat.
The man showed decisiveness and reliability at critical moments, but Marco still couldn't fully trust him, as he sometimes acted erratically—like insisting on staying to participate in major events.
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