"I won't stay here any longer."
At the gates of Crocus, Mystogan was about to depart.
He had already obtained the special permit issued by the royal family, which would make his travels within the Fiore Kingdom much easier.
King Toma had also begun sending orders throughout the kingdom to ensure the permit would take full effect, making all major cities aware of its existence.
This was to emphasize the importance of the matter and ensure no one would neglect Mystogan.
"This time, facing Anima, I've gained many new insights. I believe the day when we actively travel to Edolas together is not far off."
Though Mystogan's face was covered, making his expression unreadable, Marco could clearly sense the confidence in his words.
"I'm relieved to see you so confident." Marco replied with a smile, patting Mystogan on the shoulder.
This prince from another world carried a heavy burden of responsibility.
"Wait for my good news." Mystogan chuckled lightly and punched Marco in the chest.
It was evident that he was truly happy.
The "large-scale Anima" and Marco's powerful move of blasting the Azure Dragon's phantom into "Anima" had given him a new understanding of this magic.
For Mystogan, this journey had yielded substantial rewards.
Not only had he obtained the special permit and gained the cooperation of the Fiore Kingdom's authorities, but he had also made progress in his research on teleportation magic arrays.
Indeed, risks always came with opportunities.
After exchanging a few more words, Mystogan left Crocus and continued on his journey.
Since arriving in Earth Land, Mystogan had never stopped moving or rested, as if some terrifying force was constantly chasing him.
Marco knew that what pursued Mystogan was his extraordinary sense of responsibility and conscience.
....
Though Mystogan had left, Crocus had not yet returned to peace.
The evacuated population was slowly returning to the royal capital.
Although it had only been a few days, the complete clearance of the royal capital and the halt of all activities had caused significant disruptions, affecting many surrounding cities as well.
During these days, all merchants traveling to and from the royal capital of Crocus had gone to the temporary capital.
Of course, it now had a new name: "Azure Rose Town," entirely named after Marco in gratitude for saving them.
"Azure" naturally referred to the massive Azure Dragon phantom, while "Rose" referred to the "Star Rose God" and "Duke of Roses."
Although Mystogan had played a crucial role in the incident by preventing "Anima" from descending, allowing Marco to act freely and all the fame fell to Marco.
Before the event, Marco used his reputation to call for cooperation with the royal government.
During the event, Marco unleashed the Azure Dragon phantom with a single punch, satiating "Anima" and ending the magic prematurely.
After the event, Marco who's remained in the royal capital, was granted the title "Duke of Roses," and received Magnolia as his fiefdom.
Compared to Mystogan, who sought no fame and remained anonymous, Marco was indeed too conspicuous.
But there was no helping it—they were simply walking two different paths.
Marco was already highly renowned and knew how to leverage his fame for profit, bringing benefits and development to "Fairy Tail" and Magnolia.
Like a black hole, he absorbed all the spotlight and distributed the benefits it brought to those around him.
In stark contrast, Mystogan had no desire for fame whatsoever.
He didn't want to cause trouble for Jellal in this world, so he eagerly wished for Marco to draw all the attention away from him.
The fewer people who noticed him, the better.
In this regard, the two cooperated quite well.
Mystogan effectively faded into the background, with few taking notice of him.
As a mage capable of using a magic staff to cast spells like hypnosis and illusions, it wasn't difficult for Mystogan to remain unseen and unremembered if he was determined.
Even the mages of "Fairy Tail" couldn't resist his magic, let alone ordinary people.
"What if I grant you this Azure Rose Town as a fiefdom as well?"
King Toma was remarkably generous regarding this newly established town.
Since the villagers were indebted to Marco, it made sense to entrust it all to him as a gesture of goodwill.
"That's really not necessary. I don't come here often and wouldn't be able to look after them properly."
After some thought, Marco declined the responsibility.
He simply didn't have the energy for it.
Azure Rose Town was in a state of disrepair, and it was uncertain whether it would even last long.
He had no time to invest in starting from scratch here.
"No worries, I'll help take care of them for you. You can just check on the town's progress occasionally when you visit the royal capital. I'm sure the people of Azure Rose Town would be happy to become your subjects."
Despite Marco's direct refusal, King Toma persisted.
With a smile, the king insisted on granting Azure Rose Town to Marco as a fiefdom—an enclave adjacent to the royal capital.
Undoubtedly, King Toma hoped to strengthen Marco's ties to the capital and the royal family.
This small fiefdom near the capital was one of his strategies, at least giving Marco a reason to occasionally remember that he had territory near the royal capital.
".…Very well, then I'll graciously accept."
Marco understood King Toma's intentions and chose not to refuse outright, treating it as a way to reassure the king.
"Excellent. Rest assured, I will fully support Qingmei Town's development."
Seeing Marco agree, King Toma made his promise.
He had no issue investing effort to help this small town thrive.
Those willing to stay in Azure Rose Town were mostly people with no assets in the royal capital of Crocus, struggling to make ends meet.
With government support, they settled here, becoming the town's first residents—a silver lining in their misfortune.
In the coming period, the royal government would further promote Azure Rose Town's development, gradually shaping it into a proper settlement.
In truth, supporting Azure Rose Town was no loss for King Toma.
Its growth would benefit the royal capital as well.
The two cities were close, and those who couldn't make it in the capital could settle in Azure Rose Town, which served as a sort of "retirement home" for the capital.
The existence of such a city benefits the population circulation of the royal capital.
As people are continuously eliminated and fresh blood keeps flowing in, it makes the royal capital, Crocus, more vibrant.
As for King Toma's positioning of Azure Rose Town, Marco didn't really care, as long as King Toma provided funds and resources.
Otherwise, wouldn't he have to finance the construction himself?
Marco wasn't short on money, nor was he unable to attract investments, but if it could be directly reimbursed, there was no need to spend his own money and effort.
However, as the lord, he still had to do what he could, such as directly connecting Azure Rose Town to the railway.
....
With matters in Crocus settled, Marco went straight to find Jude.
For something like "connecting a railway," it was natural to seek out the real railway magnate—the Heartfilia Group was now the true railway tycoon.
The entire railway system of the Fiore Kingdom was managed by the "Heartfilia Railway Group," showcasing the advantage of having strong backing.
In the past, Jude wouldn't have dared to imagine such a thing.
Without Marco, he wouldn't have been able to get past the stubborn southern nobles, and might even have had to marry off his only daughter to gain their approval.
Moreover, forget expansion—once everyone turned their attention to this industry, it would be a struggle just to hold onto the railway assets he had in the northern part of the Fiore Kingdom.
Over the past two years, many had caused trouble for them, from various factions—nobles, Magic Guilds, even the royal family—all eyeing the profits in the Heartfilia Group's hands.
Thanks to Fairy Tail, Jude had weathered many crises.
Of course, Jude had also proactively shared some of the profits.
During the years of rapid expansion, he had already earned enough, and distributing some benefits to stabilize the industrial structure didn't bother him.
He mainly shared them with the royal family.
Layla was an old acquaintance of the Fiore royal family, and Jude had previously interacted with them, even holding Hisui when she was a child.
However, after Layla's death, the heartbroken Jude no longer maintained ties with the royal family, especially since Layla had weakened and died after returning from Crocus—Jude didn't want to dwell on those painful memories.
But after Lucy and Hisui connected through their shared master, Marco, Jude rekindled that relationship and shared profits with the royal government.
Now, the Heartfilia Group was absolutely unshakable throughout the Fiore Kingdom.