"Now then, I will officially announce the results of this exam."
After several days of rest and recovery, the results of the trial were finally ready to be made public.
Standing at the second-floor railing, Makarov looked down at the guild members gathered below.
The few who had taken part in the trial were naturally a little tense, but in truth, everyone already had a rough idea who the final choices would be.
The only ones who had really managed to distinguish themselves were Natsu and Gray.
The others simply had not been given much of a chance to show what they could do.
"Natsu, Gray—you two have been promoted to S-Class!"
Makarov's voice rang through the guild hall as he made the announcement.
"Yes! Hell yeah!"
"I did it!"
Gray and Natsu erupted in excitement on the spot, while the rest of the guild immediately crowded around to congratulate them.
No one really had any reason to object.
Their performance against Grimoire Heart had already spoken for itself, and even in ordinary times, the strength the two of them displayed was convincing enough.
Neither of them had ever been the type to hold back, either.
If anything, they always seemed eager to make sure the whole world knew exactly how strong they were.
"So lucky..."
Watching the jubilant Natsu and Gray, Cana's eyes were full of envy—and an equally deep sense of disappointment.
She had tried so many times already.
Surrounded day after day by monsters like these, she had gradually begun to lose confidence in her own strength.
At this rate, she might never become an S-Class mage.
The goal she had clung to for so long now felt impossibly far away, and all the effort she had poured into it made her feel almost ridiculous.
"Besides that, there is one more thing I need to announce."
After letting everyone revel in the news for a while, Makarov spoke up again, drawing all eyes back to him at once.
The guild members looked up at him curiously, wondering what else he had to say.
By now, everyone had learned one thing: whenever the old master personally stepped forward to make an announcement, it was never something minor.
That much had become common understanding, especially since most of the guild's day-to-day management had already been handed over to Marco.
These days, Makarov was practically a Guild Master in name only.
"Starting today, I will officially step down as Guild Master..... From this day forward, the Guild Master of Fairy Tail will be Marco Dreyar."
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire guild hall fell silent.
Not one person made a sound.
Everyone was stunned.
The announcement had come too suddenly, too completely out of nowhere.
"Wait a second, Gramps—isn't this a little too sudden?"
The first person to speak was the man at the center of it all.
Marco looked genuinely shocked, which made it obvious that he had only just learned of this himself.
The old man had not told him in advance at all.
He had simply dropped the news on him without warning!
"Too sudden?"
Makarov wore a smile, but there was nothing playful about it.
His expression was calm, firm, and utterly serious. This was not an impulsive decision.
It was one he had thought through carefully.
"Hadn't I already handed the guild's management over to you a long time ago?" he said, looking at Marco with open satisfaction and pride.
"All I'm doing now is officially giving you the title to match."
With Marco as his successor, Makarov had nothing left to worry about.
Under Marco's leadership, Fairy Tail would only become even better.
In fact, most of the changes the guild had undergone over the past few years had been because of Marco in the first place.
Makarov understood that without him, Fairy Tail would never have reached its current level of strength, prestige, wealth, or scale.
Marco's planning and steady guidance had made all of that possible.
As Guild Master, Makarov himself honestly felt he had done far less than people thought.
And after witnessing Marco's battle against the Black Dragon, Makarov had finally understood something clearly:
It was time to truly hand Fairy Tail over to him.
He could no longer protect everyone.
The appearance of the Black Dragon had shaken Makarov deeply.
Standing before that monster, he had felt it all too clearly—he had been powerless to protect his people.
"..."
The guild remained silent for a moment.
They really did not know how to respond to such a sudden change.
It was not that they resisted Marco taking over—far from it. He had long since become the obvious choice in everyone's eyes.
But accepting it immediately was another matter altogether.
For so many years—for most of their lives, in fact—Makarov had existed in their hearts as the Guild Master of Fairy Tail. That role had become inseparable from him.
So hearing that he was stepping down naturally left everyone feeling unsettled.
"There's nothing bad about this," Gildarts said at last, stepping forward with his usual easy smile and breaking the heavy silence.
"The old man can finally get some proper rest."
Now that the decision had been made, everyone would have to accept it.
Rather than let the atmosphere sink into gloom, it would be better to throw the old man a retirement feast instead.
That was something worth celebrating.
"Exactly," Makarov said with a grin. "At long last, I won't have to take the blame for all you little idiots anymore. I'm finally free. From now on, that job belongs to Marco."
He looked perfectly relaxed as he spoke.
He truly had no lingering attachment to the position of Guild Master—especially not with such an outstanding successor ready to take his place. What was there for him to hold onto?
"All right! Then let's hold a celebration!" Macao leaped to his feet at once, backing up both Gildarts and Makarov.
"We'll celebrate Natsu and Gray, celebrate the old man, and celebrate Marco too!"
As one of the guild's old-timers, Macao naturally felt reluctant to see Makarov step down.
After all, the old master had been a father figure to all of them.
But he had also watched Marco grow up with his own eyes.
He knew Marco's ability, his sense of responsibility, and the weight he could carry.
In Macao's heart, there was no one more suited to inherit Fairy Tail than him.
This really was good news—for everyone!
"That's right, that's right! Let's get rowdy!"
Wakaba sprang up right after him, helping to stir the mood.
"Hell yeah! A feast!"
"Three celebrations in one! We've gotta do this properly!"
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