Chapter 287: Forming a Team
After receiving the news, Noah accompanied Makarov to the Magical Council's Fiore Branch.
Noah waited outside while Makarov went in to attend the trial.
Zzzzz... snort... zzzzz... snort... zzzzz... snort...
Inside the trial chamber, Makarov's head drooped as he dozed, a snot bubble expanding and contracting with each breath. His snoring echoed clearly throughout the hall.
The Council members on the judgment dais looked at him with varied expressions.
Some were amused, some looked resigned, but most were furious.
"U-Um... Mr. Makarov?"
A Council staff member called out hesitantly.
Makarov's head jerked up, and the snot bubble popped.
"YES!"
Startled awake, he shouted his response.
"The trial is currently in session... Were you sleeping just now?" the staff member asked suspiciously.
"!!!"
Makarov froze. He scratched his head, eyes darting to the side, and laughed awkwardly. "How could that be possible?! Haha... hahahaha!"
Seeing his reaction, the Councilors' expressions intensified—the angry ones grew angrier, the resigned ones sighed deeper, and the amused ones grinned wider.
Clack! Creeeeak...
After some time, the doors opened, and Makarov walked out. Noah stepped forward to meet him.
"How did it go, Gramps? What's the verdict?"
"Just as you predicted."
"That's good." Noah nodded. His efforts hadn't been in vain.
"I need to have a word with Yajima. Wait for me over there."
"Alright. I'm going to see if the Council has any new documents or magical knowledge in their archives. We'll meet up later."
Noah headed toward the Council's library.
In a secluded corner, he found Jellal waiting for him.
"It's done."
"Good. I'll head there in a few days."
Jellal sighed in relief, nodded gratefully to Noah, and turned to leave.
Noah waited until he was gone before continuing to the archives.
"Phantom Lord disbanded, Jose stripped of his Wizard Saint title, and Fairy Tail found not guilty. Exactly as you guessed," Makarov sighed.
"You should thank me, Maru. I was advocating for you!" Yajima said, walking up to him.
"I owe you one, Yaji! When you have time, come by the guild. I'll treat you to ramen."
"I want the Fairy Ramen with 12 slices of chashu."
"12 is too many!" Makarov frowned.
"Because this incident violated the treaty prohibiting inter-guild conflict, starting from Article 4..." Yajima began to recite.
"Alright, alright! Whether it's 20 or 30 slices, I'll treat you!" Makarov interrupted hastily.
"12 slices is enough," Yajima said calmly.
He paused, then continued, "Maru, this result is largely thanks to Noah's preparations and evidence. He proved completely that Phantom Lord was at fault. You've raised a good kid."
"Of course. He handled everything this time. Didn't it turn out well?" Makarov beamed proudly.
"Maru, I know the whole story from you now. I'll let it slide this time, but don't go reckless in the future."
"Hm?" Makarov looked at Yajima, confused.
"Fairy Tail has caused a lot of trouble lately. Even though Phantom started the war, the Councilors who already disliked Fairy Tail dislike you even more now. Michello and Org even proposed disbanding Fairy Tail before. They only dropped it after hearing Noah defeated Jose head-on.
"But if this continues, one day you'll face severe punishment. We aren't young anymore. If you don't retire soon, you won't be able to handle the stress."
Yajima spoke earnestly.
Makarov fell silent for a long time.
"Gramps, are you done talking?" Noah walked over slowly.
"Just about. How was the library?" Makarov asked.
"Not bad. Found some useful things," Noah replied. The trip had been worthwhile; he had acquired some new magical data.
"Good."
"Noah, thanks to you, Maru didn't suffer too much this time. With his personality, he would've been in big trouble otherwise," Yajima said to Noah.
"Don't mention it, Grandpa Yajima. I'm a member of Fairy Tail; it's my duty to help the guild. Besides, Gramps is getting old. He should worry less." Noah waved his hand dismissively.
"Mhm. Maru, think about what I said. Noah is a good choice," Yajima said to Makarov.
"I'll think about it. I'm heading back now, Yaji."
"Be safe."
Makarov waved and walked toward the exit.
"Goodbye, Grandpa Yajima!"
"Noah, take care of Maru."
"I will."
Noah waved goodbye to Yajima and caught up with Makarov.
"Gramps, what were you talking about? I heard Grandpa Yajima mention me."
"Nothing important." Makarov shook his head.
Seeing this, Noah didn't press. Instead, he asked about the verdict details, and Makarov filled him in.
"It's about what I expected. Jose is crippled, Phantom is gone, and we're innocent. No extra negative impact from this war."
"No, there is an impact," Makarov corrected.
"There shouldn't be. Phantom is no longer a threat. What else is there?"
"The Councilors are very unhappy with us."
Noah slapped his forehead. "Right. I forgot our reputation with the Council is terrible. Even as victims, this just reinforces their bad impression of us."
"Exactly. We need to keep the guild in check. No more outrageous incidents for a while."
"I'll handle it," Noah said.
"Good. I'm counting on you."
Noah teleported them back to the guild.
Since the guild hall was undamaged and the grounds were restored, everyone quickly returned to their daily routine, taking on jobs again.
"Hm? Mira, why are you handling the paperwork? Where's Laxus?"
Noah noticed Mirajane behind the counter instead of Laxus.
"Laxus? He couldn't stand the paperwork anymore. He dumped it on me and ran away."
"Ran away?! That bastard needs a beating."
Noah gritted his teeth. Aside from Gildarts, Ur, and Mystogan (who had special reasons), Laxus did the least amount of administrative work among the S-Class mages. Next time he saw him, Noah vowed to beat him up first and ask questions later.
"Natsu, do you want to go on a job together?"
Noah heard Erza asking Natsu nearby.
"Eh?" Natsu looked stunned.
Erza then turned to Gray and Lucy. "Of course, Gray and Lucy, you come too."
"Eh?"
"Me?"
Gray and Lucy were equally shocked.
"Gray, your clothes," Mirajane pointed out.
Gray realized he was stripping again and quickly put his clothes back on.
Erza then looked at Noah. She blushed slightly, but then shook her head.
"Erza, what's that supposed to mean? Looking at me and shaking your head?" Noah rolled his eyes. Did she think he wasn't good enough?
"No, it's not that. Since the Eisenwald incident, we've been hanging out a lot, so I thought it would be a good chance to form a team. I wanted to invite you, but I remembered you used to spend all your time in the lab or the guild and rarely went on jobs. I figured you wouldn't accept."
"How do you know if you don't ask?" Noah smiled.
Erza's eyes lit up. "So you agree to team up?"
Noah looked at her, then at the stunned Natsu and Gray, and nodded.
"I agree."
"Really?!" Erza looked at him in disbelief.
"Hm?" Mirajane shot a sharp look at Noah and Erza.
Noah explained to her, "You're teamed up with Lisanna and Elfman. Ultear and Sorano are usually with Wendy, Meredy, Yukino, and Carla. Since Erza invited me, I accepted. I need to get out more anyway. Staying in the lab isn't helping me much right now; I need time to accumulate knowledge, so leaving a Thought Projection there is enough."
Plus, Noah thought to himself, Natsu, Gray, and Erza tended to cause massive destruction on jobs. If he was on the team, he could keep them in check.
Fairy Tail's reputation with the Council couldn't afford to get any worse. It was better to have someone responsible around to supervise.
~~~
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