"So… you really injured Jose Porla with a single move, and he fled the routine meeting in disgrace on the spot… is that right?"
Laxus asked with a face full of shock.
"…When you put it that way, it doesn't really seem wrong."
Although it sounded a bit strange, that really was what happened at the time.
Grandpa Makarov indeed hadn't landed a hit on Jose Porla, and that guy really did retreat in embarrassment after taking just one attack.
"How did you do it?"
Laxus froze for a moment, then asked blankly.
That was a Saint Ten Wizard! A mage on the same level as their grandfather! How could Moen possibly defeat someone like that?!
"Um… who is Jose Porla? Is he very strong?"
Mirajane asked curiously from the side.
She wasn't trying to be funny—she genuinely didn't know who "Jose Porla" was.
There was no helping it. She spent all her time doing jobs to earn money and never paid attention to things like this. She didn't even know that Makarov was one of the Saint Ten Wizards, or what the Saint Ten Wizards even were. There was a kind of clear, innocent cluelessness about her.
"He's the guild master of Phantom Lord, a mage as powerful as Guild Master Makarov, and one of the strongest people on the entire Ishgar continent."
Erza spoke slowly, explaining it to Mirajane.
Even she wore a shocked expression. Under normal circumstances, she would definitely tease Mirajane for knowing nothing, but at this moment, she had absolutely no mood for that.
"That strong?!"
After hearing Erza's explanation, Mirajane's eyes immediately widened.
She stared at Moen in shock. She knew Moen was strong, but wasn't this level of strength a bit too outrageous?!
Wasn't Moen the same age as her and Erza?!
Mirajane stared blankly at Moen, feeling as if he were shrouded in a hazy, illusory glow, making it impossible to see just how many secrets he really had.
"That's exaggerated—way too exaggerated. Listen to me expl— I mean, listen to my explanation."
Moen hurriedly spoke up.
If this went on, everyone would start looking at him like some kind of god.
After Moen carefully explained Grandpa Makarov's crucial role in the battle, everyone's expressions finally became a bit more normal.
So Moen had done it under the guild master's protection.
But even so, they were still extremely shocked—because even then, the fact that Moen could gather his magic power and unleash a single attack capable of severely injuring Jose Porla was already absurd enough!
"Do you know what people outside are calling you now?"
Laxus looked at Moen with an extremely complicated expression. But when he brought up this topic, his face turned strange, like he was holding back laughter, which immediately made Moen feel uneasy.
"What are they calling me? It's not some weird nickname, is it?"
Moen frowned.
The magic world was like the "martial world." Anyone who mixed well, had distinct traits, or became famous usually ended up with a nickname—those so-called "people call him so-and-so."
And these nicknames usually had nothing to do with the person's own wishes; they were spread by outsiders based on deeds and characteristics.
"Rose Star Boy."
Laxus said it.
He found it hard to keep a straight face—it didn't feel masculine enough and sounded more like a woman's title.
"…Uh."
Moen's brows relaxed.
How should he put it? While it didn't completely suit his tastes, it was still much better than something random and ridiculous.
'Rose, because I used the Royal Demon Palace Rose… and Star Boy… because of that line about all the stars shining for me?'
Moen thought silently.
He let out a small sigh of relief. The title itself wasn't bad—except that it made him sound like some strange creature in charge of the "Path of Roses."
"Rose Star Boy?!"
When the kids heard the nickname Laxus mentioned, the guild immediately erupted into chatter.
They didn't find it strange—only enviable. Moen had already become famous throughout the land. A nickname like that wasn't something just anyone could get!
They wanted nicknames too—but who knew how long that would take? Even a nickname that wasn't particularly good-sounding or fitting wasn't something just anyone could earn.
So everyone was full of envy, and the way they looked at Moen became even more filled with admiration.
"They all say you're a true genius, a manifestation of the spirits of the stars descending from the heavens. At twelve or thirteen years old, defeating a Saint Ten Wizard—something no one in history ever dared to imagine."
Laxus continued speaking.
He had just returned from a job and had already gathered all the details along the way.
"…The rumors are getting more and more outrageous."
Moen couldn't help but rub his forehead.
Seriously—why were these guild masters' mouths so loose?!
"Wait—what Grandpa said during the meeting…"
Moen suddenly realized something.
If this news had already spread everywhere, then what Grandpa Makarov had said during the meeting—
"What did he say? The old man spoke during the meeting? I didn't hear anything about that."
Laxus looked surprised.
He had investigated very carefully and hadn't heard anyone talking about Makarov's speech at all. No one even mentioned it—he had no idea.
"…"
Moen fell silent.
Good grief—so their mouths could be tight after all?!
Then why did news of the fight spread so fast?!
Do they all just love watching drama that much?!
Do they all secretly want Jose Porla dead?!
With how fast and exaggerated the rumors had become, Moen couldn't even imagine how furious Jose Porla must be right now.
This time, Jose Porla had truly turned one misstep into eternal regret—Moen's name had climbed onto the stage of history by stepping squarely on his head.
And once he appeared, it was already with an invincible posture, under the identity of a peerless youthful prodigy. The speed at which his reputation skyrocketed was outrageously excessive.
"Hahahaha! Good! Very good! Jose Porla must be furious to death!"
Makarov leaned over, having paid attention to this side the whole time and clearly heard everything the kids were talking about.
Just thinking about how Moen had truly stepped on Jose Porla to make a name for himself made him burst out laughing. This time, he had won big—truly won big!
This wasn't even a win-win anymore, it was a multi-win! Their Fairy Tail had won over and over again! And of course, the ones who lost were Jose Porla and Phantom Lord.
And yet, the current Jose Porla hadn't actually been angered by the rumors outside—because he hadn't even had the chance to hear them.
After "fleeing Croba overnight in disgrace," he had immediately returned to Phantom Lord guild to heal his injuries.
He had remained in seclusion until now, long enough for the incident to fully ferment. In a sense, his seclusion actually fueled the spread of the matter—because he never came out to refute it!
Such an outrageous story was being passed from mouth to mouth, even making front-page headlines across various news outlets, magazines, and newspapers—yet Jose Porla still hadn't come forward to deny it!
Why was that? Was there even a need to think? Of course it was because he really had been severely injured!
Besides, who were the people spreading this news? They were guild masters from all the major guilds! How could that be fake?!
The reason those newspapers and magazines dared to put it straight on the front page was precisely because the sources of the information were extremely reliable!
Even the official newspaper of the Kingdom of Fiore deliberately mentioned the incident. In other parts of the Ishgar continent, the spread of the news might not have been quite as exaggerated, but within the Kingdom of Fiore, Moen had truly become a household name—a legendary youthful prodigy spoken of everywhere.
Moen had anticipated that this incident would make him famous, but fame reaching this level had genuinely exceeded his expectations.
"The guild masters really went out of their way just to disgust Jose Porla…"
Moen sighed. While becoming famous wasn't necessarily a bad thing, being too famous might very well invite unnecessary trouble.
'I need to keep a low profile for a while, cool things down a bit.'
Moen made this decision in his heart. He didn't feel that the praise being heaped upon him was excessive—because his future would definitely be even more impressive than what they were boasting about, impressive to a degree far beyond their imagination.
But before that future truly arrived, he still needed to be cautious. The saying "I am not yet strong; when I become strong, things will change" should only be said after one is truly "strong." Moen hoped he could safely reach that stage.
However, the likelihood of this hope coming true was very small. First and foremost, Phantom Lord would absolutely not let things go his way.
When a tree grows taller than the forest, the wind is bound to destroy it—especially when that "tree" was growing right atop the "grave" of their guild master, Jose Porla.
There was no way Phantom Lord could tolerate this. During the period in which Jose Porla was in seclusion, Phantom Lord's members had already begun to stir restlessly, and his prolonged absence from public view only made them increasingly anxious.
If they hadn't still been able to sense their guild master continuously circulating that sinister, evil aura of magic, Phantom Lord's members would truly have begun to worry that their master had already met his end.
"This absolutely cannot continue!"
Inside the Phantom Lord guild hall, everyone gathered together to discuss countermeasures. They all knew they could not afford to wait any longer.
With Guild Master Jose still not emerging from seclusion, they had to think of a way to do something themselves. Public opinion had already fermented to the point where the entire guild was being affected.
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