"So it really wasn't you guys."
Dekarisu was utterly shocked. This time, Fairy Tail had actually held back, and instead it was Master Jose who made a mess!
"Makarov, you can hold back in battle yourself. Why can't you properly teach the other members of your guild?"
Dekarisu looked at Makarov, trying to reason with him patiently.
As a citizen of the Fiore Kingdom, he did not deny Fairy Tail's status in Fiore, nor its record in completing guild requests. But if they could fix those bad habits, wouldn't Fairy Tail become even better? Wouldn't they be able to show themselves off more?
"Uh, this time I didn't step in."
Makarov looked a little embarrassed at that question.
"Not you?"
Dekarisu froze, momentarily stunned. He couldn't quite process it. You defeated Jose Porla directly if not you, Makarov, then who else?
It couldn't really have been that so-called "Rose Star," could it?
Dekarisu's expression turned strange. He knew the details of what happened at the routine meeting venue that day, so he understood what really went on. Makarov's little grandson was powerful, but not that powerful.
"It was my two grandsons, Laxus and Moen. The two of them worked together to defeat Jose Porla."
Makarov spoke, his expression a little proud. He could talk about this for a lifetime, and make sure Jose Porla would never raise his head again.
"…."
Dekarisu remained silent. He suspected Makarov wanted to glorify his two grandsons. He didn't believe that two juniors, without Makarov's intervention, could defeat Jose Porla.
"Believe it or not, it's up to you. You can investigate yourself. Any more questions? If not, I'll go help out."
Seeing Dekarisu's expression, Makarov knew he didn't believe him. But he was too lazy to explain further. The truth was right there; no need to elaborate.
"Nothing more for now."
Dekarisu nodded, signaling that Makarov could leave.
In fact, Dekarisu still had many questions, but he planned to ask after his investigation. Makarov's story sounded too fantastic; for now, he had no intention of listening to any more of Makarov's tall tales.
"Jose Porla, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Phantom Lord, what a trouble."
After Makarov left, Dekarisu looked at Jose Porla and sighed. Truly a hot potato.
Although by the laws of the Magic Council, Jose Porla had indeed committed a crime, could they really deal with him?
This wasn't like Aria, one of the "Three Elements," who could be handled while Jose Porla was in seclusion. Once Jose Porla came out, he probably wouldn't have the face to demand anything from them.
This was Jose Porla himself. You can't just deal with him as you please.
"Even though Fairy Tail didn't cause major damage this time, they actually left us an even bigger problem!"
Dekarisu scratched his head in frustration. As expected, whenever matters involved Fairy Tail, things became extremely complicated!
"Let those higher-ups worry about it."
After fretting for a while, Dekarisu shook his head. There was nothing he could do about it; let the higher-ups deal with the headache. His job was to investigate the cause and effect of the situation.
With the Magic Council members joining, the rescue work was quickly completed. Their experience in rescue operations was clearly extensive.
As for why they were so experienced, Makarov didn't ask, and Moen and Laxus didn't comment. The resentful looks the Magic Council members gave them said it all.
Laxus also bore some responsibility. In the "evidence" Dekarisu had listed, Laxus was implicated. Moen, on the other hand, was relatively innocent.
The last building Moen had damaged had been the venue for the masters' routine meeting. He only targeted major structures.
Of course, this was probably because most of the missions Moen took on were deep in the mountains or forests. He wanted to cause destruction, but there wasn't much to destroy.
Moen's damage was mostly in undeveloped deep forests, destroying monster nests. The Magic Council couldn't exactly hold him accountable for that. There was no animal protection organization in this world.
"Only a few people were lightly injured?"
After the rescue operation ended, Moen found it hard to believe. Though such things had happened many times, this was his first time experiencing it firsthand.
With the intensity of Jose Porla's magic, Moen himself had barely blocked it using all his magic power. Yet the civilians affected were all unharmed, only a few unlucky ones bumping into debris. Was this some kind of invincible NPC?!
"See?! Dekarisu, I told you it would be fine!"
Makarov finally straightened his back, exhaling in relief. This happy ending once again proved the uniqueness of Fairy Tail!
"Magnolia truly is a historic magical city. The residents and administrators here are very experienced in handling such situations."
Dekarisu commented. He didn't believe in Fairy Tail's uniqueness; this was all the residents' own efforts. What did Fairy Tail have to do with it?
'Jose Porla also escaped unscathed.'
Dekarisu breathed a sigh of relief. If half of Magnolia's residents had been affected, Jose Porla's situation would have been much harder to handle. For now, things still had a glimmer of hope.
"Dekarisu, Fairy Tail will help with the resettlement of these residents. After all, this destruction was caused while Jose Porla was fighting us. We must take some responsibility. Fairy Tail will not evade what they owe, you can rest assured."
With no casualties, everyone breathed easier. Makarov clapped his hands, showing willingness to take half the responsibility and to help the residents temporarily displaced from their homes.
"Good! Makarov, it's not in vain that I've spoken well of you every time."
Makarov's words pleased Dekarisu. Since Fairy Tail was willing to bear this responsibility, the Magic Council would have to spend less, and that was partly thanks to him.
Aside from everything else, Fairy Tail's sense of responsibility was truly commendable. It justified why he had always emphasized that there were no casualties when submitting reports.
"Ah? You've spoken well of us before?"
Makarov was momentarily stunned, looking at Dekarisu in surprise.
"…."
Dekarisu gritted his teeth, reminding himself not to argue with this old man.
"Sometimes, speaking the truth without embellishment is the best praise, isn't it, Mr. Dekarisu?"
Moen listened from the side, roughly understanding Mr. Dekarisu's attitude. Although Dekarisu was often dissatisfied with Fairy Tail's troublemaking, he had never deliberately hindered them on this point. On the contrary, he repeatedly emphasized that there had been no casualties.
As a frontline investigator, his words and attitude indeed carried considerable influence. After all, the Magic Council's administration in Fiore relied on branch offices like theirs, and the reports submitted to headquarters were all written by them.
Looking at Moen speaking, Dekarisu was surprised. He clearly hadn't expected someone so young to say such things.
"Guild Master Makarov, you finally have capable successors."
Dekarisu didn't comment on whether Moen's words were right or wrong, but spoke to Makarov with heartfelt congratulations.
This year, he was almost fifty. When he first went on missions in his youth, they involved Fairy Tail. At that time, the one receiving scolding was Makarov. Nearly thirty years later, the one still receiving scolding was still Makarov.
Honestly, sometimes Dekarisu felt quite sorry for the old master Makarov. Having to deal with a troublesome guild like Fairy Tail—how many years had it probably taken off his life?
Uh.
Looking at Makarov, already eighty-two but still vigorous, Dekarisu thought such things probably wouldn't shorten the old man's life.
These immensely powerful wizards all tended to live long lives. Among the Ten Wizard Saints, there was one even longer-lived, Makarov's predecessor, a former member of Fairy Tail.
To put it this way, eighty-two-year-old Makarov might even outlive Dekarisu, who was nearly fifty. Thinking of this, Dekarisu gave a wry smile, realizing he was worrying unnecessarily.
"Our Fairy Tail children are all excellent. I have a feeling Fairy Tail will reach a new level in their era."
Facing Dekarisu's praise, Makarov responded rather cautiously. Of course, this also reflected Makarov's true thoughts.
"Hmph."
Laxus listened nearby, shaking his head.
He naturally understood the meaning behind Dekarisu's words, wasn't it praise for Moen, saying Moen was suited to succeed the guild master?
In his view, these trivial matters were meaningless. As long as they had sufficient strength, as long as Fairy Tail was powerful enough, what worthless Magic Council? They didn't need to care. The Magic Council dared not offend Fairy Tail!
However, regarding his grandfather's words—saying that their generation would lead Fairy Tail to an even higher stage, Laxus was very satisfied. With him and Moen, Fairy Tail could never be weak!
The only problem now was that Moen wanted to follow the old master's old ways, rather than the correct path Laxus followed.
Laxus could only try to subtly correct Moen's thinking. There was no point in uniting weaker members. The true backbone of Fairy Tail was still the strong ones like them!
Moen didn't know Laxus wanted to change his mind. If he did, he would probably struggle. In a way, they were both trying to influence each other.
But Moen wasn't blindly following the old master either; he had his own ideas. For example, expanding the guild's revenue. If he didn't want to "cut costs," he naturally had to find more sources of income, establishing a more multi-faceted revenue structure.
Of course, the guild's strength also had to be ensured. Only with sufficient power could they protect their interests.
The wizard guild industry was inherently winner-takes-all. Without enough strength, one could only take leftovers from large guilds and perform basic, low-income requests.
With Fairy Tail's scale, losing the strong and falling to scavenging leftovers was unsustainable. Therefore, Moen didn't entirely reject Laxus's ideas.
Moen's approach was more like combining the old master's and Laxus's methods: take both approaches, and make both strong.
They needed many wizards, a good atmosphere, a strong elite team, influence in the Magic Council, and leadership in the guild alliance. Moen was very ambitious. He wanted it all!
"President Makarov, thank you for rescuing me. I'm sorry for causing you trouble!"
As they spoke, Totomaru walked over. Covered in dust, he bowed deeply to Makarov, sincerely apologizing. He felt all this trouble was because of him.
"No need, Totomaru. Since I made you a promise, I would fulfill it. This matter is Jose Porla's fault, not yours. You did nothing wrong."
Looking at the guilty Totomaru, Makarov responded seriously. He truly recognized Totomaru, and also the child who used "Dragon Slayer Magic."
He felt both of them had good hearts. They didn't belong in Phantom Lord. Staying too long there might have corrupted them, so it was best they left as soon as possible.
"This Mr. Totomaru is the cause of the matter, right?"
Dekarisu narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Totomaru as he asked.
"The cause is Jose Porla."
Before the embarrassed Totomaru could speak, Moen answered for him. This blame could not fall on Totomaru.
"Exactly! The cause is Jose refusing to let people go!"
Makarov immediately reacted, shouting loudly.
"…."
Dekarisu looked at the grandfather and grandsons, speechless. They were quite protective.
"But Mr. Totomaru also has a problem. You should have contacted the Magic Council, not Fairy Tail."
Dekarisu spoke. What he said was reasonable. Totomaru directly contacting the Magic Council would have been procedurally correct. Whether it would have been as effective as contacting Fairy Tail was another matter, but at least it hadn't happened.
"…."
At Dekarisu's words, Makarov, Moen, and Laxus all smirked. They thought this guy was talking nonsense. Directly contacting the Magic Council was never as efficient as contacting them. The Magic Council was nowhere near as decisive.
Totomaru understood, but he didn't argue, merely nodding obediently. He didn't want more trouble.
He only wanted to retire and be a magic teacher. Why was it so difficult?!
[For additional chapters Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123]