"Oh, Kenichi, Erza, you're back!"
Gray in the guild hall saw Kenichi, Erza, and the others walk in and immediately went to greet them.
But soon, Gray noticed the atmosphere was somewhat off.
Before, whenever Natsu returned, he would definitely shout loudly: "I'm back!"
But now, Natsu was actually silent and looked utterly dejected.
Furthermore, the cheerful smile usually present on Wendy's pretty face was gone.
Seeing this, Gray's expression shifted slightly.
However, he didn't immediately ask anything.
"We're leaving first!"
Natsu said dejectedly, then left the guild with Happy.
Watching Natsu's retreating back, Gray then asked Kenichi and Erza: "What happened?"
"Why did Natsu come back with you?"
"Did the Tartaros mission fail?"
Hearing Gray's questions, Kenichi replied: "No, Tartaros no longer exists."
Gray wasn't surprised by this answer at all.
On the contrary, if Kenichi, Erza, and the others hadn't defeated Tartaros, that would have greatly surprised Gray.
After all, during the Dragon King Festival, Kenichi could even insta-kill dragons, so dealing with Tartaros naturally wouldn't be a problem.
"Then, what's with Natsu?"
Gray continued asking.
Before Kenichi could answer, Erza stepped forward and said: "Natsu met Igneel, but they parted again soon after."
Hearing Erza, a look of understanding appeared on Gray's face.
Gray and Natsu had grown up together.
He naturally knew the relationship between Natsu and Igneel.
Now, learning that Natsu and Igneel had parted again, Gray could understand what Natsu must be feeling.
However, Gray didn't intend to comfort Natsu.
Because he knew that with Natsu's personality, he would probably recover soon enough.
"Gray, where is Master?"
Just as Gray was still staring at Natsu's retreating back, Erza scanned the guild hall and then asked.
"Mest came to find Master earlier. I don't know where they went."
'Mest?!'
Hearing Gray mention this name, Kenichi's mind stirred.
Mest, using the alias Doranbolt.
He was the spy Makarov had placed in the Magic Council.
His purpose was to investigate information about the Western Continent from within the Council.
Now that the Council had been destroyed by Tartaros, Mest must have been recalled by Makarov.
While thinking this, Kenichi had already activated his Sensory Magic.
Soon, Kenichi sensed two magical powers dozens of meters deep underground.
He immediately recognized one of them as Makarov's.
The other magical power wasn't very familiar, but Kenichi knew it was Mest's.
After all, seven years ago on Tenrou Island, Mest had also participated in the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial.
Kenichi had met Mest back then, so he still remembered Mest's magical power.
"Underground? Could it be…"
Kenichi looked down at the ground beneath his feet, his eyebrow twitching slightly.
Perhaps Erza and the others didn't know what was beneath the guild, but Kenichi knew.
Deep underground beneath this guild was a secret room.
Only the guild masters of each generation were qualified to enter this room.
And what was placed in this room was Lumen Histoire, the body of the First Master.
In the original work, Makarov had also taken Mest to the third level beneath the guild.
At that time, after informing Mest about Lumen Histoire, Makarov disbanded the Fairy Tail Guild and then went alone to the Western Continent to negotiate with the Emperor of the Alvarez Empire.
Now, Makarov had also taken Mest to the guild's third level…
His purpose was clear: he was making arrangements for what would happen after his death.
Although Makarov's intentions were good, as he wanted to protect everyone in Fairy Tail, now that Kenichi knew Makarov's plan, he naturally wouldn't let Makarov disband Fairy Tail.
After all, in Kenichi's view, with himself, Erza, Mirajane, Wendy, and the other Fairy Tail's members, they had no reason to fear the Alvarez Empire.
Moreover, Kenichi had also subdued the demons of the Nine Demon Gates.
Additionally, even if Makarov went to the Western Continent to negotiate with the Emperor of the Alvarez Empire, it wouldn't achieve any result.
Because the Emperor of the Alvarez Empire was Zeref.
While thinking this, Kenichi used the Hearing Magic.
When Kenichi focused the Hearing Magic underground, the conversation between Makarov and Mest completely reached his ears.
Just as Kenichi expected, Makarov was indeed making arrangements for what would happen after his death.