"And the rebellion failed. We don't need to take any immediate action."
Kazu had already tuned out. He had thought that announcements would be interesting, but it was just some boring worldly affairs.
'I still can't make the structure of the Three Pillar Gods. The nested structure is too complicated.' He racked his brain, trying to find a solution.
The main key he had been missing was in converting runes to magic circles. He had successfully solved that last month by learning rune magic despite not having the affinity. Although the principles applied to his barrier magic had grown significantly due to that.
However, solving that issue brought another problem. Complexity.
Creating magic circles was too difficult. If it required just replicating an existing circle, then Kazu would have learned it very easily. However, it wasn't that simple. Each time he uses it, he needs to create a new magic circle, which would not be the same as any previous ones.
The only thing similar would be the backbone, which is the general formula.
'If not for having expertise in Constructive and Destructive Interference, it would take me a few years to learn this even with all my advantages.' Kazu was glad that his new techniques were building on the previous ones.
"I think you all have heard this already, but let me mention it again. Laxus Dreyar had officially become S-rank."
Several people clapped and congratulated Makarov, who had a wide smile on his face.
Kazu glanced at Jose, whose face also had a smile on it. But Kazu didn't need his instincts to know that the smile was fake.
'I wonder if they will announce that Fairy Tail is the strongest guild...Nah, the speaker seems smart enough not to mention that.' Kazu glanced at the old man, who was also sneaking glances at Jose.
The hall returned to its silent state after a minute.
"Lastly, let's move on to the most important topic. The main reason for this gathering occurring earlier than planned is that several dark guilds have stopped hiding and started becoming more aggressive. The biggest problem is that they seem to be working together, which makes it very dangerous for the normal mages to go on missions."
The earlier jovial mood got replaced by a grim one. Multiple frowns appeared in the room. Some of the guilds have already suffered losses due to their mages encountering groups of dark mages.
"We will start with this. The first thing we need to decide is which guild would want to lead in this matter?"
The room remained silent. Several opportunistic looks appeared on people's faces. The guild that would get that job would have a difficult task, but the rewards would be equally high.
However, due to that, this role is generally given to the top guilds. People started glancing at some notable candidates.
'Fuck. I can already sense trouble.' Kazu's instincts warned him that he should prepare to fight.
"Last time, it was Phantom Guild. They did a good job. Why not let them lead again?" Somebody finally broke the silence.
This prompted everyone to voice their own opinions.
"Didn't Fairy Tail rank first this year? How about letting them do that?"
"Yeah. Didn't they get another S-rank? Laxus going personally would make several of them go back to hiding."
"Lamia Scale is also a good option. There's a wizard saint there."
"Didn't both Fairy Tail and Phantom Guild do it more than once in the last decade? I think it's time we give opportunities to other top guilds like Blue Pegasus or Lamia Scale."
The room soon descended into chaos. Multiple people are saying different things, becoming disorganised.
'Didn't expect this from the guild masters. They are acting like kids.' Kazu glanced at Makarov, who was looking at the scene with an amused expression. He was sipping some wine while doing that.
'He is enjoying this... Wait, where did the wine come from? I was explicitly told not to let him drink wine.' Kazu facepalmed.
"Master, you weren't supposed to drink that," Kazu whispered as he seized the wine bottle.
"It's...fine. Nothing's...gonna happen." Makarov's voice gave him away.
"You are drunk!?" Kazu looked at him with a shocked expression. Outwardly, Makarov looked normal.
'Wait.' Kazu focused on Makarov's face, and he noticed a layer of collective ethernano there.
'Illusion magic. I didn't even notice it.' Kazu was half-amazed and half-irritated.
"I am not. I can...still think." Makarov's face looked serious. However, his voice took away any reliability his face had given him.
"...Right." Kazu deadpanned as he put away the wine in the bag.
In the meantime, the speaker had returned the hall to its previous silent state.
"This would make us go nowhere. How about guilds that want to nominate themself for their position, raise their hand?" He suggested.
Nobody did anything for a few seconds, until Jose raised his hand first. This was followed by some more guild masters raising their hands.
Makarov also raised his hand.
'I don't even know if this was the original intention, or the master is doing this because he is drunk.' Kazu hummed. He could see around 8 hands raised.
'All of them seem top guilds. Why are others not raising? Is it due to knowing it's futile, or is it because of the politics?'
"We have some candidates. Now, we need to decide how we will select a candidate here. Any suggestions?" The speaker looked around.
"Let's have a brawl to decide that." Makarov's sudden words made the hall pause.
"Master..." Kazu looked at him in shock. 'If you are drunk, then you should clearly remain silent. Don't spout random shit.' Just thinking about the top mages of having a brawl like ruffians sent a chill down Kazu's spine.
'This reminds me of the guild...Actually, on second thought, it's not a bad idea.' A glint passed in Kazu's eyes. He leaned closer to Makarov.
"Master, how about we add some betting too? We are running low on funds." Kazu spoke words fitting his position as Financial Advisor of the Fairy Tail.
Makarov nodded, as if it was a given. Just as he was going to suggest that, somebody else interrupted him.
"Oh my. If we do that, won't you win Makarov? Moreover, isn't this more about a guild's overall capability, instead of just a person?" Bob suggested with a smile.
His indirect claim of Makarov being the strongest seems to have rubbed Jose the wrong way, as a frown marred his face.
Kazu looked at Bob's smile. 'He knows that the master is drunk.' Though Kazu didn't have definite evidence, he had a feeling that he wasn't far from the truth.
"How about we let the guild mates we brought compete?" The speaker suggested.
Everyone, almost as if in sync, glanced at Jura.
'Including him would be like bullying the weak.' Kazu rolled his eyes.
"Excluding Jura-san. I hope you don't mind." The speaker looked at the bald man in confirmation.
The latter nodded. "It's fine. I still have a long way to go compared to some people here." He glanced at Makarov and Jose.
The speaker smiled gratefully at him. "Very well. Does anyone have objections?"
'Wait. Jura is not participating?' Kazu glanced at his opponents for a few seconds before concluding.
'It won't be a fight. It will be a massacre.'
Nobody said anything. All the people who will compete were pretty young, so most of the people here were curious about the strength of the top guilds.
"That's brilliant. We are running low on time, so we will immediately go to a deserted location a few miles away. It would be a free-for-all, like a brawl." He glanced at Makarov, whose smile stretched.
"The last one standing wins."
---
"How old are you?"
"Almost 13"
Jenny hummed. "Same age as me. You look older for some reason."
"Are you trying to imply that I look older? Rude." Kazu smiled.
"Yup." She smirked.
They were currently standing with other participants, waiting for the match to start.
"Anyway, give up if you think it's too much. We are the only younger ones present here." Jenny said with a serious tone.
Kazu blinked. He felt as if he had something wrong.
His lips twitched. Kazu tried his best, but he failed to—
"Pfft..." He broke out in a suppressed giggle.
"Huh?" Jenny gave him a confused look.
"Hahaha..." Seeing that he failed to hide it, he stopped suppressing and broke out in a fit of laughter.
"Excuse me?"
"I am sorry...pfft...It's just too funny." Kazu was truly taken aback at Jenny's comment. Kazu knew that he was cautious in his nature, and even if he was fighting people weaker than him, he wouldn't underestimate them.
However, with how Jenny said to be careful, with such seriousness...
"Hahahaa..." He laughed so hard that his stomach started hurting, causing him to clutch it while laughing even harder, ignoring the judgmental look Jenny was giving him.
'Oh my god. This is the funniest thing that happened this year. I need to tell somebody later.'
***
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