Chapter 123: Chapter 123
Marshall selectively told Erza part of the truth.
He focused on the reason Jellal’s personality had changed so drastically and made one point especially clear: Jellal was no longer under anyone’s control.
Everything he was doing now came from his own conscious decisions.
Marshall also told her that Jellal was being used as a pawn by the dark guild Oración Seis.
He left Grimoire Heart out of it.
Then he revealed Jellal’s plan to use Erza as the sacrifice for the R-System and manipulate the Magic Council into firing Etherion to provide the necessary power.
As for Jellal framing Erza as a traitor and all the other despicable things he had done behind her back, Marshall said nothing.
It would be better for Erza to discover those things herself.
He wanted her to witness every one of Jellal’s crimes with her own eyes and lose all remaining faith in him.
Naturally, Marshall also omitted exactly how he had persuaded Ultear to become his informant.
That was not the sort of story other people needed to hear.
His proposal was simple: they would turn Jellal’s plan against him.
Once the Tower of Heaven was completed, Erza would deliberately allow herself to be taken there as the "sacrifice."
Together, they would infiltrate the tower and completely destroy Jellal’s ambitions from within.
Erza considered the idea before agreeing.
With both her and Marshall involved, she was confident they could defeat Jellal completely.
More importantly, Jellal still believed they knew nothing about his plan.
The enemy was exposed while they remained hidden.
The advantage was theirs.
Neither of them intended to tell the rest of the guild.
Erza believed this was her personal problem and saw no reason to trouble everyone else.
Marshall’s reasoning was different.
He had promised Erza that he would keep it secret, so of course he wouldn’t tell anyone.
Besides, he heard deeply private thoughts every day and knew more secrets than most people could imagine. He had never gone around spreading them.
Marshall was the most tight-lipped man in Fairy Tail.
As for unexpected dangers?
He wasn’t worried.
If something truly went wrong, he could simply grab Erza and teleport them both to safety.
Someone with Spatial Magic had little reason to fear entering dangerous territory.
In fact, Marshall was rather excited to finally have a chance to fight an opponent at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints.
He had yet to encounter a single enemy who could truly challenge him.
Jellal barely qualified as a whetstone—and a stepping stone.
In a few more months, Marshall’s magic power should surpass ninety thousand.
That wasn’t far behind Jellal’s reserves of just over one hundred thousand.
And could Jellal possibly possess as many skills as Marshall?
The guy had spent his entire academy career trapped in second place.
Marshall didn’t regard him as much of a threat.
Still, he understood the importance of looking down on an enemy strategically while taking them seriously tactically.
Several months remained before the Tower of Heaven was completed.
That was more than enough time to prepare stronger magical weapons for both himself and Erza.
’Jellal, start counting your remaining days.’
...
Marshall’s life returned to its usual peace for a while.
When Jellal saw that Erza hadn’t made any further moves, he also withdrew into the shadows and continued dreaming of resurrecting Zeref.
Meanwhile, Marshall temporarily set aside his research into Gugas and artificial life.
He assigned his Thought Projection to forge new magical weapons and even upgraded Magic-Item Crafting to Level Three for the project.
His main body focused on studying Fairy Glitter, one of Fairy Tail’s Three Great Magics.
The requirements for truly mastering it were surprisingly demanding.
Both Heavenly Body Magic and Light Magic needed to reach at least Level Three.
Marshall’s Light Magic had already exceeded that requirement, but his Heavenly Body Magic remained at Level Two, so he couldn’t cast Fairy Glitter yet.
Even so, merely studying the spell caused his skill experience to rise rapidly.
Fairy Tail’s Three Great Magics truly were exceptional training manuals.
Marshall spent the rest of his time entertaining the girls—or being entertained by them—while accumulating affection and Inspiration.
He practiced weapons with Erza, joined Mira in playing pranks, fought monsters with Cana, went clothes shopping with Juvia, helped Levy avoid work during office hours, and accompanied Wendy home to visit Roubaul.
Life was... Quite fulfilling.
For some reason, his Time Magic experience had also risen considerably.
Marshall chose not to think too deeply about that.
Then, around the middle of the year, he once again felt the gears of fate beginning to turn.
"Oi, Natsu! Did you hear?"
A reserve member called Zoss leaned across a table.
"Someone known as the Salamander has appeared in Hargeon to the south!"
"What?! Salamander?!"
Natsu shot to his feet.
"Happy, let’s go!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Wait! Natsu, let me finish explaining!"
Unfortunately, Zoss never caught up with him.
Natsu had heard the first half of the sentence and vanished from the guild before the boy could say anything else.
Zoss stood there awkwardly while his friends burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! You’re dead, Zoss!"
"You didn’t explain it properly. When Natsu gets back, he’s definitely dragging you into the Duel Hall!"
"Start preparing your funeral!"
"Hahaha!"
"H-How was I supposed to know he wouldn’t listen to the rest?!"
At that exact moment, Zoss spotted Marshall drifting past nearby.
Desperate, he immediately ran over to cling to the nearest powerful person.
"Marshall-samaaaa! Save me!"
"Natsu’s going to beat me to death!"
"Huh?"
Marshall needed only a second to understand what had happened.
"I see."
"Someone calling himself Salamander is impersonating Natsu?"
He rubbed his chin.
"That is interesting."
"There have been more and more idiots lately using Fairy Tail’s name to cause trouble."
"Letting Natsu handle this one might be a good idea."
On the second floor, Bisca—who had been secretly watching Alzack—suddenly shivered for no apparent reason.
"As for you, just send Natsu a message and explain what happened."
Marshall pointed toward Zoss’s terminal.
"Since he’s already on his way, tell him to deal with the bastard who dared impersonate one of our guildmates while he’s there."
"Oh, right! I have a terminal!"
Zoss smacked his forehead.
"How did I forget that?"
"Hahaha! As expected of Marshall-sama! You always have a solution for everything!"
"Thank you!"
At that moment, Mira’s voice called down from the second floor.
"Marshall~ Master wants to see you."
"Coming!"
...
When Marshall entered Makarov’s office, he was surprised to find the old man awake rather than napping.
Makarov sat behind his desk, staring at a letter with a deeply conflicted expression.
Now that magical communication terminals were becoming increasingly widespread, anyone who still relied on physical letters was usually either the Magic Council delivering another warning or someone attempting to discuss a matter too important to entrust to ordinary communications.
"What is it, Master?"
"Marshall, the guild has encountered a small problem."
Makarov tapped the letter on his desk and sighed heavily.
"The head of the Heartfilia family sent me a message."
"Apparently, his daughter has run away from home."
The Heartfilia family’s daughter?
That could only be... Lucy.
"And?"
"Before leaving, she said she intended to come here and join Fairy Tail."
"Oh."
Marshall blinked.
"So what’s the problem?"
"That is the problem!"
Makarov threw up his hands.
"Jude Heartfilia asked me to take especially good care of his precious daughter."
"The Heartfilia family has been one of Fairy Tail’s most important business partners for years. Under normal circumstances, I can hardly refuse him that favor."
"But we don’t know what kind of girl she is."
"What if she’s spoiled and unreasonable?"
"What if she demands to become a full member the moment she arrives?"
"The others would certainly resent it, and granting her special treatment would violate the guild’s principles."
"But if I refuse her entirely..."
"Stop."
Marshall raised a hand.
"You’re thinking far too much."
"We haven’t even met her yet, so worrying about all that is pointless."
"Still, I have a feeling..."
Marshall remembered the tragedy of his younger, more innocent self attempting to strike up a conversation with Lucy years ago—and being rejected.
A delighted smile gradually spread across his face.
"Miss Heartfilia may fit into Fairy Tail remarkably well~"
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