Fairy Tail: The Uncrowned King of Magic

Chapter 127: Chapter 127

That evening, Lucy was surrounded by a group of girls and escorted into a dimly lit room inside the women’s dormitory.

She trembled uneasily.

’Am I being bullied?!’

"Newcomer Lucy-chan~ Have you decided which fan club you’re joining?"

"F-Fan club?"

"You haven’t heard about them?"

One of the girls leaned closer.

"Lord Marshall may keep a low profile, but he has plenty of secret admirers throughout the guild. It’s precisely because he avoids attention that we need to unite and support him!"

"L-Ladies..."

Under Lucy’s increasingly frightened gaze, the girls began explaining the situation.

The people in this guild might all be strange, but apparently they had divided themselves into four organized factions.

Were they seriously treating this like a matter of national importance?

And was Marshall really this popular inside Fairy Tail?

The media barely reported anything about him.

Then again, Lucy was now a fan of Marshall too.

Only the night before had she learned that Reedus was merely the artist responsible for the Naruto manga.

The original novels had actually been written by Slim-sensei—and Slim-sensei was Marshall himself.

"Is there... a fan club for readers of Marshall’s work?"

Every girl pointed toward Laki.

"That would be the Advisory Council."

"They admire Lord Marshall for his talent."

"Uh... What do the other groups admire?"

"His relationships, his face, and his physique."

"?"

Lucy stared at them.

These girls were terrifying.

Was everyone in this guild completely insane?

"Are there any requirements for joining?"

"You’ll find out soon enough."

Laki appeared to represent the Fifth Master’s Advisory Council. She puffed out her chest with pride, though she remained more composed than the others.

"The purpose of our Advisory Council is to contribute to Lord Marshall’s literary ambitions without ever becoming a burden to him."

"That is the principle guiding our existence."

The surrounding girls nodded solemnly.

"That’s right."

"Those are the rules."

"Pay attention, newcomer!"

"..."

Did they have to sound this obsessed?!

Lucy’s curiosity eventually overcame her better judgment.

"What principles do the other fan clubs follow?"

The representatives responded immediately.

"Whatever Cana supports, we support! Whatever Cana opposes, we oppose!"

"Every wicked woman who covets Marshall is a heretic! A true fan should silently watch over and protect him from afar!"

"Within Lord Marshall’s literary world, we are his most faithful chroniclers! Everyone must purchase three copies of every book he writes!"

Their declarations overlapped until Lucy felt dizzy.

Then they explained the benefits.

Anyone who joined Cana’s big-sister faction received one card personally crafted by Cana every week.

’That’s blatant bribery!’

’She’s buying members with gifts!’

Juvia’s motherly faction possessed the largest collection of flattering photographs—mostly taken without Marshall’s knowledge.

Its leader also organized the production of custom Marshall merchandise.

’Aren’t they just a group of creepy stalkers?!’

Mira’s future-girlfriend faction offered no benefits at all.

They were also the most aggressive, attacking every other faction equally.

In their view, the other girls were hypocritical little thieves who refused to admit their true intentions while secretly plotting who knew what.

Since they couldn’t make a move themselves, they refused to let anyone else do so either.

That made them the force maintaining balance among the fan clubs.

’You’re the ones ruining everything!’

Laki watched Lucy expectantly.

Representatives of the other factions stood beside her, staring with equal intensity as they waited for an answer.

’If I say I’m not joining any of them, they’ll silence me, won’t they?’

’They definitely will!’

’Tomorrow’s headline might say: "Young Mage Found Dead in Dormitory—The Shocking Reason Was..."’

"Choose wisely, Lucy-chan."

Laki smiled gently, though something dangerous lurked behind it.

"If you refuse, then we’ll have to..."

By this point, Lucy felt completely drained.

Were these people even human?

Still, refusing clearly wasn’t an option.

There was nothing else she could do.

"All right."

Lucy swallowed.

"My choice is..."

...

"Master, my recommendation remains the same."

Marshall stood inside Makarov’s office, offering advice concerning a much more serious problem.

"Recently, more and more residents have complained that their taxes have increased again."

"The local lord has imposed yet another levy on the city."

Marshall’s expression darkened.

"Duke Everlue has raised taxes repeatedly over the past several years."

"He doesn’t dare touch Fairy Tail directly, so he pressures the mayor and squeezes ordinary citizens instead."

"But ultimately, that still damages the guild’s interests."

"I believe we’ve reached the point where this has to be dealt with."

Makarov rubbed his temples.

Marshall had first proposed a solution when Everlue raised the taxes the first time.

His solution had been to assassinate the duke.

Makarov had spent considerable effort persuading him to abandon that idea.

He had hoped Everlue would understand when enough was enough, but the man’s greed appeared limitless.

Even Makarov occasionally found himself thinking, ’Perhaps I should simply let Marshall kill him.’

Then guilt immediately followed.

How could he even consider sending one of his own children to murder someone?

He truly was an inadequate Guild Master!

"We should still leave Everlue to the Magic Council," Makarov said.

"Then send someone to arrest him."

"...The Magic Council doesn’t take orders from me."

Makarov sighed.

"If we want them to act, we need a legitimate reason."

He took out a request and handed it to Marshall.

"This may give us an opportunity."

"Someone wants Everlue investigated. Would you be willing to accept the job?"

Marshall glanced over the paper.

"I’ll take it, but there’s no reward listed."

"If it pays less than two million Jewels, I’m not going."

Makarov’s mouth twitched.

"This is an investigation inside Everlue’s mansion."

"You only need to collect evidence of his crimes to earn the payment."

"And depending on what you find, you may even be able to—"

Marshall considered it.

The job shouldn’t take much time.

More importantly, he had wanted to teach that idiotic duke a lesson for years.

He finally nodded.

"All right. I’ll make the trip."

Marshall had just taken the request and turned to leave when an excellent idea occurred to him.

The corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.

"Master, I intend to take special care of Miss Lucy by bringing her along on this request."

"You don’t object, do you?"

Makarov saw nothing wrong with the proposal.

Without even looking up, he waved dismissively.

"Hm? That sounds like a good thing."

"Go ahead. Just return safely."

"Understood!"

Marshall chuckled.

The request stated that Duke Everlue was currently hiring a blonde maid.

Marshall remembered the old bastard well.

The man possessed almost every terrible quality imaginable, but one particular flaw stood out above the others.

His taste in women was spectacularly unusual.

Every maid in his household was uglier than the last.

An evil plan immediately took shape in Marshall’s mind.

’Hehehe...’

’Lucy, as your senior, I’ll make absolutely certain our newest member receives the finest possible care!’

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