Fairy Tail: The Uncrowned King of Magic

Chapter 135: Chapter 135

To Marshall’s surprise, Erza and the others barely needed any time at all to locate Eisenwald’s guild base.

And somehow, Natsu was the one responsible for it.

He had simply charged into a random tavern and shouted, "Where are the Eisenwald guys?!"

Several Eisenwald members, apparently assuming some idiot had come looking for a fight, immediately stood up and identified themselves.

Then they got captured.

Marshall was often deeply discouraged by how frequently he overestimated the intelligence of Mages in this world.

Natsu’s ridiculous luck had struck again!

After catching several Eisenwald members with almost no effort, the group forced them to lead the way to the dark guild’s hideout.

Unfortunately, after Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy stormed the place and caused a considerable amount of destruction, they discovered that barely anyone was there.

Only a handful of low-ranking members had remained behind, while almost all of Eisenwald’s core forces had disappeared.

They had arrived too late.

"We destroyed Eisenwald’s base, but none of their important members are here," Gray said with a frown.

"Do you think they’re already carrying out whatever plan they had?"

"First, we need to determine where Erigor is," Erza replied.

With no better option, they turned to the unfortunate Eisenwald members they had captured.

Unfortunately, everyone knew Erza wasn’t particularly skilled at social interaction.

Interrogation was even further outside her area of expertise.

Fairy Tail might have a reputation for solving problems with fists, but Erza actually considered herself a reasonable person.

The problem was that people rarely survived long enough in a conversation with her to explain themselves properly.

Erza would ask someone a question.

If they didn’t answer within roughly one second, she would slap them aside and move on to the next person in the interest of efficiency.

By the time she finished making the rounds, every Eisenwald member had been knocked unconscious without getting the chance to say anything.

Erza frowned at the bodies scattered around them.

"Damn it! These people are stubborn. This is going to make things difficult."

Lucy stared at her.

’You knocked every single one of them unconscious before they could answer!’

Natsu and Gray immediately offered solutions.

"We can wake them up with fire."

"We can wake them up with ice."

They spoke at exactly the same time.

Lucy’s eye twitched.

’Which side is supposed to be the dark guild here?!’

After considerably more effort, one of the prisoners finally managed to blurt something out before Erza could knock him unconscious again.

Eisenwald possessed a communication terminal that could contact Guild Master Erigor directly.

Erza nodded.

"You should’ve said that from the beginning. Why make yourself suffer for nothing?"

Lucy and the prisoners stared at her in shared disbelief.

’You have to give people a chance to speak first!’

Gray picked up the terminal and examined it.

"Isn’t this one of the models our guild sells? Even dark guilds are using Fairy Tail communication terminals now?"

He scratched his head.

"Aren’t they worried their communications could be intercepted?"

"That isn’t strange anymore," Erza replied. "I heard some companies have started making dedicated encryption systems for communication terminals."

She glanced at him.

"Gray, you need to keep up with the times."

Natsu had no interest in any of that.

He simply activated the terminal and called Erigor.

A moment later, the image of a narrow-faced man with sharp features and the unmistakable appearance of a villain appeared on the screen.

"You... Who are you?"

Erigor’s expression darkened.

"What have you done to my guild?!"

"You’re that ’Reaper’ Erigor, right?!"

Natsu jabbed a finger at the screen.

"Eisenwald has already been destroyed by Fairy Tail! Tell us where you are so we can come arrest you!"

Lucy nearly fell over.

’Who would actually answer a question like that?!’

"..."

Erigor gave a low, sinister laugh.

"Fairy Tail, huh?"

"Fine. You’ve got guts."

"We just hijacked a magic train at Kunugi Station and we’re currently heading toward Oshibana Station."

"If you think you can stop us, come and try."

"We’ll be waiting for you in Oshibana."

Lucy stared at the terminal.

’Why did you actually tell us?!’

Erigor ended the call, somehow managing to sound even more arrogant than Natsu.

Erza’s expression immediately became serious.

"They hijacked a magic train?"

"That’s no longer a minor incident. We leave immediately for Oshibana Station."

Lucy, who had contributed almost nothing yet somehow already felt exhausted, cautiously raised a hand.

"Um... Oshibana is pretty far away, isn’t it?"

"Are we going back to use the teleportation array?"

"There isn’t enough time to return to the guild," Erza said. "We’ll go directly. I brought a magic vehicle."

She reached into the spatial storage bag she carried and pulled out a sleek crimson vehicle.

Its streamlined body and polished finish made it obvious that this wasn’t an ordinary production model.

Lucy immediately recognized the design.

"Huh?"

"Isn’t that the new vehicle Marshall showed me?!"

Her expression darkened.

"That bastard! I asked him for one too, and he keeps telling me he’s too busy to make it!"

"This one isn’t finished either," Erza said. "I took the prototype before he could finish working on it."

She opened the door.

"No time to complain. Get in."

Natsu immediately tried to hide but Gray kicked him straight into the back seat.

Lucy climbed into the passenger seat and looked around.

Unlike Marshall’s vehicle, the interior was roughly the same size as it appeared from outside.

So apparently not every prototype came with an expanded spatial compartment.

"Hold on," Erza warned. "I’m going to pour magic into the propulsion system and push it as fast as possible. Otherwise, we may not reach Oshibana in time."

Before anyone could respond, she slammed her foot down.

The magic vehicle shot forward at a terrifying speed and Lucy’s scream echoed across the sky!

...

Meanwhile, at the Guild Masters’ meeting...

The assembled Guild Masters were eating, drinking, chatting, and enjoying themselves without a care in the world.

Thanks to the growing influence of the Fairy Tail-led guild alliance, many guilds now had significant economic interests tied to Fairy Tail.

Their fortunes were increasingly connected, and Makarov had gradually begun to occupy something resembling a leading position among the gathered Guild Masters.

Bob eventually brought up a recent piece of news.

"Makarov, I heard that after Duke Everlue fell, His Majesty granted Magnolia to that boy as his territory."

"Is that true?"

Makarov blinked.

"The news traveled that quickly?"

"The decree only arrived yesterday. Even you already know about it?"

"As a matter of fact, the king appears to be considering a broader reform," Goldmine explained.

"All of us received letters from the royal palace."

"He wants to grant the cities where our guilds are based directly to the guilds themselves."

"Each guild would nominate one member, and that person would receive a lifelong noble title from the king."

Bob nodded.

"Apparently, the title would be tied directly to guild membership. If the holder ever leaves the guild, they lose the title as well."

"So in practice, the territory is being granted to the guild rather than to an individual."

The other Guild Masters quickly joined the discussion.

"Yes. I received the same letter."

"I heard Fairy Tail was selected as the first trial case. It makes sense, considering this could fundamentally change the kingdom’s political structure."

"Fiore has always maintained a policy of permanent neutrality. A reform like this is a significant change. I can’t tell whether it’ll be beneficial or whether our king has something else in mind."

"I think it sounds excellent," another Guild Master said. "Until now, our guilds had to pay taxes to whichever noble controlled the surrounding territory. We had to tolerate those useless bastards simply because they held a title."

"If those powers are transferred directly to the guilds, many things will become considerably easier."

"But it also means the guild becomes responsible for protecting and administering its city," someone else pointed out. "If we enjoy the authority, we also inherit the obligations that come with it."

"That’s why we wanted to hear what Master Makarov thinks."

Several heads turned toward him.

"Exactly."

"Fairy Tail was the first guild to accept the arrangement. I’m sure Makarov-dono must have considered this very carefully."

"Come on, old man. Share your thoughts."

Makarov narrowed his eyes and slowly stroked his mustache, maintaining the calm expression of a wise elder contemplating matters of national importance.

Inside, he was panicking.

’Deep insight my ass!’

’I don’t know anything about this!’

’The king never even sent me a letter!’

’And that noble decree was addressed directly to Marshall!’

Just as Makarov desperately searched for something intelligent to say, a small magical bird flew into the meeting hall and landed in front of him.

"Master Makarov, a letter has arrived for you."

Makarov blinked.

It was Mira’s letter.

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