Chapter 70: Aftermath of the Fight

The activation of the super magic, 'Fairy Law', marked the end of the conflict between the two major guilds.

Makarov looked at Nate with a kind smile and asked, "Did you remember it?"

"I remembered some of it," Nate nodded before shaking his head. "Master, you don't expect me to learn it just by looking once, do you?"

"Don't worry, I'll teach you slowly," Makarov replied as he gazed out over Oak Town, especially at the riverbed damaged by the earthquake. His smile quickly faded.

'Sigh... I'll have to write an apology later, won't I?'

The old man wanted to cry, but in the end, it turned into a helpless sigh. "Enough of the nonsense. Let's head back. We need to rebuild the guild."

Nate glanced at Jose. "And him?"

"The Council will handle it."

It sounded a bit like those cop movies where the police come to clean up the mess. But no, Fairy Tail was a legal guild!

"Master Jose," Nate walked over to Jose and asked, "Who gave you the job? And what was the request?"

There was no response.

The now elderly Jose, looking like a filthy rat in a sewer, trembled on the ground, unable to bear the sight of the holy light. He shivered, his lips quivering, incapable of speech after enduring two super magic attacks.

…

The next day, back in Magnolia.

The guild building, once filled with iron rods by Gajeel, had been torn down. Since they were going to rebuild, everyone decided to expand it a bit.

As for the scale of the expansion...

Nate held up a blueprint for the new building, giving a puzzled expression like an old man looking at a smartphone on the subway.

"Mira, whose crayon scribbles are these? It's too abstract—who can understand this?"

Mira's bright smile slowly stiffened, and her lips pouted in protest.

Nate: "Uh?"

'You drew this!?'

By noon, the guild site had become a large construction area. The stronger men like Natsu, Gray, and Elfman were busy carrying building materials. Even Erza had changed into a foreman's outfit, working hard to help rebuild the new guild.

As for Nate?

Nate was slacking off—at least until a moment ago. But now, he had accidentally made the guild's poster girl cry.

"Actually, if you look closely, the drawing is quite nice... 'really'," Nate said, trying to be complimentary, but seeing Mira still pouting, he gave in with a sigh. "How about I treat you to a big dinner tonight?"

"Really?" Mira's eyes lit up instantly.

Nate: "..."

Her fake tears were pretty convincing! 'I guess I'll have to play along.'

Mira smiled again and happily picked up a tray of juice to serve the workers.

Nate opened up the internet, and the forum was already exploding with discussions about the battle between 'Fairy Tail' and 'Phantom Lord'. Threads were popping up everywhere.

Mages had a lot of free time—they either did jobs to earn money or trained to improve themselves. With all that free time, when they found out the top two guilds in Fiore had started a fight, it was like sharks smelling blood in the water. They flooded the forum with posts.

"I heard Phantom Lord struck first!"

"They lost—their headquarters got destroyed!"

"Fairy Tail is also rebuilding. I just passed by Magnolia—here's a picture of the construction site. Photo.jpg"

"I heard Laxus's Thunder God Tribe took down more than twenty Phantom Lord branches in one day, completely demolishing them."

"Thinking about it, isn't Fairy Tail a bit too strong? Phantom Lord couldn't even last half a day."

"Fiore's Strongest Guild! (Mira-san, if you see this, please pin my post—I want points!)"

"Aren't you focusing on the wrong thing? The point is, Jose apparently got beaten by Nate!"

"Nate? The creator of the internet?"

"Who else could it be?"

"Kneel before the Lord of the Internet! In light of my devotion, please give me points!"

"Nate-sama, I bow before you! Worship.jpg!"

The thread quickly derailed, with people begging for points. Nate, using his developer privileges, selected a few posts with the most flattering comments and granted their wish.

Just then, a private message notification popped up.

"Tired me out."

"You really don't let your big sis rest easy, causing such a huge mess."

"I just finished a council meeting and was speaking up for you the whole time."

"Hurry up and thank me! HuffingAndPuffing.jpg"

It seems having a council member in your corner has its perks, Nate thought with a grin.

Nate: "What did the Council say? I was acting in self-defense."

Witch of Pain: "Self-defense? You went straight to their base! SmackHead.jpg"

Witch of Pain: "Good thing your big sis spoke up for you! RollingEyes.jpg"

Nate couldn't help but indulge her. What else could he do?

Nate: "Thanks, big sis. You're the best. Should I send you a cool picture of me?"

Witch of Pain: "Not interested~"

Witch of Pain: "Anyway, the Council decided to arrest the main culprits."

Nate: "Looks like Natsu's in trouble then."

Witch of Pain: "It's you, you brat! Speechless.jpg"

Nate: "Why me? Did you even defend me?"

Witch of Pain: "Don't worry, you'll just need to come to the headquarters for a brief appearance."

Nate: "Why headquarters? Can't I just go to the Fiore branch?"

Witch of Pain: "That's because I arranged it! Come to headquarters—your big sis misses you! Shy.jpg"

Nate: "Am I the only one being arrested? I'm starting to doubt you actually defended me."

Witch of Pain: "Erza Scarlet will come too. You two were the leaders, so you'll both need to be there."

With that, Nate felt more at ease. At least he wouldn't be alone. But on second thought, had he dragged Erza into this? She hadn't even known about the guild being attacked until he brought her along on his bike.

Nate: "How long will we be there?"

Witch of Pain: "Just a day. It's all for show."

Witch of Pain: "I'll even bring you lunch while you're there!"

Nate: "What about Phantom Lord?"

Nate could understand the Council needing to save face, so he was curious about their actions.

Witch of Pain: "Since they started the fight, their punishment will be severe."

Witch of Pain: "The Council is going to forcefully disband Phantom Lord and strip Jose Porla of his title as one of the Ten Wizard Saints."

Witch of Pain: "Oh, and Gajeel too. Even though he was following Jose's orders, he'll be imprisoned for a while."

Nate thought for a moment, realizing she hadn't mentioned the most important thing. Then, as if reading his mind, Ultear sent another message.

Witch of Pain: "There'll be an open spot among the Ten Wizard Saints soon, and I've already nominated you!"

Witch of Pain: "Happy? You might even get awarded the Saint title when you visit the headquarters!"

'Perfect!' Nate nodded with satisfaction. While the title itself didn't do much, it sure sounded impressive.

After chatting with Ultear for a while, the Council's military arrived. Nate already knew he'd be taken in.

"Erza Scarlet, Nate—are you two here?"

Leading the force was a familiar face, the captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit.