Chapter 108
Where profit exists, people will inevitably gather.
Where people gather, conflict inevitably follows.
Growth is always accompanied by pain.
"..."
Makarov stared at the three ’profound’ statements written before him and sank into deep thought.
After a long silence, he finally looked up.
"Marshall, I don’t understand."
"Master, you’re already a mature elderly man."
Marshall sighed with disappointment.
"You can’t depend on me for everything. I won’t be able to protect you forever."
"..."
The sheer audacity!
A vein bulged on Makarov’s forehead.
This rotten brat was turning the natural order of things completely upside down.
He was sorely tempted to clean house right then and there.
Unfortunately, he still needed Marshall’s advice.
The old man silently added this insult to the list of grudges he would settle later.
"Marshall... Could you explain it in more detail?"
"Honestly, Master, you’ve disappointed me."
Marshall shook his head gravely.
"With such poor ideological awareness, how are you supposed to lead Fairy Tail properly?"
Makarov’s face began turning red.
Why had this brat become more irritating with age?
Marshall hadn’t been nearly this insufferable when he was younger!
"Explain it now or get out!"
"Hm? There’s an old saying: ’Where there’s profit, people will gather, and when the profit is gone, they’ll scatter—’"
"Wasn’t your homeland some tiny backwater village?"
"How could it have such an impressive saying?"
"That isn’t important! Do you want to hear the explanation or not?"
"Fine, fine. Continue."
Marshall floated lazily back and forth with his hands behind his back.
"In short, all your recent confusion comes from one simple fact."
"You still haven’t realized just how wealthy Fairy Tail has become."
"We’re sitting on an enormous treasure vault while countless people stare at it with envy."
"That’s something the guild never had to deal with before, which is why you weren’t prepared for such a dramatic change."
The issue had begun when Makarov noticed a growing number of strange disputes within the guild.
Most of them involved the newly recruited reserve members.
Some demanded that Fairy Tail provide them with free food and accommodation.
Others complained about unequal access to guild resources.
A few had accepted jobs only to return after Natsu became involved and demand compensation from Makarov for the resulting damage.
All kinds of bizarre people had crawled out of the woodwork.
Makarov had served as Guild Master for decades, yet even he had never encountered anything quite like this.
The situation had become so troublesome that he was beginning to wonder whether recruiting those reserve members had been a mistake.
They weren’t even official Fairy Tail members yet, but they were already causing him endless headaches.
Unable to make sense of the problem, Makarov had summoned Marshall for advice.
That was how they ended up having this conversation.
"Is Fairy Tail really that rich?"
Makarov frowned.
"There doesn’t seem to be an extraordinary amount of money in the guild’s accounts."
"That’s because much of it isn’t sitting in the guild’s ordinary accounts."
Marshall began counting on his fingers.
"Some funds have already been assigned to specific projects and can’t be touched."
"Some exist only as assets under the guild’s name."
"Some profits haven’t officially reached us yet."
"And other funds technically can be used, but shouldn’t be."
"So you’re saying all this chaos is happening because Fairy Tail has become wealthy?"
Makarov narrowed his eyes.
"Does that mean we should drive all those newcomers away?"
"No."
Marshall shook his head.
"I’m saying this is an unavoidable stage of development."
"Fairy Tail is going through the growing pains of reform."
"Every ambitious opportunist, entitled idiot, and strange creature imaginable will naturally appear during this period."
"You don’t need to overthink every individual incident."
"As long as you keep the guild moving in the right direction, the rest can be corrected along the way."
Makarov still seemed troubled.
"Actually, my greatest concern is Laxus."
"That brat and his Thunder God Tribe have been selecting newcomers almost entirely according to combat strength."
"Judging companions through such a rigid standard goes against Fairy Tail’s original ideals."
"I want to stop them, but they haven’t technically broken any rules."
"You know how their group operates."
"Together, they already hold enough voting power to decide whether many applicants are accepted."
"That doesn’t sound like a major problem."
Marshall leaned back.
"If someone truly has malicious intentions, the rest of us can always veto them."
"Laxus may be arrogant, but he isn’t going to deliberately admit dangerous people."
"Let him do what he wants for now."
Marshall’s expression became unusually serious.
"So the first internal faction within Fairy Tail has already begun taking shape..."
Makarov watched him suspiciously.
For some reason, he felt as though this brat wasn’t merely observing the situation.
Marshall seemed almost interested in seeing how far the guild’s internal competition would develop.
"Fine."
Makarov sighed.
"If this is only a temporary growing pain, I’ll tolerate it for now."
"Excellent."
Marshall’s serious expression vanished immediately.
"Now that we’ve settled that, Master, I’d like permission to study Fairy Tail’s Three Great Magics."
Makarov’s eyes twitched.
"You rotten brat!"
"Have you finished researching all those other spells of yours already?"
"And now you’re turning your attention toward the Three Great Fairy Magics?"
"My current research has reached a bottleneck."
Marshall spoke without shame.
"I need fresh inspiration to stimulate my mind."
"So hurry up and hand over the magic, old man!"
"Show some respect you brat!"
Makarov’s beard bristled.
Still, he ultimately let the insult pass.
Marshall was the child in whom he placed the greatest hopes. In all likelihood, Fairy Tail’s future would eventually be entrusted to this rotten little brat.
Makarov began explaining the three spells.
Fairy Glitter was an annihilation-type Grand Magic. It gathered and condensed the radiance of the sun, moon, and stars into an enormous ring of light before erasing its target.
Fairy Law was a judgment-type Grand Magic. Its sacred light struck down darkness and destroyed everyone the caster sincerely regarded as an enemy.
Finally, Fairy Sphere was an absolute-defense Grand Magic. It formed an impenetrable shield around a designated area and everyone within it, while freezing the passage of time inside the sphere.
Marshall listened carefully.
All three spells had been mentioned within Super Archive, and each fully deserved to be called Grand Magic.
However, the one that interested him most was obvious.
"I’ll learn Fairy Sphere first."
"You brat..."
Makarov studied him for a moment before smiling faintly.
"As expected, you’re very different from Laxus."
"What?"
Marshall tilted his head.
"Laxus has already learned one of them?"
"All of Fairy Tail’s S-Class Mages are qualified to study the Three Great Magics."
"Erza and Mira simply chose not to."
"As for Laxus, he asked to learn Fairy Glitter."
Makarov’s expression turned serious.
"But I only taught him Fairy Law."
"That was wrong of you, Master."
Marshall immediately criticized him.
"How could you deceive your own grandson?"
"Fairy Glitter is an extremely pure destructive spell."
"With Laxus’s current temperament, he cannot fully control that kind of power."
"I refuse to take such a risk."
"Tch..."
Makarov produced another magical record.
"Oh, right. Since you’re also a Dragon Slayer, I’ll pass this technique on to you as well."
Marshall stared at him in outrage.
"Master! You’re actually giving a Dragon Slayer technique meant for Laxus to an outsider?"
"Have you forgotten who your grandson is?"
"Am i your real grandson?"
"Stop talking nonsense."
Makarov smacked him on the head with an arm that stretched halfway across the room.
Marshall rubbed his forehead irritably.
This damned old man had no respect for personal boundaries.
How could such a tiny person extend his arm that far and still hit him?
"Laxus has been unusually restless lately."
Makarov lowered his voice.
"I’m afraid he may be planning something."
"Right now, you’re the only person in the guild capable of reliably stopping him."
"Keep an eye on him for me."
"Master!"
Marshall looked genuinely offended.
"How could you think that way about Laxus?"
"He isn’t merely your biological grandson—he’s also my beloved friend and brother!"
"How could I possibly spy on him?"
"That would be a betrayal of the trust between companions!"
"I refuse to accept such a disgraceful request!"
Makarov stared at him.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"You’ll have to pay more."
Marshall extended his hand.
"One spell isn’t enough."
"I want two."
He paused.
"No—three!"
"You greedy little bastard!"
Once again, Makarov spent the day worrying himself sick over Fairy Tail.