Chapter 239
"You want us to play the heroes?"
The members of Edolas Fairy Tail had all gathered together, and after listening to Marshall’s explanation, practically everyone had question marks over their heads.
They still remembered him.
Marshall wasn’t exactly the kind of person anyone could easily forget after meeting once.
Most of them, however, only learned today that he came from Earth Land, the other world King Faust had been targeting with Anima.
By now, news that every Anima attempt had failed—and that the royal capital had repeatedly been turned into a disaster zone as a result—had spread throughout the kingdom.
The royal family had become a laughingstock.
The king’s orders to confiscate Magic Crystal and forcibly absorb independent Mages into the royal army had only fueled public resentment further.
As the strongest Mage guild resisting the kingdom, Fairy Tail had been at the forefront of fighting the royal forces for years.
Their reputation throughout the kingdom was terrible.
And now Marshall wanted them to become "heroes"?
Naturally, everyone was confused.
"Last night, our guild captured your royal capital." Marshall spoke casually.
"Your king and most of the royal government are already our prisoners, so technically speaking, this country has changed hands."
He looked around.
𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
"That also means your status as criminals no longer matters."
"Eh?!"
Everyone reacted at once.
"Of course, we have no interest in actually ruling your world."
Marshall shrugged.
"We only went this far because your king decided to target ours. That part should be understandable, right?"
Edolas Lucy had been staring nonstop at the other version of herself standing nearby.
Only after Marshall spoke did she finally look away.
"Of course."
She crossed her arms.
"That king is a bastard. The Fairy Hunters have chased us all over the country for years."
Her expression hardened.
"If he finally picked a fight with someone he couldn’t handle, then he deserved it."
"Your kingdom’s prince has been living in Earth Land for years."
Marshall continued.
"He’s also a member of our guild."
Everyone’s attention sharpened.
"He wants to overthrow the tyrant ruling this country, which is why he asked me to invite all of you to join him."
Marshall smiled.
"If the plan succeeds, you could all end up becoming heroes."
"Wait."
Someone raised a hand.
"Didn’t you just say the king has already been captured?"
"Yep."
"Then hasn’t his rule already ended?"
"Oh."
Marshall nodded.
"When I said ’tyrant,’ I wasn’t talking about your old king."
He smiled pleasantly.
"I meant Natsu."
Everyone froze.
"He’s the king now."
"???"
The entire guild stared at him.
Marshall had no choice but to explain exactly what Fairy Tail had been doing in the royal capital.
He didn’t bother hiding any of it.
"But why go that far?"
One of the Edolas members frowned.
"You just said you have no interest in ruling our world."
"To make this world afraid of us."
Marshall’s answer was immediate.
"So nobody here ever tries targeting Earth Land again."
He folded his arms.
"People in Edolas don’t naturally carry Magic Power inside their bodies."
"People from Earth Land do."
"That gives you an enormous disadvantage in a direct conflict."
Marshall looked around the room.
"One guild from our world was enough to dismantle your royal army with almost no difficulty."
"If a genuine war ever broke out between the two worlds, Edolas would have virtually no chance."
He shrugged.
"We’re simply proving that fact."
"...Fair enough."
Someone nodded slowly.
"But what does that have to do with us becoming heroes?"
"Your world is running out of Magic Power."
Marshall’s expression became more serious.
"And it’s disappearing extremely quickly."
"Eventually, Edolas will have none left at all."
He looked around.
"Have any of you thought about what you’ll do when that happens?"
The guild members exchanged glances.
Then several of them laughed.
"If there’s no Magic, then there’s no Magic."
"What else can we do?"
"It’ll probably take some getting used to, but we’ve known this might happen for years."
"We’ll manage somehow."
Marshall silently sighed.
Sure enough.
No matter which world they lived in, Fairy Tail was still full of people who refused to worry about tomorrow until tomorrow actually arrived.
Still, he smiled.
"And that’s exactly why you can become heroes."
The room quieted again.
"The prince intends to reverse Anima and create a world that no longer depends on Magic Power."
"He wants your help making that transition possible."
Marshall then gave them a simplified explanation of Mystogan’s plan.
In practical terms, they mainly needed to participate in a performance.
The funny part was that both the "heroes" and the "villains" in the story would be Fairy Tail.
"...Even without you, Mystogan would eventually carry out his plan."
Marshall continued.
"But this is still an opportunity."
"The new kingdom he builds will need large numbers of technically skilled people."
He gestured toward them.
"You’re all Mages who already understand magical theory. That means adapting to a new technological system should be easier for you than for most people."
"If things go well, some of you could eventually become extremely important figures in the new country."
Marshall smiled.
"So whether you want to participate is entirely up to you."
If there was one major difference between Earth Land’s Fairy Tail and Edolas Fairy Tail, it was that the latter generally possessed a little more common sense.
Most of them worked with technical systems and magical machinery, after all.
Marshall had already explained the opportunity clearly enough that everyone understood what he was offering.
They would be joining the winning side at the founding of a new regime.
Opportunities like that didn’t come often.
Miss one... and there would be no point regretting it afterward.
The discussion quickly became lively.
Marshall didn’t participate.
Instead, he noticed that Edolas Wendy had been staring at him for quite some time.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
Her eyes looked almost suspiciously bright.
Marshall’s Telepathy was significantly weakened in Edolas, but it still functioned if he deliberately used it.
Curious, he took a quick look at what Wendy was thinking.
He regretted it immediately.
[So... so cute.]
[He’s exactly the kind of little brother I always dreamed of!]
[I’m absolutely going to win him over somehow...]
"??????????"
Marshall silently took one step backward.
What the hell?
Why did her thoughts sound so dangerously obsessive?
Was the Wendy of this world... slightly broken?
...
Meanwhile, Lucy finally approached Lucy.
The two nearly identical girls stared at each other with equally strange expressions.
"You’re really some rich heiress?"
"You’re really Marshall’s sister?"
They asked at the exact same time.
Silence followed.
The atmosphere became awkward.
Earth Land Lucy was still technically within her one-month "pet" period.
At first, she had assumed Marshall brought her along because he intended to torment her again.
Only during the journey did she discover that in this world, she and Marshall were half-siblings through the same mother.
That revelation had nearly broken Lucy’s brain.
She was now beginning to suspect she had discovered one of the reasons Marshall enjoyed bullying her so much.
While the two Lucys began comparing their lives, Lisanna was suffering somewhere else entirely.
She had been trapped between two Miras.
Lisanna had remained in regular contact with her sister over the past two years.
She had personally watched the once-wild, delinquent-like Mira gradually soften until she seemed almost as gentle as Edolas Mira.
But now...
Lisanna realized she had misunderstood.
Her real sister was still exactly the same sister she remembered.
The thorns hadn’t disappeared.
They had simply been hidden beneath a gentle smile.
Sitting between two smiling versions of Mira, Lisanna felt as though she were surrounded by predators.
Elsewhere, Elfman was busy teaching Elfman how to become a real man.
It didn’t take long before Edolas Fairy Tail finally reached a consensus.
"We’ll participate."
One representative nodded.
"We’ll join the prince’s side and help with the plan."
He paused.
"But forget about calling us heroes."
Marshall smiled.
"No problem."
He handed them a magic terminal.
"Keep this."
"When you reach the royal capital, contact Mystogan directly."
"From that point onward, he’ll arrange everything."
Marshall looked around at the members of Edolas Fairy Tail.
Soon, every one of them would be meeting their Earth Land counterparts.
Just imagining it made a ridiculous grin appear on his face.
Somehow... he had a feeling the reunion was going to be extremely entertaining!