Chapter 94
Because Mystogan didn’t want too many people learning about his past, he asked the three of them to keep everything they had discussed secret.
Makarov readily agreed. Marshall had already achieved his objective, so he had no objections either, while Laxus simply couldn’t bring himself to care.
After leaving Marshall a way to contact him, Mystogan departed.
Marshall then released the guild members from his Subspace Dimension.
Once his Spatial Magic reached Level Four, his former personal storage space had evolved into a genuine miniature subspace.
It was now nearly as large as the whole of Magnolia.
The place was still almost completely empty, containing little more than the miscellaneous junk Marshall had thrown into storage over the years, but its fundamental nature had changed entirely.
Living creatures could enter and leave without harm.
Of course, once someone was dragged inside, they were essentially at Marshall’s mercy.
Every inch of that subspace existed under his absolute control.
Without his permission, an intruder couldn’t even move.
Anyone with less magic power than Marshall could now be pulled into his dimension with relative ease, leaving them almost no chance to resist him.
’At this point, Laxus is probably the only person in the guild who can still give me a proper fight~’
Marshall’s mood improved considerably at the thought.
He woke the sleeping girls one by one, privately deciding that these muscle-brained fools had far too little resistance against mental attacks.
Mystogan’s sleep spell was also recorded in Super Archive and belonged to the broader category of Mental Magic.
Marshall’s own Mental Magic was only Level One.
However, Mental Magic, Soul Magic, and Memory Magic all shared certain underlying principles, and his Soul Magic had already reached Level Three.
As a result, his resistance to mental interference remained fairly strong.
The Magic Council strictly prohibited research into mind-control spells, but real enemies wouldn’t care what the Council allowed.
Today’s incident had served as a warning.
Marshall decided to find time to develop magical equipment that improved mental resistance and give it to the girls for protection.
The Mages of this world were far too careless!
When everyone woke and learned that Mystogan had put them all to sleep, they were understandably annoyed.
Still, since he was a guildmate—and none of them were confident they could beat him—they settled for grumbling a few complaints before letting the matter go.
Makarov then stepped forward and announced that he would personally decide how the guild handled the matter of the parallel world.
He warned everyone not to spread the story carelessly, though he didn’t issue any harsh prohibition.
Without sufficient status or evidence, no one outside the guild would believe such an unbelievable tale anyway.
...
To celebrate Marshall’s safe return, Fairy Tail held an enormous banquet, with Makarov paying the entire bill.
Ever since the guild became wealthy, the old man had carried himself with noticeably greater confidence.
In the past, every reprimand and fine from the Magic Council would leave him depressed for days.
Now, he treated their lectures like meaningless background noise.
The guild damaged property during a job?
So what?
It wasn’t as though Fairy Tail couldn’t afford the compensation!
Having tasted the benefits of wealth, Makarov had been easily tempted by Marshall’s proposal and willingly joined his little conspiracy.
Perhaps before retiring, he could raise Fairy Tail into the strongest Mage guild on the entire continent!
Makarov Dreyar had ambitions too!
Marshall shook his head when he noticed the dreamy smile on the old man’s face.
The Guild Master’s appetite was still far too small.
The strongest guild on one continent?
How could such a minor accomplishment possibly satisfy them?
Fortunately, Marshall would handle the rest.
As the man working behind the Guild Master’s throne, he would ensure that Fairy Tail became the strongest guild in the entire world.
When the guild’s fame spread across the seas and its power shook every corner of the earth, perhaps even placing a crown upon Makarov’s head wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable.
This was the exclusive benefit of having a transmigrator under one’s roof!
Fairy Tail’s journey toward the stars would begin with the new company they were about to establish!
...
Several days later, inside the Guild Master’s office, Marshall was enthusiastically presenting his plans and selling Makarov a magnificent dream through what could only be described as a magical PowerPoint presentation.
"Fairy Tail Industrial Group Development Plan?"
Makarov stared blankly at the documents spread across his desk.
"Fairy Tail Media Company, Fairy Tail Communications, Fairy Tail Terminals, Fairy Tail Magical Equipment Manufacturing Factory..."
"What in the world are all these things?"
It was rare to see Makarov look so completely lost.
He recognized every individual word, yet once they were combined into those strange titles, they became incomprehensible.
What exactly went on inside this little genius’s head every day?
Marshall floated through the air, circling Makarov as he launched into his explanation.
"Master, have you ever considered one very important question?"
"What is Fairy Tail—or rather, what is a Mage guild—at its most fundamental level?"
Makarov cleared his throat.
"Well, a Mage guild is a place where companions who share the same ideals gather together. They work together, live together, and face the unknown as one large family."
"No, no, no."
Marshall shook his finger.
"Your answer contains far too much personal emotion, Master. That makes it inaccurate!"
"The official Guild League charter states it clearly: a Mage guild is an organization that provides Mages with employment services and a base for their activities."
"To put it more simply, a guild is a talent agency—a place that introduces Mages to potential work."
"Surely you agree with that much?"
"Well... yes."
Makarov nodded reluctantly.
"That interpretation isn’t wrong."
"Then here’s the real question."
Marshall leaned over the desk.
"If our purpose is to find work for our members, why must we sit around waiting for clients to bring jobs to us?"
"Why shouldn’t we create more jobs ourselves?"
He pointed proudly at the proposals on the desk.
"We have money now!"
"A great deal of money!"
"Even if no one accepted a single outside job, the guild could support everyone for at least half a year."
"And the reason we can afford that is because we’ve already completed our first successful business venture—the Naruto theme park."
"We created permanent jobs for retired guild members, while the park’s profits became income for Fairy Tail itself."
"Our treasury finally has money!"
"And that money wasn’t paid by one or two wealthy clients."
"It came from tens of thousands of visitors spending a little at a time on businesses owned by our guild."
"Master, tell me honestly."
Marshall smiled.
"Doesn’t earning money that way feel wonderful?"
"Well... it certainly does."
Makarov stroked his beard.
"But—"
"But it isn’t enough!"
Marshall slapped the desk.
"We still have too few sources of income!"
"We haven’t created enough jobs!"
"Our younger members are still using the least efficient possible method to earn unstable, unpredictable incomes!"
"That is unacceptable, Master!"
"But Mage guilds have operated this way for nearly a century..."
"Just because something has always been done that way, does that make it right?!"
Marshall struck the table again, his voice filled with righteous conviction.
"Fairy Tail is one of the finest Mage guilds in Fiore!"
"We possess some of the most talented Mages in the entire kingdom, yet we’re doing almost the same work as third-rate and independent guilds."
"That makes no sense!"
"Our family deserves better lives."
"Everyone should have a stable and respectable income every month. They should live comfortably, build happy families, and become the envy of every other guild in the country!"
"That is the treatment and status worthy of members of the number-one guild!"
Makarov sucked in a breath.
"Marshall... You do have a point."
"I also want the children to live better lives."
"But how can we possibly accomplish all of this?"
Marshall patted the stack of documents.
"The answer is already written here."
"We will gradually transform Fairy Tail from an ordinary talent agency into a diversified industrial group."
"We’ll create professions designed specifically for Mages and establish jobs that only Mages are capable of performing."
"Then we’ll work together and earn more money than any guild has ever imagined!"
"Of course, I understand that this will be extremely difficult."
"But we’ve already taken our first successful step. Every step after that will only become easier."
"To begin with, we can start with the simplest option—a media company."
"We’ll establish a magazine owned by Fairy Tail and use it to publish literary works from Edolas."
"Huh?"
Makarov blinked.
"Where are we supposed to get—"
"I’ve already entrusted that task to Lisanna."
Marshall waved dismissively.
"She’ll transport the finest works of Edolas back to us."
"That’s an entire world’s accumulated literary heritage!"
"I investigated it personally. Since Edolas lacks magic power, its culture and literature have developed much further than ours."
"There will be absolutely no shortage of excellent material!"
Makarov’s expression became complicated.
"Marshall... Did you plan this far ahead from the very beginning?"
"Huh? Are you talking about Lisanna?"
Marshall looked genuinely surprised.
"Of course not."
"My original plan was to return and sell magical communication terminals."
"Unfortunately, mass-producing them still presents several technical problems. We may even need to build an entire factory first, so that business can’t be launched immediately."
"But Lisanna happened to insist on remaining behind."
"How could I possibly waste such a perfect opportunity?"
"Transferring knowledge from another world is a business requiring almost no initial cost!"
Makarov immediately felt ashamed of himself.
That’s right.
Marshall was a good child.
How could he possibly have abandoned a companion for the sake of profit?
He was becoming far too suspicious in his old age!
Makarov considered the plan carefully and couldn’t identify any meaningful disadvantage.
At worst, they would be competing with existing magazines for readers.
Was Fairy Tail supposed to be afraid of that?
Then they would do it!
"All right, Marshall!"
Makarov slammed his palm against the desk.
"I’ll support this project with everything the guild has."
"You’ll have to work hard to—"
"No, no, no."
Marshall rapidly floated backward and folded his arms.
"My responsibility is to propose the strategy."
"I already have far too many important matters to handle. I don’t have time to perform ordinary administrative work."
"Our guild is filled with talented people. Why should I do everything myself?"
He smiled brightly.
"I think Levy would be perfect for managing the media company."
"She doesn’t enjoy traveling around and fighting on jobs anyway."
"What do you think, Master?"
"Excellent!"
Makarov’s eyes burned with sudden passion.
"Then Levy will be responsible for it!"
At that moment, the eighty-something-year-old Makarov seemed to rediscover the ambition and energy of his youth.
He was still young enough to struggle toward a greater future!