Are You Confident You Can Defeat Him?
"Serious?"
Jiang Bai seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Ogre with an expression as if he were looking at an idiot.
"Is this the first day we've met? Or were you absent when the council Magic Council demolished? Should I help you remember?"
"You...!"
Ogre was furious, his face turning red. He wanted to say something, but was stopped by a stern look from the council chairman, Crawford.
Crawford cleared his throat, picked up a thick document, and began to read it aloud in a monotone, emotionless voice.
"The investigation into the actions of Fairy Tail mage Jiang Bai during his mission in the Clover Town is now underway."
"Firstly, they engaged in battle with the dark guild 'Eisenwald' without authorization from the Magic Council..."
"Secondly, the use of excessively powerful magic in the battle resulted in the complete destruction of the Kingdom's Class A Natural Heritage Site, 'Echo Mountain,' causing irreversible damage to the ecological environment. The preliminary estimate of the economic losses is..."
"Thirdly, they ignored the special forces dispatched by the Magic Council, displayed arrogance, and afterwards..."
Lengthy and tedious platitudes echoed in the courtroom.
Jiang Bai listened with interest for a couple of minutes at first, but soon found it utterly boring.
These old men keep repeating the same few sentences; they're not even as interesting as the bedtime stories Mira tells.
His eyelids began to droop, his head bobbed up and down, and finally he simply closed his eyes, emitting soft and steady breathing.
He actually fell asleep right there in the "trial" room of the Magic Council's highest courtroom.
The chief judge, reading out the charges, maintained his voice, ignoring Jiang Bai who was sleeping.
The other judges, on the other hand, had ashen faces and their fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
This is no longer contempt; this is blatant humiliation!
After an unknown amount of time, when Crawford finally finished reading the lengthy "statement of guilt," the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
The silence finally woke Jiang Bai from his slumber.
He groggily raised his head, rubbed his eyes, glanced around at the faces as black as the bottom of a pot, and yawned.
"It's over?"
He stretched and stood up.
"Then I'll be going. Don't bother me for dinner; the food here is awful."
After saying that, he didn't even glance at the councilors again, turned around and walked towards the door, as nonchalantly as if he had just finished strolling in the park and was about to go home.
I'm only here to give an explanation to those unsuspecting civilians; it's just a formality.
Jiang Bai knew very well that the Magic Council not take action against him.
Although he acted recklessly and caused a bit of destruction, he had his own bottom line: he would never harm the innocent.
This is the fundamental reason Magic Council both hates and fears him, yet can never bring themselves to truly punish him.
Of course, we're not afraid to take drastic measures.
The tense atmosphere was only broken when Jiang Bai's figure completely disappeared outside the courtroom doors.
"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
Ogre could no longer contain himself. He slammed his fist on the table and Roar furiously.
"What kind of attitude is this! What does he take our Magic Council for?!"
"Alright, Ogre."
Another more rational member of parliament Berno, sighed.
"This is something we should keep to ourselves; why bring it up and make things awkward for each other?"
"We all know this is just a formality. Do you really expect him to kneel down and weep and repent?"
Yajima slowly spoke up, "The current Magic Council can no longer withstand another round of turmoil."
"Recently, the activities of dark guilds in various regions have become increasingly rampant, and powerful mages like Jiang Bai are the main force in fighting against them."
What we need is to unite all forces that can be united.
"Alright!"
Chief Councilor Crawford delivered the final verdict, ending this pointless debate.
"This matter ends here. The verdict today should be compiled into a written document and released publicly to the entire mainland."
He stood up, his authoritative gaze sweeping across the entire room.
Meeting adjourned!
As soon as the words were spoken, the figures of seven of the nine judges present began to fade into the distance, eventually turning into specks of light and dissipating into the air.
Those who came were merely Thought Projection.
Soon, only two people remained in the entire courtroom—the newly appointed young councilor, Siegrain, and Ultear, who had been standing in the shadows behind him.
"Hehe, it seems the rumors from two years ago were true."
Ultear emerged from the shadows, letting out a melodious chuckle.
"It really was Jiang Bai; he completely ruined the entire Magic Council. Come to think of it, if it weren't for him, the two of us wouldn't have been able to sneak in so easily."
A faint smile played on Siegrain's lips, his eyes deep and thoughtful. "In that case, I really should thank him properly, in my own way."
I saw him in person today.
Ultear walked around Siegrain, her tone tinged with curiosity.
What do you think of his abilities?
Siegrain's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. "Unfathomable. His aura is concealed too perfectly, like a bottomless vortex, without any flaws."
"However, given his renowned reputation, and the fact that he easily defeated 'Lullaby' this time, his strength must be quite formidable."
"Are you confident you can defeat him?"
Ultear stopped in her tracks, a playful glint in her eyes.
"Don't forget, he possesses that legendary 'Infinity' defensive magic."
"Are you trying to provoke me into fighting him, Ultear?"
Siegrain turned his head and looked at her calmly.
"How could that be?"
Ultear covered her mouth and chuckled.
"You're going to fight sooner or later anyway, aren't you? Besides, you're one of the Ten Wizard Saints on the continent, so you should be able to win easily."
"Win? That's inevitable."
Siegrain's tone was filled with absolute confidence.
He turned and walked away, leaving behind only a proud and aloof figure and a cold remark.
"As for that so-called 'turtle shell,' we just need to break it along with the person inside."
As Ultear watched Ultear 'Siegrain departing figure, her smile grew even brighter.
One is a renowned and unfathomable monster.
The other is an ambitious and exceptionally talented genius.
Between these two, who is the better player?
This is really something to look forward to!
Just as Lucy was still processing Jiang Bai's glorious deeds from two years ago, the guild's door creaked open again.
A familiar figure strolled in lazily and waved towards the bar.
"I'm back!"
It was Jiang Bai, who had just been "arrested" and brought to justice by the Rune Knights.
"So fast?!"
Lucy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She glanced instinctively at the wall clock; not even a morning had passed since Jiang Bai was taken away.
Although Mira and Happy both said not to worry, it is, after all, the Magic Council! It is the highest authority in this world!
She was still somewhat uneasy, but Jiang Bai returned so quickly, as if he had just gone out to buy groceries.
Jiang Bai walked to the bar, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it all in one gulp.
"I just went there to hear those old men criticize me to my face for my vandalism."
"After listening, I immediately used Space Transfer to return. Otherwise, I would have had to take that slow carriage, which would have been a waste of time."
His tone was so relaxed, as if he were talking about something extremely ordinary.
Just then, Natsu suddenly jumped out from the side, arms crossed, cheeks puffed out, staring intently at Jiang Bai with a resentful look.
"Jiang Bai!"
"What?" Jiang Bai glanced at him.
"Didn't you say that the scenery along the way is important when walking back?!" Natsu asked angrily.
He hadn't wanted to take public transportation before, and Jiang Bai used that as a way to refuse him.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai paused for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.
"Mmm~"
He patted Natsu on the shoulder and said in a serious tone,
"That depends on the situation. I have a date with Erza this afternoon, so of course I need to come back early to prepare."
"A... date?!"
Jiang Bai didn't explain further; he simply waved to the crowd.
"I'm going to eat now, goodbye."
After saying that, amidst the gossipy gazes of everyone, he turned around gracefully and walked towards his house outside, leaving Natsu looking completely bewildered and a group of guild members whose imaginations were running wild.