The City and the Guild

In Magnolia, Fairy Tail held a special place in the hearts of the locals.

As long as things didn't get too out of hand, the residents couldn't even be bothered to write a complaint.

More than ninety years ago, before the original four founded Fairy Tail, the city had been ruled by a dark guild called Blue Skull.

A dark guild openly occupying a city, extorting the locals and wantonly oppressing them—it was the height of arrogance.

Yet strangely, neither the Magic Council nor the Kingdom of Fiore reacted. One was the guardian of order in the magical world, and the other was Magnolia's nominal direct ruler.

It was as if they couldn't see the residents of Magnolia living in utter misery.

Only when the original four of Fairy Tail arrived was the dark guild that had terrorized the region finally destroyed.

After destroying Blue Skull, Mavis persuaded her three companions to establish a magic guild there, hoping to prevent other dark forces from targeting the city again.

And so, Fairy Tail was born.

In the years that followed, those in power changed several times, but Fairy Tail continued to honor its original promise: to protect Magnolia.

As a result, the residents of Magnolia and the local government felt a great deal of goodwill—and tolerance—toward their "protector."

Magnolia City Hall.

In the mayor's office, the middle-aged mayor spoke at length to a distinguished guest about the story of the city and Fairy Tail. His manner was even somewhat obsequious.

For a mayor to act this way, the visitor must be someone with great power and influence, right?

Unfortunately, Jude didn't consider himself a big shot. He only had the small Heartfilia Consortium and was merely a wealthy man with a little bit of money.

Jude glanced at the third person in the mayor's office: a short old man. In a respectful tone, he said:

"To protect the region and benefit the locals."

"President Makarov, your guild is truly great."

Jude's sincere praise sounded rather sarcastic to Makarov.

When Blue Skull was destroyed, Makarov hadn't even been born yet.

As for what came later, under Makarov's leadership, Fairy Tail had indeed driven off and captured many dark mages with ill intentions, making the city peaceful and harmonious.

But in peacetime, Fairy Tail became the biggest problem.

One day they demolished a house, the next they smashed a wall, and the day after that they destroyed a bridge...

Ever since Makarov had taken over as guild master, the letters he received most often were claims for damages.

Honestly, as the mayor had just gone on and on about the guild, Makarov had nearly lost his composure.

Where the hell had he ended up?

Was the guild the mayor was praising really Fairy Tail...?

Though the story had been embellished a little, Makarov still accepted the praise with a straight face.

After all, the famous Heartfilia Consortium, which at its peak had controlled a third of the railways on the Ishgar Continent, had come to invest in Magnolia.

Rumor had it the head of the consortium had a bad temper and was a merchant who cared only about money. But after meeting him today, Makarov found that the man seemed to respect him greatly. He had no idea why.

"Mr. Jude, why did you decide to invest in Magnolia?"

Seeing Makarov and Jude chatting so amiably, the mayor finally relaxed. He then asked the question that had been on his mind.

Magnolia had no valuable industries or resources. It was simply a little more populous than other cities, thanks to its long-standing peace.

Normally, a money-minded capitalist like the Heartfilia Consortium wouldn't even give this place a second glance.

Yet Jude not only wanted to invest here, he had also asked the mayor to arrange a meeting with Makarov, showing him great respect.

Under Makarov and the mayor's questioning gazes, Jude sighed. "It's true that, aside from tourism, Magnolia doesn't have any other industries worth developing. Investing in this city doesn't make much sense."

"But I didn't come here to make money."

It was certainly unusual to hear a big financier say he wasn't there to make money.

If Jude had been his old self, he would never have done such a thing. He would have scoffed at the foolishness of throwing money away.

But now...

Jude's expression turned serious. "President Makarov, my daughter has always admired Fairy Tail. Would you let her join your guild?"

Makarov froze. So after all that talk of investment, this had been about his daughter all along.

But was it really suitable for a sheltered consortium princess to join a guild where she'd have to fight and might often get hurt, just because she admired it?

"Whether she cools off after a brief burst of enthusiasm or sticks with it because she loves it—that's for the child to decide. All I can do as her father is support her."

Jude's words struck a chord with Makarov. "I didn't expect you to have such insight, Mr. Jude. Your daughter must have had a very happy life."

"I'm ashamed to say I haven't been a good father."

Jude shook his head, his face tinged with guilt. "If Mr. Noah from your guild hadn't opened my eyes, I'd still be the bastard father who ignored and hurt his daughter for the sake of money."

"Noah? Mr. Jude, are you sure you mean Noah from Fairy Tail?"

In Makarov's eyes, Noah was an expert at slacking off and a master of doing nothing. In the several months since joining the guild, he had completed only two requests, one of which he'd been forced to take.

How could a kid who hardly ever left Magnolia have crossed paths with a tycoon whose wealth rivaled that of a nation?

Seeing the bewilderment on Makarov's face, Jude said, "It seems Mr. Noah didn't tell you. He really is a noble person."

If that brat was "noble," then the old man was a saint!

Makarov grumbled inwardly, but outwardly he looked as though he was waiting for Jude to explain.

"My friend Rena once posted a request with Fairy Tail. I wonder if you still remember it, President Makarov? Rena actually posted that request to help me."

"I see. I understand."

With age came wisdom. From just that one sentence, Makarov could roughly piece together what had happened.

His questions answered, Makarov said no more and agreed on the spot to let Jude's daughter, "Lucy Heartfilia," join the guild.

But when Makarov asked when the young heiress would arrive, Jude chuckled.

"Lucy came to Magnolia with me. If nothing unexpected happened, she should have arrived at Fairy Tail by now."

At that, a flicker of unease crossed Makarov and the mayor's faces. As guild master and a local, they knew all too well what Fairy Tail was usually like.

At this point, all they could do was hope the guild's eccentric young wizards would leave the consortium heiress with a good impression...