Continental Situation

"Angel Wings?"

Hearing the unusually unfamiliar guild name suddenly come from Makarov's mouth, Ul was taken aback.

"What guild is that?"

The guild "Angel Wings" had never appeared in the original story, so Ul was genuinely quite curious about the guild Makarov had mentioned.

After all, judging by the ages and magical power of those two people just now, "Angel Wings" clearly wasn't some worthless guild.

"What? You don't know? Angel Wings is... hic... is... hic..."

Makarov had clearly drunk quite a bit. He couldn't get a word out without hiccupping, leaving Ul absolutely on edge!

Fortunately!

Just then, Wakaba came over and picked up where Makarov left off. "Angel Wings is one of the two strongest Light Guilds on the continent, alongside the Temple of Gods. Its guild master, like ours, is one of the Ten Wizard Saints."

"Light Guild?" Hearing another unfamiliar term come out of Wakaba's mouth, Ul felt his head start to throb!

Ul had long felt that the original story gave far too little information about this world, but he never expected to encounter so many things he'd never heard of in such a short time here.

"That's right!" Apparently sensing Ul's "interest" in the subject, Wakaba first lit his pipe, then slowly began to explain. "There are many countries on the Ishgar Continent. Some are neutral, like the Kingdom of Fiore, but most are at war..."

"The countries at war are divided into two camps, Light and Dark. Of the guilds supporting the countries in the Light camp, the two strongest are Angel Wings and the Temple of Gods. The strongest guilds backing the countries in the Dark camp are the three guilds that make up the Balam Alliance: Tartaros, Grimoire Heart, and Oración Seis."

"I see!" Ul nodded in understanding.

After hearing Wakaba's explanation, he finally had a basic understanding of the situation on the Ishgar Continent. More importantly... he'd finally heard the names of a few guilds he recognized.

"Why did the people from Angel Wings come to our guild?" After nodding, Ul seemed to remember something and asked.

Wakaba took a deep drag on his pipe, then slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. His gaze grew somewhat solemn. "They're asking for help!"

"Asking for help? Are they really planning to go to war with a Dark Guild?" Ul was startled and blurted out.

"Hm? How did you know?" Wakaba gave Ul a puzzled look.

"Uh... I was just guessing. So, did the guild master agree to help Angel Wings?"

"He already agreed." Wakaba tapped the ash from his pipe and continued, "The guild master of Angel Wings is on good terms with ours, and he's helped our guild several times at the Magic Council, so we couldn't refuse their request... But don't give it another thought. You're not qualified to get mixed up in something like this yet. Just go do your jobs."

Halfway through, Wakaba seemed to remember something and abruptly changed his tone, warning Ul.

"Don't worry! I'm not an idiot like Natsu. I wouldn't do something suicidal..." Ul waved a hand, assuring Wakaba he didn't need to be so tense.

Having nearly been "killed" by a single Black Magic spell just now, Ul had no desire to go looking for trouble.

"By the way, which Dark Guild is going to war with Angel Wings? Tartaros, Grimoire Heart, or Oración Seis?"

Ul assumed that Angel Wings, being one of the two strongest Light Guilds, would have to be facing one of the strongest Dark Guilds if they were desperate enough to ask for help.

But... Wakaba's answer was completely unexpected.

"None of them. The guild going to war with Angel Wings is Devil's Fang!" Wakaba shook his head.

Ul: "..."

"Ugh... My head's killing me. Where did another guild I've never heard of come from? Mashima, you really don't know how to focus!"

When he'd read the original story, there had only seemed to be a handful of guilds in total. The powerful ones, especially, could be counted on two hands.

But ever since Ul had come to this world,

powerful guilds had been popping up one after another, and every last one was unfamiliar to him. It was making him feel quite uneasy!

......

"Just what kind of guild is Devil's Fang?" Though he was frustrated, curiosity still drove Ul to ask.

"Devil's Fang is a Dark Guild whose strength is surpassed only by the three guilds of the Balam Alliance. When the Balam Alliance was first formed, they invited Devil's Fang to join, but it refused."

"Some time ago, for reasons unknown, Devil's Fang launched a surprise attack and destroyed one of Angel Wings' branches, killing dozens of its members. That was when Angel Wings went to war with Devil's Fang!"

"It's said that Devil's Fang's guild master is also as powerful as one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Just last night, the guild masters of Angel Wings and Devil's Fang fought near the border of Fiore. The battle ended in a draw, so Angel Wings sent people to our guild for help this morning."

After explaining all that to Ul in one go, Wakaba's throat had grown a little hoarse. He picked up the juice on the counter and gulped down several mouthfuls before recovering somewhat, then continued.

"Well... even though they've asked for help, our guild members' main role will be to help Angel Wings guard against surprise attacks by other Dark Guilds besides Devil's Fang. As for dealing with Devil's Fang, even if we wanted to get involved, Angel Wings' mages probably wouldn't let our people fight. No guild's mages would let someone else avenge that kind of grudge for them."