Heartfilia Family

Just days after Aibo placed an ad in the newspaper, two groups came knocking at the same time.

One was sent by Duke Everlue, a great noble from the kingdom's south and Magnolia's nominal lord. The other was the long-established mage family, the Heartfilia family.

The two groups arrived one after another. The guild master arranged them in separate rooms, then took Aibo to discuss cooperation regarding the Ninja Amusement Park with each side.

Aibo met Duke Everlue's envoy first—a maid who was... distinctively ugly.

If she had not repeatedly emphasized that she was a maid dearly favored by the duke, Aibo would have assumed the duke was deliberately trying to disgust him. Even if it was not intentional, though, she had already disgusted him.

"...Our duke has made his position clear. If you wish to develop Magnolia's land, then that Ninja Amusement Park must be placed under Duke Everlue's name. His Lordship can ask for less of the future revenue—just twenty percent. This is the duke's baseline condition."

"..."

Was this person dreaming?

It was the first time Aibo had felt such intense negative emotions since arriving in this world, so he asked directly:

"Guild Master, can I throw this disgusting thing out of the guild?"

"No!"

The appallingly ugly, horse-faced maid froze for a moment before letting out a war cry of a shriek:

"Ahhhhhhh! How dare you insult me! Duke Everlue will never let you get away with this!"

Aibo truly could not stand it anymore. He had no desire to deal with such a thing and directly asked Makarov:

"Guild Master, our guild's mages don't need to fear nobles like these, right?"

Makarov had a headache. Makarov sighed.

"We may not fear the duke... but this is indeed a procedural issue. Nominally, Magnolia belongs to Duke Everlue's territory. Without his permission, we cannot develop land as we please... Even your house, Aibo, is an illegal construction."

"Well, well! You even built houses illegally! I'm reporting you to the duke! You're finished!"

"Is there no other way?"

"Sigh, I thought there would be no problem after I wrote Duke Everlue in advance to inform him of this matter. I didn't expect these nobles to still be so stupid and greedy... How about this? I'll write to the royal family and hope they can mediate..."

"Didn't you hear me?! You've broken the law!"

"What a hassle... Why does our guild have to cater to people like this? How about I just go kill that duke?"

"You—you—gak!?"

"Aibo? That's a little too extreme! Duke Everlue is also a mage. Neither the kingdom nor the Magic Council would permit something like this!"

Cold sweat immediately streamed down Makarov's face. It was not that he feared offending the duke; Aibo's indifferent attitude had frightened him.

Something's not right. Aibo has always been such a good, kind child. Why is he so cold-blooded whenever nobles are involved? He won't go down the wrong path someday, will he?

Makarov's inner turmoil was intense, and Aibo heard every bit of it. But he did not care, nor did he think there was anything wrong with his idea.

The disgusting maid's thoughts had nauseated him. Presumably, the duke behind her was no better. His tolerance for privileged classes with rotten character was pitifully low.

Aibo forcibly suppressed the urge to hurl a fireball at her and said with disgust:

"Go tell your master that we reject his terms. We will definitely build the amusement park, and the money will stay with us. If he has the ability, he can come take it himself. Now get lost!"

"Y-you... you'll regret this!"

The ugly maid slunk away in disgrace. Even a three-year-old child in the Fiore Kingdom knew Fairy Tail's reputation, and she certainly did not think she could handle this group of mages.

Makarov looked deeply troubled.

"Sigh, Aibo, you were a little too impulsive. The Magic Council will definitely criticize our guild again..."

"When dealing with hyenas like that, I'm already being extremely calm by not using magic. Don't tell me you're afraid of the Magic Council, Guild Master?"

Makarov grinned.

"Of course not. Me, avoid their edge? The Magic Council can eat shit!"

Aibo smiled knowingly. This was exactly what he liked about the old man—how fiercely he protected his own.

"Forget it. What's done is done. Let's go discuss cooperation with the Heartfilia family first. You needn't worry too much either, Aibo. Magnolia has been Fairy Tail's turf since ancient times. It isn't anyone else's place to tell us how to transform the city."

Hasn't our guild only existed for around a hundred years? Out of consideration for the old guild master's dignity, Aibo did not ask it aloud.

Makarov leaned in again and whispered:

"Actually, our guild has always owed taxes to those nobles. After all these years, we haven't paid a single coin. If our guild ever weakens one day, they might even seize the entire guild hall!"

"..."

Aibo had long had that feeling. His guild clearly looked like the kind of troublemakers who had never followed the rules. If they had to be assigned an alignment, they were probably chaotic good. The Magic Council's fines were mailed to the guild every month as though they were being wholesaled.

Aibo rubbed his brow with a headache.

The people in the guild were not bad people, and they acted with clear consciences, but having come from a society governed by law, he understood very well that, to a country, his guild was essentially a local gang—a pack of outlaws beyond the reach of the law.

Clearly, the kingdom's control over remote regions was extremely limited. That could not be helped. This world was vast and sparsely populated; even if they wanted to govern it, they could not manage everything.

Aibo felt that he might need to take some time to study the relationship between the country's royal power, nobles, and mage guilds. It would be better to make preparations early.

The situation was unclear for now, so he should play it safe.

Afterward, Aibo and Makarov came to the room where the Heartfilia family was being received.

Aibo had looked into them beforehand. The Heartfilia family was a family of Celestial Spirit mages with a lineage stretching back hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. The current head of the Heartfilia family was especially skilled in business and had launched and led the kingdom's entire magic train project. He was now one of the Fiore Kingdom's wealthiest magnates.

Aibo naturally welcomed such a capable partner.

The Heartfilia family's envoy was also a maid, but this auntie maid was far more pleasing to the eye. Aibo knew the world's sense of beauty could not possibly be that strange.

"...My master is very interested in your guild's amusement park project. The Heartfilia family has come in good faith.

"Our family is willing to provide all the funding needed to construct the amusement park. We will invest our capital in exchange for only forty percent of the shares. Our sole requirement is that your guild take full responsibility for the amusement park's security in the future."

Such good terms? Were they here to do charity?

Aibo was a little surprised and could not help feeling impressed. As expected of a family capable of doing big business—their vision was on another level.

"We have no objections to this proposal. However, a small issue has come up just now. Duke Everlue..."

Aibo told the maid about the conflict he had just had with the ugly woman. Since this was a joint project, they naturally needed to inform the other side in advance about any trouble they had encountered.

Yet the Heartfilia maid showed little reaction after hearing it. She said:

"My master also has some dealings with Duke Everlue. The Everlue family possesses the Celestial Spirit key of Virgo. For certain reasons, my master borrowed their key. I had originally planned to visit the duke during this trip south as well.

"So... please leave this matter to me for now. I should be able to bring everyone good news."

Since they were being so sincere, Aibo did not mind returning the favor. They quickly settled the details of their future cooperation.

Fairy Tail and the Heartfilia family would become business partners and jointly establish the Naruto Amusement Park Company. However, the rest would be handled by the guild master.

Aibo was merely the one who came up with the idea. This deal could be made mainly because both Makarov and the Heartfilia family had seen the amusement park's potential.

The guild master also hoped this opportunity would help Magnolia develop.

Even so, as the author licensing the Naruto IP, Aibo would not receive a small share of the money afterward.

He had thought building the amusement park would cost him a fortune, but instead he had run into an angel investor. It seemed it would be difficult for Aibo to ever spend all his money now.

Before leaving, the Heartfilia maid also left a friendly reminder:

"My master thinks very highly of Magnolia's prospects and intends to build an additional railway here. We hope this information will be useful to your guild.

"We shall take our leave for now. May all things bring you joy. Farewell."

Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Aibo complained to the guild master:

"They're both maids from great families. How can the difference be so huge?"

"Ahem. I had long heard that Duke Everlue's taste was unusual... It appears the rumors were true."

"..."