Night lay thick over the calm sea as a merchant ship steadily cut through the waves.
The sailors on deck were busy with their own tasks. With the shore approaching, there was little left to do, so a few who had finished gathered to chat.
"Hey, have you heard? Those guys from Fairy Tail have caused another huge mess!"
"Huh? That guild again? They sure know how to stir things up. You hear about them every other day. What did they do this time?"
"Ha, they made the headlines!" A sailor blew out a smoke ring and launched into an animated account.
"They went to take down the Devon Thieves, but destroyed seven houses in the process! Makes you wonder who the real bandits were."
"Hahaha! That's going way too far! Was their job payment even enough to cover the damages?"
"Why doesn't the Magic Council do something about a guild that reckless?"
"Do something? Like what? They're the number one guild in Fiore now!"
"Number one? That can't be right. Wasn't Phantom Lord the top guild? Their reputation and size should both be bigger than Fairy Tail's."
"Exactly. The only person I know from Fairy Tail is Miss Mirajane. She's Sorcerer Weekly's signature cover girl. An absolute beauty!"
"You lot never pay attention to what's happening in the magic world." The sailor who had started the conversation waved a dismissive hand.
"That Sorcerer Weekly work you mentioned is just Miss Mira's side job."
"As for Phantom Lord being number one? That's ancient history. They're past it. All they've got left is numbers."
"No way. Phantom Lord has branches all over the country. How could Fairy Tail possibly beat them?"
"Ha! Let this walking encyclopedia of the magic world educate you!" The sailor puffed out his chest proudly.
"In recent