Fists Are Money

Still seemingly immersed in the threat of death, even after waking up, Minerva's expression remained terrified, and she murmured softly.

"Why... why did you kill me!"

Hughes scratched his head; Minerva seemed to have lost her composure, terrified by Jiemma's Eighteen Battle Gods of Calamity Demons Magic.

He gave Mira a look, and Mira pursed her lips and shook her head. Grandma Porlyusica hadn't taught her this.

"Minerva, Minerva!" Hughes waved his hand in front of her, trying to wake her.

Perhaps recognizing Hughes, Minerva raised her chin and asked absentmindedly, "Why did Jiemma want to kill me?"

Hughes frowned and gasped; this was a difficult question to answer!

Strictly speaking, although the energy pillar was activated by Jiemma, it was also somewhat related to herself. If she hadn't pressured Jiemma or hadn't been in that position, Minerva might not have been affected.

But you can't look at it that way. If Jiemma hadn't provoked him, none of this would have happened!

It can only be said that there is a cause and an effect; Jiemma's actions were the source of all the bad things!

Hughes opened his mouth, but in the end he could only tell Minerva that he didn't know. He didn't hide the fact that Jiemma had died at his hands and told Minerva directly.

Don't think everyone in the world is a fool. With such a commotion tonight, if Jiemma doesn't show up for a long time, people will naturally guess that Jiemma is already dead at his hands.

There was no way to hide it, and Hughes had no intention of hiding it anyway. He was here to make an example of him, to show others who dared to use him as a pawn.

Upon hearing that Jiemma was dead, Minerva froze, her figure sitting with her knees drawn up, looking somewhat helpless.

"You just said you're the new guild master of Sabertooth?"

Hughes nodded, intending to ask Minerva if she wanted to join the new Sabertooth guild.

But Hughes stopped himself midway through his sentence.

Although he really wanted a genius like Minerva to join the guild, the timing wasn't right.

She just lost her biological father to him, and he immediately invited her to join his guild, which was actually trying to steal her father's mantle...

Even the devil wouldn't do something so wicked!

To everyone's surprise, Minerva gave Hughes a huge surprise.

She raised her eyes and looked seriously into Hughes's gaze. "May I join the new Sabertooth guild you've created?"

"I'm not doing this for revenge. I know everyone in the guild is afraid of Jiemma and wants Jiemma dead."

"If it weren't for the fact that leaving the guild without permission would result in execution by Jiemma, all the mages of Sabertooth would have run away long ago!"

"I want to see for myself how your Sabertooth differ from Jiemma's!"

Hughes hadn't taken it seriously at first, but seeing Minerva becoming more and more serious, he frowned and said, "I welcome you to join the guild; I don't mind if you want to avenge Jiemma; but let's make it clear first, don't do anything underhanded."

"Otherwise..

Hughes looked down at her, his expression serious. "Even if you're dead, I can still find a way to pull you back from hell and torture you!"

"I never intended to avenge Jiemma!" Minerva said earnestly.

Hughes didn't say anything more, simply responding. Strength is the foundation of one's words; as long as he is strong enough, he can suppress Minerva with a single palm strike, no matter how much trouble she causes.

Just like Zeref, doesn't he know who among the Spriggan 12 is truly loyal and who is a traitor?

As long as it works!

Little did he know that it was because of his actions today that Hughes would later suffer greatly at the hands of Minerva.

As night fades and dawn breaks, the first light of day gradually approaches.

Thanks to the hard work of the high-class oxen and horses, the ruins of the former Sabertooth's stronghold have been cleared.

Slightly exhausted, Dobengal panted as he reported to Hughes, "Guild Master Hughes, we can use magic to produce the wood and stone needed to build the new guild."

But we need to buy other materials, and there are some jobs we don't know how to do, so we'll have to go to town to hire a craftsman to do them.

Hughes asked, puzzled, "You don't need to tell me about buying things or treating people to things, do you?"

Dobengal chuckled twice, rubbed his fingers together, and said, "We have no money!"

Hughes didn't believe Dobengal's explanation at all. Although Sabertooth was a small guild, it was impossible for them to have no savings at all. If they didn't have savings, how did Sabertooth manage to maintain their daily needs before?

The mission requests are a mix of genuine and fake, and it's not uncommon for mages to skip out on their orders; it's also not uncommon for mages to complete missions but not receive their payment.

Therefore, in Fairy Tail, the old man would review the quest requests before posting them in the quest log and allowing guild members to accept them.

According to regulations, if a mage encounters a situation where the client refuses to pay or underpays the commission fee, the mage's guild shall pay it first, and then the guild shall contact the client to recover the remaining amount, or report the matter to the Magic Council.

Therefore, every guild, regardless of size, will set aside a considerable amount of money within the guild to prevent unforeseen circumstances.

That's why Hughes didn't believe Dobengal; his arrival was so sudden that Jiemma didn't have time to transfer the money.

"You embezzled?" Hughes asked, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't think of any other reason why the money would have disappeared.

Dobengal shook his head and cautiously said, "We wouldn't dare to be greedy. The guild did have money before, but with your arrival, it's all gone!"

Hughes paused slightly. "Don't tell me that Jiemma left money in the guild and then I burned it all!!"

Dobengal nodded silently...

The scene fell silent for a moment. After a long while, Hughes took a deep breath, then another.

He seemed to understand Makarov's pain...

"Tell me, roughly how much money would it take to establish the Sabertooth Guild?" Hughes sighed, covering his head.

Dobengal pondered for a moment, "We'll provide the manpower, timber, and stone ourselves; it will probably cost around 30 to 40 million J."

"How much?" Hughes asked in shock, startled.

Dobengal immediately frowned. "Chairman, this is already the lowest price. We don't even dare to use better materials."

Hughes knew Dobengal wasn't lying; building a guild for 30 to 40 million J was indeed cheap.

The house he bought in Magnolia Town with a loan would cost about the same, even if you disregard the old man's influence.

The problem is he has no money, and he can't bring himself to ask the old man for it...

"No, we can't borrow from the old man anymore. We have to stop this trend of borrowing money, or we'll really be burdened with this burden for the rest of our lives!" Hughes frowned slightly and muttered to himself.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Hughes's mind...

Just because he's broke doesn't mean everyone else is broke!

He has fists, but no one else does.

"Dobengal, give me a list of the wealthy people in town. I need to discuss some good things with them that will benefit the whole town!"

Hughes said heavily.

At this moment, Hughes exuded a heroic aura, giving the impression that he was about to go all out.

Dobengal swallowed hard, reminding him, "Guild Master, we are a legitimate guild!"

Hughes patted his chest. "Don't worry, I know the rules for this. You write down the highest bidders at the top, and I'll deal with them first to prevent them from colluding to lower the price."