Just as Weston was about to answer, Yuri cut in first.
"Hold on, Weston!"
"At the end of the day we're only a Magic Guild, can we really stick our noses into a national affair like this?"
"Will the Council even allow it?"
What he meant was that he wanted to sit this one out.
Everyone present was a teenager under twenty; none of them had ever faced anything like this. Their first instinct was to dodge, and using the Council as a shield was only natural.
"Regrettably, the Council has yet to issue any rule stating that Magic Guilds are forbidden from taking part in civil wars."
"What?! How can that be…"
Unable to wrap his head around it, Yuri stared at Weston wide-eyed. "Didn't you say those Princes and princesses are already courting the big guilds?"
"There's no way the Council doesn't know about that, right?"
"I imagine they most likely do."
Weston said, "The reason they haven't announced such a rule is probably because the Council itself wants to use the guilds to end this pointless war as quickly as possible."
"Once the war is over, the regulation you just mentioned will probably be put in place."
At those words, the last sliver of hope in Yuri's heart died.
"What the—?!"
"Even the Council is actually…"
Magic carried enormous strategic weight on the battlefield.
A powerful Wizard could single-handedly decide the outcome of a battle involving a hundred thousand soldiers!
Because of its position, the Council couldn't step directly into the Royal War, yet it could allow the guilds free rein so the conflict would end sooner and with fewer casualties.
It wasn't necessarily a bad decision.
Trade wars, royal infighting, aristocratic wooing, the Council turning a blind eye… the information they'd absorbed today was more complicated than everything they'd learned in the past year combined.
After digesting it all, Mavis opened her eyes again. "Weston, how long do you think our guild can stay out of this?"
"Minimum three months, maximum half a year!"
"Then… when we're forced to choose, which side do we support?"
Everyone looked to Weston, waiting for a definite answer.
Weston pondered for a few seconds.
In this world, in this situation, he didn't need Political Science to reply—
"If we really have to pick a side, of course we'll…"
"beat up whoever annoys us and back whoever looks pleasing to the eye!"
That was Fairy Tail's style, doing whatever they pleased!
Weston's intel-gathering, political acumen, grasp of the situation, and firm conviction acted like a calming pill for everyone present.
They trusted he could handle everything and lead them through the storm.
So for a while afterward, Fairy Tail returned to everyday life.
Taking jobs, working, falling in love, laughing and drinking in the guild, living free and easy while developing and building Magnolia.
Although Fiore Kingdom was in turmoil, its economy plummeting and life growing harder, the flames of war never seemed to reach southernmost Magnolia.
Only Weston knew the current calm was merely the quiet before the tempest.
This peace existed only because the two Princes and the Princess were still recruiting troops, hoarding strength, and eyeing one another; once they were ready, the war would begin.
When that happened, Fairy Tail would be dragged into the conflict… Year X687, October.
The first Royal War within Fiore Kingdom officially erupted.
Half a month later, the second and third wars ignited in quick succession.
Population displacement, skyrocketing prices, and economic depression sent living standards in the big cities plummeting again; countless people were left homeless.
Under the chain reaction, even Magnolia was affected.
Fairy Tail's incoming requests dropped by seventy percent, and the reward for each job was halved.
Inside the guild.
Weston convened another meeting.
This time, however, he didn't gather Mavis and the other five founders in the second-floor conference room; instead he stood in the first-floor hall facing every member of Fairy Tail.
After a full year and a half of growth, Fairy Tail's Wizard count had increased tenfold.
Though most weren't as strong as Weston and the other five, each had unique talents and could hold their own.
At this moment, the members stood or sat, eyes fixed on the huge map in the air conjured by the Super Archive.
Below the map, Weston manipulated a magic power Keyboard.
With each keystroke, massive data on the magic power map calculated and evolved at high speed, finally outputting results.
Whenever the data shifted, the colors of the regions on the map changed accordingly.
The changes might be subtle or dramatic, but everything was displayed clearly without exception.
Half a day later, Weston turned around.
"Using the Super Archive, I integrated Fiore's terrain, the known forces of each faction, and the changes in war, prices, and population over the past weeks to compute this six-month projection of the kingdom's situation."
"If my calculations are correct, in one month a battle of more than two hundred thousand will erupt on the plain fifty miles north of Magnolia."
"That clash will deal Magnolia a devastating blow—its economy will fall back at least twenty years, and its population will drop by thirty percent."
"The surrounding towns will fare even worse!"
Previously, Weston had said "half a year at most" because in the original timeline Fairy Tail entered the war in February X688.
But now, perhaps due to the Butterfly Effect, the war's impact on Magnolia was heavier, forcing him to join the fray earlier.
Hearing Weston's conclusion, every face in the room turned grave.
Yuri slumped over the table, sweat beading on his forehead from the tension.
Precht sat with arms crossed, a solemnity never before seen on his face.
Warrod paced the hall, agitated and at a loss.
Zera gazed at Weston, her face full of worry.
Mavis quietly studied the data Weston's Super Archive had produced, lost in thought;
The rest of the guild members began to clamor uneasily.
"Damn it, we still can't avoid it in the end?"
"War… people are going to die, right? I'm still young, I don't want to die!"
"Even if we hate it, we'll have to grit our teeth and fight. After all, this is our home!"