In the mountain bandit stronghold.
"Amaterasu Formula 28!!"
A blinding array flashed and vanished, followed by a string of explosions.
When the blasts finally died away, the floor of the entire stronghold was littered with unconscious soldiers dressed as bandits, clutching fine weapons.
"Done!"
Weston clapped his hands twice and looked over at Precht.
"Are you really not going to take my advice and swap those chains for flying swords?"
"I swear it'd look a hundred times cooler!"
"Just stand on the street and beauties would throw themselves at you, and kids would beg to call you big brother."
Precht dispersed his magic power and the magic chains in his hands vanished. "No thanks—chains and throwing blades suit me better."
"Besides, I'm not interested in beauties throwing themselves at me or kids calling me big brother."
Sometimes I really wonder if your orientation is normal... Flying swords and blades are almost the same; why are you so against it?"
Precht answered solemnly, "Flying swords are much longer, cost two or three times the magic power to form, and are easier for enemies to knock away, nowhere near as nimble as blades..."
Weston's mind wandered.
"Seriously, that move just now, another new spell of yours?"
"Yep, not bad, right?"
If there was one topic Weston and Precht never tired of, it was magical research.
"These years I haven't just managed the guild, built towns, and led armies, I've quietly developed plenty of spells, including the offensive Amaterasu Series and the support-oriented Tsukuyomi Series."
"The move you just saw, Amaterasu Formula 128, belongs to the Amaterasu Series, and the Mirror Reflection Thousandfold Ensemble you saw back then is part of the Tsukuyomi Series."
Back then Weston studied Letter Magic, intending to use it offensively, but the deeper he delved the more baroque he found it.
Building the effect corresponding to each word consumed so much magic power that the final spell fell short of expectations.
So he relegated Letter Magic to crafting Spell Formulas and developed his own combat magic instead.
"Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi Seriess, huh..."
Precht closed his eyes and recalled Mirror Reflection Thousandfold Ensemble and the Amaterasu Formula 128, each was complex, top-tier, exquisite, arcane, verging on forbidden magic.
"Impressive indeed!"
"But the more complex a spell, the longer its cast time, so why do you make it look so easy?"
"Heh, that's my secret, I can't just tell anyone."
The truth was nothing spectacular.
Weston simply applied Software Development thinking to create "magic programs" that released a given spell the moment magic power was injected.
In some software, the client just inputs data and gets an output, while all the heavy computation runs in the background as hard-coded routines.
Thus, no matter how intricate a spell, with prior preparation it became simple, convenient, and efficient in his hands.
"In that case I won't ask. As long as it's nothing shady, I've no desire to pry."
To Precht, everyone has secrets they'd rather keep, and he respected that privacy.
Besides, as guild master Weston needed a few aces up his sleeve for emergencies.
Chatting about the key points of inventing new spells, they surveyed the bandit stronghold.
Half a day later they roused two beaten bandits, questioned them briefly, and finally learned where these thugs had come from.
Just as they'd guessed, the bandits were defeated soldiers from the battlefield, originally troops under the Second Prince.
After the prince's defeat they'd drifted to this area.
But they hadn't turned to banditry right away.
Their first stop had been the City of Outlaws.
However, that place was now occupied by Dark Guilds once loyal to the Second Prince. For ordinary folk the city was too chaotic and dangerous to survive.
So these men had been forced to leave, and they weren't the only ones.
"Looks like this job really wasn't a trap."
"But the City of Outlaws is a cancer, we have to cut it out."
Weston narrowed his eyes, already plotting how to excise that tumor.
"If it's just the two of us it'll be too dangerous!"
"Dangerous? I'm the Fairy Commander, the dangerous ones are those guys!"
The arm can't twist the thigh; in the end Precht let Weston have his way.
They roused the bandits, put them to work, and together returned the stolen grain to nearby villages, fulfilling the request.
Village Chief Jack saw Weston bring back the grain and keep the bandits in line; grateful and admiring, he thanked him profusely and produced the promised reward.
Since it was job payment Weston couldn't make an exception that would harm Fairy Tail's interests, so he accepted what was due.
Yet he immediately handed the grain and money back to the villagers.
Job payment couldn't be waived, but personal gifts were another matter.
Half a day later.
With the bandits leading, Weston, Precht, and company marched in force to the outskirts of the City of Outlaws.
"My lord, ahead lies the gathering place of the defeated, the City of Outlaws!"
The bandit chief hovered at Weston's side, bowing and scraping, his face all fawning smiles.
Upon learning the man before him was the famed Fairy Commander, the chief and his men promptly surrendered en masse.
They had once been royal soldiers, forced into banditry; now, lucky enough to meet Weston, they burned to stay by his side, swear loyalty, cling to his coattails, curry favor, and serve as his lackeys, hoping to leverage his influence to atone for their crimes and win back peaceful lives.
"We stayed here a while, so ask anything you like, my lord. I'll tell all I know, and even what I don't I'll find out for you!"