— — — — — —
All eyes turned to Makarov.
Seeing the serious look on his face, the rest of the guild instinctively sobered up as well.
"Why does the master suddenly look so serious? What's he about to announce?"
"Is it about the Thunder God Tribe? They did cause a mess. Maybe they're getting punished."
"Could be… but maybe it's us? We kind of wrecked the town during the game too…"
The atmosphere immediately grew tense.
Fried, Evergreen, and Bickslow sighed and stepped forward, ready to accept whatever punishment was coming.
"Ahem," Makarov said. "First, I have received an official invitation from the Magic Council. Starting today, I am one of its councilors."
As he spoke, he held up a letter stamped with the Magic Council's seal.
The guild members froze for a second, then erupted.
"Ohhh yeahhh! Does that mean we won't get arrested so easily after causing trouble anymore?"
"Long live the master! Long live the master!"
"Hahaha! So does that mean I don't have to pay for all the damage I cause anymore? Happy, did you hear that?"
Natsu cheered and even spat out a burst of flames. He'd destroyed plenty of things on jobs this month and owed a small fortune in compensation.
"..."
"Don't even think about it," Makarov snapped, rolling his eyes at the smug brats below. "What needs to be handled will still be handled. I'll only speak up for you within reason."
"Tch…"
The crowd immediately wilted.
What was the point of having power if you didn't abuse it? No favoritism before, no favoritism now. What a waste.
"Second," Makarov continued, his tone turning sharp again. "I hereby announce that Laxus is expelled from the guild."
"During the Harvest Festival, Laxus acted on his own anger and endangered the entire guild. He even endangered the whole town."
"Therefore, I officially expel him from Fairy Tail."
The moment his words landed, the guild went dead silent.
No one expected something this serious.
"Master, isn't that too much? Laxus messed up, sure, but he was stopped in the end. A punishment should be enough."
"Yeah, kicking him out feels way too harsh."
"I haven't even beaten Laxus yet! How can you just kick him out like this?"
Voices erupted all at once, trying to talk Makarov out of it.
In another guild, this wouldn't have been a big deal. Jobs came and went. People joined and left all the time.
But Fairy Tail was different.
It wasn't just a workplace. For many people with nowhere else to belong, this was home.
Guild members were family.
Kicking Laxus out didn't just mean expulsion. It meant being thrown out of the family and cutting all ties.
Even with all the past conflicts, most of them felt it shouldn't come to this.
"..."
Erza fell silent and turned to look at Kazuma. If he spoke up, maybe Laxus could stay.
Kazuma sat at the bar, sipping his drink, saying nothing. He only listened and watched.
"Master…" Fried stepped forward, voice tight. "If you're going to kick Laxus out, then kick us out too."
"We made mistakes as well. If there's punishment, we should take it together."
The rest of the Thunder God Tribe echoed him.
"Stop it," Laxus said calmly. His body was wrapped in bandages, the beating he took clearly no joke, but his expression was strangely relaxed.
"Stay here. Live properly in Fairy Tail. And everyone else, stop pleading for me."
"I messed up, so I'll take responsibility. I'm not someone who can't shoulder consequences... Just listen to the old man."
The pressure that had weighed on him for years was gone. It hurt to leave, but wrong was wrong, and punishment had to be accepted.
Those were the guild's rules. The foundation of fairness and order.
Seeing the change in Laxus, the crowd fell silent. Even Natsu, usually the loudest, only clenched his fists and said nothing.
"Third," Makarov said, then suddenly smiled. "I'm retiring."
The impact of those words hit just as hard as Laxus's expulsion.
"Master! You're not retiring because of Laxus, are you? That wasn't your fault!"
Mira spoke first. As she did, she grabbed Kazuma's hand, clearly hoping he'd say something.
"The guild can't function without you!" Erza added.
"Old man…"
"Master…"
Voices overlapped as everyone tried to stop him.
"Alright, alright. Don't get so emotional," Makarov said, waving his hand. "I'm retiring, not dying."
"Sure, part of it is because of Laxus. If my grandson messed up, then I, as his grandfather, bear some responsibility. But that's not the whole reason."
"First, my body just isn't what it used to be. I want to retire and enjoy my later years."
"Second, the Magic Council won't let me hold two positions. They're worried I'd abuse my authority, so they told me to step down as guild master before officially joining the council."
Looking at the emotional crowd, Makarov wore a relaxed smile.
This decision hadn't been easy for him. But after what happened with Laxus, he finally understood just how far his body had declined.
When danger struck, he collapsed before the fight even really began.
It was time to retire.
"Next, we'll elect a new guild master," Makarov said with a grin. "I nominate Kazuma. Who's in favor? Who's against?"
After waking up, he'd heard everything Kazuma had done from others.
It made him realize how wrong his earlier assumptions had been.
Kazuma's ideas were always surprising, but never reckless. Step by step, he moved forward steadily. This time, he had handled the guild's crisis almost perfectly.
Strength, mindset, personality. Kazuma had it all.
As long as most of the guild agreed, Makarov would step down today, hand over the position, and remain behind the scenes as a councilor, serving as Fairy Tail's final safeguard.
The crowd exchanged looks before their eyes slowly drifted toward Kazuma. No one knew whether to vote or keep begging Makarov to stay.
While everyone hesitated, someone finally stepped forward.
"I support Kazuma as guild master," Mira said.
"The master really is getting old. Miss Porlyusica already said he can't overwork himself anymore."
"I don't want him to leave either, but… he truly deserves to rest now. And among all of us, Kazuma is the most qualified. So I support him."
Mirajane was usually gentle and soft-spoken, but this time she was the first to steady herself and make a clear decision.
"I also agree," Erza said. "I've personally experienced how much he cares about his comrades."
"So do we," Macao and Romeo added.
"Um… can Juvia vote?" Juvia raised her hand and looked at Makarov. She had only recently joined the guild and had even been part of a rival guild before.
Did she count?
"Yes," Makarov replied. "As long as you're a member of Fairy Tail, you can vote."
"Then Juvia votes for Kazuma. He's gentle, bright, handsome, and when I—"
"Alright, alright," someone cut in. "If you want to show off your feelings, do it somewhere else. This is a vote, not a love confession."
Leo suddenly appeared from the Spirit World. "If I remember correctly, I'm still a guild member too. So my vote goes to Kazuma."
Cana tried divining the result, but when the cards reached Kazuma, they cracked apart on their own. Looks like divination couldn't help her decide this one.
"Well, I support Kazuma too," Cana said, raising her hand. "But once you're guild master, don't forget to buy me a drink. And about those things I bought in your name… let's just forget they ever happened."
"Aye! Natsu, are we voting too?" Happy asked from Natsu's shoulder.
"Of course," Natsu replied loudly. "Even though I hate admitting it, Kazuma really is strong. Crazy strong. So I vote for him."
"But don't get cocky, Kazuma. One day I'll beat you and take the guild master seat myself."
"Aye! Then I support Kazuma too," Happy said.
"Same here," Mystogan said quietly, simply raising his hand.
One by one, more hands went up.
Kazuma's strength was obvious to everyone, and so was the way he helped his comrades. Among the S-Class mages, he was clearly the most qualified.
"We support Kazuma as well," the Thunder God Tribe said, raising their hands together.
They were grateful to him for letting them take part in the game. Thanks to that, their relationship with the rest of the guild had grown much closer.
In no time at all, everyone had made their stance clear.
"Then I hereby—"
Makarov looked at the scene before him and felt momentarily dazed.
Without him noticing, the kid he once brought back had gathered so much support, earned such immense respect within the guild.
It really was time for him to step aside. Fairy Tail's future belonged to the younger generation.
"Wait," Kazuma said, stepping onto the stage. Makarov deciding to retire immediately surprised him, but he quickly accepted it.
He looked toward the only person who hadn't voted yet.
"Laxus. What do you say? Agree or disagree?"
"I… I've already been expelled," Laxus said. "I don't have the right to vote anymore."
"You're expelled after you walk out that door," Kazuma replied. "Right now, you're still a member. That means you still have a vote."
"This…"
Laxus looked at Makarov. Makarov nodded.
"…I agree," Laxus said.
"You're stronger than me. Calmer too. And you care more about the guild and its people than I ever did. So the guild master seat should be yours."
"All right," Makarov said, voice trembling despite himself. "Everyone has voted."
"I hereby announce that Kazuma has been elected with a unanimous vote."
"From this day forward, Kazuma is the fourth guild master of Fairy Tail!"
The moment his words fell, the guild erupted into cheers and celebration.
At the same time, a familiar voice echoed in Kazuma's mind.
[Ding~]
[Congratulations. Achievement unlocked: Guild Master of Fairy Tail.]
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