When Lucy took on this job, Raizel noticed it.
Raizel had also heard a little about it—that Yajima was planning to open a restaurant.
Raizel thought about coming to help out, since Yajima usually took quite good care of Fairy Tail and had shielded them from the Magic Council many times.
In the evening, after closing up shop, the group gathered to rest.
"Thank you for your hard work. I never expected young people these days to be so diligent."
Raizel sat on a bench, continuously rubbing his shoulders and arms.
He felt that flipping the heavy wok all day was more exhausting than his usual physical training.
He felt like his arms no longer belonged to him.
"You are all very welcome to come work here anytime," Yajima said, crossing his arms with a satisfied nod.
"Alright, we really learned a lot today," Erza replied with a serious expression, still wearing the maid outfit.
"So she really likes that outfit..." Happy wagged his tail as he complained.
"I think I can understand Mira's feelings a bit now."
Erza had been very puzzled before about why Mirajane suddenly became a poster girl for the guild instead of taking active missions.
Now she had some new perspective—it seemed the customers' joy was also a positive emotion.
Maybe this was why Mirajane kept working as a waitress.
"I'm so full." Natsu had eaten leftovers until he was about the same size as Reedus, rubbing his bloated stomach with his hand.
"You ate way too much of the shop's food!" Lucy scolded Natsu with her hands on her hips.
"What's the big deal," Natsu waved his hand dismissively.
"What kind of attitude is that!"
"By the way, Mr. Yajima, how are things with the Council?" Erza suddenly asked, her tone shifting to serious.
Mentioning the Council, Yajima first sighed before answering. "Because of recent events, I've already retired."
"The Council!!!" Natsu reacted as if he had heard some incredible secret.
"Don't you know? Mr. Yajima was originally one of the Council members," Lucy said, surprised he didn't know this basic fact.
"Siegrain? No, he should be called Jellal, right?" Yajima recalled while stroking his chin.
"It's Jellal..." Erza corrected him softly.
"That's right, because of that Jellal's betrayal, we completely messed things up..." Yajima shook his head.
"Now... everyone seems to be busy coordinating with various related organizations to establish a new Magic Council."
"At that time, you were also at the Tower of Heaven, right?"
"Yes." Raizel nodded.
"I'm really sorry for causing you trouble." Yajima rubbed his head apologetically.
"Not at all," Raizel and Erza said simultaneously.
Erza continued, "I heard that Mr. Yajima opposed using the Etherion until the very end and retired because of this action."
"I'm just not cut out for politics." Yajima pulled out a wok from somewhere and started flipping it playfully.
"I think being a chef is much more fun!"
When it came to cooking, Yajima's eyes actually lit up with passion.
"By the way, Natsu."
Yajima jumped down from his chair, looking at Natsu with his hands behind his back.
Natsu trembled under Yajima's gaze.
Yajima looked at Natsu with a serious expression and said, "You, and Gray who isn't here, should know that a new Magic Council is about to be established. I've already stepped down, and from now on, no one will speak up for Fairy Tail."
"So before taking any action, you must carefully consider this point!"
"I will, and I'll convey your message to him too." Natsu nodded vigorously, for once taking the warning to heart.
"I'll keep an eye on them, don't worry, Mr. Yajima," Raizel assured him.
"Me too, please rest assured," Erza added with a firm nod.
Natsu also understood that no matter what, Yajima always had good intentions—this much he grasped.
"Alright, thank you so much for today!" Lucy and Erza waved and called out as they left.
"Remember to send my regards to Makky!" Yajima waved goodbye to Raizel and the others.
...
When Raizel and the others returned to the guild, the members were gathered around a table, discussing a large diagram intently.
"What's this?" Lucy squeezed to the front and asked.
"Trying to sketch out an organizational chart of the Dark Guilds," Mirajane, standing at the forefront, answered Lucy.
"Ah, I'm the one who drew it," Reedus raised his paintbrush to indicate his work.
Natsu signaled that this matter had nothing to do with him, found a random seat, and started ordering food—he was starving again after just getting back.
"Before, I didn't really feel it, but after drawing it out, I realized there are so many of them," Cana couldn't help but frown.
"Why draw it out?" Lucy continued asking.
"Because their activities seem to have become more frequent lately," Mirajane replied in a serious tone.
"It looks like we'll have to strengthen cooperation between legal guilds."
"What's this big circle?" Gray pointed to the large circle in the middle connecting three names.
"Juvia knows, it's the Balam Alliance of the Dark Guilds."
"The Balam Alliance is made up of three guilds: Oración Seis, Tartaros, and Grimoire Heart. It's the largest force among the Dark Guilds. Each of the three major guilds has several subordinate guilds under its control, dominating the dark world. Additionally, there's an independent one called Raven Tail."
'Has Nirvana been found? Does this mean Zero is finally going to appear?' Raizel thought to himself, analyzing the situation.
"Huh, 'Eisenwald'..." Lucy noticed that the name was marked with a red X.
"That's right, it's the guild where the Grim Reaper Erigor was," Raizel nodded and said.
"So it was under the command of the Oración Seis guild?"
"There are quite a few unfamiliar names too," Wendy tilted her little head and skimmed through them.
"Among them, some were once legal guilds," Kagura spotted a few familiar names among them.
"The 'Ghoul Spirit' that the Thunder God Tribe defeated is one too."
"When Juvia and Mr. Gajeel were still part of Phantom Lord, the several guilds we crushed were all under the Oración Seis guild as well," Juvia added cheerfully.
"Don't say it with a smile..." Gray watched Juvia as if she were talking about something very cheerful and didn't know what to say.
"What should we do? I hope we don't provoke them," Lucy shivered on the side, wanting to stay out of it.
"It's fine, no need to worry. I heard they only have six members," Wakaba said nonchalantly, puffing on his pipe.
"How can a guild be this small?" Macao expressed his confusion.
"Shouldn't the real point be that they're considered one of the most powerful forces with just six members?" Raizel interrupted the two middle-aged men's arrogant remarks.
"Indeed, being one of the strongest with only six members—we absolutely must not underestimate them." Mirajane also frowned seriously, her expression grave.
"About that 'Oración Seis', they will be... eliminated by us."
Makarov and Ur suddenly appeared behind the group, their expressions grim.
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