"They're sending you to Fairy Tail as an undercover agent again?"
Facing Hope's explanation, Doranbalt's furrowed brows instantly relaxed. "That makes sense. Phantom Lord has always been at odds with Fairy Tail. Sending someone to infiltrate Fairy Tail is definitely something they would do."
Hope didn't expect his improvised excuse to hit the mark so perfectly. While feeling pleasantly surprised, he didn't forget to probe further. "Sir, what exactly is the grudge between these two guilds that makes even the malicious act of sending an undercover agent seem reasonable to you?"
Doranbalt glanced at Hope. "As an intelligence officer for the Council, your preliminary preparation is truly poor. Our intelligence center has clearly collected all this information long ago."
"Forget it, I'll tell you once more. Don't let it happen again."
According to Doranbalt's explanation, the grudge between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord can be traced back a hundred years.
The predecessor of "Phantom Lord" was a Dark Guild named "Blue Skull." This wicked guild had been entrenched in Magnolia for many years, causing trouble, while the residents were too afraid to speak out despite their anger.
Until one day, four young Mages joined forces to eliminate "Blue Skull."
To prevent evil from returning and to protect the peace of the region, the four young Mages chose to establish their own guild in Magnolia.
Thus, in April of X686, ninety-eight years ago...
The official Mage Guild "Fairy Tail" was formally established.
In that same year, the master of "Blue Skull" who narrowly escaped knew he lacked the strength to take revenge on Fairy Tail. So, he simply went legit and transformed his organization into the official guild "Phantom Lord."
Since then, Phantom Lord has been constantly causing trouble for Fairy Tail.
This continued until the second master of Fairy Tail, Precht Gaebolg, could no longer tolerate it. He launched a heavy strike against Phantom Lord, directly causing the death of the Phantom master at the time.
Everyone knew Precht did it, but there was absolutely no evidence pointing to him or Fairy Tail.
Sensing Precht's power and ruthlessness, not only did Phantom Lord finally behave themselves back then, but even the Magic Council had to be very polite when dealing with Fairy Tail.
Later, as Precht grew old, he entrusted Fairy Tail to the student he had meticulously trained in X736.
The third master, Makarov, took office then.
Phantom Lord, thinking they had finally outlasted their enemy, began to stir again.
However, although Makarov lacked his teacher's wisdom, his powerful strength was enough to crush Phantom Lord, and he had friends all over the magic world.
Thus, the newly resurfaced Phantom Lord settled down once more.
It wasn't until twenty years ago, when Phantom Lord's genius Mage "Jose Porla" emerged and became the fourth master of Phantom Lord, that they finally had the confidence to challenge Fairy Tail.
Today, Jose is one of the "Ten Wizard Saints," standing on equal footing with Makarov.
However, the forty-year-old Jose is in his prime.
In contrast, the eighty-eight-year-old little old man Makarov, while still powerful, is no longer the man who once swept through Dark Guilds and suppressed all dark forces until they dared not raise their heads.
"In recent years, Phantom Lord has expanded frantically, establishing a large number of branches. Given Jose's arrogant personality, I believe he might take action against Fairy Tail, which is why I sent you undercover to gather intelligence."
At this point, Doranbalt sighed. "Who would have thought they would send you back to Fairy Tail as an undercover agent as well?"
Hope hadn't expected the two guilds to have such a history. However, what he cared most about now was how Doranbalt would handle his undercover status.
Would he be transferred back to the Council?
Or would he be told to find an excuse to return to Phantom Lord?
Seeing Hope's hesitant expression, Doranbalt realized, "Since this is the situation, Hope, you might as well continue your undercover work in Fairy Tail. It just so happens that I also want to investigate Makarov."
Hope's heart skipped a beat, but he maintained his composure and asked, "Sir, is the Council planning to move against Fairy Tail?"
"It's not the Council; it's just something I want to investigate."
Doranbalt pondered for a moment before continuing, "I won't hide it from you. Lately, Makarov has been constantly trying to probe me for information, both openly and secretly. You should know that this is a clear overstepping of boundaries."
"Originally, I planned to go undercover myself, but your situation is special. You can help me find out exactly what Fairy Tail and Makarov are up to."
Hope's expression stiffened.
Good grief, he was now playing a "Double Agent"... Fortunately, Doranbalt was a decent superior who allowed him to reveal his true identity to Fairy Tail if his life was in danger to seek help. This way, he wouldn't end up in an "Infernal Affairs" situation where he could be neither man nor ghost.
With the matter of his undercover identity settled, and after finishing the report on the "lullaby" incident with Doranbalt, Hope suddenly said, "Sir, can I apply for some items from the Council?"
Doranbalt, who was finishing up the report, looked up. "You're a Mage now. Do you want to apply for some magic items to increase your combat power?"
Hope shook his head and took a small crystal from his pocket. "Can I apply for magic crystals?"
"Just that?"
Doranbalt looked at him with disdain. "How about I approve 200 for you? Is that enough?"
Hearing this number, Hope's eyes almost popped out.
He had been worrying about how to get a large number of magic crystals to speed up his magic cracking, and his boss just offered 200 off the bat.
Doranbalt, who had lowered his head to continue writing the report, didn't hear an answer and thought he hadn't given enough. He continued, "300. That's the maximum number of magic crystals I can authorize with my level of authority."
"If you think that's still not enough, I'll take you to see Lahar later. He has higher authority, but he doesn't know you're one of ours yet."
"There's no need to trouble Captain Lahar. 300 magic crystals are enough."
Hope waved his hands dismissively. Although Lahar seemed like a good person and a good boss, he didn't want more people knowing his identity for the time being.
After all, one must always be on guard against others.
However, Hope had one more question. "Sir, aren't magic crystals restricted? How can the Council just authorize so many?"
Doranbalt gave Hope a sidelong glance. "You haven't been assimilated by those idiots at Fairy Tail, have you? Can the Council be compared to others?"
"Just for internal magic research and maintenance of magic equipment, the Council consumes hundreds of pounds of magic crystals every month. The few hundred I approved for you aren't even enough to fill the gaps between your teeth."
Hope gave a dry laugh.
While ordinary people bought them by the piece, the Council used them by the pound.
As expected, things are different for the side that makes the rules.