With Macao and Wakaba leading the charge, the whole guild quickly came alive.
This was not a sad occasion to begin with.
Everyone had only been caught off guard.
Since the old man himself had accepted it so cheerfully, and since Marco was the person everyone already wanted in that role anyway, there was really nothing left to debate.
So why not celebrate?
Watching the uproarious crowd, Marco could not help taking a deep breath.
Becoming the Guild Master of Fairy Tail had always been one of the goals he had worked toward.
And yet now that the old man was truly handing Fairy Tail over to him, Marco found that even he felt a little strange about it.
The title of Guild Master of Fairy Tail had become inseparably bound to Makarov over the years.
That was the mark left behind by decades of steadfast dedication.
No one could erase it.
Makarov was a true legendary Guild Master.
He was the one who had truly carried Fairy Tail forward, the one who had truly inherited its spirit and made that spirit flourish.
The first two Guild Masters—Mavis, the First, and Precht, the Second—had each made their own contributions, of course.
But neither of their stories had ended happily.
Mavis, the First, had founded everything and laid the groundwork for the guild, but she had died young and had not truly remained by the guild's side for long.
Precht, the Second Guild Master, had become consumed by his pursuit of magic after Mavis's death.
The greatest thing he had done was leave before he completely lost himself—and choose Makarov to become the Third Guild Master.
Fairy Tail's true rise had happened under Makarov's watch.
Of course, Marco had no intention of downplaying what he himself had done in recent years.
But that did not erase everything Makarov had accomplished before him.
Without the solid foundation and spirit the old man had built, Marco could never have taken Fairy Tail to the height it stood at now.
'I'm only standing on the shoulders of a giant.'
That was what Marco thought to himself.
It was fitting in more ways than one.
After all, Makarov literally could become a giant.
In his giant form, the old man could at least exchange a few blows with the Black Dragon.
That was already extraordinarily high praise.
Gildarts, after all, had not even managed that much—though part of that came down to magic type compatibility.
Makarov's giant form, relying on pure physical combat, could at least clash directly with the Black Dragon.
That was the very definition of being built for the matchup.
Gildarts, on the other hand, excelled in high-level battles through overwhelming magic power, but the Black Dragon was still a dragon.
Magic was magic, and against that monster, it simply did not work the way it should.
The moment Gildarts came to mind, Marco's gaze drifted instinctively toward Cana.
And the instant he looked at her, he saw it.
She was sprawled crookedly in her chair, wearing an expression that looked almost like complete emotional death.
The blow she had taken was obviously enormous.
"Wait a minute, everyone. I have something to announce."
Marco did not hesitate.
Now that he had accepted the position of Guild Master, he intended to use that authority immediately.
A new official always had three fires to light—and Marco was planning to start burning things down at once.
If he was going to take office, then he might as well make it count.
The noisy guild members quieted down immediately and turned to look at him.
Marco's standing within Fairy Tail went without saying.
With a single leap, he landed on the second floor beside the old man.
"I only have three things to say."
As he spoke, he raised one finger.
"First: even though the old man is stepping down as Guild Master, he'll remain here as the Guild Master's Advisor. And whenever the Guild Master isn't in the guild, the Advisor will be able to carry out the Guild Master's duties."
Marco did not waste any time stating his arrangement.
He glanced sideways at Makarov's startled face, the grin on his own expression positively smug.
"Fairy Tail can't do without him. Right?"
The answer he got from the guild was exactly what he expected.
"RIGHT!!!"
Every member of Fairy Tail shouted it in unison.
No one wanted to see the old man truly retire and drift away.
Of course he would still live in Magnolia no matter what, but there was still a huge difference between being retired and still being part of the guild in an official role.
"All right, then. We'll do it that way."
The enthusiasm of the guild left Makarov no room to refuse, though in truth, he had never planned to separate himself from Fairy Tail completely anyway.
Staying on as Guild Master's Advisor sounded just fine to him.
"YEAH! That's great!"
The guild broke out into cheers.
"Second."
Seeing the excellent response, Marco pressed on while the mood was hot. This time, he raised two fingers.
"Laxus rushed to Tenrou Island to support us! He never backed down, not against Grimoire Heart, not against the Black Dragon. He was even prepared to die for Fairy Tail! So I propose that he be welcomed back as one of us."
Marco laid it out cleanly and directly.
To him, the case for bringing Laxus back into Fairy Tail was more than solid.
Laxus was Fairy Tail through and through!
"..."
That announcement drew another brief silence.
Clearly, no one had been expecting it.
"That's great!"
After only the shortest pause, Freed was the first to shout in delight, looking at Marco with naked gratitude and approval.
"Exactly! Laxus deserves it!"
Bickslow and Evergreen hurried to add their voices right after him.
The three members of the Thunder God Tribe were clearly afraid someone might object.
But honestly, they were worrying for nothing.
No one in the guild bore Laxus any real ill will.
Sure, his attitude had always been rough, but he had never truly harmed any of them.
And in the end, he had even set off one hell of a fireworks display for them.
"We support it!"
"Bring Laxus home!"
One after another, the guild members voiced their approval.
Laxus's actions this time had done a great deal to win people over.
The battle on Tenrou Island had not been his problem at all, and yet he had rushed there from so far away, as fast as he could, just to help them.
That alone proved how much Fairy Tail still meant to him.
"That's right! Bring him home!"
Makarov himself shouted the loudest of all, his voice full of emotion.
Marco had not disappointed him!
He had truly brought Laxus back to the guild.
The bond between those two brothers really was strong.
"As for the third thing," Marco said, raising three fingers now, "I'm going to reveal a secret."
This time, his gaze shifted toward Cana and Gildarts.
At this point, he felt it was finally time to stop hiding it.
If things continued like this, Cana really was going to break under the strain.
"What is it?"
Gildarts looked thoroughly confused, not understanding at all why Marco was looking at him.
Cana, on the other hand, seemed to sense something.
Her expression twisted with conflict, but she did not stand up.
She did not stop him.
"Gildarts..." Marco said, no longer hesitating. "You have a daughter."
"Huh?" Gildarts froze.
"HUUUUHHH?!"
Once the meaning of Marco's words sank in, the rest of the guild froze too.
"A... daughter?!"
Gildarts stammered, his mouth half-open.
In that moment, there was none of his usual effortless swagger left.
He looked completely at loss.
And yet, in his eyes, there was also unmistakable hope.
"Let Cana say it."
Marco turned toward her and handed the moment over.
This burden could not stay locked inside Cana any longer.
If she kept bottling it up, it really would drive her mad.
She had to say it aloud.
She had to release it.
"..."
Cana was silent for a moment.
Then, under the shocked stares of the entire guild, she slowly rose to her feet and walked step by step toward the helpless-looking Gildarts.
The expression on her face was impossibly complicated, but relief made up the greater part of it.
She truly needed this release.
And by that point, even the most emotionally oblivious person in the guild had already realized who that daughter had to be.