After that farce ended, everyone dispersed and returned to what they had been doing.
To Fairy Tail, this incident truly was not much. It was only a fight, and a group fight at that.
But to the others, to those bystanders who loved watching drama, this matter was worth spreading far and wide.
Fairy Tail had beaten Raven Tail senseless.
Makarov had beaten Ivan.
And most importantly, Marco had taken over as Fairy Tail's Guild Master.
Although that was not exactly a secret, and Fairy Tail had publicly announced it at the earliest opportunity, too little time had passed.
Anyone who did not closely follow Fairy Tail still had no idea, and they were all stunned when they learned.
It was not that they felt Marco was unworthy.
Rather, Makarov's seniority was simply too deep.
When people mentioned Fairy Tail, the first person that came to mind was Makarov, who had been Guild Master for decades.
A sudden change was naturally difficult to adjust to.
So everyone began sharing and spreading the news on their own. Very soon, everything that had happened at Ryuzetsu Land spread throughout the city.
After one night of fermentation and a full day of circulation, the news that Marco had become Fairy Tail's Guild Master became the day's headline and was reported everywhere.
On the other hand, almost no one cared about Raven Tail, who had been treated like roadside trash.
After all, wasn't it normal for Raven Tail to get beaten up by Fairy Tail?
Did anyone really expect them to defeat Fairy Tail instead?
But Marco becoming Guild Master proved one thing:
Marco definitely would not personally compete in the tournament!
And that was the real major news.
Even if Marco had entered before, he would surely only have appeared as the final boss.
But that alone would have placed enormous pressure on everyone, leaving them with no hope of victory at all.
Unlike now.
Now, everyone really could see a sliver of hope.
At least defeat was no longer guaranteed.
Of course, that was assuming the retired Makarov would not participate.
The intimidation of an old veteran among the Ten Wizard Saints still remained. If the old man competed, everyone else might as well take a rest.
No matter what, for the other guilds, this was enormous good news—good enough to celebrate a little.
Of course, while some were happy, others were dissatisfied.
There were still people who wanted to challenge Marco or Makarov.
Among mages, there had never been any shortage of reckless lunatics. At least challenging Marco or Makarov in the Grand Magic Games would not be dangerous.
There would at least be a certain level of safety guaranteed.
But regardless of how anyone felt, this was already settled.
Everyone could only accept it.
That said, not everyone treated Raven Tail as roadside trash.
At the very least, the organizers did not ignore them.
Marco's words still carried great weight, especially with Princess Hisui also giving her opinion.
The official staff of the Grand Magic Games began a thorough investigation of Raven Tail from every angle.
And in the end, they really did find a problem.
Just as Marco had said, Raven Tail had only brought five people, and among them was Guild Master Ivan Dreyar.
That clearly did not meet the rules for participation.
Even when the opening ceremony of this year's Games had already begun, Raven Tail still had not managed to gather a complete team.
The member they had urgently summoned had failed to make it in time.
"Raven Tail does not meet the rules for participation. Their qualification is hereby revoked."
The serious-faced investigator announced the final conclusion.
Although they had not obtained evidence that Ivan Dreyar intended to disguise himself and compete, they had still successfully stripped Raven Tail of its right to participate.
In that sense, they had not failed the princess's expectations.
Most importantly, everything was legal and proper.
It was Raven Tail's own fault for failing to gather the required number of participating members.
"Fine. I accept it."
Ivan Dreyar nodded and calmly accepted the result.
In truth, this was also the outcome Ivan wanted.
If they absolutely had to gather five proper members, it would not have been difficult.
They could even have casually recruited someone into the guild and formed a temporary team.
But that would have been meaningless since their results would definitely be poor.
Besides, they had already lost tremendous respect this time.
Being able to leave safely was already fortunate.
These investigators had been staring at them the entire time, clearly trying to make trouble on purpose.
Ivan Dreyar did not want to commit a violation right under the wind's edge, so it was better to leave things like this and withdraw.
"That damned Marco! I'll get my revenge one day!"
After the investigators left, Ivan Dreyar's expression immediately darkened.
He knew all of this had happened because Marco was working against him.
If not for Marco, his plan would definitely have gone smoothly.
Unfortunately, all he could do was curse in private.
In front of Marco, he certainly did not dare to cursed him out.
The current Marco was no longer the little brat Ivan had once been able to look down on.
...
"Achoo!"
On the special Guild Master viewing platform built for the Grand Magic Games, Marco sneezed.
He rubbed his nose.
The sneeze had been triggered by the perfume of a female Guild Master sitting nearby.
Without making a scene, Marco shifted his position.
He squeezed over beside Guild Masters Goldmine and Bob, escaping from those overly eager small-guild masters.
"You'll get used to it," Goldmine said.
He was still wearing his sunglasses, arms folded in front of his chest as though he were some profound sage.
But the old man was not wrong.
"You really are the most popular figure in Fiore right now. And there's an enormous chain of interests tied to you. Everyone wants to build a good relationship with you. Even a little benefit leaking through your fingers would be enough to feed them well."
Wherever Marco went, he was bound to be highly sought after.
Anyone with a functioning brain would want to maintain a good relationship with him.
Nothing else needed to be said. Just look at the development of Quatro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus.
Those two guilds, whose lives were getting better and better, were the clearest examples of the benefits one could gain by following Fairy Tail.
Naturally, the smaller guilds also wanted to get on that train.
"Not just in Fiore," Bob said with a narrowed-eyed smile. "Across the entire continent of Ishgar, Marco would be warmly welcomed wherever he went."
Bob regretted more and more that he had not snatched Marco away earlier.
This child was truly heaven's favorite.
Invincible in strength, sharp in mind.
Makarov had gotten far too lucky! Now that bastard had even managed to retire early!
"Fairy Tail isn't a selfish guild. We'll definitely bring everyone along where we can. But if anyone expects to suck blood from us, that's impossible."
Marco smiled as he spoke.
He could certainly give up some benefits.
That was a necessary price for unity.
But expecting everything from Fairy Tail, wanting to cling to Fairy Tail and drink its blood—that was impossible.
Marco was no saint.
People naturally had closer and more distant relationships. Fairy Tail's resources would naturally be given priority to guilds with closer ties.
But those close relationships were not built by flattering the strong.
They were built by fighting side by side again and again, through genuine bonds.
Whenever Fairy Tail had trouble, Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus always responded immediately.
They would send real elite teams to help.
The three guilds could cooperate almost like one guild, so of course Fairy Tail would take care of them first.
But if someone never showed up when things happened, or only came to drag others down, and still expected more care from Fairy Tail, that was nothing but foolish dreaming.
The policies and rules established within the Mage Guild Alliance were already supportive enough of smaller guilds.
Marco believed he had absolutely not suppressed the small guilds, so naturally his conscience was clear.
While Marco and the others chatted, the participating teams had already finished entering the arena.
The massive venue no longer looked empty now.
The Grand Magic Games' tournament arena was called Domus Flau, located on a mountain west of Crocus.
It was said to have a long history and had existed since ancient times.
Now, King Toma had renovated it and turned it into the venue for the Games.
"The Grand Magic Games officially begin!"
Seeing that all participating teams had entered the arena and the stands were packed with spectators, King Toma, dressed strangely with a pumpkin head, announced the opening in a loud voice.
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