Helping the Council keep an eye on things is no problem, after all, it's related to us as well.
It's just that there are no clues right now, and we don't even know where to start investigating.
Rhode asked, "Does the Council have any suspects?"
Lahar looked troubled, "Well... I'm not sure yet, the evaluators are probably discussing it right now."
"Then I don't have any good ideas for the short term either," Rhode said. "Let's wait for news from the Star Spirit Realm; they should conduct a minor inquiry, but their efficiency... we may have to wait a long time."
The Star Spirit King mentioned that he needs to go back to handle some trivial matters today and will express his gratitude later.
Who knows how long this 'later' might be, but considering the 90 times time flow difference between the two sides, it could be a few months.
Lahar wasn't too concerned about efficiency, as the Council's efficiency wasn't high either.
After a few words, Rhode returned to his tent.
Though he boasted about who was staying in which tent with Mira, in reality, they all shared one tent.
Everyone's a Mage, so they can make do while away from home.
The investigation went on for several days, but the news started spreading immediately; it was all wild speculation.
On the first day, they said:
"The Ten Wizard Saints' Rhode is suspected of practicing large-scale destructive magic within Pegrandi Kingdom, destroying all the peaks of the Saint Dopia Mountains in one go."
Soon, news leaked that it wasn't just Rhode in the mountains, but many Mages went for some puzzle-solving task in Saint Dopia.
So, on the second day, they reported:
"The incident originated from a treasure hidden in the Saint Dopia Mountains. Rhode single-handedly fought over 500 Mages and achieved a sweeping victory, but destroyed the mountains in the process."
The Council felt this was detrimental to the reputation of the Ten Wizard Saints, so they wrote to the newspaper, clarifying that Rhode was there to save people, not to fight, and that the enemy was someone else.
They asked them to wait until the investigation was clear before publishing further articles.
However, the newspaper wasn't that obedient, so on the third day, it became:
"Saint Dopia hides a secret weapon of the Pegrandi Kingdom, powerful enough to threaten the peace of the entire continent.
Thus, the Ten Wizard Saints' Rhode led over 500 Mages to bravely fight, defeated Pegrandi's army, and destroyed that dangerous weapon."
Then...
The newspaper's owner, editor-in-chief, and editor all received a 'joint conversation' from Pegrandi and the Council.
They had three choices presented before them:
One was to publicly apologize and obediently wait for the official announcement before reporting;
The second was to apologize privately and then halt operations for restructuring, waiting for notices from both sides;
The third was to neither acknowledge mistakes nor apologize.
As media personnel, they shouldn't succumb to authority, nor let others control their speech, and should defend their freedom to the death.
So they chose the first option.
The Pegrandi Kingdom, after all, is still a 'kingdom'. Though royal authority is gradually weakening in many countries, given the current situation, dealing with them wouldn't be much of a problem.
Living is quite nice.
On the fourth day, the newspaper publicly apologized for their false statements.
Sosala Weekly's owner deeply regretted this.
If this old competitor had been tougher, he might have been able to turn the weekly into a daily.
As for Rhode's attitude - he was enjoying the show.
He used to always watch others on social media go through all sorts of plot twists; now being at the center of events himself was quite amusing.
As long as no one throws rotten tomatoes or eggs at him on the street, his attitude shouldn't change.
After five days of investigation, the Fairy Tail members and other guild Mages regained their freedom.
Once the official news reports came out, Rhode's reputation climbed another notch.
This incident, along with a series of mishaps in recent months, was classified as a 'pre-terror attack of foreign invasion'.
The news didn't particularly emphasize injuries or fatalities but focused on the heroic deeds of Mr. Rhode, the Ten Wizard Saints member.
It highlighted the Council's attentiveness, having heeded suggestions months ago, by alerting the guilds' Star Spirit Mages, thwarting the enemy's plans.
Lucy and Yukino, two outstanding Star Spirit Mages, received attention for their significant contributions to the entire incident.
As for Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Wendy, they were grouped as 'other excellent Mages' - Hapi and Carla could be included in that, or completely overlooked.
The clever Council didn't grab the limelight in the publicity.
Additionally, Rhode received a ton of gratitude from the Mages involved in the incident.
They claimed that during the battle, when faced with danger, bizarre Magical Beasts suddenly appeared to protect them.
After describing the features of those beasts, Lahar informed them that those were Rhode's Summoned Beasts.
The prior reminders and warnings, combined with this life-saving act, immediately earned Rhode a lot of gratitude from many people.
But for Rhode and the others, these weren't that important.
As soon as they left the camp, they headed straight to Viola, a famous tourist city in the Pegrandi Kingdom, and only went back to the guild after a couple of days of fun.
The Pegrandi Kingdom did initially have some concerns.
After all, a beautiful expanse of mountains, an astronomical Holy Land, was almost entirely leveled, with a canyon thrown in for good measure.
However, upon learning the truth, they couldn't really be angry, nor could they blame anyone else.
Also because such a large area of mountains was almost entirely leveled, with such a long canyon thrown in for good measure.
They had to thank everyone for protecting the national territory and their country's Mages.
By the way, they named the newly appeared canyon 'Giant Snake Canyon' to commemorate the 'skyscraping' giant snake many people saw.
...
Makarov covered his chest with his right hand, looking at Erza with a bit of unease, "And then?"
Erza looked puzzled, "What then?"
Makarov swallowed nervously, "Compensation, review, or anything. Just, just say it, it's okay, I can handle it."
Seeing the President like this, Erza felt a bit guilty, "Don't worry, President, there's nothing like that."
"How is that possible?" Makarov couldn't believe it. "That's an astronomical Holy Land! A Holy Land!"
Rhode had to assist in explaining, "Ultimately, this was all caused by foreign enemies, and most of the destruction was caused by the Star Spirits; there's nothing for us to compensate.
"Moreover, the one who initiated the ultimate showdown was Pegrandi Kingdom's renowned astronomer, they're embarrassed enough and don't have the courage to blame others. And strictly speaking, we can also be considered victims this time."
"Sounds... reasonable." Makarov nodded, "Since that's the case..."
His expression gradually shifted from worry to joy, "Let's celebrate with a feast!"