Precht thought for a moment and said, "Use an important piece of information as the reward."
"What information?"
Precht said, "In the last Astral incident, that so-called astronomer was just a scapegoat pushed to the front. So, have you found out who the real mastermind is?"
"You know?" Rhode indeed had no clues yet.
"Crawford Heim," Precht mentioned a name.
Both Rhode and Mira found this name somewhat familiar.
Ultear was surprised, "The former chairman of the Council?"
She remembered that chubby little old man, though he was quite bureaucratic at work, she heard he was quite amiable in private.
Precht reminded, "Have you forgotten what his magic is?"
"Super Ancient Document Magic." Ultear frowned, "A super magic above Ancient Document Magic. With his status, if he had ever linked with the Council's intelligence library, no doubt he had.
"This way... the Council would have almost no secrets from him, which means he could easily access most Star Spirit Mages' information."
Precht chuckled, "The power of Super Ancient Document Magic isn't just limited to that. As long as he has enough Magic Power, he can even 'search' the positions of all Mages across the continent.
"The Magic Power of Star Spirit Mages must have the same characteristics, so he can accurately locate every Star Spirit Mage, and even judge their approximate state based on magic power."
"This..." Rhode was a bit astonished.
He originally thought Hibiki's Ancient Document Magic was already quite game-breaking, but now there was a Super Ancient Document Magic.
Moreover, the one who mastered it used to have very high authority, does it mean that all Mages across the continent are under his surveillance?
No, it shouldn't be that exaggerated.
The number of targets monitored at the same time must be limited by the Magic Power. Even if the Magic Power could reach that level, the user's own energy couldn't support simultaneous monitoring of too many people.
So the initial operational model should have been Crawford investigating the locations of Mages at a given time, then selecting a few suitable ones to send Star Spirits to ambush.
If they were unlucky, they might not even have been able to wait at all.
But now, that matter isn't as important anymore.
What's important is that the former chairman committed actions equivalent to betraying this continent.
The purpose is unclear, but since he's cooperating with those who want to rule the world, his ultimate goal is likely similar.
Once this matter is exposed, that guy might directly reveal a lot of dangerous information.
If not exposed... he might partner with someone else, continuing to do risky things.
This is indeed quite valuable information.
Rhode said, "I accept this as the reward."
Mira asked, "The second generation could find out even such things?"
"There are only a few people in the world who can master this kind of magic, and just when I was investigating, this guy had already gone into hiding." Precht shook his head, a bit disappointed for not being able to catch him directly.
"Alright, since the commission is set, no matter what the investigation results are, just inform Ultear directly. By then, they'll be near the Royal Capital."
After arranging everything, Precht waved his hand intending to leave, but Rhode stopped him: "There's one more thing I'd like to ask."
"Go ahead."
Rhode swiftly pulled out a thick Magic Book, turned to a page bookmarked, and pointed to the text, "I don't understand this part, why use Magic Power like this?"
"?" Precht made a questioning gesture.
Rhode beckoned to Mira, signaling her to ask as well.
Mira was a bit startled but cooperated by asking, "Actually, regarding the Magic Chain, as the number increases, it becomes difficult to control, are there any techniques for that?"
Precht laughed helplessly, "You two... what do you take me for?"
"A graduate advisor?" Rhode blurted out a term not well understood by others, "It's rare to have such a good opportunity to ask for advice."
"..." Precht was forced to give this couple a magic lesson.
As he left, he muttered in his heart, are young people these days this imaginative?
Ultear rarely saw the 'former president' like this, waved goodbye with a smile, "Don't forget to send our carrier pigeon back."
...
"Lisana, you guessed right."
"What?"
"The note was indeed from a girl, and it was indeed to ask me out to meet." Rhode said, "And there were even two quite pretty girls."
"Eh~~~~" Lisana elongated her tone, secretly glancing at Mira's expression, then said,
"Don't lie to me, if it were true, how could Sister Mira act like nothing happened."
Rhode sighed, "Just calm on the surface, in fact, she's already considering how to draft the divorce papers."
"Is that so?" Lisana was even more incredulous.
Mira's right hand turned into Devil Claw, clenching and releasing, muttering to herself, "Did someone just mention the word 'divorce'? Hmm... must have been a hallucination?"
Rhode pointed to the side, "Lisana mentioned it."
Lisana's face changed drastically, "I did not!"
Mira smiled and gave Rhode a playful punch, "If we keep this up, Lisana will soon be trained like Lucy."
Lisana puffed her cheeks, feeling bullied by this mischievous couple.
Just as they were chatting, Makarov eagerly called Rhode upstairs, "Rhode, I came up with a great idea!"
"I happen to have something to discuss with you as well."
Rhode went upstairs and told the president about what had just happened.
Makarov rubbed his temples, feeling mentally exhausted today, "Black Magic related to Zeref, a former chairman who betrayed this continent... truly troublesome."
Rhode said, "The most troublesome part is, these troublesome matters are all related to our Guild, we can't just ignore them."
"The former chairman's matter must be reported to the Council."
Makarov understood the seriousness, if the former chairman were to disclose something dangerous like the activation method of Magical Elf Power, it would undoubtedly be a major disaster.
"The Black Magic issue... can only be investigated secretly by us."
After discussing serious matters, Makarov suddenly became spirited again, "By the way, about the idea I came up with, we can do this..."
Makarov whispered for a while, then proudly said, "How about it, interesting, right?"
"..." Even if the world were to be destroyed tomorrow, today you shouldn't forget to play, right?
Rhode commented, "You're really something to find so much entertainment."
Makarov smiled at him, "Do you want to participate?"
Rhode maintained a serious face, "I'll participate."
He himself didn't mind, but he knew his wife would surely be interested.