The Four Gods of Ishgar were formally recognized as the four strongest Mages on the eastern continent of Ishgar, their power almost completely beyond the realm of ordinary humans.
Jura Neekis of Lamia Scale had steadily risen to fifth place among the Ten Wizard Saints over the past seven years, and was widely considered the strongest human directly below the Four Gods.
However, with Fairy Tail's sudden return, the Judgment Council seemed to be questioning this recent conclusion.
After all, Makarov was a highly veteran Ten Wizard Saints Mage in his eighties, and seven years ago, he was essentially the power ceiling directly below the Four Gods.
Though Jura was only thirty-four and in his physical prime, he still didn't inspire the exact same sense of reliability as Makarov.
Gray frowned, highly puzzled. "Selecting the five strongest Mages means explicitly choosing from the Ten Wizard Saints, right? Then why not choose Ankh?"
After the battle on Tenrou Island, the young fairies had finally witnessed exactly how terrifyingly powerful Ankh could be when fighting seriously—he had almost kill the Black Dragon!
Erza crossed her arms and carefully analyzed, "Brother has a seven-year blank period on his official record. In the Council's eyes, he might not even be as strong as Jura is now."
Gajeel snorted coldly but said nothing, clearly disdainful of the Council's bureaucratic judgment.
Makarov didn't mind this and said, "The battle on Tenrou Island was far too conspicuous back then. It is good for Ankh to keep a low profile right now. But as for me..."
Ankh instantly understood Makarov's meaning and continued, "You don't want to be a Council member?"
Makarov nodded with a deeply pained expression, scratching his bald head as he said, "Ah... I am really not that interested in political matters..."
Moreover... the Four Gods of Ishgar were all immensely powerful Mages no longer actively serving in guilds.
If another active Guild Master or member were to suddenly join as a Council member, the Judgment Council probably wouldn't feel completely at ease with the balance of power, right?
Ankh frowned in thought for a brief moment, then suddenly broke into a bright smile and said.
"I have a highly suitable candidate."
As he spoke, Ankh turned his gaze perfectly toward the woman elegantly enjoying her meal at the corner of their dining table.
Everyone's eyes immediately followed Ankh's line of sight.
Ultear stiffened entirely and quickly patted her mother's back.
Ur looked up, a large chicken leg still in her mouth, and pointed at herself in disbelief as everyone stared at her.
"Me? A Council member? Don't joke around!"
Gray suddenly realized. "Indeed, Ur possesses Magic Power at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints, and she actually isn't an active guild member either."
Moreover, the newly resurrected Ur wielded a form of black ice that constantly emanated an aura of death, making her even stronger than before—possibly stronger than the current Jura.
The more Makarov thought about it, the more suitable it naturally seemed.
He immediately chuckled and approached Ur, politely saying, "Ms. Ur, why not give the Eastern Council a try? It certainly wouldn't do any harm."
Ur waved her hands, urgently refusing. "No, I'm not good at this sort of bureaucratic thing..."
Ankh also persuaded her, "Ur, becoming a Council member would be incredibly good for Ultear and Meredy too. Their past identities are still highly special—they are still technically considered criminals in the magic world, and my company can hardly help perfectly clear their names on its own."
"But if you become a Council member, positioned directly at the center of various policies and major decisions, you will always have ways to secretly mediate for them."
Hearing this, Ur, whose heart had been perfectly struck by Ankh's words, immediately hesitated.
She knew Ankh was absolutely right.
If the Ram Company's covert operations to expel and eliminate Dark Guilds were someday officially reported to the Council, their blacklist status might truly be cleared over time.
But if they possessed direct family connections within the Eastern Council... things could become so much simpler...
Ultear watched Ur with deep concern.
Meeting her anxious gaze, Ur responded with a gentle smile and lovingly ruffled Meredy's hair.
Ultear was the daughter she had completely failed in the past.
She wanted nothing more than to peacefully retire and stay by her daughter's side, but... her daughter still couldn't securely live in the light.
And Meredy, Ultear's adopted daughter, was another girl Ur deeply cherished...
Rather than strictly sticking to the original plan of lazy retirement while accompanying her daughter, wouldn't it be far better to actually contribute her own efforts and enjoy life only when everything was completely and happily resolved?!
Thus, Ur, who had previously been fiercely determined to avoid all work, firmly nodded and responded.
"Alright then, I will go take a look at the Eastern Council."
Both Ankh and Makarov simultaneously gave her thumbs up.
The other members didn't fully understand the complex political reasoning, but thinking that becoming a high official was a good thing, they all happily applauded in celebration.
...
After discussing Council matters with Makarov for a while longer, Ankh found himself with nothing to do again.
The corrupt Council he originally wanted violent revenge against had already been administratively dismantled, leaving him feeling somewhat incredibly bored for the moment.
As for those dismissed Council members... Natsu and Gray would naturally ambush them later in the alleys, so Ankh didn't even need to personally lift a finger.
Pouting slightly at temporarily losing his revenge targets, Ankh went to the Fairy Tail guildhall with everyone else.
The members actively wanted to take on some commission jobs to easily earn money for rent.
But upon arriving at the guild, everyone just sat around the empty tables being lazy.
There was no helping it—given Fairy Tail's current abysmal reputation, literally no one was willing to send commissions their way.
The few low-paying request forms on the job board had been quickly snatched up...
Cana slumped helplessly on the table, complaining, "When we actually had work, we didn't want to do it. Now we actively want to work, but there are no jobs. This is really..."
Wendy found this specific feeling somewhat familiar and asked puzzledly.
"Has our guild truly become that unpopular? It feels like we have fewer commissions than even Cait Shelter..."
Carla sighed. "Do you even need to ask that question?"
Romeo said helplessly, "We are officially ranked among Fiore's weakest guilds."
Wendy blushed with deep embarrassment. "I am sorry..."
Erza's face was full of incredibly confident optimism as she laughed: "But this is great too! We can completely surpass everyone again, thoroughly experience that pleasure, and actively become Fiore's strongest once more!"
The members of Team Natsu quite happily agreed with this, though Max and the others who had stayed behind remained incredibly pessimistic:
"It isn't that simple..."
"Setting aside us, Team Natsu still has a massive seven-year gap to make up for."
Gray frowned thoughtfully. "That's true. Except for Ankh, Gildarts, and Laxus, our raw Magic Power completely cannot keep up with this new era..."
Previously, Gray had lightly sparred with Max once.
Max, who used to be effortlessly toyed with by Gray, had repeatedly managed to suppress him instead.
Although Gray had ultimately won, he clearly remembered exactly how much effort it had taken to beat the Sand Mage.
Erza nodded calmly and said, "Becoming the best in Fiore actively requires taking things step by step, but having such a positive mindset isn't a bad thing."
Upon hearing this, Romeo immediately jumped onto the table excitedly and declared loudly.
"Erza-nee, we've already waited seven long years! We don't have time to ever wait that long again!"
With eyes actively sparkling with pure excitement, Romeo—who had clearly been planning this—shouted from atop the table:
"There is actually a way to quickly become the strongest in Fiore right now!"
"The Grand Magic Games!"