Inside a relatively private meeting room at the Magic Council headquarters, the councilors had gathered once again.
"Everyone, regarding the question of whether Kabe is qualified to become one of the Ten Wizard Saints, it is time for us to reach a conclusion."
Councilor Org stood with both hands braced against the table and swept his gaze across the others present as he spoke in a firm, resonant voice.
The moment he finished, Michello, the councilor who had always disliked Fairy Tail, practically jumped up in impatience.
"What is there to discuss? Does that brat even have any achievements worth mentioning?
Do not give me that nonsense about defeating Jose. No matter what, Jose was still one of the Ten Wizard Saints officially recognized by this Council.
That brat, without receiving prior approval from the Council, directly abolished one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
We have not even settled that matter with him yet, so where does he get the nerve to covet a seat among the Ten Wizard Saints himself?!"
"Brother Michello, you cannot put it that way."
Councilor Yajima immediately spoke up in rebuttal and argued with clear logic.
"At the time, Jose had already led people to attack Fairy Tail.
If Kabe had needed to wait until he obtained permission from the Council before striking back, then Fairy Tail would already have been flattened by now.
And let us not forget, the reason Jose made a move against Fairy Tail in the first place was because we of the Council first entrusted Master Makarov with overseeing Council affairs, which gave Jose the opportunity to act.
If after all that we still choose to punish Fairy Tail's members over it, then what face or credibility would the Magic Council have left?"
Yajima was not wrong.
But Michello's words were not without reason either.
The rest of the councilors all looked at one another, none of them daring to be the first to speak and become the next target of public backlash.
Seeing that no one was saying anything, Org turned with a dark expression toward Crawford, who sat at the head of the table leisurely drinking tea.
"Chairman, do you not have anything to say about this matter?
Do not forget, in this whole affair, you bear a responsibility that cannot be pushed away."
Crawford's hand paused slightly as he drank.
He slowly set down his teacup and, putting on an expression full of deep reflection and solemnity, began in a measured voice,
"Councilor Org, I know that there were certain mistakes in my previous work.
For this, I have already deeply reflected on myself, and in the future I will use this as a negative example to continually remind and motivate myself."
That was not what Org wanted to hear.
"Chairman, I..."
"All right, all right, Org, I understand what you mean. Sit down first. We can discuss things slowly."
Crawford gave the rigid old man no chance to continue and pressed a hand downward to cut him off.
Org, with a stomach full of anger, shot Crawford a fierce glare.
But because of their positions, he could only sit back down resentfully.
Though Crawford frowned slightly at that blatant lack of respect, he did not flare up on the spot.
Drawing back his gaze, he looked around the room again.
Some were watching him, clearly waiting for him to make a decision.
Others were deliberately avoiding his eyes, refusing to meet his gaze.
At that, a cold sneer rose in Crawford's heart.
He understood these people's thoughts perfectly well.
The first group had already made their positions clear, either supporting or opposing, or simply because they had personal feelings mixed into the matter, like Yajima and Michello.
The second group were seasoned old hands who wanted nothing to do with this muddy mess and felt that whether they supported or opposed Kabe, they would only offend another camp in return.
And between the two groups, Crawford clearly preferred the latter.
As public opinion continued to shift, the outside world had gradually stopped focusing on him.
Naturally, Crawford wanted to delay things for as long as possible, until the public completely forgot his own mistakes.
And so, he once again began putting on an official performance.
"The public opinion outside is something I am sure all of you have heard these past few days.
As Chairman, and as one who represents the entire Magic Council, I naturally must answer to all the mages of Ishgar.
Lord Kabe is without question the most outstanding young mage born in Ishgar in recent years.
However, the title of Ten Wizard Saints is likewise of extraordinary significance.
The Ten Wizard Saints are not only the role models of all mages across the continent, but they also shoulder the great duty of maintaining order in the magical world.
Therefore, we absolutely cannot arrive at a conclusion lightly. Instead, we should go deep among the ordinary mages at the grassroots level, conduct widespread research, listen to their opinions, carry out thorough and detailed discussion, and formulate a rigorous and effective plan..."
What followed was a long, useless stream of empty official nonsense so tedious that even the councilors, themselves well-versed in such tactics, were starting to grow drowsy.
That alone was enough to show just how skilled Chairman Crawford truly was in this field.
However, before he could finish vomiting out the rest of his nonsense, a burst of hurried knocking suddenly startled everyone awake.
"Chairman! Honored councilors, this is bad! Emergency situation!!"
Before anyone inside even gave permission, a frog-like council messenger rushed in in a panic and shouted.
Crawford clicked his tongue in mild annoyance, clearly not yet satisfied, then fixed the newcomer with an unfriendly stare and barked,
"Calm yourself!
Before you stand the pillars of the magical world, the highest leadership of the Council.
As a member of the Council yourself, you represent the Council's image.
No matter what has happened, you should never come rushing in like this and bring disgrace to the Council!"
The stern lecture immediately brought a layer of cold sweat to the frog-man's back, and the pressure nearly made his legs shake.
"Yes, Chairman! This subordinate has been taught!"
The frog-man bent into a deep bow, and only then did his panic settle slightly.
Only after that did Crawford nod in satisfaction, pick up his teacup again, and say,
"Speak. What exactly happened that frightened you so badly?"
The frog-man shrank his neck nervously, still shaken, and quickly pointed outside as he reported,
"It is Alvarez! A giant magic war airship flying the flag of the Alvarez Empire has crossed over the coastal nations and is heading straight for the Magic Council!"