"As expected, it works."
Seeing this, Marco nodded in satisfaction.
Ever since Leo had revealed that shocking piece of information, Marco had been researching why the Celestial Spirit King claimed he could forcibly summon celestial spirits.
There had to be some connection he hadn't discovered yet.
"Celestial magic" and "constellation bonds" were the first things Marco considered.
After all, none of his other skills or Saint Cloth seemed related to celestial spirits.
The only link was the constellations in the sky
. If he wanted to influence these spirits, he had to rely on the celestial constellations.
Transferring his controlled celestial magic to the spirits was one method Marco had devised—a potential way to establish a connection with them.
These celestial spirits corresponded one-to-one with the constellations in the sky, yet they couldn't harness celestial magic at all.
They were truly weak.
But Marco could.
He could even act as an intermediary, channeling celestial magic to bridge the spirits and the constellations.
"Don't resist. Accept this magic." Marco spoke, though he was clearly overthinking it.
In his current state, Leo showed no intention of resisting.
"Ahem… how did you do this?" Leo coughed awkwardly before hurriedly asking.
"It's just some non-aggressive celestial magic. For celestial spirits like you, absorbing it shouldn't be difficult." Marco explained.
He had previously attacked celestial spirits—specifically Leo—with celestial magic, but back then, Leo hadn't been able to absorb it.
That time, Marco had intended to kill him, so the celestial energy had been unusable.
Ultimately, Marco was the master of this celestial magic.
Whether the spirits could use it depended entirely on his intent.
If he harbored no hostility, they could utilize it.
But if he did, the magic would be poison to them.
Most crucially, once a spirit accepted this bestowed magic, they would be branded—directly linked to their constellation.
As long as Marco unlocked the corresponding constellation, he could forcibly summon them at will.
It's not as terrifying as the Celestial Spirit King made it sound.
There are still prerequisites.
'Maybe it's because my power isn't strong enough yet?' Marco pondered silently.
This could indeed be called "forcible summoning," but it was far from "unconditional forcible summoning."
He still had to first infuse the desired spirit with energy.
"So… have I completely lost my freedom now?" Leo's mouth hung open in sheer disbelief.
He never imagined that the situation the Celestial Spirit King had warned him about—being forcibly summoned—would happen to him first.
"Don't worry, we're not at that point yet." Marco chuckled and shook his head.
Since he hadn't yet unlocked "Leo," he naturally couldn't forcibly summon Leo.
"..."
However, looking at Marco's smiling face, Leo didn't believe a single word he said—not one.
Leo could already feel it—as if something had stamped him, a mark that would allow the other party to summon him against his will whenever they pleased!
'He's still trying to fool me! How can Marco be so devious?!' Leo grumbled inwardly.
Thanks to Marco's teasing, his emotions had indeed calmed down a bit.
His panic had eased with Marco's steady presence, and most importantly, with Marco around, the countdown to his death no longer felt so urgent.
"Gramps, I'll take him to get settled first."
Seeing that Leo had finally regained some composure, Marco bid farewell to Makarov and took Leo to find a place to stay.
"Wait a moment. Since Leo is staying at Fairy Tail, it's best to give him an official identity so he can support himself. Otherwise, he probably won't even have money for rent, right?"
Makarov raised a hand, signaling Marco not to rush.
He didn't even need to ask—he already knew Leo was penniless right now, and even if he had a little, it wouldn't be enough.
"..."
Sure enough, hearing Makarov's words, Leo's expression turned awkward.
He really didn't have much money on him.
"How about becoming a Mage of Fairy Tail, taking on jobs to earn commissions? What do you think?" Makarov smiled as he made the suggestion.
This would not only allow Leo to support himself but also give him something to do, preventing him from drowning in his own emotions.
Of course, it seemed like that wasn't much of a concern anymore.
Thanks to Marco's prodding, Leo had already perked up.
"I'd be happy to join." Leo didn't hesitate and agreed immediately.
Unable to return to the Celestial Spirit World, he naturally had to find a way to establish himself in the human world.
Joining Fairy Tail was practically a shortcut—he was well aware of the guild's standing.
"Good. Go register to Aero then."
Makarov nodded and gestured for Marco to take Leo to get registered.
...
"What name should we use for registration?"
Once they left the guild master's office, Marco asked Leo.
He remembered the details of the mission—Leo had joined Fairy Tail under an alias, likely to avoid drawing connections.
"Right, I should come up with a new name."
Prompted by Marco, Leo realized he didn't want anyone discovering his identity as the Celestial Spirit of Leo.
"How about Loke?"
Marco suggested, finding the idea amusing.
Last time, he had named Mystogan, thinking that was his real name.
This time, there was no such misunderstanding—Loke was clearly an alias.
"Loke... does it have any special meaning?" Leo asked curiously.
"Nothing special. Just thought of it randomly." Marco shook his head.
"Alright, then I'll be called Loke. Simple and easy to remember."
After thinking for a moment, Leo accepted this name.
First, he needed to remember that he was Loke now, so there was no need for complicated names.
A simpler one would be easier to get used to.
...
"Loke? Great! Welcome to Fairy Tail. Where would you like your guild stamp?"
At the front desk, Aero registered Loke's name in the guild records while smiling warmly in welcome, then picked up the magic stamp.
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