The meeting ended, and the projections disappeared.
Jura Neekis stood up, packed his things, and turned toward the Magic Council headquarters.
After receiving the items, Jura headed straight for Magnolia.
He was responsible for bringing the news, as well as the Ten Wizard Saints outfit and proof of appointment.
This was also one of the reasons Jura had chosen to stay and continue serving as a Councilor.
He could serve as the connection between the Fiore Mage Alliance and the Magic Council, as the Fiore Mage Alliance's voice within the Magic Council, and as the messenger between both sides.
...
By the time Jura arrived in Magnolia, more than half a month had already passed.
This was thanks to the developed railway network after entering the Kingdom of Fiore.
Otherwise, it would have taken even longer.
Jura stepped into the Fairy Tail guildhall and immediately saw the person he was looking for.
There was no helping it.
Marco was simply too eye-catching. No matter where he was, he could be spotted at a glance.
"Jura? What brings you here to play?"
Before Jura Neekis could go over and find Marco, a drunken Macao came over first and wrapped an arm around his neck, asking curiously.
"Macao-san, I'm here on official business this time." Jura spoke to Macao very politely.
Although he looked broad and sturdy on the surface, like a rough man, Jura was actually good-tempered and very polite.
"Sorry about that. Go handle your work, then. Next time you come, let's drink together!"
Hearing this, Macao immediately let go of Jura.
Only then did he remember that Jura seemed to be a Councilor of the Magic Council.
He could not be too rude to him.
From Macao's reaction, one could see that although the Magic Council had already embarrassed itself many times and had even been forced by the Mage Guilds into reorganizing once, the name still carried deterrence toward mages.
No one wanted to be targeted by people from the Magic Council.
"Next time, certainly."
Jura smiled and replied to Macao, then walked toward Marco.
"Master Marco, I have come as a representative of the Magic Council."
Walking up to Marco, Jura Neekis gave a respectful salute and politely stated his purpose.
He truly respected Marco.
He respected Marco's character, strength, talent, and business mind.
In Jura's heart, Chairman Gran Doma's worries were actually unnecessary.
This was Marco.
The Marco who had never once retreated in the face of difficulty or danger.
The Marco who always faced the strongest enemy.
The Marco who showed no mercy when striking down Dark Guilds.
How could such a leader become Zeref or Acnologia?
"Sit down, Jura. Thank you for making the trip. Would you like something to drink?"
Marco smiled and patted Jura's shoulder, gesturing for him to sit beside him.
At the same time, he called Mirajane over to get Jura something to drink.
"A glass of water is fine. Thank you, Miss Mirajane."
Jura nodded toward Mirajane in thanks.
In his heart, he thought, 'As expected of Fairy Tail. Even an S-Class Mage works at the front desk.'
"You're welcome."
Mirajane tilted her head and answered with a smile.
"I assume you've brought good news?"
Looking at Jura, Marco narrowed his eyes with a smile.
He felt that nothing unexpected should have happened.
"That's right. And there are two pieces of good news. Congratulations, Master Marco! The Magic Council has decided to grant you the title of Ten Wizard Saint."
Facing the smiling Marco, Jura Neekis did not keep him in suspense. He directly announced the result.
At the same time, he took the "Ten Wizard Saint regalia" out of his bag and handed it to the visibly surprised Marco.
Pfft!
Seeing that outfit, Makarov, who was sitting off to the side, sprayed out a mouthful of alcohol.
And it landed directly across Macao's face.
"Ten Wizard Saints?"
Hearing this news, Marco was indeed a little surprised.
He had not expected the stubborn old men of the Magic Council to be this adaptable.
They had actually gone this far, even handing over the title of Ten Wizard Saint, which they had always held so tightly.
"That's right. Congratulations, Master Marco."
Jura Neekis looked envious.
For mages, the title of Ten Wizard Saint was absolutely a great honor. It was the greatest recognition of a mage's strength and achievements.
"Then I won't refuse."
Marco did not think much about it and directly accepted this "highest honorary title in the magic world."
Calling it an honorary title was entirely accurate, because the current Ten Wizard Saints title was only a title.
It did not come with any real matching authority.
Marco had previously proposed that the Ten Wizard Saints should concurrently serve as Councilors, but the suggestion had been rejected.
If the Ten Wizard Saints became Councilors too, then there would truly be nothing left for those old Councilors.
How could they possibly compete with the Ten Wizard Saints? Those were all true genuine powerhouses.
Standing in front of people like that, the Councilors would naturally be a head shorter and have no competitiveness at all.
The previous "Siegrain" had been able to serve as a Councilor because "Siegrain" had come from within the Magic Council's own system.
He was different from external Ten Wizard Saints.
But even then, on many matters, they had unconsciously been led around by "Siegrain," especially when it came to anything related to battle.
He was a Ten Wizard Saint.
He had powerful combat strength. In matters connected to combat, if they did not listen to the strong, were they supposed to listen to the weak?
Once a Ten Wizard Saint had already made a judgment, what right did someone weaker have to question them? Even if they stood up and questioned it, how many people would support them?
So "Siegrain" being exposed early had truly saved the Magic Council and saved those Councilors.
Otherwise, who knew what kind of massive mistake might have happened later?
The Magic Council still had some foundations.
If those things were truly used wrongly, the entire continent of Ishgar would suffer alongside them.
"Although it doesn't come with any real authority, the value of the Ten Wizard Saints title isn't discounted at all. Especially for a Ten Wizard Saint like you,Master Marco, who earned it through battle. Both Siegrain and Jose Porla were Ten Wizard Saints, yet both were defeated by you. That makes the weight of this title even greater."
With his task complete, Jura began speaking at length.
In Jura's heart, Marco was absolutely a true strength-based Ten Wizard Saint.
Most of the current Ten Wizard Saints were old figures.
When they first became famous, Jura Neekis might not even have been born yet.
Because of that, toward those old people, Jura mostly felt respect for seniors.
But toward Marco, it was different.
Marco's road to fame was something people like them had watched unfold step by step.
Jura was seven years older than Marco, but they could still roughly be considered part of the same generation.
And precisely because he was older, the shock he received was even stronger than what Marco's peers felt.
"I truly need to learn properly from you." Jura spoke very seriously.
He now increasingly regarded Marco as his life goal.
He did not ask to truly reach Marco's height or achieve what Marco had achieved. That was far too unrealistic. He only hoped to keep working in that direction.
Because Marco was not yet twenty years old.
His future achievements were limitless, and no one could guess what height he would eventually reach.
Just as Councilor Org had said, Marco was a protagonist of the era on the same level as Zeref and the Black Dragon, an existence capable of influencing the next several hundred or even thousand years.
He was not someone ordinary people could compare with.
Jura understood that Marco walking the righteous path was indeed their fortune.
They truly had to thank Makarov and Fairy Tail for that.
Marco had met a group of good people.
"You're praising me too much. I only did some insignificant work."
Marco smiled and shook his head, signaling for Jura Neekis not to be so serious.
This man's expression was so firm that he looked like he was about to charge off and blow up a bunker.
It created a lot of pressure.
What if Marco failed to serve as a proper example in the future?
Would that not make Jura very sad?
"Since I've delivered the news, I won't stay long. A dedicated team will come later to connect with the Fiore Mage Alliance, so that affairs in the Kingdom of Fiore can be handed over and continue operating normally."
Jura did not linger.
He still needed to return to his guild quickly. After all, he was still an S-Class Mage of Lamia Scale.
"Right, the mage rank reform is also moving forward. There should be results in a few days, and the changes won't be too large."
After saying farewell, Jura suddenly remembered another matter.
This news was closely related to Fairy Tail, since this matter had been pushed forward in the first place because of Fairy Tail.
"Is that so? What are the new ranks?"
Marco nodded and asked curiously.
He really had not discussed this matter with Gran Doma. It was not a major issue either.
Besides, Marco did not want to overstep and interfere randomly.
Things could not be done too excessively. Moreover, this mage ranking system had been used for over a hundred years.
If it was going to be reformed now, it definitely needed proper discussion.
A decision could not be made carelessly.
"They're roughly adding two new ranks above S-Class Mage." Jura explained.
"But the exact names haven't been finalized yet."
Because he had been out on a mission, Jura Neekis had not participated in the later meetings, so he truly could not confirm what the new mage ranks would be.
"Two ranks?"
Marco's expression gradually became strange.
Adding two new ranks above S-Class Mage...
Could they be SS-Class Mage and SSS-Class Mage?
It was really hard not to think that way.
"S, SS, SSS" was indeed a very conventional usage, especially when the previous ranks followed the order of D, C, B, and A.
It was like if the earlier mage ranks used "R," then people would naturally think the later ones should be "SR" and "SSR."
"They should issue an announcement soon."
Jura Neekis was not certain either, so that was all he could say.
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