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Weston looked at the girl with bright eyes before him and was just about to say some words of praise.
Suddenly.
Clap, clap, clap...
A series of applause came from behind the two.
"That is a truly wonderful ideal!"
"Zera, your expression just now when you made up your mind was so cool!!"
"Since the goal is set, you have to work hard for it!!"
"You must do your best! We and everyone in the guild will supervise you together!"
Familiar voices.
Zera turned around, and behind her were Mavis, Yuri, Precht, and Warrod.
They seemed to have been standing there for quite a while and had overheard the entire conversation between the young couple, and were now giving Zera a big thumbs-up.
"I will work hard!!!"
The next day, Weston began special training for Zera.
Since she wanted to become the strongest fire Wizard, she first needed to have a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of fire magic.
So Weston spent an entire night using Super Archive Magic to search for all information on fire magic in the magical world and arranged a strict teaching curriculum for Zera in order from easy to difficult and simple to complex.
Zera accepted it all humbly and began her study of various fire magics.
A few days later, the progress was unexpected.
It seemed that because of this clash with Lena, Zera had gained a deeper realization of fire magic, and her whole person seemed to have 'opened up', showing a learning talent never seen before, making her cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.
Upon noticing this, everyone was very happy for Zera and full of expectations for her future achievements.
...
Inside the meeting hall on the second floor of the Guild Tavern.
"Thank you for your hard work, master Weston."
"This time Fairy Tail took down sixteen dark guilds in one go, dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the 'Balam Alliance', and maintained the justice and order of the magical world. Now the Council is full of praise for you."
Inside a communication lacrima the size of a basketball, Councilor Zenker looked pleased.
Weston curled his lip: "What use is being full of praise? Give some practical benefits!"
"There are, there are..."
"The Council has decided to announce the contribution of Fairy Tail to the magical world to all magic guilds in Ishgar, and award a pennant, along with 10 million Jewels in prize money as a commendation."
10 million and a pennant...
"Huh? Just that?"
"Is it real or fake?! A Council as big as yours is actually so stingy when it comes to handouts?"
"Or are there actually more benefits, but you've secretly pocketed them?"
Zenker hurriedly explained: "This... this, this, this... Master Weston, you are greatly misunderstanding me!"
"This really is all the reward the Council has given!"
"After all, you should be clear that due to the impact of the trade war these years, the Council doesn't have much money..."
That was true.
"Fine, better than nothing still. Hurry up and have someone send this money and the pennant over."
"Understood, I will personally deliver them in a couple of days!"
Casual matters were finished, and next was official business.
Zenker's expression became serious: "This time after capturing the sixteen guilds including Fire Serpent's Eye, the Council interrogated quite a bit of intelligence. Since you are the party involved and also one of the 'Ten Wizard Saints', I think it is necessary for you to know."
"What intelligence? Speak and let's hear it!"
"We interrogated the master of Fire Serpent's Eye, Feros, and confirmed that Fire Serpent's Eye is not a subordinate guild of 'Tartaros'. It's just that Feros himself has business dealings with a certain member of 'Tartaros'."
"The goods they traded are the 'Demonization Potions' that were used by the master of 'Dark Night Scorpions', Mark, who was caught back in the City of Outlaws!"
Demonization Potions...
At the mention of this, Weston immediately became alert: "When I was fighting Feros, I didn't see him use any similar ability."
"That is because Feros has never taken the 'Demonization Potion'!"
"According to him, that kind of potion is still in the experimental stage, the survival rate after taking it is less than 1%, and there are also very serious side effects."
"Mark was deceived by Feros. Not only did he mistakenly believe in the relationship between Fire Serpent's Eye and 'Tartaros', but he also knew nothing about the side effects of the 'Demonization Potion'."
"Not long after being locked in the Council, his body showed a serious 'aging' phenomenon, and his memory is also constantly fading."
"Now, his physical state is equivalent to a 90-year-old elderly person, and he can't even take care of himself."
Weston fell silent for a moment upon hearing this: "...That really is miserable."
"According to Feros, the member he traded with is a demon who often says things like 'how much is it worth'. As for other intelligence on 'Tartaros', he knows nothing."
The catchphrase 'how much is it worth'...
It should be that Franmalth who uses absorption curse power, nicknamed 'The Armored', right?
"What is the relationship between 'Tartaros' and the 'Balam Alliance'?"
"Consider them allies."
Zenker thought about it and gave an answer he felt was appropriate.
"'Tartaros' is a very mysterious guild and rarely appears in the public eye. They have never directly participated in any actions of the 'Balam Alliance' so far."
"However, it is said they sometimes contact certain guilds within the 'Balam Alliance'."
"And those guilds are mostly related to 'demons' or the rumored black Wizard 'Zeref'."
This point didn't come as a surprise to Weston.
The 'Balam Alliance' wants to deal with the Council, while the goal of 'Tartaros' is to find Zeref.
Although both sides are villains, there are still essential differences between them.
Maybe one day they will end up in a dog-eat-dog situation...
"Is there any other noteworthy intelligence?"
"There is one more thing, but it is unrelated to this matter. It is about a certain magic research institute that you notified me to follow up on before."
Magic research institute?
Weston pondered for a few seconds and finally remembered: "Is it that... magic research institute that developed the 'Invisibility Potion'?"
"Correct."
"Those 'Invisibility Potions' are circulating widely in the magic black markets of various countries, causing considerable trouble for many cities. Especially in women's bathhouses, the number of sexual harassment cases is in the hundreds!"
Weston: "..."
No matter which world it is, after having the ability to turn invisible, men's first reaction is the women's bathhouse.
"A few days ago, Team Leader Ike led a team to destroy a black market, seized a batch of 'Invisibility Potions', and followed the trail from the sellers to find the suspected location of that research institute."
Weston hurriedly spoke to interrupt: "Wait! Who is this Team Leader Ike?"
"Oh, he is the leader of the Second Squad of our Fiore Council Branch Law Enforcement Team, at the same level as Team Leader Lahar."
"He's also from our Fiore Kingdom? Could the location of that research institute be..."
"Correct, right here in the Fiore Kingdom!"
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