"Where's the guild master?" Cana asked Gray.
"I heard that he went out of the guild for a bit. Somebody went to fetch him. Though even without him, I think... we would be fine."
Though Gray said that, he didn't believe his own words.
They were still in the silent tavern. Everybody was looking at the Council guy with caution.
Normally, a person would have gotten nervous if so many mages, mages from a volatile guild, were looking at them while being surrounded.
However, that thought didn't occur to the guy because he was currently focused on the 10-year-old boy in front of him.
Kazu stood there with a smile on his face. The smile didn't reach his eyes.
Reddish-Black Ethernano was slowly leaking out of his body.
The killing intent he felt from the boy was the most potent he had felt in his entire life.
"So... What do you have to say in your defence?"
"Pardon?"
"The compensation. Doesn't the Council have all the protocols in place to prevent this situation from happening to clients? Also, we didn't receive any backup during the time before Master Makarov arrived."
"Oh yes. The thing was Anne Road walker, which was part of your guild only—"
"Please don't say any such bullshit. She was exiled long before I was even born. Also, didn't she escape under somebody's supervision? I wonder whose incompetence let her go."
The guy from the Council didn't have any change in his expression. "Yes, that was a mistake on our part. I think this matter can't be discussed here. I need to talk to the master or somebody with an official post." The guy didn't expect that he would straight away start talking about compensation rather than getting some answers.
'I thought this would have been easy due to how much this guild offends the council, yet this is the opposite of what I expected. Maybe it's because of this crazy kid.'
"Oh, you are in luck. I might not look like it, but I am the finance advisor of the guild. Here is the proof." Kazu tossed some documents to the man, who caught them.
He opened it and skimmed through it. 'This is ridiculous. Is the guild master really insane to place a kid at this position, or...' Years of experience made the man automatically go into negotiation mode.
"Is that so? Then, how much does the guild want as compensation?"
"10 Billion Jewels."
For a moment, everyone in the tavern paused. Most of them forgot about the killing intent Kazu had released.
"10 Billion... How many zeroes are even that?" Cana muttered. She suddenly felt herself going dizzy trying to calculate the worth of that much money.
"How many cakes can I buy with that?" Erza had a calculating look as she thought about how many sweets she would be able to eat.
The negotiator from the council—Mike, was rendered speechless by Kazu's demands. 'I guess, he really is the kid.'
"I am sorry, but that won't be poss—"
"One Village", Kazu cut him off for the nth time.
"Hmm?"
"Due to the Council's negligence, one entire village was gone and almost the nearby town and who knows how many people would have died. I wonder how will rest of the citizens of Fiore will feel when they come to know this."
The eyes of other people in the room also widened. They realised that whatever happened in the village was of a different magnitude.
Mike's eyes widened. His expression hardened. "Is that a threat? Is Fairy Tail threatening the council?"
"Threat? Well, yeah. Not only because of you, our prominent talents from the young generation almost died, but also, one entire village vanished from the map. You probably came here to sweep this under the rug, but nah, we aren't doing that this easily. In fact," Kazu took out a lacrima from his pocket.
"I just need to send some magic in this lacrima, and a message would be sent to all the top press companies. The whole Fiore will know the news by tomorrow morning."
Mike stiffened. "That's a lie."
Kazu smirked. "You can find out. I had expected this beforehand, and to make it easy for you, you can send some of your men to ask them to check the dustbin at the gate of the main headquarters. of the Magic Council."
Mike's heart almost dropped when he heard that. He quickly took out a communication
He was at a decent position in the council and was a retired mage, currently in his 40s. If Kazu actually leaked this information, then getting fired would be the least of his worries.
"Sir, we have..." Mike's grip on the lacrima loosened. He turned to Kazu, the red Ethernano, and, along with killing intent, was now gone.
'He had prepared for this conversation long before. The outcome was pre-decided.' Mike felt bitter that he was outsmarted by a kid who was not even 1/4th his age.
"Do you know what will happen if you do that? The best thing would be Fairy Tail labelled as a Dark guild. You are just a kid. You lack the experience to negotiate here."
Kazu's face didn't change expression. "Yeah? Sounds rough. But that would be just temporary. We will be back to a non-dark guild after the council is replaced. Plus, you might want to worry about what's going to happen to you if I do pour magic in this lacrima."
To Mike, Kazu's smile felt cruel. He gritted his teeth. "I don't have the authority to authorise this much as compensation. I need to talk to my superiors." 'I need to delay this.'
"You do. You are representing the council with that emblem." Kazu pointed his finger at the man's waist. "It's just you might have to face the consequences and all. Well, whatever you do, if we don't finalise a deal within 30 minutes, I am going to pour magic in this."
"What!? This is too small a time gap." 'In this time gap, not even my direct superiors would be gathered, let alone the top brass.'
Kazu shrugged. "Duh, not my problem. The more I wait, the credibility of this news will decrease."
"Give me 1 day. A day shouldn't make this much difference, right?" Mike wanted to do everything to delay the deal until he would not be held responsible.
'10 billion is too much. I would be skinned alive if I made a deal like this. They are going to make me work until I die. I am not even because it's out of my capability.' Mike felt a headache.
"Nope. 30 minutes. I need to train, and for that, I need to get this issue out of my mind. My time is precious, you know." Kazu grinned.
It was definitely done to get a reaction out of him.
"As I said, this is out of my capabilities. If you wish to pour magic into that, then go ahead." Mike crossed his arms. He had a strong facade outwardly, but inside, he was terrified. From his periphery, he glanced at the lacrima, ready to move to destroy it.
Kazu frowned. "Well, I guess I am being too difficult."
'You don't say.' Mike almost wanted to say it out loud.
"Well, how about making a pass that makes Council pay for the property damage Fairy Tail will cause for the next 30 years?"
'So, that was his real goal. Finally, I know his cards. That compensation is more realistic.' Mike inwardly smiled.
"Though that is more plausible, I still feel that conditions are a bit too vague. I mean, this guild is full of brawlers, who knows if you intentionally cause property damage in the future." Mike nonchalantly said, as if not worried about Kazu sending magic to the lacrima.
Kazu frowned. "Well, you guys already have rules for how to deal with property damage. Almost all the damage we do is unintentional, and you guys confirm it through your sources. I believe I could put a clause of "unintentional" damage in that."
'Okay, good. Should I push more or not? Though this is far from the ideal outcome, it was way better than 10 billion one.' Mike's mind wandered.
He looked at Kazu. 'He's the finance advisor. I think getting more information about him would make this deal better for me.' Mike decided that he would test Kazu.
"The thing is that, I still need to ask my superi—" Mike's eyes widened as he felt Kazu pouring Ethernano in the crystal ball.
Ethernano rushed into Mike's foot, followed by wind blasting from the back of his legs.
In one instant, he reached in front of Kazu, only for—
His entire body stopped completely.
'Lock.'
Kazu looked at Mike with a detached expression.
"On second thought, can't I just leak the information, overthrow the current Magic Council and even ask for this as a reward for my righteous actions, no?" His smile turned sadistic as he looked at Mike's pale face.
"N—No"
Ethernano input to the lacrima increased considerably.
The lacrima shone for a few seconds before dimming.
"And message sent. Whole Fiore would know this soon."
***
1. At 10 total reviews, I will release a bonus chapter.
2. At 50 Power stones, I will release a bonus chapter.
***
Join my Patreon to support me.
You can even find 20 advanced chapters there:
- DESIRE96
(search it up)
Check out my other works.