Chapter 161: Memories
Chapter 161: Memories
Rod’s investigation began with the guild’s photo album.
Since Mira had mentioned that Mest had joined the guild a long time ago, even if there were no individual photos, he should have appeared in some of the group photos, right? Rod’s own photos from magazines were included in the album, and he had even taken a group photo with everyone during the Harvest Festival.
However, after flipping through the entire album, Rod couldn’t find a single photo of Mest.
The art collection in Laxus’s library also showed no sign of Mest.
Is this guy as mysterious as Mystogan? The possibility, though small, wasn’t zero. After all, when he asked Mira, Cana, and Elfman about Mest, they all hedged and couldn’t give him a clear answer.
This meant that if he wanted to understand Mest, he would have to review the guild’s past mission records. But…
Having helped Mira organize the mission records before, Rod knew how many missions were handled in a month, and he could only imagine how many there were in a year.
The thought of mountains of documents gave him a headache.
“I’ll need to borrow a pair of Wendy’s glasses… but Levy doesn’t seem to be around today.”
Levy had taken on several solo missions recently—though she lacked confidence, she was determined to give it a try.
People like Rod, who didn’t care much about the S-Class rank from the start, were few and far between.
“The Guild Member Roster? That’s a good idea. At least I can find out which year he joined, and that will narrow down my search.”
The first name on the roster was Master Makarov’s, followed by Porlyusica, and then Gildarts, Macao, Wakaba, and other long-time members.
The roster was arranged in the order of when they joined the guild. Apart from the first Guild Master, Mavis, who had passed away, all other deceased or retired members were not listed.
Rod reasonably suspected that there might be another roster in the guild that recorded all members, past and present.
He flipped through the pages from beginning to end, found his own name, and then flipped back to the beginning: “Not there?”
Rod carefully read through the roster a third time but still couldn’t find Mest’s name.
“What the heck?”
…
Holding the roster, Rod, with a heavy heart, went to see the Master to get some answers.
Makarov sensed something was off: “Mest? Of course, he’s a member of our guild. Why are you asking?”
“Because his name isn’t in this roster, and he’s not in any of the guild’s photo albums or art collections.” Rod flipped to the last page, pointing to his own name, “Even my name is here, which means the roster has been recently updated. If he’s been a member for years, it’s impossible that he wasn’t registered, right?”
Makarov found the situation a bit tricky. It was true that Mest wasn’t in the photo albums because all photos of him had been put away.
As for the roster, it was a book enchanted with a living connection spell. When a member’s guild mark disappeared, their name would also vanish from the book.
Mest’s original guild mark had been temporarily removed for his undercover work, so his name had disappeared along with it.
While it wasn’t a full-blown undercover identity, it was necessary to be thorough.
This way, the roster wouldn’t reveal any inconsistencies when presented to the Magic Council for their periodic review of guild members.
Makarov hadn’t expected Rod to dig this up.
Makarov’s head ached: “Why did you suddenly start investigating Mest?”
“Because I’m going to be Cana’s partner. It’s only right to gather information on my opponent before the exam, right?” Rod explained, “You know my style.”
Makarov nodded.
Indeed, this kid would always thoroughly research the local situation before taking on even a small mission outside Magnolia, let alone something as significant as the S-Class exam.
Being cautious was a good thing, but Makarov hadn’t thought about this detail.
Should he temporarily restore Mest’s guild mark?
But that guy might be in the Council right now, giving a report or something. Isn't this betraying your own team?
"Cough..." Makarov thought for a moment and said, "I do have Mest's photo, but since he rarely takes pictures, I've kept it carefully. As for the roster... I must have missed it when I was copying it down."
Rod stared at him, his expression clearly saying, 'Do I look like an idiot to you?'
It's not hard to print more photos, and something as important as a roster couldn't possibly be overlooked.
"Can you help me pull up a few of Mest's mission records? I mean, the regular ones that don't involve any confidential information. There can't be none, right?"
"All of his current missions do require confidentiality," Makarov said, feeling a bit uncomfortable under Rod's gaze. Lying to his own guild members...
No, he wasn't lying, "In any case, Mest is indeed a member of the guild. You don't need to doubt that."
"Then..." Rod suddenly stopped, "Wait a moment."
He took a few steps back, scanning the tavern. "Erza, can you come over here for a moment?"
"Hmm?" Erza walked over, "What is it?"
Mirajane also hurried over, curious, feeling like she had missed some juicy gossip while serving a dish.
"Erza, stand in front and get ready for battle. Mirajane, step back a bit, come stand here." Rod pulled Mirajane behind Erza.
Erza looked puzzled, "Battle? With who?"
Makarov watched him helplessly, "What are you doing?"
Rod bent over, casually pressing Mirajane's head down to make her lower her profile.
Mirajane swatted his hand away but felt something interesting was about to happen, so she complied and hid behind Erza.
Rod asked cautiously, "Guild Master, is there any magic in this world that can control your mind?"
Makarov's forehead bulged with a vein. So this kid was suspecting that he was under mind control!
Calling Erza over was to prevent him from attacking, wanting someone who could match his strength, right?
Even in such a situation, he could remain cautious. Makarov didn't know whether to be pleased or angry.
"Ha ha ha..." Mirajane clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably. Even though she didn't know the full story, the fact that Rod was so serious about this was hilarious.
And he had even prepared for the possibility that the Guild Master would attack them if his deception was revealed.
This was too entertaining!
"Guild Master is under mind control? Can you be sure?" Erza's right hand flicked, and a longsword appeared in her hand. She was genuinely prepared to protect Rod and Mirajane.
Makarov sighed helplessly, "Mind control magic, when the victim realizes they are being influenced, is relatively easy to resist. Unless the caster's magic power is far superior to mine, to the point where they are on a completely different level."
"..." Erza lowered her sword; this seemed highly unlikely.
And if someone with magic power far greater than the Guild Master wanted to scheme against them, resistance would be futile.
Rod thought for a moment, "Then..."
Makarov gave him a look, "You're not thinking of asking about memory-altering magic, are you?"
Rod nodded.
"In theory, memory magic can affect someone with far greater magic power. However, as long as the victim realizes they might be under the influence of such magic, it can be easily countered. I assure you, I have not been affected by any such magic. Are you satisfied now?"
Makarov looked at the sniveling kid hiding behind Erza, tempted to give him a whack on the head.
After he said this, Mirajane and Erza both froze, "Guild Master, I..."
Makarov raised his hand to stop them from speaking.
He glared at Rod, hopped off the counter, and crossed his arms, "Follow me."
(End of Chapter)
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