Chapter 232: What is Luo De's Surname?
Chapter 232: What is Luo De's Surname?
Luo De, reminded by the frog Messenger, returned to the Testimony Platform with Wendy and Summer.
Happy tried to approach Summer but was still rejected.
Natsu and Erza were concerned about whether Wendy had been bullied by anyone in the Council.
Before they could exchange a few more words, the Speaker knocked on the table to signal for silence.
"Now, the inquiry meeting will begin!"
"On the evening of March 15th, the Man-eating demon Kanibo appeared in a valley near the northern coast of the Fiore Kingdom and was defeated that night by a Magic Conductor.
"After the Council's investigation, the people who took action that night were: Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel, Wendy Marvell, and Luo De..."
When Luo De's name was read out, everyone couldn't help but glance at him.
Because he only had a given name and 'no' surname.
Generally speaking, even orphans who grew up in orphanages or churches, or those who wandered outside, would eventually acquire a surname or choose one for themselves.
A situation like Luo De's, where he only had a given name, was extremely rare.
Erza, who had the deepest feelings about this, had never abandoned the surname Scarlet, even though the person who gave it to her had almost completely changed.
At this moment, Jellal might be feared and hated by her, but back then, J Ell Al had not only saved her life but also gave her hope and saved her soul.
The more she thought about J Ell Al's transformation, the more painful it became for Erza.
Although it was inappropriate at the moment, Erza couldn't help but ask, "Luo De, you... don't have a surname?"
"Yes, I do. My surname is Luo."
"Love? Your name is Luo De Luo?"
"Not exactly. My surname is Luo and my given name is De. Full name, Luo De."
Natsu asked curiously, "Shouldn't it be 'De Luo' then?"
"Just call me Luo De. Sometimes people call me Old Luo, Ah De, Little De, Brother De, Ke Shi, Teacher Luo, or Zhang San... You can call me whatever you like."
"Ha, Little De." This nickname seemed to hit Happy's funny bone, and he covered his mouth, his cheeks puffing up.
Luo De clarified, "Don't laugh, Little De is a very powerful profession, not a nickname."
They were chatting happily below, and many of the Councilors were starting to frown.
"Silence! Since Lord Makarov is here, I assume he has already been briefed. Please explain what happened that day."
"ZZZ..." Makarov nodded, then nodded again, and continued nodding.
Erza nudged Makarov's back, reminding him, "President, it's your turn to speak."
Makarov suddenly woke up and instinctively said, "That's exactly what Luo De meant!"
Luo De patted his forehead. Oh no, he had only attended a couple of meetings, and already he had made the President so accustomed to this.
He couldn't go again in the future!
The Councilors' expressions grew even more severe. This was the Trial Court! Didn't these people have any sense of tension?
A black-haired beauty Councilor covered her mouth and giggled quietly.
The blue-haired youth who had appeared at the door earlier also wore a dumbfounded and amused expression.
Mr. Ajima tried hard not to laugh. He needed to maintain the dignity of the Councilor so that his words would carry more weight when speaking on behalf of Fairy Tail.
But little Makarov and his group of kids were just too amusing.
"Lord Makarov! Please be serious. If you cannot explain what happened that day, the charge of releasing the demon will fall on Fairy Tail!"
"Cough cough..." Sleeping in court was indeed impolite, and Makarov felt a bit guilty, "Then, I will explain the situation that day..."
The Councilors listened and nodded, believing that a Magic Conductor like Makarov would not lie about such matters.
After Makarov finished speaking, the Speaker asked, "Are there any additional comments from anyone else regarding Mr. Makarov’s statement?"
Wendy was hesitant to speak, and she and Charle were not as familiar with the details of the battle.
Natsu... the Master didn’t let him speak.
Only Erza and Luo De added a few details, one after the other.
Luo De particularly complained about the professionalism of the Council's post-incident handling.
The Councilors silently noted some useful information:
It turned out that Kanibo was an earth-type demon.
It turned out that the two mountains at the scene weren’t entirely destroyed by the Fairy Tail mages.
It turned out that the demon’s sudden awakening was mostly the Council’s responsibility...
Wait, whose responsibility?
Ogre, the second-ranked Councilor, questioned, "Are you trying to shift all the responsibility to the Council?"
Luo De replied, "Absolutely not. However, the seal wasn’t our responsibility, so its reliability wasn’t something we decided."
"Then what about your responsibility for trespassing into a sealed area?"
Luo De gave him a strange look, "Firstly, confusing cause and effect is wrong. The seal showed signs of abnormality first, and then we went to investigate. Besides, is your seal something that explodes just from a glance?"
"Twisting words! How do we know if the seal malfunctioned first, or if your intrusion caused the problem!"
It was tiring and annoying to keep looking up, and Luo De’s tone became increasingly blunt:
"Such an important seal malfunctioned, and you didn’t know about it. Should we be blamed for not stationing someone there to guard it?"
Ogre couldn’t miss the implication that the Council was negligent: "The Council is responsible for maintaining stability across the entire Ishgar continent. How can we station people to guard a remote seal all the time?"
"Moreover, you should have reported the issue to the Council immediately upon discovery, instead of handling it yourselves!"
"By the time we report and wait for you to send people, the two towns would be wiped out!"
"Compared to the order of the entire continent, two remote towns..."
"Ogre!" Mr. Ajima couldn’t help but reprimand, "In this setting, we are speaking on behalf of the Council. Please do not let personal emotions influence your words."
Ogre fell silent. The principle of sacrificing a few for the stability of the many was often followed by the Council.
What about Daliora ten years ago, who destroyed several cities in a row? Was it because no one reported it to the Council?
No, they had more important matters to address. The magic world always had a mountain of problems to tackle, and they couldn’t spare the resources to handle everything.
There were priorities, and sometimes sacrifices had to be made.
Now, two remote towns compared to the entire continent were insignificant.
They always acted this way and were prepared to bear the criticism, but such a disregard for life was not something a Councilor should vocalize.
"Luo De, everyone here has contributed to the magic world. Even if you have grievances, please show some respect."
Mr. Ajima advised, "I assure you that the Council will judge this incident fairly."
Makarov also signaled him to stop, indicating that it was best to follow Mr. Ajima’s lead.
(End of Chapter)
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