Chapter 61: A Deceptive Duo
Chapter 61: A Deceptive Duo
Rod evaluated the two Shadow Gear mages:
Their combat awareness was a bit better than Jenny's. At least, they managed to react and try to escape when the ancient stone beetles bit them.
However, relying solely on support magic was still risky. Once their equipment malfunctioned, they were practically helpless.
Back at the guild, he needed to take precautions. First, he would need a sturdier chain, one he could wear around his neck even while sleeping.
Second, he needed to find a suitable offensive magic ability. As a summoner, he should at least have the power to tear apart a dragon.
"What's wrong, Rod?" Mira noticed the change in his expression and asked, "You don't look too good. Did the plan not go well?"
"No, it went too well, almost to the point of being unbelievable."
"That's a good thing, right? It seems Rod is already quite strong."
Mira hadn't forgotten that the guild master had sent Rod out to help boost his confidence.
In a way, maybe they should thank those two unlucky fellows?
When asked how to maintain a cool demeanor when a girl compliments you, Rod couldn't help but let a smile slip.
Fortunately, he was only briefly pleased and didn't let it go to his head or forget his main objective:
"The ambush doesn't count, and they had their own issues. Should we take them back to the guild and hand them over to Laki for interrogation?"
"Laki just likes collecting torture devices; she doesn't actually enjoy using them."
Mira tried to correct Rod's misconception, "Don't get the wrong idea about her."
"Okay." Given Mira's serious emphasis, he decided to believe her for the most part.
"Then we'll do the questioning ourselves, but I'm worried they won't tell the truth. Maybe we should hand them over to Warren?"
"Warren can only read strong emotions, not complete thoughts," Mira explained. "And lately... you know what's been going on with Warren."
"True." The aftermath of the last incident hadn't fully subsided.
"Actually, there's a simpler way." Mira thought for a moment and used her transformation magic. "We can do it like this."
Rod looked at Mira, now transformed into a man: "This is... one of Shadow Gear's ace mages, Gajeel?"
Mira replied, "I saw his picture in a magazine. They shouldn't recognize me in the short term."
Rod was pleased to see Mira's intelligence and adaptability, but he had one concern:
"But it's not safe for you to face dangerous people directly..."
Mira's eyes seemed to convey a hint of exasperation:
"This is about a conflict between two guilds and the safety of future missions. The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better."
When it came to the safety of their comrades, there was no choice.
Rod nodded, "Alright... let me prepare."
...
Ten minutes later, 'Gajeel' and his masked assistant appeared before Stad and Furu.
At this point, Stad and Furu were buried up to their necks in the ground, their bodies completely encased in earth.
The wild monsters guarding them fled in fear upon seeing 'Gajeel.'
'Gajeel' glanced back at his assistant, Rod, as if to say, 'Is this what you call preparing?'
The assistant's smile was hidden behind his mask, so he just shrugged lightly. It was all for safety, after all.
"G... Gajeel-sama!"
Stad wondered if he was dreaming. He was being saved by his idol at the moment he thought his life was over!
The assistant stepped forward, a bit arrogantly, and asked, "Do you know Gajeel-sama? Are you from Shadow Gear?"
In a guild as large as Shadow Gear, with multiple branches, it was common for members not to know each other.
Stad quickly replied, "We're from the Cestus branch, Gajeel-sama, please save us!"
The assistant continued to speak on Gajeel's behalf, "Why are members of the Cestus branch in this place?"
Stada had no doubts about the masked lackey's identity and even felt a bit envious that he could speak on behalf of Mr. Gajeel:
"Because we have a job that requires us to go to the Flower Capital, and yesterday we just happened to see some Fairy Tail members making a scene in the commercial district...
That kind of make-believe guild, actually being compared to us, Phantom Lord!
So... we decided to wait here today to give them a lesson and make them look foolish!"
Stada angrily recounted Fairy Tail's mischief and stupidity, while praising Phantom Lord's strength and professionalism.
Gajeel and the lackey exchanged a glance. Had these two been at the match with Jenny yesterday?
And they went through all this trouble, risking a conflict and potential investigation by the Council, just for such a simple reason?
The lackey frowned. "Just to teach them a lesson? For something so trivial?"
Stada was taken aback. How could teaching Fairy Tail a lesson be considered trivial? Opposing Fairy Tail was something Phantom Lord did at every opportunity.
Because of his deep admiration for Phantom Lord, Stada had researched the guild before joining. One of the main reasons Phantom Lord was founded was to compete with Fairy Tail!
For someone from Phantom Lord to call this boring, there was something wrong with this masked man!
He...
He didn't deserve to be by Mr. Gajeel's side!
That position should be mine!
The lackey thought he had said something wrong and was about to try to smooth things over.
But Stada suddenly shouted in anger:
"How did a person like you even get into the main guild? Mr. Gajeel, he doesn't deserve to be by your side! Let me follow you!"
Ah, so that was it. The masked man's purpose was indeed that simple.
Gajeel finally spoke: "If he doesn't deserve it, then what about you, who were ambushed by Fairy Tail and ended up so embarrassed?"
"I... Mr. Gajeel..." Stada's mouth hung open, and he hadn't even seen any Fairy Tail members.
Gajeel delivered the final blow:
"Hm? That look on your face... Are you saying it wasn't Fairy Tail who did this, but just a group of ordinary beasts?"
Stada's face turned red. How could they be ordinary beasts? They were definitely not ordinary beasts.
But when Mr. Gajeel showed up, the beasts ran away. Could it really be that they were just too weak?
"Stop making a fool of yourself!"
Stada was utterly humiliated.
Gajeel walked over and squatted down in front of him, tapping his temple with a finger from a distance. Stada immediately fell into a deep sleep.
A sleep spell, one of the small magic tricks Mira knew. It wasn't as powerful as Mystogan's, but it was good enough for self-defense.
The already unconscious Fale was also tapped in the same way—better to be safe than sorry, thanks to someone's influence.
Gajeel stood up, and in a flash of light, transformed back into Mira. She rubbed her throat. "Speaking in a rough voice is so tiring."
Mira looked up and noticed Rod staring at her. "What's wrong? Is something off?"
"No, I just need to wash my eyes and get Gajeel's face out of my head."
Mira smiled slyly and transformed her head back into Gajeel's face. "Is this the face you want?"
"Ha..."
The first generation presidents of Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail had a conflict, and the current presidents, Jose and Makarov, also had some animosity.
The two guilds could be considered longtime enemies, but Fairy Tail didn't like to start trouble, while Phantom Lord did.
(End of Chapter)
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