Inside a storage room of the Magic Council, a Gastly quietly slipped out from the shadows beneath the stairs. Not far away, one man was quietly conversing with another.
"Take tomorrow off. Go out and spread this piece of intelligence," one man instructed.
"Gaal's ghost summoned beast is said to be capable of reading the memories of the dead," came the reply.
"Perhaps the intelligence regarding those adults from Grimoire Heart was obtained by Gaal through that very beast."
"Wasn't it said to be fake?"
"Idiot ! Just because they claim it's fake, do you believe it?"
"As long as we pass on this information, it counts as an achievement—regardless of its truth."
"Understood. I'll go ask for leave shortly."
"Alright, get on with it."
"As long as this news spreads, it'll be a tremendous feat for us."
Inside a small conference room of the Magic Council, several peripheral councilors of varying ranks gathered, while no one noticed that beneath a cabinet in the corner, a pair of eyes opened.
"I've already gathered the sequence of events from the councilors."
"Judging by what Gaal holds, it seems old Crawford Seam also has plans, huh?"
"Nonsense. Maybe inside lies the secret of Hades' boundless Magic Power."
"Can old Crawford Seam help but be tempted?"
"I assume the other councilors don't know about this?"
"They don't. That old man is extremely secretive—only the guards teleported with him last time are in the know."
"It's a pity he doesn't realize that we have people inside."
"Should we report this matter to the High Priest?"
"Let's wait and see if old Crawford Seam can extract Hades' research from Gaal."
"If that fails, we'll figure something out on our end."
"A nearly limitless source of Magic Power combined with the R-System, which consumes endless magic—it's a perfect match."
"If this truly works, there'll be no need for Etherion."
Inside a senior councilor's room on the third floor of the Magic Council, a Gastly climbed out from under the bed looking rather puzzled.
"Councilor, it's still daytime!" the Gastly exclaimed.
"Hehehe~ I just love the daytime," it replied.
"Oh dear~ I'm about to cry out—wait, there's someone below!"
"Someone? I love it when there are people!"
"Ah~ they're on me!"
"Hahahaha, let me tell you: this is the Southern Continent's latest alchemy product—reflective glass."
"You can't see it from outside~"
Gastly's eyes flashed with confusion, yet it diligently took notes, preparing to relay the information back to Gaal.
A few days later, in the President's Chamber of the Magic Council, a grand room displayed a finely crafted globe.
President Crawford Seam sat at a side desk, reviewing an urging message from Fairy Tail, and he called over a guard.
"Is Gaal still meditating recently?" he inquired.
"Yes, he is," the guard replied, admiration evident in his tone.
"According to our magic detection equipment, from the very first day Gaal entered his chamber he has been deep in meditation. He has been at it for nearly a month now."
"No wonder he became such a formidable Mage at a young age. Off the record, he is remarkably diligent."
Having seen many councilors and second-generation members in the Magic Council over the years, the guard had assumed that a prodigy like Gaal might be somewhat arrogant.
After receiving the assignment to monitor Gaal, they intended to check whether he was truly as rumored.
But to their surprise, nothing unusual was found. The fellow is indeed extremely dedicated.
From the day he entered his room, he meditated to refine his Magic Power for nearly a month without even leaving.
Only occasionally did he stir to eat and replenish his energy; otherwise, one might have mistaken him for a statue.
A person so naturally talented yet so hardworking—how are those without talent and effort supposed to live?
Upon hearing the guard's respectful words, President Crawford Seam's veins bulged. He suppressed his anger and said:
"Go fetch Gaal. Tell him I have something to discuss."
The guard nodded. "Understood!"
After the guard departed, Crawford Seam began pacing with his hands behind his back.
He hadn't expected that Gaal possessed such remarkable self-discipline.
Damn it...
He has been meditating relentlessly for a whole month.
Even though the Magic Council had delayed, the clarification announcement from two weeks ago had already been released, and over at Fairy Tail, Makarov was hounding him daily.
He simply couldn't delay any further, yet Gaal still hadn't left his room.
Crawford Seam's expression wavered.
Should he lay all his cards on the table now?
In an instant, he dismissed the idea. Revealing his true intentions was out of the question—especially as the President of the Magic Council.
To openly pursue seizing what Gaal possessed, even if only Gaal himself was aware, was unacceptable.
Crawford Seam paced back and forth in his room.
Before long, a knock sounded at the door and the guard's voice came from outside:
"President, Gaal has arrived."
Crawford Seam tidied his attire, then sat behind his desk and said, "Come in."
When the guard opened the door, Gaal entered with a beaming smile.
"President."
"Did you need to see me?" Crawford Seam asked.
Gaal's expression remained cheerful. "President, I hear you've heard about my month-long meditation."
"That's not acceptable. You're too young to be like those old Mages. A young man should go out more," Crawford Seam admonished with a smile.
Gaal scratched his head and laughed. "Well... honestly, I find meditation far more interesting than wandering about. Every moment, I feel my strength growing. That's the most meaningful pursuit."
Of course...
What was even more striking was that over the past month, every night a group of Gastly and Haunter would report back with gathered intelligence.
The revelations completely upended Gaal's worldview.
One councilor turned out to be an infiltrator from the Black Magic Order, another was also a mole for the Black Magic Order, and guess what about that other councilor?
Not only is he a Black Magic Order mole, but he also doubles as an infiltrator for the Balam Alliance, drawing a double salary.
That female councilor is involved with one male councilor, yet her unborn child belongs to a different one—and that male councilor, in turn, is entangled with yet another...
The volume of information Gaal received over the month far exceeded everything he had witnessed in past years.
This intelligence was infinitely more intriguing than simply roaming about outside.
Meanwhile, Crawford Seam listened to Gaal, a swirl of thoughts nearly bursting forth before he suppressed them.
What should he do? How could he respond without hindering someone's drive to succeed?
Crawford Seam opened his mouth, paused, and continued, "The matter is this. The clarification has been finalized. Makarov has been hounding me several times now, so Gaal, you may return whenever you have time."
Gaal nodded, his face lighting up with a smile. "Is that so? Then I'll pack up and prepare to leave."
Crawford Seam hesitated briefly before casually adding, "Yes, it's about time you left for a while. Oh, by the way, during the battle in Magnolia Town last time, I noticed you took quite a few of Hades' books. Did any of those contain forbidden knowledge? If you can't handle it, you can hand them over to the Magic Council."
Gaal replied, "There's nothing forbidden about them. Actually, most of those books are ancient spell tomes that are practically outdated now. Perhaps, since Hades is advanced in age, he could only accumulate them. As for his painstaking experimental research, it was likely sealed away with Magic. In the collection we acquired last time, nothing of that sort was found."
Crawford Seam frowned slightly and glanced at Gaal before hesitantly nodding. "I see..."
Could it be that Hades' furious demeanor was merely an act? Obviously not...
Yet, upon seeing Gaal's innocent expression, Crawford Seam waved his hand dismissively.
"Enough, there's nothing more. Consider this a notice—pack up and prepare to leave."
Gaal nodded and exited.
Having presided over the council for so long, Crawford Seam found himself unable to completely shed his regal façade. Publicly, while he mentioned Hades' research indirectly, he dared not demand it outright for fear of damaging his image, even though, in all honesty, what image did this council have anymore?
Listening to all the gossip over the past month, one might say that even if half of these councilors were taken out based solely on these provocations, not a single mistake might occur.
Of course, it wasn't only about the gossip.
In that month, through the stealthy infiltrations by Gastly and Haunter, Gaal had managed to piece together nearly everything about the Magic Council.
This included the treasury's location, the site of Etherion, the whereabouts of various councilors, and even the meeting points of those moles.
The only regret was that the treasury and Etherion were so heavily guarded, complete with elaborate defensive arrays, that slipping in unnoticed was nearly impossible.
Gaal even attempted several times to use illusion clones to inspect these places, but each try ended in failure.
Nonetheless, there's no rush—knowing their locations makes the task easier, and at this point there's no need for Etherion.