"Everyone, move those planks over there... Elfman, stop throwing bricks everywhere... Cana, put the booze down and help out, will you?"
Mirajane barked orders as she held the blueprint, directing the rebuilding efforts. Fairy Tail's former guild hall had become a construction site.
But because they were rebuilding their own home, everyone's morale was sky-high. The worksite bustled with energy.
The war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail had ended in Fairy Tail's victory, but that didn't mean everything was over.
In fact, the real trouble had only just begun. The Council's forces had arrived right after the battle ended.
And the moment Makarov woke up, they took him away.
Everyone in Fairy Tail was subjected to intense interrogation and investigation. It wasn't until a full week later that things finally settled down.
Since Phantom Lord had clearly initiated the conflict, and both witness accounts and physical evidence supported that, the blame fell entirely on them.
The final ruling: Phantom Lord was to be disbanded, Jose was stripped of his Wizard Saint title, and Fairy Tail was found not guilty.
That said, the Wizard Saints were, well... saints for a reason. Charles hadn't held back with his punch, and Jose had been sent flying a long way—yet he'd survived with just serious injuries.
According to Makarov, Jose had shown up at the tribunal completely defeated, like he'd lost all will to fight. Being beaten by Charles seemed to have utterly crushed his spirit. It was unlikely he'd cause trouble again.
For Fairy Tail, this was the best possible outcome. Makarov had cried his eyes out before being taken away, expecting the worst.
Now that the dust had settled, the only thing left was to rebuild the guild.
Since Gajeel had completely destroyed the old building, they had decided to raze the site and start fresh.
And due to the war, most of the nearby residents had moved farther away out of fear something similar might happen again.
But that actually freed up more space for the new guild hall, allowing them to make it more spacious than before.
Elfman dropped the sack he was carrying and turned to Charles. "Hey Charles, what's up with Erza and those two? They're acting real weird."
Charles glanced over to see Natsu, Gray, and Erza all staring blankly into space like they'd been drained of color. They were muttering nonsense.
"The mountain's in the yard..."
"A real noblewoman..."
"The sky's so blue...?"
After a moment of thought, Charles replied, "Probably shocked by how rich people live."
"Aye!" Happy flew over and opened his paws. "Those three were totally defeated by Lucy's house!"
Yesterday afternoon, they had barged into Lucy's house again, only to find a note reading "I've gone home."
The trio panicked, thinking she had left Fairy Tail and hurried after her.
But it turned out Lucy had simply gone home to settle things with her stubborn father.
With a cool warning not to mess with Fairy Tail again, Lucy had torn up the elegant dress symbolizing her indecision and put on cheap clothes that represented her freedom. Then she left home behind.
The three reunited with her afterward, only to realize the "town" they'd seen earlier was just the Heartfilia estate's yard—which led to their current dazed state.
"How embarrassing," Charles shook his head and stopped watching the trio, turning back to his work.
Though they'd only been rebuilding for two days, the new guild hall's basic structure was already up.
Leaning against the temporary bar, Charles sighed as he watched everyone hard at work.
"Fairy Tail really is the best, isn't it?"
Charles was startled by the voice. He turned to find Makarov sitting nearby with a drink in hand. It had been him who spoke.
Makarov didn't look at Charles, just kept talking. "We owe the war with Phantom to you. I acted like a fool of a parent, letting you kids go fight."
Charles smiled. "C'mon, Master. Fighting to protect our home—our family—is everyone's duty."
Makarov set down his glass and suddenly laughed. "Exactly right!"
Charles glanced toward the corner where Juvia was peeking at Gray and asked, "Master, what're you going to do about that girl? You can't just leave her like this."
Somehow, Juvia had set her sights on Gray. Since the war ended, she'd been stalking him like a lovestruck ghost.
Honestly, even if she was a beautiful girl, Charles found her behavior a little creepy.
"She's one of Phantom's Elemental Four, right? Let her join Fairy Tail. We don't turn away anyone longing for a place to belong—and she's got serious potential."
Charles nodded. With Phantom Lord disbanded, their mages had scattered, Juvia among them.
In the original timeline, she was solidly among the top tier just under the main cast. Her joining was definitely a good thing—and it seemed she had no intention of letting Gray go.
Makarov sipped his drink and said, "Speaking of Phantom kids—you know the other one, don't you?"
Charles knew exactly who he meant and answered with a sigh, "Gajeel's a real handful, but I'll try to convince him. Deep down, he's just another guy longing for real comrades."
Makarov was touched. After all, wasn't Fairy Tail made up of people seeking connection?
Still... Makarov added carefully, "Charles, maybe... you could go about convincing him a little more gently?"
He said this because the other day, the first thing he saw when he opened the door was Charles beating Gajeel senseless—blow after blow, no mercy.
He had actually wanted to ask Charles if maybe that was the reason Gajeel didn't want to join, but chose to be tactful instead.
Charles was just as helpless. Gajeel was even worse than Natsu—attacking on sight the moment they met.
What else could Charles do but teach him a lesson? Which, of course, was what Makarov had walked in on.
Charles also found it odd—hadn't Gajeel joined right away in the original timeline? Why so much resistance now?
"No choice. I'll talk to him again—and this time, I'll make sure he agrees to join."
Somewhere, Gajeel shivered suddenly, struck by a mysterious chill. Rubbing the bruise on his cheek, he growled, "Damn it... next time I'll beat that bastard for sure!"
Just seeing Charles's strangely motivated expression made Makarov uneasy. He could only pray for Gajeel.
After a brief silence, Makarov suddenly asked, "Charles, have you ever thought about becoming the next guild master?"
The question stunned Charles. After a moment, he chuckled. "Isn't it a little early for that? With all the problem children in this guild, there's no way you're retiring anytime soon."
Waving dismissively, Charles left the bar—he was already thinking about finding Gajeel for another talk.
Makarov watched him go, surprised by the answer. He had asked because after the tribunal, his old friend—Councilman Yajima—had advised him to retire for health reasons.
Makarov had long considered it, but with a guild full of troublemakers, how could he feel at ease stepping down?
Still, Charles's maturity and reliability during the war with Phantom made Makarov reconsider. In both strength and character, Charles was a prime candidate to be guild master.
But then he looked over at the latest brawl between Gray and Natsu, already escalating into a guild-wide melee, and scratched his head.
"…You're right. How the hell am I supposed to retire like this?!"
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