Macao rolled his eyes, too lazy to say more.
Marco still had the mood to tease him, so it seemed he hadn't completely lost his temper.
"But that would mean too many people to investigate." Erza's expression turned grim.
The Magic Council had dismissed quite a few people—they couldn't possibly investigate every single one individually, could they?
"First, get a list of names. Then start the investigation from Magnolia. The mastermind might still be hiding in this city."
Marco didn't hesitate much and immediately made the decision.
For now, they could only think of these possibilities, so they might as well start investigating.
If they couldn't find anything, it didn't matter.
Perhaps the culprit would strike again.
As long as the other party didn't give up, they would eventually slip up.
Their Fairy Tail was so famous, with numerous Mages active throughout the entire Fiore Kingdom and the Ishgar continent.
If they were to count the people they had offended, there were indeed quite a few.
If the person behind this was really using some special ability to mess with them, then they truly had no choice but to resort to the clumsy method of a blanket investigation.
"Alright, I'll go to Gran Doma and ask for the list. He'll definitely cooperate." Makarov took on one of the tasks.
This job could only be handled by him or Marco—no one else had that much influence.
"Mm, the rest of you should also stay alert and keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals recently appearing near Magnolia and the guild."
Marco nodded, confidently entrusting the task to Makarov.
This matter was of great importance.
If Gran Doma didn't cooperate, Makarov would make him understand what it meant to fiercely protect one's own!
"Understood! We must dig that guy out!"
Everyone responded in unison, clenching their fists, filled with righteous indignation and shared hatred.
Since the enemy had already come knocking at their door, they couldn't blame Fairy Tail for not holding back.
Once caught, they'd beat that guy's face to a pulp!
...
Over the next few days, the members of Fairy Tail, as if injected with adrenaline, began a large-scale investigation in Magnolia, searching everywhere for suspicious individuals.
During the day, the guild was often left with only a handful of people, much emptier and quieter than usual.
Meanwhile, the usually peaceful streets of Magnolia frequently saw Fairy Tail Mages hurrying about, their sharp eyes scanning the surroundings and every corner.
As the lord and the Duke of Rose, Marco naturally leveraged his authority as the local leader.
The entire city of Magnolia cooperated with them—the city hall and patrol teams were mobilized, vowing to help their lord uncover the hidden mastermind.
In the end, they didn't find the mastermind, but they did capture several wanted criminals.
This unexpected "harvest" sparked discussions among the ordinary citizens, adding a mix of tension and novelty to the streets and alleys.
"Who would've thought that Magnolia was hiding so many wanted criminals? They've got guts, daring to hide right in the city."
Gray marveled at this.
The ones they caught were all local wanted criminals from the Fiore Kingdom, who had fled from other cities and hidden in the bustling city of Magnolia, pretending to be ordinary citizens living among them.
"It's not surprising. Magnolia has developed too rapidly over the past few years, with a massive influx of outsiders. It's only natural that there would be both good and bad elements mixed in."
Marco leaned against the bar counter, sipping his brightly colored fruit drink that emitted a fresh, sweet aroma as he replied.
He didn't find the situation strange—where there is prosperity, shadows inevitably lurk.
Because of him as the lord and because of Fairy Tail's presence, Magnolia remained remarkably bright.
These wanted criminals who came here simply hid themselves away without causing further trouble, otherwise they would have been caught long ago.
The security in Magnolia and its surrounding areas received quite decent treatment.
Marco hadn't neglected the development of the city hall's police force just because Fairy Tail existed.
After all, Fairy Tail couldn't handle everything.
Petty disputes shouldn't be solved by Fairy Tail either, and Marco wouldn't ask the members to do so—these were responsibilities that should be borne by the city hall's police force.
"Do you think... that person is still hiding in Magnolia?" Natsu asked weakly, slumped over the table.
The Salamander had been running around the city catching people these past few days—he had actually caught two of the wanted criminals himself.
Truth be told, the guy's nose was quite sharp.
Although he might wrongfully arrest dozens of people in a day, he still managed to pick out two real bad apples.
However, Natsu did receive numerous complaints since he would arrest anyone who looked suspicious to him without asking questions—something only he would do.
As a result, all the bounty money he received for catching the two wanted criminals ended up being paid out in compensation, essentially leaving him with nothing to show for his efforts.
Saving money was simply impossible for him.
"Maybe. At least we're not completely wasting our efforts—we've made Magnolia a bit safer," Marco said with a laugh as he set his cup down on the counter.
Mirajane poured him some more of the newly brewed fruit drink.
It was a recipe brought by Lilian, a fruit beverage from Galuna Island that had unexpectedly become quite popular at Fairy Tail.
Lilian was happy about this.
With Marco's support, she even set up a stall right outside the guild dedicated to selling fruit drinks, fruit wine, and other specialty products from Galuna Island.
This not only helped her earn living expenses but also allowed her to practice her communication skills with humans.
As someone who had just started learning magic, Lilian couldn't make much money taking on mission requests yet, so doing this kind of part-time work was a better way to support herself.
Actually, there were quite a few Mages working part-time jobs at the outside stalls.
Everyone had their own pace of life and things they were good at—not every Mage needed to be skilled in combat.
"I'm back! I got the list."
Just when everyone was feeling stuck, Old Man Makarov returned to the guild, bringing with him the "dismissal list."
Faced with Makarov's request, Gran Doma didn't put up any resistance and simply handed over the list without hesitation.
They were just a bunch of dismissed parasites and good-for-nothings—Gran Doma couldn't care less about them.
Whatever Makarov intended to do with the list meant nothing to him, and he didn't even bother asking.
In a way, this could be considered a form of trust.
Gran Doma still had faith in Makarov's reputation—would the old man really take the list and hunt down each person one by one?
"Great, now we finally have a target!"
Natsu, who had grown tired of searching and was nearly ready to give up, suddenly sprang to his feet.
Previously, they had been aimlessly looking around, but now with a clear target, things became much simpler.
They just needed to investigate each person one by one.
Marco took the list from Makarov.
Though called a list, the booklet actually contained very detailed information—age, appearance, home address, place of origin, and more. It was essentially a compilation of personal records.
"I'll first send the crows to check their home addresses and places of origin. We can rule out those who are honestly staying at home, and focus on investigating those who can't be found for now." Marco immediately spoke up.
This was the simplest method.
After all, there were quite a few people on the list, and the target range was still too broad.
He needed to narrow it down further to reduce the workload.
If the official government of the Fiore Kingdom had strong enough control over local areas, they could have easily used Emerald to have the authorities conduct the investigation for them.
But unfortunately, given the Fiore Kingdom's administrative capabilities, this wasn't realistic.
By the time they got things done, the opportunity would have long passed.
There was no other way—after all, this was still a somewhat feudal-style country.
So, Marco had no choice but to send the crows to investigate on their own.
The investigation proceeded smoothly.
Many people were screened out—most were either at their homes in the city or had returned to their hometowns.
Very few were unaccounted for, and the workload was significantly reduced as a result.