Chapter 125: The Status of the Tower of Heaven and the Magic Development Bureau
Noah rubbed the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed. "Haha, well, I was just coming to visit you, Grandpa Yajima! But... after I finished recording all the Council's public data, I wanted to record other data and learn some new magic. When I asked, they said I needed to apply and get approval many days in advance. I was just wondering if there was any way you could speed that up a bit."
Yajima laughed. "I knew you must be here to trouble me about something. But as for those procedures, they take time because they have to verify the applicant's qualifications. I can help you accelerate the process, but it will still take two or three days. You'll just have to wait a bit."
Noah was overjoyed. He knew Yajima would have a way. Two or three days was infinitely better than the several months the normal process would take. Besides, he was requesting a lot of data; it was only natural that it would take some time.
"Grandpa Yajima, could you also help me figure out which data and magic would be best to apply for?"
"First, tell me what you were originally planning to apply for and why. I'll help you refine the list."
Noah told him his original intentions. Yajima, as a member of the Magic Council, naturally knew about many materials that others didn't. After understanding Noah's considerations, he added several more data files to the application and also recommended a few magic spells. Noah, of course, accepted all of his suggestions.
After their discussion, Yajima submitted Noah's application. When the staff saw that it was Councilor Yajima himself submitting the file, they naturally processed it at the fastest possible speed. Even so, it still took three days before Noah received permission to view the materials.
He quickly recorded all the data into his Archive and learned the new magic, then went to find Yajima again. This time, it wasn't to apply for more. He knew it would be difficult to get any new data on such short notice. Some files, even with Yajima's help, would require a longer approval process. He had already submitted those applications and was just waiting for them to go through the system.
This time, he had come to ask Yajima about the current status of the victims from the Tower of Heaven and the former Magic Development Bureau from four years ago. Back then, Noah, along with Laxus, had destroyed the dark magic cult in the R-System towers, and then, with Ur, he had dismantled the Magic Development Bureau. From those two places, he and the Council had rescued a large number of victims, and now he wanted to know how they were doing.
After hearing his question, Yajima sighed. "At that time, two major, malignant incidents were exposed within a single year, which caused a huge sensation throughout society. This was especially true because one of the incidents was caused by the Council's own organization, and the interrogations from the other incident revealed that a large number of Council personnel were involved. It was a massive blow to the Council's reputation."
"The Council itself went through a major purge because of those two incidents. Many people were removed from their posts and investigated; many were imprisoned and convicted. Nearly every department was changed, and three Councilors were forced to step down. You could say a large portion of the Council was replaced."
"As for the victims of the two incidents, they received widespread attention. The newly reformed Council was also very concerned about them and dispatched many people to aid them, helping them return home or rebuild. Because the Council was terrified of another incident, they helped the victims with all their hearts. I was also involved in that. Most of the victims have recovered well by now, and their homes have been rebuilt."
Noah was relieved to hear this. He had known back then that after two such terrible scandals in one year, the Council would absolutely not dare to neglect the victims, which was why he had confidently handed them over. He had also privately checked on their progress from time to time since then and had found that they were doing well. Now, hearing the detailed information from Yajima, he was even more at ease.
However, Yajima also told him that the former director, Brain, had still not been caught. Furthermore, the number of victims rescued from the Bureau didn't add up; some children were still missing and had likely been taken by Brain when he fled. Yajima told Noah to keep an eye out, because Brain was a skilled wizard and, as the former director, had developed hundreds of new spells and possessed vast knowledge. Most Council members were no match for him. Noah nodded and agreed. He also wanted to find that bastard to get justice for Ultear.
As for the R-System, Yajima confirmed that all seven towers had been completely destroyed under the supervision of multiple parties. All related data had been sealed and classified at the highest level, requiring a majority vote from the Council to unseal.
Noah was just glad he had secretly made a copy back then, otherwise it would be a problem now. He also mentioned to Yajima his suspicion that there might be an eighth tower that hadn't been discovered. Yajima said that the Council personnel at the time had searched the seas for a long time and found nothing, and none of the interrogated cultists had ever mentioned an eighth tower. However, he promised Noah that he would keep an eye out for any strange information.
Confirming that his other data requests were still in processing and wouldn't be available for a while, and having no other business, Noah said goodbye to Yajima and returned to the Blue Pegasus headquarters. It was time to read their library.
As soon as he entered the guild, he saw Master Bob behind the counter, who waved him over.
"Noah-chan, you're back so soon! It hasn't even been a month since you left! Did you already learn Archive?"
"Mhm. I finished learning it in two days. The rest of the time was just spent recording data and handling other things."
Bob's round face was full of surprise. "So fast? Makarov-chan really found a good kid! Did you see Hibiki?"
"Mhm, I saw him. He's still at the Council, inputting the data he applied for into his Archive."
"Oh, that must be the batch he applied for before he started studying. About time it was approved."
"Master Bob, I came this time because I wanted to read your guild's library. I was wondering if it would be alright for me to record it into my Archive."
"Of course, honey! If we're letting you read it, we can certainly let you record it. I'll take you there right now!"
Master Bob came out from behind the counter and led Noah to the Blue Pegasus library.
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