Precht thought for a moment, then said,
"How about an important piece of information as a reward?"
"What information?" Rhodes asked.
Precht replied calmly,
"In the last Celestial Spirit incident, that so-called astronomer was just an unlucky scapegoat pushed to the front.
Tell me, have you found the real mastermind?"
Rhodes blinked. "You know?"
"Crawford Seam." Precht spoke the name.
Rhodes and Mira paused, familiar, but not immediately placeable.
Ultear's reaction, however, was instant.
"Isn't that the former Chairman of the Council?"
She remembered that round old man, stiff while working, but apparently friendly in private.
Precht reminded her, "Did you forget what kind of magic he used?"
Ultear frowned. "Super Ancient Writing Magic… A super-magic above Ancient Writing Magic."
Her tone grew more serious.
"Given his authority back then, he must have had access to the Council's intelligence system. If that's the case… he could access almost every Celestial Spirit Mage's personal data."
Precht chuckled dryly.
"Super Ancient Writing Magic can do more than that. As long as he has enough magic power, he can 'search' the locations of all magicians across the entire continent. Celestial Spirit Mages have very distinct magical signatures. Tracking them would be simple."
"That's insane." Rhodes was genuinely shocked.
He used to think Hibiki's Magic was already cheating. Now this was Ancient Writing Magic on steroids, wielded by someone with top-tier authority. If used irresponsibly, it was practically a continent-wide surveillance spell.
Well… maybe not quite that exaggerated.The magic power consumption would be massive, and the user's energy wouldn't allow continuous monitoring.
More likely, Crawford checked periodically, pinpointed targets at a moment in time, and sent the rebellious Celestial Spirits to ambush whoever was conveniently located.
Still, the implications were bad enough.
The important part was clear: The former Chairman had committed treason on a continental scale.
His motives were murky, but anyone willing to cooperate with a lunatic trying to overthrow the Star Spirit Realm was bound to have ambitions no better.
If exposed, he could spill critical intel. If not exposed, he could easily assist the next would-be tyrant.
This information was extremely valuable.
Rhodes exhaled. "I accept this reward."
Mira asked with a hint of disbelief, "The Second Generation can even discover things like this?"
"There are few who master this magic," Precht explained. "And by coincidence, when I went to inspect his whereabouts, he had already fled."
He sighed, clearly annoyed he couldn't drag the man back by the collar.
"Fine. Since the commission is established, give your findings to Ultear. They'll appear near the capital when the time comes."
After explaining what needed to be explained, Precht gave a dismissive wave and turned to leave.
But Rhodes stopped him.
"Wait. There's one more thing I want to ask."
Precht paused. "Go ahead."
Rhodes immediately pulled out a thick magic book, flipped to a bookmarked page, and pointed.
"This part, I don't quite get it. Why is the magic power used like this?"
Precht stared blankly. "?"
Rhodes gestured at Mira.
"Mira, quick, ask yours."
Mira jumped a little, but quickly followed his lead.
"A-actually, regarding magic chains… once the number increases, controlling them becomes hard. Are there any techniques?"
Precht felt a headache coming on.
"You two, what exactly do you take me for?"
"A postgraduate exam tutor?" Rhodes answered honestly. "You don't often get a chance to ask someone this strong questions.
And so, Precht was forcibly drafted into giving the young couple a magic lecture, complete with diagrams, examples, and practice advice.
By the time he left, he was muttering under his breath, torn between indignation and resignation:
"Are young people's thoughts always this jumpy these days?"
Ultear rarely saw the former Chairman in such a flustered state, so she waved goodbye with a smile.
"Don't forget to send our homing pigeon back."
...
"Lisanna, you guessed right," Rhodes said.
"What?"
"That note was written by a girl. And yes, she asked me out.
Actually," Rhodes added casually, "it was two very pretty girls."
"Oh~?"
Lisanna drew the sound out suspiciously, sneaking a glance at Mira's expression before saying,
"Don't lie. If that were true, Mira-nee wouldn't be sitting there calmly."
Rhodes sighed dramatically.
"She only looks calm. On the inside, she's already drafting the divorce agreement."
"Is that so?" Lisanna was clearly unconvinced.
Behind them, Mira's right hand quietly transformed into a demon claw.
Clench. Unclench.
Her voice sweet, way too sweet, muttered:
"Did someone just say the word 'divorce'? Hmm… must've been my imagination."
Rhodes pointed instantly to the side.
"Lisanna brought it up."
Lisanna's face drained of color. "I didn't!!"
Mira lightly punched Rhodes in the shoulder.
"At this rate, we're going to turn Lisanna into another Lucy."
Lisanna puffed her cheeks.
"You heartless couple. Bullying people again."
But before the teasing could escalate, Makarov called from upstairs with alarming cheerfulness:
"Rhodes! Rhodes! I've thought of a great idea!"
"Perfect timing," Rhodes said. "I have something to tell you too."
They went upstairs. Rhodes reported everything he had just learned.
Makarov listened, rubbing his temples as though his skull ached.
"Black magic related to Zeref… and the former Chairman betraying the entire continent...This is very troublesome."
Rhodes nodded.
"The worst part is that all these problems are connected to our guild. We can't ignore them."
"The former Chairman must be reported to the Council immediately," Makarov said firmly.
"If he knows how to activate Magic Cannon… if he leaks that… it would be catastrophic."
"As for the black magic," Rhodes said, "we'll have to investigate quietly ourselves."
After the serious talk, Makarov suddenly brightened again, way too quickly.
"Actually! This works out perfectly. The idea I just came up with, listen to this."
He leaned in and whispered his plan.
When he finished, he straightened up proudly.
"Well? Isn't it fun?"
"Even if the world ends tomorrow," Rhodes deadpanned, "you'd still insist on playing today, wouldn't you?"
Makarov grinned like a mischievous child. "So? Do you want to participate?"
Rhodes answered with the gravest expression he could muster:
"I want to participate."
He didn't care much for the idea himself. But he knew, his wife would definitely want in.
...
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