Since the conference venue is spacious enough, each president was allocated a suite.
After putting down his luggage, Rhode didn't know what to do.
Makarov said, "Don't be restrained. Although this is the conference venue, the atmosphere here isn't that serious. Feel free to relax, just like staying in an ordinary hotel."
"Can I look around?"
"As long as you don't tear this place down, do as you like."
"Okay, I'll head out for a bit."
"Remember to come back to the banquet hall for lunch, the meeting won't start until the afternoon."
Rhode waved his hand and left the room, "Engage · Gorge Swift Crab."
Makarov watched Rhode turn into a green blur and gently stroked his mustache:
"This form enhances his aquatic combat abilities and vision? This kid, could he be inspecting for safety hazards?"
His guess was accurate, Rhode was using the opportunity of touring the venue to check for anything suspicious, and he also strolled around the area to observe the surrounding terrain.
Since he went out with the president this time, Rhode didn't prepare too much, just a quick check of the surrounding area was enough.
The presidents of other guilds arrived at the venue one after another, and many caught a glimpse of a green shadow passing by, but most didn't pay it any mind.
Rhode found out that the vigilance of these guild presidents wasn't very high either, as no one stopped him to ask despite his suspicious appearance.
As noon approached, Rhode had completed his 'tour'.
Upon closer thought, with so many guild presidents gathered here, many are fighters, so no one would be foolish enough to launch an attack here, right?
When Rhode found the banquet hall, over forty people had already gathered inside, sitting at various tables.
Before coming here, the president told him that usually, about thirty people would attend the meeting, and there were times when some couldn't make it.
As for the extras, they were probably like him, brought out to see the world by their respective presidents.
There are about 500 registered mages' guilds across the Ishujal Continent, with almost a hundred in the Fiore Kingdom alone.
A local guild alliance with over thirty guilds isn't considered a small organization.
Makarov waved to Rhode, "Finally back, Rhode, come over here."
"President." Rhode approached the table and first saw familiar faces, "President Goldman, hello."
"Ah~ it's you, hello." Goldman had some impression of Rhode.
"Hahaha..." Makarov boasted,
"How about it? This is Rhode, who joined our guild half a year ago, and in just six months of learning magic, he's become an outstanding mage. Pretty impressive, right!"
"So you are Rhode-chan~ so cute~♡"
The person speaking was bald, with blush painted on, wearing heart-shaped lipstick, dressed in a pink vest with small wings on the back, and high heels.
But Rhode knew his gender was male.
"You... you are President Bob of Blue Pegasus? Nice to meet you."
Bob rested his face on his hand, "Oh my~ so polite, you're too cute!♡"
"Well, regarding the previous incident, I must thank your guild's Mr. Hibiki for his help."
Rhode maintained his smile, as this table seemed to be full of the president's friends, and he couldn't be rude.
In some ways, Blue Pegasus is quite a formidable guild, not only is there Mr. Yiye whom Erza finds difficult to handle, there's also President Bob, whom Rhode finds challenging.
Makarov was so pleased that he drank several more glasses, boasting about how beautifully Rhode completed the task, even earning him a commendation.
With him saying that, the presidents at the table could understand, achieving such a challenging task, this kid has limitless potential.
"Oh~ I've heard some rumors, something about the Hundred-Change Beast Tamer..."
"I have an impression too."
Several presidents recalled some rumors about Rhode.
"Haha!" Makarov was even happier, "I always said our guild's kids are outstanding!"
Beast Tamer... and Hundred-Change... the more Rhode listened, the more uncomfortable he became. Now he somewhat understood the feeling of children being embarrassed by their parents sharing black history.
Wait until I bring out a small dragon, and ride it around Fiore every day, I will change my nickname to something fierce like Dragon Knight or Dragon Tamer!
But being so arrogant carries the risk of being killed by a dragon... better be cautious.
Being a Beast Tamer is also good, luring people for close combat and then delivering a powerful slap with a red buff.
After enduring the president's bragging session with difficulty, Rhode finally sat down to quietly eat his meal.
One had to admit, the food here was quite tasty.
Through the presidents' conversations, Rhode heard that the meals here were actually prepared by a president of a small guild himself.
The guild was called the Kitchen God's Knife, and their membership requirement was some knowledge of cooking.
Rhode couldn't understand why their founder didn't establish a chef's guild, but a mages' guild.
Anyway, thanks to them, Rhode felt a bit of joy from the regular meeting.
But he soon worried about the president's condition, "President, can you still attend the meeting after drinking so much?"
"It's just a bit of alcohol, I'll sober up quickly, hic~"
"You're even hiccupping alcohol..."
"It's fine, if need be, you can speak for me in the afternoon, hic~"
"Don't be so recklessly, what qualifications do I have to speak at this kind of meeting?"
"I told you, it's not that serious here, stop nagging like Mira..."
Rhode: "..."
Alright, noted, January 15th, twelve thirty pm, the president said Mira nags.
President Bob sympathetically said, "Oh dear~ Rhode-chan also has it tough~♡"
Rhode awkwardly laughed, "Haha, it's okay, it's okay."
The first session of the regular meeting started at two in the afternoon, with thirty presidents gathered in the conference hall, each taking their seats.
Even though Makarov always said it's not that serious, everyone still changed into a different set of clothes from the lunch attire.
These weren't necessarily typical formal wear, but they all bore their guild's emblem.
Looking around, besides the familiar large guilds like the Four-headed Hound and Blue Pegasus, Rhode also recognized some not-so-famous guilds, like Titan Nose, Head of the Headless Knight, Earth Spirit Wheel, and others.
Of course, there were also some emblems that he had no impression of.
He specifically noticed, President Robin Lu from Cat Transformation Inn, where Wendy and Carla were, was not present.
Not sure if he was unable to come or belongs to another local guild alliance.
Makarov's attire was more unique compared to other presidents.
Underneath, he wore clothes with the guild's emblem and had an overcoat with the Ten Wizard Saints emblem on top.
Besides Rhode, there were ten mages standing behind their respective presidents, indicating that non-presidents were indeed allowed to attend.
The seating arrangement for presidents wasn't particularly strict, as friends generally sat together.
However, President Goldman of the Four-headed Hound wasn't beside Makarov this time but sat at the main seat:
"Everyone's here, so the first regular meeting of year X784 is now starting."
It seems this meeting was Goldman's turn to preside over.
"The first topic of this meeting is about the Fiore Kingdom's attitude towards mages."
"As we all know, we mages once went through a very dark era, fortunately, the emergence of 'guilds' united us, gradually changing this situation."
"Nowadays, most countries have a relatively friendly attitude towards mages, and our Fiore Kingdom's royal family is quite fond of magic."
"However, even so, the kingdom's policies still deserve our attention, as it concerns the future of us mages."
"I've heard that during this year's New Year celebration at the Royal Capital, His Majesty the King mentioned the hope of organizing a grand mage festival either next year or the year after."
"Although the specifics and rules have yet to be determined, we need to discuss the possible impacts of this event on us. If necessary, we could even jointly advise the King or help draft the rules."
President Goldman opened with a rather serious speech.
Rhode hadn't expected that this Goldman, who loved bickering and engaging in childish arguments with his own president, could be so reliable when presiding over such a meeting.