Dawn gradually broke, painting the sky over Magnolia in hues of soft purple and orange.
Ankh, having stayed up all night, welcomed a brand new day with a stretch that popped several joints.
"Ever since awakening the Life Divine Power, I feel like I haven't had a proper sleep in ages. I just... exist," Ankh muttered, rubbing his neck.
As usual, Ankh gave himself a mental "refresh buff"—using a tiny spark of Life energy to clear the fatigue from his brain—before planning today's schedule.
First: Arrange for Wendy to meet Porlyusica.
With Natsu and Gajeel as bodyguards, his presence wasn't strictly necessary.
Those two idiots were walking natural disasters; nothing would touch Wendy.
Second: Ankh still needed to meet with his agent and business partner, Frey Cureniar.
Since establishing their cooperative relationship, the two had achieved mutual benefits.
Ankh's "idol career" flourished, with fame and wealth growing exponentially each day (much to his occasional embarrassment).
On Frey's end, her influence within the massive Cureniar noble family had significantly increased.
Rumor had it she recently took over an entertainment company managed by her family.
Ankh's visit this time was partly to congratulate her as an acquaintance, while also needing to adjust his own work arrangements.
Most importantly, Ankh needed to ask her for a favor regarding the Magic Council.
Some time had passed since the Council was destroyed by Ultear and the new Council was established.
Since Anselion hadn't seconded Jellal's proposal to deploy the Etherion during the old Council days, and had staged Ultear's "death" with her, his council member status was likely preserved.
Ankh's approach to Frey this time was to test whether the Cureniar family could help Anselion secure a more stable position—or even get promoted to a higher seat.
Politics were just as important as magic.
...
After washing up, Ankh had the maid wake Wendy.
The two had a quiet breakfast together in the dining hall.
Worth mentioning: breakfast was still prepared by Mirajane.
However, the chef herself was missing. Since she "had to go to the guild for work" in the morning, she woke up early and left before Ankh could see her.
Ankh poked his fork into a perfectly cooked egg shaped like a heart.
'She ran away,' Ankh thought with a smirk. 'Shy after last night? Cute.'
Though, eating alone left him feeling a bit lonely.
Knock, knock.
After breakfast, Natsu and Gajeel, both full of energy and fully recovered from the festival, showed up at his doorstep.
"Yo! Ankh! We're here for the kid!" Natsu shouted.
"Keep it down, Salamander," Gajeel grumbled, though he looked equally ready.
"You two," Ankh said, leading Wendy out. "Wendy is a guest. Make sure to take good care of her. Don't stop to fight, don't stop to eat weird things, and don't burn down the forest."
Natsu grinned brightly, giving a thumbs up. "Aye! Leave it to us!"
Gajeel nodded silently, crossing his arms. "Don't worry. No one touches the shrimp's."
For some reason, both of them felt a familiar vibe when they saw Wendy, and her name sounded familiar too, as if they had known her since childhood.
Wendy politely bowed to the two older boys to thank them. "Thank you for escorting me, Natsu-san, Gajeel-san."
"Let's go!"
After saying goodbye, she set off toward the forest on the outskirts of town where Porlyusica lived.
'Hmm... With this, Wendy should be safe,' Ankh thought, watching them leave.
Aside from the times he teased Lucy, Natsu was usually a super warm and caring guy around girls.
And Gajeel was also a reliable person with a tough exterior but a soft heart—though his suspected preference for "flat-chested lolis" (Levy and now Wendy) was a bit concerning...
'Well, there was no helping it.'
Ankh shook his head.
Wendy had come all this way, and they couldn't let anything happen to her on Fairy Tail's turf.
Watching them walk away, Ankh headed toward the city center.
He arrived at the Love Fortune Pavilion.
When this shop first opened, business was incredibly booming due to Ankh's promotion. But now that the initial hype had died down, the foot traffic had decreased significantly.
After all, some people came here to have their love fortunes told, while others were just pure love-struck fools seeking comfort.
Of course, Frey, as the young lady of the wealthy Cureniar family, didn't care about the petty cash—she had opened the shop just to kill time and execute her own plans.
Ankh was escorted by the guards into the private back pavilion, where he found Frey deeply engrossed in reading a stack of letters.
"Good morning, young lady," Ankh greeted Frey casually, bypassing the formalities. "Already hard at work so early?"
He plopped down boldly in the plush seat across from her.
Although there had been misunderstandings between them before, after working together, Ankh found that befriending Frey was quite easy.
Despite being a noblewoman, she was decisive and resolute in her actions, stronger than most men, and she carried none of the arrogance typical of a young lady—much like the good-natured Lucy.
Frey didn't mind Ankh's slight rudeness.
She brushed her short hair back, rubbed her eyes, and smiled wearily.
"It's not really work, just some messy family matters."
As she spoke, Frey handed the documents in her hand to Ankh.
"Take a look. You might find this interesting given your guild members."
Ankh took them, skimmed through a few lines, and couldn't help raising an eyebrow slightly.
"The Heartfilia Conglomerate... collapsed overnight?"
Ankh looked up at Frey in surprise. "Lucy's family?"
Frey propped her chin on her hand, a mocking, cold smile on her face.
"That fool Savalu—my brother. I heard he went to force a marriage proposal because he couldn't wed the young lady of the Heartfilia conglomerate. But Jude Heartfilia, who had seemed willing to marry off his daughter before to gain connections, suddenly changed his mind for some reason and kept firmly refusing."
Frey scoffed. "That idiot brother of mine, whose head is stuffed with greasy nonsense, cried and threw a fit. He convinced our father to use the Cureniar family's influence to take revenge on the Heartfilia conglomerate. They cut off their supply lines and pressured the banks."
Ankh sighed, putting the paper down. "Now I fully understand just how powerful your family is. You crushed a railway tycoon like an ant."
There's always someone better out there, and skies beyond skies.
Ankh used to think the Heartfilia family was impressive, but later he met the even more intimidating Cureniar family.
With a broader perspective, it wasn't hard to see why.
The Heartfilia company had only been built up over a single generation by Jude and Layla.
The original work mentioned that when Jude planned to start his business, Layla had just become pregnant with Lucy.
This means their conglomerate, including the preliminary preparations, has at most less than 20 years of development history.
It was "new money."
Meanwhile, the Cureniar family has been a noble household since the founding of Fiore.
They were the "old money" with deep roots in the government.
Frey observed Ankh's expression carefully. "Do you need me to lend Jude a hand? His daughter, Lucy, is in your guild, isn't she?"
Ankh thought for a moment.
He shook his head.
"Just make sure your brother stops interfering further. Without external threats from your family, Jude's comeback is only a matter of time."
"It's not that I doubt Jude's capabilities."
Frey then brought over another document and handed it to Ankh again, tapping it with her finger.
"Actually, Ankh... I want to use this opportunity to win him over."
"Win him over?"
Ankh took the second paper from Frey.
After reading the financial report attached, he gasped in shock.
"What is this? A company you just took over? It's leaking from all sides!"
Frey nodded calmly. "Yes. I desire more power within the family, but Savalu has been opposing it. Our father gave each of us a business as a test to see who is worthy of the inheritance."
Ankh's tone carried a hint of sarcasm as he looked at the terrible numbers.
"Don't tell me Duke Savalu received an enterprise of this level too? If it's the same... your father is truly stingy."
"No." Frey's eyes flashed with anger. "He took over a business involved in the production and sale of Magic Tools and Potions. I heard it even comes with its own Magic Crystal mine and a dense forest for ingredients."
Frey remained as composed as ever, but her knuckles were white.
"That's why we need more talent. I was given a failing Entertainment Company."
Ankh nearly laughed out loud.
It was a setup.
Not only was Savalu's industry more profitable, but the resources weren't comparable either.
This is a world of Magic, where both ordinary people and Mages rely on Magic tools and potions for daily life and combat. It was an essential industry.
The entertainment industry might earn popularity and fame, but its ability to accumulate wealth is probably average—after all, this isn't Earth where idols are billionaires.
Mages spent money on weapons, not albums.
What's the point of even competing? Ankh thought.
As an ally, Ankh was just a business idiot himself.
It's not like they could just eliminate everyone on Savalu's side physically... right?
"Wait..." Ankh paused, looking at Frey. "What do you mean by... 'we'?"
Ankh suddenly caught on to her phrasing.
Frey smiled slightly.
Like performing a magic trick, she produced a contract from her drawer and slid it across the table.
"I don't just want your advice, Ankh. I want your partnership."
She looked him in the eye.
"I want to co-found this company with you."
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