Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 305: There is a Traitor in the Council

The atmosphere at the luncheon banquet was cheerful and pleasant. Everyone chatted and laughed with ease, well, everyone except Jenny, who sat quietly, her mood clearly not matching the occasion.

After a short break, the first session of the regular guild leaders' meeting officially began.

Presiding over the meeting this time was Seruko, Master of the guild Titan Nose.

He was a rather unique-looking man: short and round-bodied, with stubby oval limbs and a large, comically round nose that dominated his face. He looked less like a person and more like a living, oversized doll.

Rhodes had asked Master Makarov about him once and learned that Seruko's unusual appearance came from his use of Ball Magic.

Strange as it looked, Ball Magic was no joke, Seruko was an undeniably powerful wizard.

"There really are all kinds of bizarre magic out there..." Rhodes murmured to himself.

Still, unless it granted instant invincibility, he had no plans to learn something that would make him look like a bouncing mascot.

The meeting opened with a solemn tone.

"First of all," Seruko began, bowing his head slightly, "I owe you all an apology. Years ago, I expelled a man named Bora from my guild. I didn't expect that he would later fall so far, turning to slavery and committing such heinous crimes."

A murmur rippled through the room. Seruko continued, his voice filled with regret.

"This is entirely my failure. I should have ensured he was tracked and brought to justice much earlier. I want to thank Fairy Tail, if they hadn't captured Bora when they did, who knows how many innocent girls might have suffered?"

Bora, as Rhodes knew, was the imposter who had pretended to be the "Salamander" in Hargeon just a few days ago.

Natsu and Lucy had been the ones to stop him, though in the process, they'd accidentally wrecked half the port.

In light of that, Master Seruko had even written a letter to the Magic Council to plead on Natsu's behalf. That gesture had likely helped keep Natsu out of hot water.

Makarov chuckled and waved off the thanks, but the deepening wrinkles at the corners of his eyes revealed how proud he truly was.

The other guild masters cast warm, approving looks in his direction.

Fairy Tail, for all its chaos, really was a guild that came through when it mattered. They had a knack for solving other people's problems, even if they sometimes created new ones in the process.

Still, it was progress. And it was their kind of progress.

Rhodes felt a swell of pride. Complimenting Fairy Tail meant complimenting every member in it, including himself.

With that, the meeting formally moved into its first major agenda item: the dark guild Grimoire Heart.

"It's been over two months since Mr. Rhodes first brought us intelligence on Grimoire Heart," one of the guild masters announced. "Since then, the Council has conducted multiple operations to locate and apprehend them. But every attempt has come up empty."

He let that settle for a moment before continuing, frustration in his voice.

"Truth is, the Council's teams haven't even caught a glimpse of them. It's as if Grimoire Heart knows exactly where we'll strike, vanishing without a trace each time. And now, they've completely disappeared from our radar."

He paused grimly.

"There's growing concern that the Council itself—specifically, the Magical Detention Unit may have been infiltrated by spies from a dark guild."

A hush fell over the room.

"I propose that we, the guild masters, formally request a full internal investigation by the Council. We need to expose the traitor leaking sensitive intel before it's too late."

Rhodes felt a nervous chill run down his spine.

'Wait a second... they're not going to catch a spy from our guild by accident, are they...?'

Of course, what made the situation even more complicated... was that Mest himself didn't even realize he was a spy.

The discussion among the guild masters continued.

That the Magic Council, an institution tasked with upholding order and stability across the magical world could be infiltrated by a dark guild, it was a serious and humiliating failure.

There was talk of demanding public apologies from the current council members. Some even suggested that one or two of them should step down to take responsibility.

But everyone knew that would only be for show.

The real question was: Is the current Council even capable of investigating itself and restoring full operational control?

The answer wasn't so simple.

As powerful as the group gathered here was, their influence was limited, they only represented the Fiore Local Guild Alliance.

There were countless other guild coalitions across the continent. Any large-scale reform or Council restructuring would require coordination with other alliances, and that was no easy feat.

For now, the only real hope lay in the Council's own ability to root out the traitor.

Still, everyone unanimously supported Master Seruko's proposal.

Seruko would draft a formal letter tonight, and each guild master present would sign it, urging the Council to begin an internal investigation immediately.

Then, the topic shifted.

"While Grimoire Heart, one of the three pillars of the Balam Alliance has seemingly vanished," Seruko said gravely, "another group, the Oración Seis, has been showing signs of increased activity."

"We've received reports suggesting that even the core members of the Oración Seis themselves are beginning to act. The details are still under investigation, but their presence alone is a serious concern."

He paused, then continued with a note of urgency.

"One branch in particular, the dark guild Eisenwald has been spotted operating in this area. It's clear they're preparing something, and it's unlikely to be anything good."

Rhodes narrowed his eyes. He had heard the name Eisenwald before.

Most notably, one of its members, Erigor.

Back when Eisenwald had still been a legal guild, Erigor was one of their strongest. An S-Class wizard and the former ace of the guild. But after their guild master was arrested, Erigor had gathered the remnants and aligned with the Balam Alliance.

A dark mage known for taking only assassination contracts, Erigor wielded a massive scythe and was feared for never failing a job.

He was known in the underground as the Reaper.

Definitely someone dangerous.

Naturally, the issue of Eisenwald would be escalated to the Council and flagged as a high-difficulty mission.

If the message was sent to the Council tonight, they'd likely receive a response the day after tomorrow.

The method of distributing the mission would depend on the Council's final classification.

If the Eisenwald operation was designated as an S-Class request, it would be sent out to all major guilds simultaneously. Whoever completed the mission first would receive the reward and recognition.

If it was ranked below S-Class, then the task would be assigned by lottery, like before.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the Magic Council might decide to handle it themselves—after all, they were in desperate need of a win to restore some of their battered reputation.

Rhodes quietly opened his notebook and jotted down today's key points.

He recalled Master Makarov mentioning there was something important he wanted him to hear, perhaps this was it. The increasing unrest caused by dark guilds like Eisenwald and the Oración Seis certainly felt urgent enough.

Master Seruko checked the time and frowned. It was already late in the evening. Starting the next agenda item now would drag the meeting deep into the night, and frankly, he wasn't a fan of overtime.

"Let's wrap up here for today," he said, tapping his papers. "We'll resume with the remaining topics tomorrow."

Rhodes snapped his notebook shut and turned to gently nudge Master Makarov awake.

Makarov, ever the seasoned veteran of long, boring meetings, didn't jump or panic when woken. Instead, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his face taking on a wise, contemplative look—as if pondering the deep matters discussed that day.

Of course, that was all for show.

Anyone paying even a sliver of attention would've seen the snot bubble rising and falling from his nose since the fifth minute of the meeting.

Jenny was one of those people who'd noticed.

And now, comparing the dozing guild master with the calm, focused Rhodes, who had taken detailed notes and even offered the occasional insight, she couldn't help but wonder...

'Wait... who's really the one in charge at Fairy Tail?'

Later that night, at the dinner banquet, Makarov well-rested from his long afternoon nap, was brimming with energy.

The old man drank heartily, danced bizarrely in front of his fellow guild masters, and proudly bragged about Fairy Tail's newest member, Lucy.

Unfortunately, the content of his bragging was entirely inappropriate.

Rhodes, watching helplessly from the side, had to resist the urge to physically restrain his guild master.

'Just once,' he thought. 'Just once, let me punch him.'