The teor shower that supposedly symbolized good luck clearly did little to restore the old man's spirits.
Makarov paid no attention to the beautiful sight in the distance. Instead, he rubbed his hands together and leaned in with a fawning look, testing the waters.
"So, uh… Shane, do you think we could discuss sothing?"
"What is it?"
Shane imdiately shot him a wary glance.
That tone sounded exactly like those drunk old n in taverns trying to skip out on their bill.
"Well…"
Makarov gave two dry chuckles, his eyes wandering everywhere except Shane's face.
"I an… I did say earlier that all the compensation afterward would be on …"
"But look, you were the one who destroyed the venue, and it's not like I told you to tear it down that completely…"
"So about the damages, maybe we could—"
"No."
Shane cut him off without hesitation.
"No way. Don't even think about it."
He had finally figured it out.
So that was why the old man had been sulking this whole ti like his soul had left his body—he was grieving for his private stash of money.
Shane rembered very clearly how miserable his own life had been when he was working himself to the bone day and night to pay back that "ten-million debt" to the guild.
Sure, now that he had connected with Nuss and started earning steady money from auctioning magic weapons, things were much better.
But after finally getting a chance like this, there was no way he wasn't going to let Makarov experience the hollow emptiness of having his wallet completely gutted.
This was called "loving education."
"…" Makarov opened his mouth, and the wrinkles on his face twisted together in pain.
Once words were spoken, they were like water thrown out—you couldn't gather them back up. Especially since he had made that promise while thumping his chest in front of all those guild masters. If he took it back now, his old face really would have nowhere to hide.
"Hmph, hmph."
Watching the old man on the verge of tears, Shane felt an imnse sense of satisfaction and nodded happily.
Still, teasing was teasing. Going too far wasn't wise.
If he really drove the guild master into a breakdown and made him throw in the towel for good, the one stuck with the ss in the end would still be Shane.
"By the way, Master."
Shane abruptly changed the subject and brought up sothing he knew Makarov would definitely care about.
"You've already t Gray's teacher, right?"
The effect was imdiate.
The second he heard that, the little old man's eyes lit up.
"Oh, oh! You an her!"
Makarov stroked his beard, and all the gloom on his face vanished, replaced by the kind of excitent only an old man with dubious hobbies could radiate.
"That really is one bold and powerful ice mage! I'd heard of 'Ur' from the northern continent a long ti ago. I thought she had fallen years ago fighting Deliora…"
He paused, his tone briefly tinged with genuine emotion—then the whole mood veered sharply off-course.
"I never imagined she'd not only still be alive, but co back even stronger after recovering from her injuries. And she's maintained her figure remarkably well too!"
"…" Shane rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Makarov had rambled on and on, but Shane would bet his life the old pervert's real focus had only ever been that last sentence.
Given that Gray's habit of randomly stripping apparently ca from Ur, it wasn't hard to imagine just how unrestrained and shaless the woman herself usually was.
Next ti Ultear ca back, Shane was definitely going to make her say sothing about it.
This couldn't be allowed to continue. Ur was an elder, after all. Soone had to rein in that bad habit.
Shaking off the useless tangent, Shane glanced at Makarov, who was still stroking his beard and savoring the mory, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Old lecher.
He cursed inwardly, but outwardly he put on a self-satisfied expression.
"So? Ur definitely has S-Class strength, right?"
"I managed to bring in a mage that strong for the guild. Master, shouldn't I get so kind of reward?"
"…What exactly are you trying to pull?"
Now it was Makarov's turn to get wary.
He had developed a mild stress response where Shane was concerned. The boy fighting a Wizard Saint alone was already ridiculous enough—he was worried Shane was about to pull so even bigger stunt.
Still, he had to admit that even though the brat was always causing trouble, he sohow always kept things within a recoverable range. That made it all the more irritating.
"So you're admitting I've made a contribution, then?"
Seeing that the old man hadn't rejected him outright, Shane's eyes lit up and he pressed the advantage.
Ur was a genuine S-Class-level mage. Even without acting yet, her past deeds and reputation had already spread across the continent. Bringing soone like that into Fairy Tail absolutely strengthened the guild's foundation.
Makarov couldn't deny that Shane had done sothing very useful.
"Enough with the circling around."
The old man waved him off irritably.
"If it's sothing I can agree to, do you really think I'd deliberately make things hard for you?"
As Goldmine had said, when it ca to one of his own kids, what else was there to do besides indulge them?
"Hehe."
Shane flashed a grin. At last, the knife ca out.
"This year's S-Class exam site—Master, you haven't decided on it yet, right?"
"It's only July. The year-end exam is still far off, so of course I haven't," Makarov answered honestly.
"Then can you leave this year's exam location entirely to ?"
Shane pressed on while the iron was hot.
"I'm one of only two S-Class mages in the guild now. By the rules, I'm supposed to participate as an examiner anyway. Wanting a little decision-making power isn't too much, is it?"
"That itself isn't really a problem…"
Makarov hesitated.
Having current S-Class mages help plan the exam was guild tradition. There was nothing improper about that.
"The real question is, where exactly are you planning to hold it?"
"Heh, classified!"
Shane grinned mysteriously and put on a deliberately secretive look.
"When the ti cos, I'll give you a surprise. It'll be a place you've never heard of and never seen before. Master, trust —you'll definitely be shocked!"
"…" The more excited Shane looked, the worse Makarov's feeling got.
"Hey, I'm telling you… as long as the mbers' safety—"
"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing!"
To emphasize the point, Shane suddenly pressed down with his dragon wings and flew a perfect figure-eight in the sky before steadying himself again.
"When have I ever let you down?"
"…Fine!"
Makarov finally gave in with a sigh.
But looking at Shane's smug "trust , I've got this" face, the unease in Makarov's chest only grew stronger.
Especially once Ur entered the picture.
She absolutely had genuine S-Class strength, but by guild procedure, she was still technically a brand-new recruit and hadn't yet received an official guild ranking.
If she happened to get curious—or if Shane talked her into it for fun—and decided to sign up as a "newcor" for this year's S-Class exam…
Makarov shuddered in the middle of the sky.
Just imagining it was exhausting.
First there was Shane, the chief examiner, who loved setting traps. Then there was Ur, who might stroll in as a "candidate" and casually massacre the field.
"Ah… poor Laxus. And poor Erza…"
The little old man shrank into himself and pictured his grandson's arrogant face, along with Erza's stern, serious one.
Those two had already failed once because they'd run headfirst into a freak like Shane.
And now? Now the situation was even more hopeless.
Shane digging pitfalls in front, Ur blocking the road behind.
"This year's S-Class exam is probably going to beco the most brutal 'hell trial' in Fairy Tail history."
Silently, Makarov drew a little cross in his heart for the guild's younger generation.
Good luck, brats.
…
Now that the matter was settled, Shane happily looked away again.
The reason he had gone to such lengths to demand "exam planning rights" wasn't a whim at all.
He simply didn't want to waste Assassin's vision world, which had only just appeared.
That "Foggy London" in the era of the Industrial Revolution, unlike other eras, wasn't packed with uncontrollable legends and gods.
Its magical density was relatively low, and that certain fellow from Assassin… was just a mortal.
In terms of both power level and environnt, it was completely manageable.
With his own strength, plus Makarov's and Gildarts's, they should be able to keep the guild mbers under control without issue.
It was the perfect place to test his idea of using Heroic Spirit visions as a kind of special "Reality Marble" against enemies.
He still wondered what Assassin's Noble Phantasm actually was.
Having settled his plans, Shane's mood brightened considerably.
"Master, hold on tight! I guarantee I'll get you ho before dawn!"
~~~
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