Chapter 605 - 605: Taking Over as Guild Master!

Ankh stared at the First Guild Master frozen within the enormous lacrima.

Black and white divine light alternated through his eyes as he examined Mavis more closely, and the longer he looked, the more familiar the power surrounding her became.

'Death Divine Power?'

No…

It felt closer to Zous's powers of Destruction and Creation.

Ankh's expression gradually became serious.

He remembered what he had felt when he first encountered Zous.

In some respects, Destruction and Creation Divine Power were even more terrifying than his own powers of Death and Life.

And yet traces of that same force had appeared within Mavis—

in the form of a curse.

After showing Ankh Fairy Tail's greatest secret, Makarov led him out of the hidden underground chamber.

Ankh remained lost in thought, but Makarov didn't notice the confusion in his expression. The old man simply continued toward the surface with a rare lightness in his step.

"Now that you're officially the Sixth Guild Master, you can attend this afternoon's meeting with the Magic Council in my place."

Ankh snapped out of his thoughts.

Seeing how much lighter Makarov already looked, he smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll do my best to be a good Guild Master."

Makarov laughed loudly.

"Hahaha! Of course I trust you. I wouldn't have handed Fairy Tail over to you otherwise."

Then he released a long, relieved breath and immediately began imagining his retirement.

"With you running the guild, I can finally stop worrying about everything."

"Once I retire, maybe I'll go bother Yajima, Bob, and Goldmine. Drop by their places whenever I feel like it."

His eyes brightened.

"And if I get bored, I can always help raise your children."

Now that Makarov no longer had a guild to worry about, he immediately redirected all that energy toward meddling in the younger generation's personal lives.

"Speaking of which, you kids take forever when it comes to romance. Back in our day, things moved much faster."

He sighed dramatically.

"Look at Alzack and Bisca. Their daughter is almost old enough to start learning magic, and the rest of you still haven't shown me anything."

It was the kind of marriage-and-children lecture that could give any younger person a headache.

At this point, the old man had apparently given up hope that Laxus would ever provide him with a great-grandchild, so most of his affection had naturally shifted toward Asuka.

That wasn't surprising.

Makarov had always loved raising children.

Fairy Tail's strongest generation had practically grown up under his care, and Asuka especially adored the funny little old man who happened to be almost the same height as she was.

Ankh thought about Elicia and the others.

Judging from his own estimates, Fairy Tail would probably be seeing a wave of newborns within the next year or two anyway.

So he smiled.

"You don't need to worry about that."

"Everyone's progressing much faster than you think."

"Really?"

Makarov responded casually at first.

Then curiosity got the better of him.

"Actually, Ankh…"

He glanced sideways.

"Are you planning to marry both Mirajane and Erza?"

As Guild Master, Makarov had naturally noticed the gradual change in Erza's feelings.

A little casual probing had been enough to make Erza confess almost everything.

Ankh wasn't surprised that Makarov knew.

He hesitated.

"Mm…"

Then added,

"Not just them."

Makarov choked.

After several seconds, he let out an exasperated sigh.

"You're lucky you're strong."

"Otherwise, sooner or later, someone would chop you into minced meat."

"Heh…"

Ankh laughed and smoothly redirected the conversation.

"You're doing pretty well yourself, Master. I heard you and Porlyusica have been enjoying a bit of a second spring lately."

Makarov immediately coughed.

"Keep your voice down!"

He glanced around nervously.

"Don't tell the others."

...

The two of them rarely had the chance to simply talk like this anymore.

For quite a while, they chatted the way they had years ago while Makarov walked Ankh through every responsibility attached to the Guild Master's position.

None of it was particularly difficult for Ankh.

He had been helping Makarov manage Fairy Tail for years already.

Now he was simply taking full responsibility.

There were the guild's various business ventures, the acceptance and distribution of mage requests, ordinary operating expenses, finances, and the endless small problems that came with keeping Fairy Tail functional.

The most troublesome responsibilities, however, involved negotiating and coordinating with the Magic Council and other guilds.

Fairy Tail had to compete for worthwhile commissions and resources where appropriate, while also fulfilling its responsibilities toward public magical security.

Those were the kinds of matters that consumed time and attention endlessly.

Add the approaching war on top of everything else, and it was easy to understand why Makarov had finally admitted he couldn't keep carrying the burden.

Once Ankh had gotten a general grasp of everything, Makarov brought him back to the celebration.

Then, in front of the entire guild, he formally announced the transfer of leadership from the Fifth Master to the Sixth.

The members of Fairy Tail were naturally reluctant to see Makarov step down.

But that sadness quickly transformed into excitement as everyone began celebrating Ankh's promotion.

Before Ankh joined Fairy Tail, the most obvious candidates to someday succeed Makarov had been Laxus, Erza, or Gildarts.

Back then, nobody could guess which one Makarov would eventually choose.

But once Ankh became part of the guild, the question had gradually disappeared.

Even supposed "competitors" like Erza and Laxus, along with carefree idiots like Natsu and Gray, had long understood that Ankh would eventually become Guild Master.

There really wasn't a second choice.

"Congratulations, Ankh!"

Surrounded by Fairy Tail members offering their congratulations, Ankh could clearly see the excitement on every face.

A complicated warmth filled his chest.

'So I really ended up taking the job after all…'

"If Ankh's the Guild Master now, does that mean we can take S-Class jobs whenever we want?!"

Natsu was already rubbing his hands together excitedly, imagining all the benefits Ankh's promotion might bring him.

He looked exactly like a troublesome younger brother whose father had retired and whose big brother had taken over the household, immediately wondering what he could get away with now.

Wendy laughed helplessly.

Carla spread her paws.

"I think he's going to be even stricter with us."

Gray leaned back with both hands behind his head.

"Ankh already managed the guild plenty before this. I doubt much is going to change."

Lucy nodded.

She looked toward Ankh with a little envy.

"It's still amazing, though… Ankh really became the Guild Master."

Happy suddenly scratched his head.

"Speaking of happy occasions, where's Erza?"

Then he covered his mouth and snickered.

"She went home with Mirajane as soon as we got back from Elentear. She looked like Lucy when she gets all juicy too."

"That was sweat, you stupid cat!"

...

While the others descended into their usual chaos, Ankh sat down beside Laxus and clinked glasses with him.

Laxus looked mildly surprised.

"You want me to attend the meeting with you?"

Ankh nodded and took a drink.

"Of course."

"Master treated me as his successor."

He smiled.

"So naturally, I'm treating you as mine."

Laxus frowned.

"That doesn't seem right."

He hesitated.

"You're still young. You could train someone from the next generation instead."

"You're really overthinking this."

Ankh cut him off immediately.

"That doesn't sound like you."

By now, the mature Laxus was more than qualified to become Guild Master.

What he lacked was experience.

That could be fixed.

Once Ankh and Laxus had each served their turns, the world would hopefully have become peaceful enough that Fairy Tail wouldn't necessarily need an overwhelmingly powerful mage as its Guild Master anymore.

At that point, they could choose someone a little weaker in combat but highly capable, approachable, and good at keeping everyone together.

Then the two of them could retire in peace.

Thinking about that distant future, Ankh quietly shifted his gaze.

Not far away, Lucy was laughing and fighting with Natsu, completely unaware of the enormous responsibility that had just begun creeping toward her.

Ankh smiled into his drink.

Miss Heartfilia had absolutely no idea what was coming.