Marco had his reasons for making this decision; he wasn't just making arrangements casually.
Leon's group was quite strong.
Leaving them here as bodyguards would not only fend off troublemakers who overestimated their own abilities but also help Bobo and the others get more accustomed to interacting with humans.
This solution killed multiple birds with one stone.
"This..."
Hearing Marco say this, Bobo and the others couldn't really say anything more.
After all, this arrangement was indeed beneficial for them.
Once three years passed, the hype surrounding their situation would likely have died down, and they would no longer need someone to guard them.
"I can also see if there are any promising candidates among you. If there's a suitable person, they can return with me to Fairy Tail to study."
Marco had a good impression of these simple demons, so he didn't mind offering them more help.
Besides, recruiting a demon into Fairy Tail sounded cool and would probably make life in the guild more interesting.
"Is that really okay?!"
Marco's proposal immediately excited the demon villagers.
Bobo's eyes widened as he repeatedly sought confirmation from Marco.
"Of course. Logically, you should have decent magical talent. Those wings of yours don't look like they could lift your bodies to fly. You must be relying on magic power."
Marco pointed at the black, bat-like wings on Bobo's back.
They looked rather fragile; scientifically speaking, it was impossible for them to lift someone of Bobo's height and weight.
"This... is our instinct..." Bobo was taken aback.
They had thought their only ability that could be called magic was transforming into humans, but on second thought, this ability to fly also seemed to be magic.
"Hmm, let's test everyone one by one later," Marco nodded and instructed.
He was serious about selecting one of these demons to bring back to Fairy Tail.
"No problem!" Bobo replied excitedly, then led everyone into the village.
This large, circular village, enclosed by high walls, was quite spacious.
The demon villagers spent most of their lives within it; only hunting and fishing parties would venture out.
They were basically self-sufficient.
The village chief first arranged accommodations for everyone, then immediately organized the villagers to line up and be tested by Marco, one by one, to see which lucky person would get to go to Fairy Tail with him.
The children were at the front of the line, arranged from youngest to oldest.
Naturally, they hoped a young person would be chosen.
"Don't bring the ones who are too young. They should be at least seven or eight. I'm not responsible for babysitting. They need to be able to take care of themselves, at the very least."
Seeing a demon villager approach with an infant in their arms, Marco's face darkened.
"Hehe~"
The burly demon holding the child gave a simple-minded laugh, scratching his head in embarrassment before quickly retreating back into the crowd with his child.
Since Marco had spoken, they were naturally unwilling to go against his wishes.
"The child is simply too young; it's hard to test them. If they don't exhibit magical talent on their own, we'll have to wait until they're older to try," Marco explained with a smile to the surrounding villagers, who looked slightly disappointed.
It wasn't that he found it troublesome and was deliberately refusing to test them.
The main reason was that his testing method was rather special, and a young child's body was too fragile; they couldn't even fly.
Not many people displayed magical talent from birth, and it wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Being too young with a fragile body could even carry the risk of premature death.
In reality, those with the means to learn magic wouldn't start too early either.
Most began their studies around six or seven, or even older.
It wasn't uncommon for someone to only show magical talent in their teens.
Take Mirajane, for example; she was twelve or thirteen when she awakened her magic, and that didn't stop her from reaching S-Class in strength.
"We understand. Thank you."
Marco's explanation brought a wave of realization to the demon villagers.
They all thanked him sincerely.
Marco was truly patient and friendly toward them, which made them respect him even more.
Marco paid it no mind and began testing their magical talent one by one.
His method was simple and crude: he had the demon villagers fly, even if it was just to hover in front of him.
Then, Marco could use his "All-Seeing Eye" to observe the flow of their magic power and the vitality of their magic power source.
Having donned the Aries Gold Cloth, Marco extended his hands and held them together in front of him, forming a shape similar to a triangle.
Magic power surged in his eyes, instantly penetrating the demon villagers' bodies, allowing him to clearly see the network of magic power flowing within them and the active state of their magic power source.
The eyesight passed down through the Jamir clan of "Aries" was stronger than that of other Saints.
It could even penetrate deep into a Cloth; seeing through a human body was a trivial matter, a basic operation.
Everyone in the world of Earth Land possessed magic power; the only difference was how much they could control and whether they could actively mobilize it.
The fact that these demons could fly with those wings meant they at least had the ability to mobilize magic power, possessing the foundation to become Mages.
The vitality of their magic power source and the ease with which they mobilized their magic power represented their most basic talent.
In a sense, flying fast, high, and smoothly meant they were talented.
There was nothing wrong with that logic.
Soon, Marco had scanned all the age-appropriate demon villagers and reached a conclusion: their magical talent was generally average.
They really were a bit "un-demonic."
Marco grumbled internally.
If they continued to develop like this, these guys might actually turn into humans eventually.
Of course, looking at it from another angle, it was actually quite monstrous.
All these demon villagers had magical talent, which was basically the same as every human being able to become a Mage.
Even a weak Mage was stronger than an ordinary person.
"Let's go with this child."
Looking at the children nervously awaiting his verdict, Marco pointed to a demon girl of about eleven years old.
At least this child was not that bad looking.
She had purple skin and a pair of long horns on her head.
Her demon form was somewhat reminiscent of a certain famous "demon hunter."
"Lilian! You've been chosen! Quickly, thank Marco-san!"
Amidst the joyful blessings of the crowd, the demon girl Lilian, who had been nervously wringing her hands, stepped forward and gave Marco a solemn bow.
"Thank you, Marco-sama!" Lilian said, her voice trembling slightly.
She was clearly very nervous and hadn't expected to be the one chosen.
"No need for that. From now on, we'll be guildmates." Marco smiled and shook his head, then instructed her.
"Pack your things and get ready. You'll be heading back with us tomorrow."
With matters here settled and all arrangements made, they planned to leave tomorrow after attending the banquet.
"Yes! We'll go pack right away!"
The demon villagers excitedly surrounded the nervous demon girl and led her away.
Although the children who weren't chosen were a little disappointed, they all offered their blessings to Lilian.
It was clear that they had a very good relationship with one another.
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