**Chapter 19: Well Done**
"Hah!"
Makarov shouted softly, stomped his foot, and performed several front flips.
*Bang!* His head slammed into the second-floor railing.
He shakily grabbed the railing and stood atop it.
He took out a stack of documents, his face looking grim. "You've caused trouble for me again, haven't you! Take a good look at how many complaints the Magic Council has sent."
"First... Gray."
"Huh?" Gray looked tough, clearly feeling he had done nothing wrong.
"'Up until capturing the smuggling ring, it was fine, but why did you wander the streets naked afterward?'"
"'Finally, you stole someone's underwear drying outside and ran away!'"
Gray was extremely embarrassed to hear this had been discovered. "No... well, being naked isn't good."
"Then don't get naked," Elfman retorted from the side.
Makarov glanced at Elfman and sighed. "Elfman! You actually used violence against the person you were supposed to protect during your mission."
"Because a man has to look at credentials..."
"Cana Alberona. You falsified expenses to drink fifteen barrels of alcohol at a tavern, then tried to claim it from the Council."
"It was discovered..."
"Loke. You hit on Councillor Reiji's granddaughter. A certain talent agency is also demanding compensation for damages."
"Next is Natsu... You destroyed the Devin Bandit family, but you destroyed seven private homes in the process."
"You knocked over the historic clock tower in Tulayla Village."
"You burned down the entire Freesia Church."
"You destroyed a part of Lupinus City."
"The Nallina Canyon Observation Station also had to stop operations due to a collapse."
"Alzack, Levy, Droy, Jet, Warren, Bisca..."
"You lot... Do you want me to get scolded by the Council forever?"
"..." The guild fell silent.
"No... tell those Council members to go eat shit."
*Fwoosh!*
The documents in Makarov's hand all burst into flames.
"Eh?" Lucy didn't expect the Master to do that.
Makarov threw the burning documents down, and Natsu jumped up to catch the fire in his mouth.
"Listen well. All power that surpasses common sense is born from common sense. Magic is not a miraculous power. It is the connection between the 'spirit' within us and the 'spirit' flowing through nature."
"Magic is the result of spirit and concentration—no, it is the result of injecting your entire soul."
"If you worry about what the people above think, your magic will never improve."
"Don't fear those fools from the Council. Move forward on the path you believe in!!"
"That is a Fairy Tail Mage!!"
"Ohhhhhhh!!!"
Hearing the Master's speech, everyone in the guild cheered, smiles returning to their faces.
After the speech, everyone in the guild began to clean up the smashed items.
"Brat, come here!" Master Makarov gave Ren a look.
Ren walked to Master Makarov's side and began to report on this mission.
This mission wasn't one Ren had picked himself; the Master had assigned it to him.
Because some people from the guild had gone missing after accepting a mission, Ren was sent to investigate.
Disappearances were actually not uncommon for a Mage Guild. The reason was simple: despite the lively atmosphere of the Mage Guild, being a guild mage was actually a very dangerous job. One slip-up, and you might not see the sun tomorrow.
That was why most mages in the guild lived in a state of *carpe diem*, enjoying life while they were still alive.
To ensure mission success and protect the safety of guild members, the Master would review every mission before someone took it.
He would determine the difficulty of the mission and whether the mage accepting it could complete it. Only if he felt they could, or were just about ready to challenge it, would the Master allow the mage to take the mission.
But the future is unknowable, and there are always countless variables.
The Master could only judge based on his many years of experience.
There were always times when accidents happened. When an accident occurred, the Master would raise the danger level of that mission.
If it really couldn't be completed, the mission might be transferred to another guild.
The mission Ren took was one the Master had taken over from another guild. Several teams of mages had died for this mission.
Even a formal Mage Guild had been wiped out. Ordinary small guilds avoided such dangerous missions like the plague.
If a formal Mage Guild had been wiped out, intervening might mean getting wiped out too.
But this matter needed to be resolved, otherwise, the face of formal guilds would be lost entirely.
However, who knew if it would affect the guild? As the strongest Master of the regional guild alliance, Makarov naturally took on this troublesome matter.
Gildarts had gone on a 100-Year Quest three years ago and hadn't returned yet, so no one knew if he had succeeded or failed.
Therefore, this matter could only be entrusted to Ren, the strongest mage currently in Fairy Tail, for Makarov to feel at ease.
This mission was indeed not simple. It involved over twenty Dark Guilds—a medium-to-large Dark Guild Alliance.
It took Ren three months to wipe all these guilds off the continent.
"Well done!"