'Pat'

Marco patted Makarov's shoulder.

"What is it, Marco? I don't have time to play with you."

Makarov, who was carefully selecting magazines, spoke without turning his head.

"I have something very important to talk." Marco said helplessly.

Who would have thought that this lecherous old man meticulously picking out porn magazines at the stall was actually the guild master of Fairy Tail and one of the Ten Wizard Saints?

"This one it is!"

Makarov picked up a magazine and placed the money down.

"What's the matter? Should we talk back at the guild?"

After paying, Makarov turned to Marco, his expression suddenly turn serious, as if he were a completely different person from before.

"Let's talk back at the guild." Marco nodded.

He was already accustomed to Makarov's rapid character switches.

This was the serious guild master persona, though it could switch back to the unserious version at any moment.

Sure enough, as soon as Marco mentioned discussing it back at the guild, the old man immediately slumped back into his usual demeanor, giggling as he flipped through his magazine.

"..."

Marco smiled wryly.

He couldn't understand what was so appealing about these magazines—they weren't exciting at all, far less exciting than the 'hentai' he knew.

These porn magazines were still too tame and a bit wholesome.

*****

The grandfather and grandson soon returned to the guild hall.

Once in the guild master's office, Makarov set aside his magazine and looked at Marco seriously, waiting for him to speak.

"Here's the situation."

Marco began explaining the collaboration with the Heartfilia Conglomerate.

"That sounds like a good thing."

After hearing Marco out, Makarov nodded.

Expanding the southern railway market was, at its core, beneficial for the Heartfilia Conglomerate's business, but it was also genuinely advantageous for the country and its people.

If the southern railway lines could be fully operational, it would bring great convenience to everyone.

"So, should we work with them?" Marco looked at Makarov.

Though he personally supported the idea, the final decision rested with Makarov.

After all, about 70% of Fairy Tail's influence came from him.

"What kind of person do you think Jude is?"

Instead of answering, Makarov posed a question.

"Jude... a successful businessman. Sharp, with good vision and capability—otherwise, he wouldn't have built such an empire."

Marco shared his impression of Jude.

His understanding of the man wasn't deep, so his assessment was based solely on their recent meeting.

"Is he trustworthy in character?"

Makarov didn't doubt Jude's abilities—he had heard of the Heartfilia Conglomerate's rising fame in recent years.

What concerned him was Jude's personal integrity.

"At the very least, he seems like a reliable businessman." Marco gave an objective evaluation.

The implication was clear: while Jude's private morals were hard to judge, in matters involving mutual interests, he appeared honorable.

The initial profit share he offered wasn't low, after all.

Jude couldn't have failed to anticipate negotiations for a higher cut, meaning he was prepared to concede more.

Though there was always the gamble that Fairy Tail might accept the first offer outright, such tactics were standard for businessmen.

"You've already laid out the harsh truth upfront. If he still dares to engage in shady dealings, what do you plan to do?"

Makorov remained calm as he posed the question.

"That depends on what he does. If lives are lost, then he'll pay with his own. If it's just embezzlement or similar crimes, at worst we'll strip him of his position. He'll return every penny he took, keeping just enough to live comfortably as a wealthy man."

Marco narrowed his eyes, his words laced with cold.

If Jude dared to commit murder under the banner of Fairy Tail, he'd better be prepared to pay with his life—that was the bottom line.

For lesser offenses, Marco would still leave him some dignity, ensuring the punishment wasn't too severe.

"Indeed, we must never compromise our principles for money."

Makorov nodded.

If this were any other business venture, he wouldn't even bother.

They didn't need excessive wealth—Fairy Tail's earnings were more than sufficient.

There was no need to expand into too many side ventures.

The only reason he was considering this collaboration was because it involved railways—a project of great public benefit.

"I'll leave this matter in your hands."

After a moment of contemplation, Makorov gave his approval to Marco.

This would also serve as a test.

Since Marco had cultivated this connection himself, it was time to see if he could handle it properly.

As the guild master, Makorov had to consider every angle.

Right now, if Marco made mistakes, he could still shield him.

But in the future, when he was no longer around to shelter them, the younger generation like Marco would have to resolve such matters on their own.

"Understood. I'll keep a close eye on this."

Marco nodded earnestly, feeling invigorated.

Their goal was the entire southern railway network of the kingdom.

Profit was just a bonus—successfully completing this would be a tremendous achievement and the sense of accomplishment would be immense.

He could also sense Makorov's trust in delegating this responsibility.

Being taken to the regular guild masters' meeting last time had been another signal—Makarov was genuinely preparing him as a potential successor, even though he was only thirteen this year.

'Laxus, even if you became an S-Class Mage, it won't matter—because I've already gained the gramps favor! Hehehehe!'

Marco chuckled darkly to himself.

Marco summoned a large crow, tied the prepared letter to its leg and sent it flying toward the Heartfilia conglomerate headquarters.

"Communication is so inconvenient. Why hasn't anyone invented mobile phones yet? Is this really all magic can do?!"

After releasing the crow, Marco grumbled.

Come to think of it, there was actually an invention-loving member in their guild.

Scanning the guild hall, Marco quickly spotted the person—Warren Rocko, with his black hair, thick lips, and utterly ordinary appearance.

But Warren's abilities were nothing to scoff at.

His magic was telepathy magic, allowing him to read opponents' thoughts during battle and establish a "party voice chat" among allies with impressive range—extremely versatile functionality.

Moreover, Warren was exceptionally bright.

His mind operated like a "multi-core processor," far surpassing the single-celled organisms in the guild, making him an indispensable member for the guild's operations.

"Warren, any progress on that idea I mentioned earlier?" Marco found Warren and asked directly.

"Huh? Sorry, Marco, no progress yet." Warren blinked, scratching his head in response.

The task Marco had given him was too difficult to realize and he still had no leads.

"Keep at it! Warren, I believe in you!" Marco patted Warren's shoulder encouragingly.

It was indeed asking too much—Warren was only sixteen, after all.

Based on Warren's telepathy magic, Marco had reasonably proposed the concept of a "cell phone"—a tool for long-distance communication, which could be seen as an extension of telepathy magic.

Unfortunately, such a feat wasn't so easily achieved.

With Warren's current magical expertise, it was simply beyond his reach.

Marco had also considered making cell phone himself.

He vaguely remembered the core principle—converting sound vibrations into electrical signals for transmission before reverting them back to sound—but that was all he recalled.

When it came to actual implementation, he was clueless.

In this world with its bizarrely uneven technological development, his half-baked scientific knowledge was hardly enough to change anything.

He only grasped the basic principles of many things, with no real idea how to put them into practice.

This was, in fact, the reality for most ordinary people.

They could talk a big game, acting as if they could easily handle it, but unless they were professionals in a given field, they'd be lost when actually trying to do it.

"Different trades require different skills" wasn't just an empty saying—even within the same industry, someone who worked in theory would be stumped if thrown into hands-on work.

Eventually, Marco realized that in this world, achieving the same functionality through magic was far more realistic than building a scientific system from scratch.

Thus, Warren Rocko, who had loved studying magical tools since childhood, became Marco's primary target for torment.

Marco continuously fed Warren his various "novel ideas," hoping they might bear fruit someday.

As for researching it himself, Marco had considered it, but since he couldn't use other types of magic, the most he could do was study the theory.

The actual implementation had to be left to the professionals.

"Seriously, they've already developed communication crystal balls that can make video calls, yet there's no more convenient cell phone..." Marco grumbled, making William shake his head.

"The principles are completely different—they're not even the same magic system. Plus, communication crystal balls are bulky and heavy, clearly not meeting your requirements." Warren, being the expert, explained it logically.

"Communication crystal balls" weren't portable and were usually fixed in place, serving more like landline video phones.

"Can't you just shrink it down? Is it really that difficult?" Marco asked curiously, "If we could just shrink the 'communication crystal ball,' it would turn into a video phone. Or we could simply extract the voice transmission part!"

"It's impossible. They're not the same magic system," replied Warren with a helpless shake of his head.

It wasn't even the same concept.

There was no helping it—Marco always thought in terms of technology.

But in reality, the "communication crystal ball," which could both transmit video and sound, was entirely different magic from pure voice transmission.

There was no possibility of stripping away the video function of the "communication crystal ball" and then shrinking its size—this had already been thoroughly researched by everyone.

Magic truly was something both convenient and inconvenient.

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Communication crystal ball = Communication Lacrima

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