"Marco, who's this? A new member?" Joy curiously leaned in, sizing up Leo before asking with interest.
"Yes, but he's still under evaluation. I'm taking him to see the guild master first."
Marco answered casually before continuing to lead Leo further inside.
This matter definitely needed to be brought to Grandpa Makarov's attention, especially since it involved "Blue Pegasus."
From Marco's perspective, he didn't see anything wrong with Leo's actions—it was Karen who had gone too far.
Leo had only stood up for his Celestial Spirit companions when he could no longer tolerate the injustice, and he hadn't harmed Karen, merely refusing to cooperate nonviolently.
While Karen's death was somewhat related to Leo, the connection was minimal.
Regardless of how Karen had died, Leo certainly wasn't the direct cause.
However, Marco knew that "Blue Pegasus" might not see it the same way.
If he took Leo into the guild without permission and Blue Pegasus demanded Leo's punishment, it would inevitably strain relations between the two guilds.
Putting himself in their shoes—if Karen had been a member of Fairy Tail and Leo had been sheltered by another guild—Fairy Tail would undoubtedly demand answers too.
"Marco?"
Inside the office, Makarov was momentarily stunned, mainly because he spotted Leo standing behind Marco.
Of course, he recognized Leo—they had met before during the Guild Masters' Regular Meeting, back when Marco had first clashed with Karen.
"Isn't this the Celestial Spirit of Leo? Why is he here?"
Makarov frowned, his face full of confusion.
He still remembered the incident during Karen's evaluation when her "Double Gate Opening" had failed—she had been using the Golden Key of Aries at the time.
Anyone who knew Karen even slightly could guess that the problem must have been with the Leo Celestial Spirit, since Leo was her primary spirit.
Marco glanced at Leo, who seemed completely lost in his own world and unlikely to explain things clearly, so he took the initiative:
"Here's the situation—his contractor, Karen Lilica, is dead."
"Oh, Karen… dead?!" Makarov's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open in utter shock.
The news was completely unexpected—she had been fine just recently, so how could she suddenly be dead?
"When did this happen?"
After the initial shock, Makarov calmed down.
Judging by the Leo Celestial Spirit's demeanor, he could already guess what had happened.
"Just today. Master Bob probably doesn't know yet—no, the entire Blue Pegasus guild likely hasn't heard. It's too recent. It'll probably take them a few days to realize." Marco explained.
Leo would have been the first to know about Karen's death.
For others to notice, they'd need time—at least until Karen had been missing for a while and her tasks remained unfinished before suspicions arose.
"This…"
Makarov couldn't help but click his tongue, especially after learning the cause of the incident.
His view aligned closely with Marco's—the old man also didn't believe Leo was at fault in this matter.
Marco wasn't surprised by the old man's attitude.
His own grandfather was always fair and reasonable—there was no way he'd take Karen's side in this matter.
"The real question is, should we inform Master Bob?" Marco asked the crucial question.
"We definitely should," Makarov paused before speaking.
There was no doubt about this.
Since Karen was already dead, they needed to notify her "family" as soon as possible.
The sooner they knew about her death, the better the chances of recovering her body—assuming it hadn't been completely destroyed.
"And what about Leo here..." Marco glanced at Leo again.
Leo showed no awareness that his fate was being decided, still wearing an expression of deep remorse, as if trapped in his own guilt.
"This isn't his fault. I'll explain everything clearly to Bob." Makarov shook his head, decisively shielding Leo.
It wasn't because of Leo's identity as the Leo Celestial Spirit—had it been anyone else in this situation, Makarov would have done the same.
He was upholding his own sense of justice.
In reality, Leo's status as the Leo Celestial Spirit held no advantage now.
He couldn't even use his Celestial Spirit abilities, and reckless use of magic would only hasten his disappearance.
To put it bluntly, he was practically useless—even worse off than an ordinary healthy person, who would at least outlive him.
"Bob probably hasn't gone far yet. I'll contact him to come back immediately so we can settle this face-to-face and avoid complications later."
Once the decision was made, Makarov acted swiftly.
He took out the communication lacrima—a large, round orb resting on a square base, looking rather cumbersome overall.
This device allowed for long-distance visual communication, though it was troublesome to operate and consumed a significant amount of magic, making it highly inconvenient.
Carrying it alone on a trip was nearly impossible.
Fortunately, this time, Blue Pegasus had mobilized as a group, and they happened to have brought it along, making communication much easier.
Makarov channeled his magic, activating the lacrima.
After a long wait, the lacrima finally responded, displaying Bob's face with deep confusion.
"Makarov?" Bob's voice came through, slightly distorted—perhaps due to poor "magic signal," if such a thing even existed.
Marco silently complained to himself.
This communication lacrima really needed an upgrade.
The lack of competition was the problem—Warren needed to step up his game!
They absolutely had to invent the magic phone!
"Bob, come back immediately. Something very important has happened. Just you alone." Makarov spoke gravely, his face serious as he looked at the large image in the lacrima, with no intention of joking around.
"Understood."
Seeing Makarov's expression, Bob didn't ask further questions.
He gave his reply immediately, and the two cut the connection without further explanation.
This was the tacit understanding built over years—they trusted each other unconditionally.
Watching this, Marco felt a wave of relief.
He was now much more confident that Leo's situation could be resolved properly.
Actually, there wasn't much need to worry.
Judging by the mission description, Leo should have been able to join Fairy Tail without any issues.
The real challenge was helping him return to the Celestial Spirit World - that was straight up a gold-rank mission difficulty.
'It might be even harder - this is a targeted gold-rank mission.'
Marco thought to himself.
Missions specifically targeting a certain constellation were truly rare.
Could it really just be because Leo was the Leo Zodiac Celestial Spirit?
He'd met other Zodiac Celestial Spirits before without any reaction, and he was quite familiar with Lyra too, yet nothing had triggered then.
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