"Now that the biggest problem in the south has already been settled, set the other matters aside for now and hurry to build the southern railway network first."
Looking at Jude, Moen emphasized this matter in particular. For him, the most important thing right now was constructing the southern railway network. The priority of all other matters had to be pushed back. What could be more important than the Gold Saint Cloth?
"Don't worry, little brother Moen. I will definitely start construction in various places as soon as possible! I'll strive to build the southern railway network as soon as possible!"
Jude immediately answered. His expression was very serious. Although he didn't know why Moen was so anxious, since Moen was anxious, he would try to speed up the progress as much as possible.
Now when facing Moen, Jude also showed more respect. After all, with a casual move, Moen had solved his greatest trouble.
He had truly witnessed the prestige of Fairy Tail and the strength of the "Rose Star." This thigh he had clung to was absolutely the right one!
Once Duke Savalu fell, the nobles in the south scattered like monkeys when the tree falls. The remaining few cats and dogs who had originally followed Duke Savalu certainly wouldn't dare stir up trouble again.
Jude knew that the remaining matters no longer required Moen to step forward. As he negotiated his way through, none of those nobles would dare refuse him face anymore. All of them would have to treat him as an honored guest!
Those local tyrant nobles who previously looked down on him now all had to cooperate with him honestly!
"Hiss~"
It had to be said that just thinking about it made Jude feel extremely refreshed. Was this what it felt like to have a powerful backer behind you?
This even made Jude change quite a few route plans overnight. Some routes that had previously been planned rather unreasonably in order to avoid those nobles' industries were now all changed back.
According to the previous agreement, since a portion of the railway's operating profits would be shared with those local tyrant nobles, shouldn't those nobles make some sacrifices? Otherwise, why should they receive a share of the benefits?
In places like Barlunya and Selvilia, several of the routes that had already been completed were all planned very reasonably.
The nobles in those places were extremely cooperative, providing people, labor, and land for the railway construction and all of it for free.
With such wholehearted diligence, giving them a little profit was perfectly reasonable. If not even a bit were given, Jude himself would feel embarrassed, since they had indeed helped quite a lot.
In this southern railway network, Fairy Tail counted as contributing "military strength," the Heartfilia Consortium contributed technology, and the southern nobles, being subdued, had no choice but to contribute land and manpower.
Moen and Jude did things properly. Sharing a little profit with them also meant not taking things for nothing.
Although it was only one percent of the local station's profit, over time, as it kept operating, there would always come a day when they recovered their investment, right?
It was certainly better than ending up like Duke Savalu, who directly ended up arrested.
Speaking honestly, how many people could say their own hands were completely clean? And how many had never hired dark guilds to handle matters? Who wouldn't be afraid of the Magic Council coming to knock on their door?
Of course, not many dared to play as wildly as Duke Savalu did. Moreover, not every noble's territory contained a dark guild.
During this period, at the invitation of the Magic Council, Fairy Tail, Quatro Cerberus, Blue Pegasus, and Lamia Scale rampaged across the south, vigorously purging dark guilds. This also dragged quite a few nobles into the affair.
This made the southern nobles extremely uneasy. Right now they were practically eager to offer pledges of loyalty just to protect themselves.
However, after several careless dark guilds were consecutively wiped out, the operation to eliminate dark guilds had to be halted.
After reacting, those dark guilds had already begun concealing their traces and hiding. Trying to find them now would take far too much time and effort.
Among the major guilds, only Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale were located relatively close to the south. Guilds like Blue Pegasus, which were in the north, couldn't keep most of their members stationed in the south indefinitely.
Therefore this "Southern Dark Guild Crackdown Operation" was never going to last very long. Everyone had come in response to the invitation mainly to go through the motions. After cleaning up some of the blind and overly conspicuous dark guilds, they would naturally leave. It could also be considered giving face to the Magic Council.
The people of the Magic Council could stay longer, but after all they were only a branch. Their manpower was spread across the entire Kingdom of Fiore, so they wouldn't keep concentrating their forces in the south forever. In the end they would only leave behind several "branches of the branch."
This "crackdown period" wouldn't last long. When it passed, these nobles could finally breathe a sigh of relief as well.
"Oh right, little brother Moen, the royal family previously said they wanted to thank you. When do you think you could take some time to go to the royal capital?"
Looking at Moen in front of him—young yet already famous throughout the continent of Ishgar—Jude suddenly remembered something.
People from the royal family had previously approached him, saying they wished to meet Moen. After all, this time Moen had not only solved his trouble but had also helped the royal family. The royal family, who had essentially won while lying down, had gained quite a lot of benefits. They had finally managed to insert their hands into the once iron-solid south.
"The royal family…"
Moen thought about it for a moment. In truth, he was not very interested in this matter.
As mages, they really did not have much involvement with the royal family. The royal family and government of the Kingdom of Fiore indeed had very little sense of presence in the daily lives of mages like them.
After all, even if something happened or some crime was committed, it would be the Magic Council that handled them. The royal family and government of Fiore had no direct jurisdiction over mages, and even if they wanted to manage them, they had no ability to do so.
Although the Kingdom of Fiore and the royal family both had knight orders and had recruited quite a few mages, if the Kingdom of Fiore were regarded as a mage guild, their strength truly would not rank very highly.
Under such circumstances, they naturally could not command or govern the various mage guilds, and the Magic Council would not allow them to seize power either. They only needed to properly manage secular affairs.
"There's no harm in going to take a look. This time you can be considered to have helped them a great deal. Presumably they will also prepare quite a lot of gifts of thanks for you."
Seeing that Moen did not seem very eager to interact with the royal family, Jude spoke up. He felt that building a good relationship with the royal family would always have some benefits. Moreover, since the royal family had taken over Duke Savalu's territory, they would inevitably have to cooperate.
"That could work."
Moen nodded. At first he had simply found it troublesome. Moreover, the royal family had always strongly supported railway development, and he did not think they would obstruct the construction of the southern railway network. That was why he felt there was no need to meet them, as he did not want to create unnecessary complications.
But since they insisted on inviting him, Moen had no reason to show timidity. Taking some time to make the trip and see what kind of people the royal family of the Kingdom of Fiore were could also be considered an interesting matter.
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