"Don't worry."
Ryoma's voice was not loud, but it instantly soothed Makarov's anxiety.
He looked at the overly calm young man in front of him and for a moment didn't know what to say.
Just then, everyone in the guild hall noticed the commotion.
"Hey!"
Natsu excitedly rushed over.
"Damn Ryoma!"
He grabbed onto the corridor wall, poked half his body in, and yelled at Ryoma.
"Did you sneak off to do it?!"
"And you didn't even take me with you!"
His tone was full of annoyance at not being able to participate, completely oblivious to the seriousness of the situation.
Then Natsu turned his attention to Makarov, grumbling discontentedly, "Gramps, you told us not to go."
Makarov's eyelids drooped at the words, and he gave him an exasperated glance. "I usually tell you all to stay out of trouble too."
"But who listens?"
That one sentence choked Natsu, leaving him speechless for a long time.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Just then, a heavy and uniform sound of footsteps came from outside the guild.
Everyone subconsciously stopped what they were doing and uniformly turned their gaze towards the guild's large door.
Bang!
The door was forcefully pushed open from the outside.
The sunlight was blocked by the rows of figures standing at the entrance, casting large shadows.
A group of soldiers dressed in unified armor marched in menacingly with neat and uniform steps. Their eyes were cold, and they exuded the aura of an army, forming a stark contrast with the free-spirited Mages in the guild.
At the very front of the procession stood a frog-like person dressed in the Magic Council's special envoy attire. He adjusted his small top hat, holding a scroll in his hand, and with a high-pitched yet resonant voice, looked at the people inside the guild and declared.
"Magic Council routine business!"
"Last night, the guild master of the legal guild Phantom Lord, Jose Porla, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, was killed by an unidentified enemy at his guild branch, and all guild branches under his name were completely destroyed!"
"This incident is extremely heinous and severely disrupts the order and peace of the magic world!"
The frog-like person paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, finally locking onto Ryoma in the direction of the corridor.
"After preliminary investigation by the Council, Mage Ryoma of the Guild Fairy Tail, is a major suspect!"
"Therefore, we are here to escort Ryoma back to the Council headquarters for further investigation!"
"..."
The entire guild hall was in dead silence.
After a brief silence came an outburst of rage.
"What did you say?!"
"What a joke! Why do you say Ryoma did it?!"
"It was those Phantom Lord bastards who attacked us first. Are you people from the Council blind?!"
"Exactly! If you're going to arrest someone, you should go after the remnants of Phantom Lord."
"Show us the evidence! You think you can take someone from Fairy Tail without evidence?!"
Gray, Elfman, Macao, Wakaba... almost all guild members stood up, glaring at the intruders.
Magic power surged in the air, and the atmosphere instantly became explosive.
"As a man, you shouldn't let your comrades be taken away for no reason." Elfman clenched his fists, veins bulging.
"So noisy!"
Cana slammed her barrel heavily onto the bar, her eyes becoming dangerous.
The frog-like person faced the anger of the entire guild, yet remained completely unmoved, simply rolling up the scroll in his hand and raising his voice.
"Warning!"
"Everyone stay where you are, no unauthorized movements!"
"Any form of obstruction or resistance will be considered open defiance of the Magic Council!"
"Consequences will be borne by yourselves!"
The cold words, devoid of emotion, completely lit the fuse.
"Ha!"
Natsu bared his teeth in annoyance and stepped forward, his fists ablaze with roaring flames, striking his battle pose.
"Want to fight? I'll go all the way!"
Seeing Natsu's movement, the well-trained Council soldiers immediately, with a whoosh, aimed their weapons at him.
A great battle was on the verge of breaking out.
"All of you..."
"Quiet!"
Just at this critical moment, Makarov's roar thundered like lightning.
An invisible yet incredibly vast magical pressure instantly enveloped the entire guild hall.
The flames on Natsu's body suddenly choked, almost extinguishing.
All the shouting guild members also seemed to have their throats squeezed, instantly falling silent.
The soldiers holding weapons also felt a heavy weight on them, as if carrying a mountain, and their movements became stiff.
The entire guild hall was once again so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Makarov took a deep breath, slowly retracting the terrifying pressure.
He turned his head and whispered to Ryoma beside him in a voice only the two of them could hear, "What was bound to come, has finally arrived."
"Brat, what are you thinking?" His voice carried a hint of undisguised gravity.
Ryoma's expression remained calm, as if everything before him had nothing to do with him.
He also lowered his voice and quietly replied to the old man, "It's nothing."
"Anyway, they don't have concrete evidence that I killed Jose."
"On the contrary, we have evidence of Phantom Lord attacking Levy and the others."
"Reason is on our side."
Ryoma silently added a sentence in his heart.
Of course, if those old guys sitting in the Council insist on being unreasonable and try to pin the blame on me, I won't mind giving the Council a good shake after toppling Phantom Lord.
After all, the only thing in the entire Magic Council that truly made him wary was the ultimate weapon suspended in the sky—Etherion.
As for everyone else...
Ryoma's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile.
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, Ryoma stepped out from the shadows of the corridor.
Step by step, unhurriedly, he walked through the crowd towards the group of Council soldiers.
"Ryoma!"
"Ryoma, where are you going?!"
Lucy and Gray couldn't help but shout.
Ryoma didn't look back. He just casually waved his hand at his guildmates, signaling them to rest assured.
He walked directly in front of the leading frog-like person, calmly looking at him.
"No need for such a big display."
"I'll go with you."
The frog-like person was clearly stunned, seemingly completely unprepared for such a development.
He had originally brought a considerable number of troops, having prepared for a potential conflict with Fairy Tail.
But the suspect actually cooperated voluntarily?
Ryoma didn't give himany more time to react. After speaking, he took a step and walked towards the guild door. His figure brushed past the armored soldiers as he headed outside the door.