Although a small incident happened in the middle, Kabe's return was still warmly welcomed by everyone.
Marcus and Wallen enthusiastically pulled him over to the table and made him sit down. Lucky happily ran out from behind the bar and brought him some snacks and juice.
The entire guild swarmed around him, their faces filled with the excitement of people waiting to hear some juicy gossip.
Marcus was the first to speak.
"Kabe, hurry up and tell us, what's royal life like? Is it true that the moment you wake up, there are more than a dozen little maids waiting on you, and every meal has hundreds of different dishes?"
"It's not that exaggerated," Kabe replied.
"There are only a few people qualified to personally serve me, and half of them still have to serve Jade as well.
As for the three meals a day, they are quite luxurious, but it's still just the level of a wealthy family. It's not even as extravagant as those Celestial Tribe families."
Kabe did not mind sharing these trivial details, and he successfully satisfied everyone's curiosity.
"Huh? That's it? Royal life is much simpler than I imagined."
Marcus looked slightly disappointed after realizing that the royal lifestyle was not as magnificent as he had expected.
The crowd of spectators also nodded in agreement, praising the royal family a few times.
"Those things are secondary. Shouldn't the biggest advantage of becoming a member of the royal family be the authority of being above everyone except one person?"
Recalling the two palace intrigue novels he had read before, Wallen immediately became excited and said:
"You're the Regent Prince. Even the Queen has to seriously consider your words.
During this past month, did you deal with a bunch of disobedient nobles? Did you issue any laws, like letting mages avoid paying taxes or something?"
"Yeah, Kabe, what big things have you done during this month? Tell us!"
"I've been reading the newspapers every day, hoping to see some news about you.
But I don't know if the newspapers were too afraid to write about it or if the royal family kept everything too secret. I barely saw anything about you."
Sure enough, every man was unable to resist the temptation of beauty, wealth, and power.
Once this topic came up, everyone joined the discussion, speaking over each other.
Even Lucky asked whether he had signed any major decrees, wanting to know what it felt like to change the lives of thousands of people with a single sentence.
However, Kabe's reaction to this question was rather awkward.
How was he supposed to answer?
Should he tell them that he had basically accomplished nothing in this entire month and was just a figurehead with a grand title?
Should he tell them how every one of his "perfect" policies had been rejected by Jade with a dark expression?
If he actually said that, then as the leader of the Holy Ten, the tenth-ranked member of the Ishgar continent, the Regent Prince of Fiore, and the husband of the beloved princess, wouldn't he lose all his dignity?!
Kabe pretended to be troubled. He frowned and hesitated for a long time before finally answering vaguely:
"Hmm~ I did contribute several incredible policies. It's just that, due to certain reasons, I can't tell you about them yet."
"So strict? Then it must definitely be some kind of amazing policy!"
The others never thought Kabe would lie to them. Instead, after hearing his words, they became even more excited.
But since Kabe said it had to remain secret, they had no choice but to stop asking.
They could only scratch their heads anxiously, wildly guessing what kind of earth-shaking reform it could be.
Seeing that his bluff had worked, Kabe secretly sighed in relief.
Then he smiled and put his arms around Marcus and Wallen's shoulders, telling everyone some good news.
"Speaking of which, there is one thing I can tell you."
"After discussions between me and the Queen, considering my status as the Regent Prince, the Queen has agreed that in the future, she will show some leniency toward the people of Fairy Tail.
"As long as the things you do outside are not too excessive and you don't harm innocent lives, the local soldiers won't arrest you.
"As long as you pay enough compensation afterward, the matter will be settled."
"What?! So that means if I accidentally destroy two houses in the future, I won't have to go to prison and wait for the guild master to come bail me out?"
"Then if I accidentally burn down a wheat field next time, I won't have to worry about soldiers chasing me as long as I pay for the damage?!"
"What about me if I accidentally set a forest on fire…"
"I ate the client's chickens…"
"I…"
Listening to everyone casually listing their criminal records, Kabe suddenly felt his vision darken.
He began regretting convincing Jade.
With all the ridiculous things these people had done, how could they possibly look like proper guild mages?
If ten random people from this group were arrested and sentenced, some of them might actually be innocent.
But as the Regent Prince, if he considered things from the kingdom's perspective, he would have no hesitation in sending the entire guild to prison and executing them all on the same day.
"You bunch of idiots, don't get happy too early!
"Even though you don't have to go to prison, the money you owe for damages won't be reduced by a single coin.
"Check your pockets. If you don't want to end up unable to afford a house or even food, then from now on, all of you better restrain yourselves!"
If Kabe tried explaining reason to them, telling them what they could and couldn't do, they would probably let it go in one ear and out the other.