"I... I don't know."
Of course, Mest wanted to return to the guild.
The president and Rhode had already become evaluators, as long as Reby and the others wanted, they could almost all keep important positions.
It seemed like having one more mid-level undercover didn't make much difference.
But the question now was, how should he return?
Should he go and tell Lahar 'sorry, I'm an undercover agent'?
It felt like if he said that, either Lahar would punch him in the face, or he would be regarded as a fool.
——Lahar might think he had altered his own memories again, preparing to infiltrate Fairy Tail.
After pondering deeply for a while, Mest had a sudden inspiration:
"I know! I'll use Memory Magic to erase Lahar and the Council's memory of me, then return to the guild."
"Stop right there!" Rhode called out to this fool who immediately wanted to act upon thinking of a solution.
Mest asked in confusion, "Isn't that a good idea?"
Rhode sighed, "I admit Memory Magic is a very convenient magic, but you can't rely on this magic for everything."
Mest said, "But this way, it won't leave any hidden dangers for the guild."
Rhode shook his head, "I don't support you using this self-harming method to solve problems."
"Self-harming?"
Rhode looked at him and explained, "Humans are social creatures, and when you erase others' memories of you, a part of your existence disappears too, which is a serious harm to yourself.
"Even if we don't discuss that, just on a personal feeling level, do you really want Lahar and other friends from the Council to forget you?"
Mest was silent. The feelings of the guild for 'Mest' were certainly important, but the feelings of the Council's friends for 'Dolanbart' were equally important.
Even if he was undercover, those friendships were made after altering his memories to make himself think he was Dolanbart.
In that situation, his interactions with them were absolutely sincere.
After seriously considering it, Mest realized he really didn't want to be forgotten.
The years in the Council were very important experiences for him.
Rhode added fuel to the fire, "Moreover, memories you've altered can be restored when a specific trigger is met, right? It would only be harder to clean up at that time."
Indeed, Memory Magic had a significant weakness; it couldn't handle 'overthinking.'
When those with altered memories realized the 'incongruity' and thought it over, the magic could be easily dispelled.
Mest asked dejectedly, "Then... what should I do?"
Rhode raised a finger, "Two options, the first is to skip talking about the undercover business and directly announce you want to join Fairy Tail.
"Like Blue Pegasus' Ive, it's allowed to leave the Council to join a guild, right? When you think the time is ripe, you can confess to Lahar later on."
Mest thought about it, feeling a bit undecided, and asked again, "And the second option?"
Rhode replied, "The second option is to go find Lahar now and directly confess."
Mest: "?"
Rhode spread his hands, "You'll have to say it sooner or later anyway. If you can't decide when to say it, do it now."
"But what about the guild?"
"It doesn't matter; even if he reports it to other evaluators, the worst we'd face is some condemnation, nothing substantial."
Mest had become an undercover agent during the previous evaluator session, and back then, evaluators themselves had issues.
In the current situation, they wouldn't settle old debts with Fairy Tail.
If they really wanted to settle things, they could handle it.
"In any case, you don't need to worry about the guild, just consider your friends' feelings and do what you should do."
Mest thought it over carefully, and it seemed… was it really like that?
He finally made up his mind, "I understand."
The next day, Rhode saw Mest with a bruised face.
"What happened... did you get into a fight?"
Mest held his cheek and mumbled indistinctly, "Pretty much."
In fact, it was mostly one-sided; he felt too embarrassed to fight back.
In any case, Lahar wouldn't beat him to death, so letting him vent was fine.
Though Lahar still didn't show him a pleasant face up to that point, Mest knew the matter was considered settled.
Lahar seemed to have no intention to report it upwards.
He could talk it through with him later.
"What do you want to do next?"
"At least for now, I want to continue working in the Council, take time to visit the guild and see everyone, and officially return when the rebuilding is complete."
"Hmm, that sounds good." Rhode nodded, approving his idea, "Recover first before going back; otherwise, everyone might hold back."
Mest was startled, "H-hold back? Hold back from what?"
"With so many memories altered, isn't it proper to give you a beating?" Rhode looked at him, "You haven't forgotten what the people in the guild are like, have you?"
"..." Mest's face turned gray.
The folks in the guild… indeed, they would certainly welcome him, but a thrashing would probably be inevitable too.
But it was fine; in the guild, he could fight back freely without any psychological burden.
That was pretty nice.
Thinking of that long-missed family, a smile appeared on Mest's swollen face.
At this moment, someone called, "Mest, Mr. Brellins is looking for your help."
"I'll be right there!"
"What happened to your face?"
"I fell accidentally."
"...Fell so exquisitely?"
"Noisy!"
...
Before anyone realized it, it was the end of September.
Under Makarov's efforts, the progress of rebuilding the Council was very promising.
If they didn't mind the remaining floors' noisy renovations, most people could already move in and work.
Only, the president had been working overtime recently, leaving Rhode a bit puzzled.
"Did you forget? The Magical Parade." Faced with Rhode's confusion, Makarov answered,
"For the Harvest Festival in October, I plan to restart the Magical Parade activities, so before then, we must finish the remaining work here!"
"Ah… isn't that just 10 days away?"
Rhode nearly forgot about this event.
During the years they were missing, everyone really wasn't in the mood for a Magical Parade.
Ghost of Dusk didn't have this tradition either.
As a result, in recent years, Magnolia's Harvest Festival felt a bit less lively.
A few days ago, the mayor seemed to have specifically come to the guild to ask if Fairy Tail had plans to liven things up.
But Rhode was so busy that he had forgotten.
And what he cared about the most at the moment wasn't the Magical Parade or Council affairs.
It was... the Book of END.
He had carefully opened the first page after the title page.
At that moment, disordered, flame-like words flew out of the paper, creating a magical and splendid scene.
Rhode clearly saw several words among them:
"That day, Natsu died."