Hearing this, Rowan could not help laughing.
"Old man, you really trust Erza."
"That's Erza we're talking about," Makarov said.
"Fair enough. After all, it is Erza."
Rowan nodded in deep agreement.
Makarov froze for a moment and looked at him suspiciously.
He trusted Erza because he had watched her grow up. But why did Rowan, someone from another world, trust Erza so much?
They had known each other for barely a day.
"Erza told me that you would give me a set of books. What books are they?"
"Fairy Tail."
"Huh?"
Seeing Makarov's surprised expression, Rowan smiled and handed him the set of Fairy Tail manga he had prepared in advance.
He and Erza had agreed on this yesterday. Erza wanted Makarov to know about the future.
Rowan had no reason to refuse.
Makarov accepted the manga. He recognised Natsu on the cover, but he did not seem to understand the writing.
At that moment, Rowan patted him on the shoulder and used the Golden Gate to grant him knowledge of another world's language.
Makarov could suddenly read Chinese.
"What kind of magic was that? Language Comprehension?" Makarov asked curiously.
"Something like that."
Rowan smiled faintly and pointed at the manga.
"Read it first."
Makarov gave an "Oh" and lowered his head to begin reading.
He read extremely quickly, finishing the entire manga in only a few hours.
During that time, his expression changed constantly. At times he was angry, furious, sorrowful, and helpless.
When he finally reached the happy ending, he released a long sigh of relief.
"Is this a book of prophecy?" he asked, his voice trembling.
"It's not that exaggerated. It's just a set of manga."
"Why does another world have a manga about our world?"
That was what confused Makarov the most.
As for whether his world itself was merely a manga, he had never even considered the possibility.
He had lived for so long. Wouldn't he know whether his world was only a manga?
"I'm not too sure about that either."
Rowan shrugged.
Even now, he still had not figured out the answer to that question, so he decided not to mislead anyone with wild guesses.
Makarov did not dwell on it for long. Instead, he asked, "Why did you tell us about all of this?"
"Is that question important?" Rowan asked in return.
Makarov thought about it.
It seemed important, yet also unimportant.
The fact that Rowan was willing to reveal all this meant he held goodwill towards Fairy Tail. Furthermore, he had already joined the guild and become one of its members.
Since he was a guild member, Makarov should not doubt him.
"I understand."
Makarov closed the book and extended one hand towards Rowan.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Lord Rowan."
Rowan shook his hand and asked curiously, "Now that you know the future, what do you plan to do?"
Makarov asked in return, "Where did Erza go?"
"She should have gone to deal with Eisenwald."
Makarov gave an "Oh."
"Then I'll deal with Jose first."
The Tower of Heaven, the guild civil war, Oración Seis, the journey to Edolas, Tartaros, Tenrou Island, the Grand Magic Games, and the Eclipse Gate were all matters of the future.
But the threat of Phantom Lord's invasion was close at hand.
Not only would Phantom Lord abduct Lucy, but its members would also seriously injure Levy and the others.
That was something Makarov could not tolerate.
Therefore, dealing with Jose was the most urgent matter.
Rowan said, "If I remember correctly, the Magic Council forbids guilds from starting wars without permission. Phantom Lord's invasion hasn't happened yet, so how are you planning to attack Jose? Are you going to violate the Council's regulations?"
Hearing this, Makarov dropped back into his chair.
That truly was a troublesome problem.
In the original story, Jose attacked first during Phantom Lord's invasion. Fairy Tail merely counterattacked, defeated Phantom Lord, and caused the guild to be disbanded.
If Makarov acted first, then the guild that would be disbanded might change from Phantom Lord to Fairy Tail.
That absolutely could not happen.
But the problem was that he already knew the future.
Was he supposed to do nothing and allow Fairy Tail to be attacked, only retaliating afterward?
As Guild Master, how could he possibly do that?
How could he sit by and watch everything happen while knowing his children would be hurt?
If he genuinely did that, would he still deserve to call himself Fairy Tail's Guild Master?
For a time, Makarov found himself trapped between two difficult choices.
Left with no alternative, he looked up at Rowan.
"Do you have any good ideas?"
"I actually do."
As Rowan spoke, he used the Transformation Technique and changed into Kaido's appearance.
"The Transformation Technique. It's a ninjutsu that allows someone to take another person's form. You can treat it as magic."
"I can disguise myself as someone else, ambush Jose, and cripple his magical power."
"Then Jose naturally won't be able to oppose us anymore."
Uh…
Makarov hesitated.
He knew Jose was not a good person, but ambushing him and destroying his magical power…
Wouldn't that be too cruel?
He could not bring himself to do such a thing, nor could he ask Rowan to do it.
He simply could not cross that line in his heart.
Seeing his conflicted expression, Rowan asked, "What? Are you seriously planning to wait until Jose attacks you before fighting back?"
Makarov frowned.
"Isn't there a solution that satisfies both sides?"
Rowan rolled his eyes.
"Judging from the current situation, obviously not. Jose has been watching your guild like a predator for a long time and is extremely dissatisfied with you. Even without the matter involving Lucy, he would find another excuse to attack."
"Unless you can change Jose's thinking, as well as the mentality of the entire Phantom Lord Guild, the conflict between you will happen sooner or later."
Makarov could not help sighing.
How could he not understand that?
Ever since the conflict at the guild masters' gathering six years ago, Jose had never attended another gathering.
It was obvious that Jose still could not let go of what happened.
Although both sides appeared restrained, in reality, they had long become irreconcilable enemies.
Furthermore, with Jose's personality, he was not someone who would patiently tolerate things.
Rather, he was the kind who feared the world was not chaotic enough.
"I understand. I'll make a decision as soon as possible."
Makarov decided that after Erza returned, he would discuss the matter with her and ask for her opinion before deciding.
Rowan did not comment.
"By the way, there's something I'd like your help with."
"Go ahead."
Makarov felt that Rowan had already provided Fairy Tail with tremendous assistance.
Knowledge of those horrifying future events alone was enough to help the guild avoid one disaster after another.
Therefore, as long as Rowan's request was something he could accomplish, Makarov would not refuse.
"I want to copy your magic," Rowan said.
"My magic?"
Makarov froze.
"Could it be that you also possess August's Instant Copy Magic?"
August was one of the antagonists in the original story.
He was one of the Spriggan Twelve, the elite guards of the Alvarez Empire founded by the Black Wizard Zeref.
Not only was he the strongest mage in Alvarez, but he was also the strongest man among the Twelve. He was known as the Magic King and, together with Erza's mother Irene, was regarded as one of the Twin Walls of Alvarez.
The magic he used was Instant Copy Magic, which allowed him to copy all of an opponent's magic in an instant.
Although this magic could not copy Holder-type Magic, it was still astonishing.
Through this ability, he mastered practically every form of magic from ancient times to the present. Moreover, any technique known to August could no longer harm him.
That was the origin of his title, the Magic King.
More importantly, he was the child of Fairy Tail's first Guild Master, Mavis, and the Black Wizard Zeref.
Rowan shook his head.
"I don't know Instant Copy Magic, but I do possess a copying ability. It can copy not only magic, but other powers as well."
Makarov immediately understood.
"I see. So that's how it is. Is there anything I need to do?"
"No."
Rowan raised his hand and patted Makarov on the shoulder.
Using his copying ability, he instantly copied Makarov's magic.
Aside from Giant Magic, Makarov was also proficient in Fire Magic, Transformation Magic, Restoration Magic, Light Magic, and the Great Magic—
Fairy Law.
Rowan copied all of them.
Most magic in the world of Fairy Tail did not require incantations. One could simply raise a hand and use it.
It was practically no different from a superpower.
Rowan felt there was no harm in mastering a few more types of magic.
"Is that all?"
Makarov was somewhat surprised.
After seeing Rowan nod, he could not help sighing.
"From my perspective, your copying ability doesn't seem very different from Instant Copy Magic."
Hearing this, Rowan thought for a moment.
"It really does seem that way."
At that moment, Makarov appeared to remember something and said, "I have no objection to you copying my magic. However, if you plan to copy the magic of other guild members, I hope you'll ask them first."
"If possible, you should also give them some appropriate compensation."
He did not want Rowan to silently copy other people's magic and create misunderstandings with his guildmates.
Rowan made an OK gesture.
"No problem. I still have plenty of useful items. I can use them to compensate everyone."
"Thank you."
"No need to be polite."
After chatting for a while longer, Rowan stood, said goodbye, and left the library.
By the time Rowan returned to the guild's ground floor, the sky had already grown dark.
Most of the guild members had left.
Only Mirajane, the guild's poster girl, and a handful of others remained.
Seeing Rowan return, Mirajane smiled faintly.
"You spoke with the Guild Master for quite a long time. It must have been something important."
Rowan did not deny it.
"It was quite important. I'm sure the Guild Master will tell you before long."
Mirajane was an S-Class Mage, after all. She was qualified to know about the matter.
Given Makarov's personality, he probably would not hide it from her.
~~~
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