"That's it, it seems that most people are realistic after all."
Seeing the more than twenty mages gathered in the guild hall, George sighed inwardly.
Once the guild had over a hundred mages, and even after the incident on the Wolfstar Island, there were nearly a hundred left. Now, however, there are only less than thirty remaining.
"Things should already be explained to you by Maraco."
In order to restore our elven wing's reputation, I have decided to participate in the Grand Mage's Tournament held by the kingdom.
You need a team of five for registration, and besides me, who else here wants to join?"
George's words caused a sudden silence in the hall, and no one spoke up to register.
When Natsu and the others were there, they played battles every day, often tearing down the hall and refusing to give in to each other, creating quite a lively atmosphere.
If there had been a Grand Mage's Tournament back then, I bet people would have fought each other just for the five spots.
However, because of the incidents on the Wolfstar Island, as well as changes within the guild, decrease in missions, and departure of companions, everyone has become less confident now.
They feel that with their current abilities, joining would only hinder George's progress.
"You guys, if Natsu and the others were to find out, they'd laugh their heads off. To think they wouldn't even dare to sign up for the competition."
George understood everyone's hesitation and spoke deliberately to provoke them.
"Guild Master, can Lybi and the others really come back?"
Salusk, the first follower of the Lane Engine Team and Lybi's head, was visibly exhausted.
Although George said that Lybi and the others might have been trapped by the magic of the Elf Sphere and were not really killed by the Black Dragon, to be honest, none of them had any certainty in their hearts.
Firstly, no one can prove whether George's judgment is correct or not.
Secondly, the Elf Sphere, as one of the three super magic of the Fairy Tail, has not been learned by anyone since its creation by the first guild master. Can George really break the code?
Thirdly, for such a long time, George has been staying in the basement without coming out and hasn't told them about the progress. Mightn't what he said before have just been comforting them?
It is precisely because of these three points that rumors began to spread within the guild, and everyone began to believe that the people from the Wolfstar Island might not come back, leading them to gradually leave the guild.
Like Salusk and Dlorian, who have lost both friends and admirers, they have become so depressed that they don't even want to go back to the guild to accept new missions.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I've already made a preliminary breakthrough in the research of the Elf Sphere. It will take me no more than two or three years at the latest, and as soon as one or two years at the earliest, I'm sure I can learn it."
"Furthermore, according to my current understanding of the Elf Sphere, I can definitely tell you that Natsu and the others are safe, as they have been protected by the Elf Sphere."
George sat at the bar, poured himself a glass of wine, drank it, and then smiled to everyone:
"I tell you all, you don't want to wait for me to unlock the Elf Sphere, by then, when the old guild master and the others come back, and see this state of the guild, do you?"
What he said wasn't meant to comfort them. After so much research, he indeed has made a preliminary breakthrough. As long as he continues to follow the plan, he will definitely be able to master the Elf Sphere in three years.
And if he has other time magic to assist in his research during this period, such as the "Time" card from the world of Little Witch Academia, or even discovered new time magic in a newly opened world.
Then, it would be normal to shorten the time to one or two years.
"Really!"
With George's resolute answer, the expressions of the people present were instantly excited.
"Of course it's true. So even if Natsu and the others are not here, we can't let the guild's reputation fall."
George raised his hand, extending his own feline claws in the unique gesture of an elf's tail.
"We must tell everyone in the kingdom what we are?"
"We are—the Elven Tail!"
Everyone simultaneously raised their right hands, shouting in unison with the same gesture.
With the morale restored, everyone began to sign up enthusiastically.
George chose a few tall individuals from among the shorter ones.
They were respectively Marcus, who was good at sand magic; Alzaak and Bisca, who were both good at gun magic; and finally Leeqi, who was good at wood shaping magic.
A week later, in front of the Elven Tail Guild.
Maraco looked at the fully armed members of the guild, scratched his head, and said to George:
"Guild Master, is it really okay for us all to go? If something goes wrong with the guild, we won't have anyone to watch the house."
The current Elf Tail Guild is built using the previous Ogre's Floating Castle, which is worth a fortune and is not just an ordinary house.
He was worried that if they all left, the guild might be robbed.
"I've told you, from now on, you're the guild master, so don't call me the guild master again. Otherwise, it will be a mess when it gets exposed."
George reminded and explained:
"No problem, the guild will be safe because I plan to take the guild with me."
According to what Maraco said, leaving a few mages to watch the guild seemed unnecessary to him.
If someone were to steal the guild, with the strength of the few remaining mages, it would probably just be like throwing away lives.
But he wouldn't really neglect the guild. Not to mention the priceless moving castle, but more importantly, the magical books in the basement of the castle and the sealed starlight that is ailed.
So, quite simply, he plans to bring both the lower ground floor of the guild and the basement with him, so there's no need to worry about it.
"Take the guild with you?"
Maraco and the other mages of the Elven Tail were taken aback.
Is George planning to activate the guild and directly drive it to the capital city of the kingdom, but it should be impossible to enter?
"Yes, bring it all together. Once we return, bring it back."
George took out a small box from his changing space, opened it, and then had everyone step back, beginning to recite the Moving Mountain spell.
Under the effect of the ancient magic Moving Mountain spell, the entire guild, including a large area of ground beneath it, was lifted up and inserted into a box that had been enchanted with the Untraceable Extension spell.
With his current level of Untraceable Extension, a space as large as a hand luggage can be expanded to the extent of containing an entire city.
So, for him, it was simply too easy to fit the guild into such a space and take it away.
"Guild Master, it's no wonder it's you!"
At this moment, everyone remembered the scene where George moved a whole mountain into the lake to host the Fairy Tail Magician Tournament, and remembered George leading them to victory against enemies one after another. They regained confidence in this tournament once again.
Perhaps, this time going to the tournament was not just for a moderate ranking; with George leading the team, it wasn't out of the question for the strongest mage guild to take home a win.
When Natsu and the others return, they will find that the guild has become the strongest mage guild in the kingdom after winning the first place in the Grand Mage's Tournament under George and their efforts, and will definitely be jealous.
"Let's go, to the capital city of Kunolakas!"
George used his superpower to extract iron sand from the ground, condensing it into a black cloud that lifted all the mage masters of the guild, and flew towards the capital city of the kingdom.
