Makarov looked around.
In the empty hall, only he remained.
"Maybe Ken was controlled by the Thunder Gods before the girls were petrified... In that case, I will be the only one to deal with Laxus!"
With that thought, Makarov slowly returned his body to its original size and dashed outside the guild.
Just as he reached the door…
"Crack!"
Suddenly, it felt like he had hit something.
There was no time to brake, and his whole body collided with it.
The impact hurt.
"What? An invisible glass wall?"
Using the magic power coursing through his body, Makarov punched the barrier. Purple-black text appeared out of thin air on the invisible wall.
"Magicians and stone statues over 80 years old are not allowed to pass... It's Freed's magic!!"
Freed, one of the Thunder Gods, was renowned for his mastery of spell and word magic.
Once a spell like this was cast, the rules were absolute unless it could be shattered by overwhelming magical power.
Makarov sighed. The spell before him was clearly designed to trap him.
Freed had clearly been planning for some time. Every time he passed by the guild entrance, he would secretly reinforce this spell.
For now, it might be difficult to dispel.
Just as Makarov was considering his next move, two figures walked through the inner hall casually, as if nothing had happened.
"Natsu, Gajeel?? You're still here?"
"I was hungry just now and couldn't find anything to eat in the kitchen..." Natsu muttered, lowering his gaze and looking a bit dejected.
On the other hand, Gajeel, standing beside him, was holding a pile of iron pots and pans, chewing them contentedly.
"By the way, wasn't there supposed to be a celebration? Where has everyone gone?"
Makarov, seeing these two relaxed individuals, barely managed to suppress the urge to explode.
"No time to explain! I suspect Ken has been controlled by Laxus and the Thunder Gods. Go to the town immediately, find Laxus, and defeat him!"
At the mention of Laxus, Natsu immediately shouted with excitement:
"You want to fight Laxus? You're allowing this?! I'm fired up!!"
In the past, Natsu had challenged Laxus multiple times, but each time, he was knocked out cold.
This time, with Makarov's permission, Natsu grabbed Gajeel's arm without waiting for any further explanation and ran toward the door.
"Walk slowly! I haven't finished eating yet..."
"Crack!!"
The sound of impact reached Makarov's ears, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock.
Natsu and Gajeel, initially brimming with energy, had both collided with the magic barrier at the door!
"Damn it... What is this? Why can't we get out?"
Rubbing his sore nose, Natsu grew frustrated and continued hitting the barrier with punches and kicks.
The ceiling of the guild trembled.
But the magic barrier remained intact.
Makarov, worried that the two of them would destroy the guild, hurriedly shouted:
"Stop it! I have a question for you."
"Eh?"
"Are you two over 80 years old too?"
According to the rules of the spell, magicians and stone statues over the age of 80 were not allowed to pass through.
By the process of elimination, there seemed to be only one possibility—someone over the age of 80.
Makarov glanced again at the unreachable world outside the guild, letting out a long sigh.
"Could it be that we have no choice but to bow to Laxus…?"
A few seconds of silence passed.
"You can't say that," a familiar voice cut through the tension.
Makarov snapped his head up.
To his surprise, the very person he had entrusted with an important task was standing before him with a smile.
"Ken!?"
"Wait... the ones behind you are... Erza? Lucy?"
Makarov looked behind Ken in disbelief.
To his astonishment, the seven girls who had been petrified by Evergreen were there! They were dressed as if ready to participate in a beauty pageant.
Looking at the center of the stage, the seven stone sculptures were still standing there, unchanged.
"President?" Erza called out tentatively.
Makarov took a moment to recover from the shock.
"What... didn't Evergreen petrify you just now?"
"That was all thanks to Ken," Erza replied softly, smiling at Ken beside her.
"Ken..."
Makarov's eyes shone with relief and joy at their miraculous survival.
With everyone's expectant gaze upon him, Ken spoke slowly, explaining what had happened:
"According to my analysis, Laxus is planning a separatist war without anyone knowing. The Miss Most Beautiful Contest in the morning was a perfect opportunity."
"After learning about Evergreen's petrification ability, I suspected she would act then. So, I went to the north of the city and purchased seven one-to-one stone sculptures of girls."
"When I sensed Evergreen's arrival, I quietly snuck into the girls' locker room backstage and hid..."
Ken, getting caught up in his excitement, accidentally revealed too much.
"Ah??"
The girls looked at each other, all blushing.
They didn't have magic like Erza to change clothes, so they had to resort to traditional means—undressing and redressing in the locker room.
In that case, wouldn't Ken have seen everything...?
"Ahem, it's not what you think... I just wanted to monitor Evergreen. I didn't see anyone except Mira..."
Mirajane's face turned bright crimson at the speed of light, and she shyly asked:
"What did you see about me...?"
"No, no, I didn't see anything, nothing at all..."
Seeing the situation get even more awkward, Ken quickly shifted back to the topic at hand.
"At that moment, I saw Evergreen was about to act, so I used lightning to flash through her eyes, snuck the girls out while she wasn't paying attention, and replaced the stone sculptures."
"As a result, Evergreen mistook it for Laxus's work and didn't inspect the authenticity of the statues carefully."
Ken spoke cautiously, careful not to say anything else that could make the situation more uncomfortable.
Upon learning that Ken had protected them, the girls' expressions softened, and they thanked him one by one.
After experiencing the rollercoaster of emotions, Makarov became overwhelmed and burst into tears.
"Ken... I knew I could count on you, wu wu..."
"You're too happy too soon, Master."
Ken still had a smile on his face as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill, handing it over.
"The stone sculptures were made urgently, costing 400,000 J each. In total, that's 2.8 million J. I gave my name to the guild, and the owner said I could pay on credit, charging me only 3 million J. Don't forget to check out, dear~"
The moment Makarov saw the amount, his face went pale, as if his soul had left his body.
His eyes darkened.
He staggered a few steps and almost collapsed.
Finally, he managed to choke out a few words:
"Prodigal son!! Prodigal son, you..."
"This can be considered completing the mission you gave me, right? Master? At least I ensured everyone's safety. Now, it's time to deal with the Thunder Gods and Laxus..."
Ken had completed his mission triumphantly, full of joy.
(Next Chapter: The Encounter with Bickslow)