Chapter 27

"And then there is Mr. Lahar."

"I think what Miss Mirajane said just now is very correct; it was Mr. Jose who attacked me first."

"Therefore, I don't think I can be considered some kind of murderer on the run."

Ace stood up, walked in the direction of Lahar, and said, "However, if it is just to cooperate with the Magic Council's investigation, and it doesn't take up too much of my time, I am still very willing to cooperate."

Lin Cheng had some thoughts regarding whether or not to cooperate with the Magic Council.

Whether it was the Witch Cult, the Whitebeard Pirates, or the newly summoned Akatsuki organization.

Lin Cheng had not yet had the opportunity to introduce these three organizations in detail to other people or groups, allowing them to have a more thorough understanding of these new entities.

This time, the reason Lin Cheng lured Lahar, the captain of the Magic Council's Fourth Custodial Enforcement Unit, over was to use Ace's mouth to reveal some information that could be disclosed to the Magic Council.

And it wasn't just the Magic Council.

Lin Cheng intended to find opportunities to reveal information to Fairy Tail and other guilds as well.

"Whether or not you are a murderer on the run is not for me to decide."

"However, as long as you are willing to cooperate, Mr. Ace, I will explain the situation to the Chairman and the council members."

Watching Ace stand up, Lahar pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

Although he was a minor leader within the Magic Council, Lahar did not have the authority to convict others, let alone change a verdict that had already been reached.

The only thing Lahar could do was to clearly and meticulously report the information and intelligence he knew to his superiors.

"Alright."

"Then, do you need to handcuff me?"

Ace walked to Lahar's side and raised his hands.

For Ace, who could elementalize at any time, it made no real difference whether he wore handcuffs or not.

Perhaps the Magic Council had specific handcuffs for mages, similar to the Seastone handcuffs in the world of One Piece, but Ace had never been a Class Mage to begin with.

There was no such thing as magic power inside Ace's body.

Therefore, those methods the Magic Council used against mages were almost useless against Ace.

"Forget it."

"Mr. Ace, you can just follow me directly to the headquarters of the Magic Council."

Looking at Ace, who was standing before him with his hands raised in a somewhat carefree manner, Lahar sighed slightly.

Considering various factors—Ace's terrifying strength, the fact that the initial conviction was slightly unjust, and Ace's high level of cooperation—Lahar decided not to put handcuffs on him.

"By the way, I wonder if Mr. Lahar is in a hurry right now?"

"If you aren't in a hurry, I'm a bit hungry. Can we wait until I finish my steak before we go?"

Ace looked at Lahar, a brilliant smile appearing on his face.

After saying this, without waiting for Lahar to respond, he returned to his seat and began to wolf down the delicious steak on his plate.

This made Lahar's expression even more helpless.

After all, if there were no surprises, based on Lahar's years of understanding of his superiors, once the misunderstanding regarding Ace killing Jose was cleared up, Ace would likely be invited to become one of the Ten Wizard Saints.

Regarding the future Ten Wizard Saint, Ace.

Lahar felt that waiting a little while now wouldn't be a big deal.

The subsequent events naturally became simple.

The Magic Council reacted very quickly; upon learning that Ace was willing to cooperate with the investigation, they immediately dispatched Doranbolt, an agent from the Intelligence Department, to come and escort him.

Doranbolt's magic was 'Teleportation' and 'Memory'.

He was capable of short-range instant movement and long-range charged teleportation.

It is worth mentioning that although Doranbolt was currently an agent of the Magic Council's Intelligence Department, he was actually a member of the Fairy Tail guild—a spy planted by Fairy Tail within the Magic Council.

Honestly, when Lin Cheng saw this before he transmigrated, his expression was quite colorful.

One of the Magic Council's two proud young council members, Jellal's thought projection Siegrain, who was ranked ninth among the Ten Wizard Saints, was a spy planted by Jellal within the Magic Council.

Ultear was a member of Grimoire Heart, a spy planted by Grimoire Heart within the Magic Council.

The current Chairman, Crawford Seam, was colluding with Tartaros and was a spy for Tartaros.

Adding the current Fairy Tail spy, Doranbolt, it was practically an otherworldly magic version of the "Black Organization" (the "Liquor Factory").

Before transmigrating, Lin Cheng not only liked Fairy Tail, but he also watched Detective Conan, and what left the deepest impression on Lin Cheng in Detective Conan was the Black Organization, the "Liquor Factory."

Except for Gin himself, the other "liquors" were either broken waste or belonged to someone else; it was truly pathetic.

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It didn't take long.

Under Doranbolt's teleportation magic, Ace and Lahar soon arrived at the Magic Council's headquarters.

The Chairman and council members of the Magic Council had gathered early because of Ace's arrival.

"Murderer on the run..."

"Um, let me clarify something first."

"Although I already explained it to Mr. Lahar once before."

Ace interrupted Chairman Crawford.

Watching Chairman Crawford, who was ready to pin a label on him the moment he arrived, Lin Cheng, who was actually controlling Ace, curled his lips and said, "It was Guild Master Jose who attacked me first with murderous intent, and he attacked me twice in a row."

"The first time was the Magic Convergence Cannon: Jupiter, and the second time, Guild Master Jose even used his strongest magic."

"Therefore, I was forced to defend myself, and I accidentally killed Guild Master Jose."

After finishing, Lin Cheng used Ace's perspective to glance at the blue-haired man not far away who wore a standard smile.

Jellal's thought projection.

Siegrain, the young council member who ranked ninth among the Ten Wizard Saints with less than fifty percent of his strength.

And standing beside Siegrain was the female council member Ultear, who seemed to follow Siegrain's lead in everything.

'Unexpectedly plain.'

At this moment, Ultear was frowning slightly as she sized up Ace.

After the recent clash with the Akatsuki organization, Ultear now attached great importance to both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Witch Cult, far more than when she first received the news.

"Whether or not it was murder on the run can be discussed later."

"The reason our Magic Council has made such a big fuss this time is not just to define your crime."

Chairman Crawford looked at Ace, who had interrupted him, his face darkening slightly as he said, "First of all, it is about the force behind you, the Whitebeard Pirates."

The Magic Council, as the uncrowned king of the continent, calling all the council members to a meeting and bringing Ace here, naturally couldn't be for some trivial matter.

Even if Ace had once displayed terrifying strength that surpassed conventional Ten Wizard Saints, reaching the level of the top four Ten Wizard Saints, the Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgar, it was the same.

"Oh?"

"About the Whitebeard Pirates?"

Ace raised an eyebrow.

Things were a bit more complicated than Ace—or rather, Lin Cheng—had imagined.

"That's right!"

"The Magic Council is the symbol of justice!"

"We are responsible for monitoring all guilds and punishing those that violate the rules!"

Chairman Crawford looked at Ace, whose expression had been overly calm from start to finish, and said, "Currently, we have not actually collected any intelligence regarding the activities of Ace or the Whitebeard Pirates behind you."

"But, since you are here now, I hope you can give us an answer, Ace."

"Are the Whitebeard Pirates righteous or evil?"

"Should our Magic Council treat the Whitebeard Pirates as a legitimate Class Mage guild, or as a dark Class Mage guild?"

As his voice fell, the entire Magic Council hall became somewhat silent.

The moment Chairman Crawford finished speaking, all eyes fell upon Ace.

Everyone was waiting for Ace's answer.

Among them, some gazes were relatively kind and anxious—that was Yajima, a council member who had a good relationship with Fairy Tail.

There were also gazes of keen interest, such as Jellal's thought projection, Siegrain.

And there was Ultear, whose gaze was thoughtful, curious about what Ace's final answer would be.

However, most of the gazes were high and mighty.