Chapter 67

【PS: Ta-da ta-da~~~~~ The Author-kun is here again begging for flowers and tickets~ On bended knee, I beg all you esteemed readers to bestow a few flowers and tickets upon Author-kun~】

It didn't take much time.

Under the teleportation magic of Doranbalt, Ace and Lahar quickly arrived at the Magic Council's headquarters.

And the Magic Council's Chairman and councilors had already gathered together early because of Ace's arrival.

"Murder and fleeing the scene…"

"Um, let me explain first."

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

Ace cut off Chairman Crawford's words.

Watching Chairman Crawford come up and prepare to slap a label on him right away, Lin Cheng, who was actually controlling Ace, pursed his lips and said: "Back then, it was Chairman Jose who attacked me first with killing intent, and he attacked me twice in a row."

"The first time was the Grand Chariot: Jupiter, and the second time Chairman Jose even used his strongest magic."

"So, it was out of helplessness that I counterattacked in self-defense and accidentally killed Chairman Jose."

After speaking, Lin Cheng, through Ace's perspective, glanced at the blue-haired man not far away, whose face bore a formulaic smile.

Jellal's thought body.

The young councilor ranked ninth among the Ten Wizard Saints despite not exceeding fifty percent of his power — Zikrain.

And there was also the female councilor standing beside Zikrain, acting as though she took her cues entirely from him — Ultear.

'Unexpectedly unremarkable.'

At this moment, Ultear was sizing up Ace with slightly furrowed brows.

After the recent incident of clashing with the Akatsuki organization, Ultear now regarded both the Bai Huzi Pirates and the Monu Sect with heightened importance, far more so than when she had first received the news.

"Whether or not it constitutes murder and fleeing the scene, that can be discussed later."

"This time, our Magic Council has mobilized on such a large scale, and it's not just for the definition of your crime."

Chairman Crawford looked at Ace, who had interrupted him, his expression slightly darkening, and said: "First of all, it's about the matter of the force behind you, Ace — the Bai Huzi Pirates."

The Magic Council, as the uncrowned king of the continent, had summoned all its councilors to convene and called Ace over; naturally, it couldn't be for some trivial matters.

Even though Ace had once displayed power terrifying enough to surpass the ordinary Ten Wizard Saints, reaching the level of the top four of the Ten Wizard Saints — the strength of Ishgar's Four Heavenly Kings — it was the same.

"Oh?"

"About the Bai Huzi Pirates?"

Ace raised an eyebrow.

The matter was a bit more complicated than Ace, or rather Lin Cheng, had imagined.

"That's right!"

"The Magic Council is the symbol of justice!"

"It is responsible for monitoring all guilds and punishing those that violate the rules!"

Chairman Crawford looked at Ace, whose expression had been overly flat from beginning to end, and said: "Currently, we have not actually gathered any intelligence on the activities of Ace or the Bai Huzi Pirates behind you."

"But, now that you've come, I hope Ace can give us an answer."

"Is the Bai Huzi Pirates just or evil?"

"Should our Magic Council treat the Bai Huzi Pirates as a regular Wizard Saint guild, or as a Dark Wizard Saint guild?"

As the words fell, the entire Magic Council hall fell somewhat silent.

The instant Chairman Crawford finished speaking, every gaze landed on Ace.

Everyone was waiting for Ace's answer.

Among them were gazes that were relatively kind and anxious — that was the councilor with good relations with Fairy Tail, Yajima.

There were also gazes full of interest — Jellal's thought body, Zikrain.

And there were gazes like Ultear's, lost in thought, curious about what Ace's final answer would be.

However, the most numerous were gazes looking down from above.