2 days passed since he came up with the plan and Ben went on a job with Mira and Bella. He left the guild to his advisor, Macao, one of Fairy Tail's senior members. Macao's experience in the guild is helpful for Ben as he hadn't been a member of Fairy Tail for that long.
Ben installed many defense mechanisms to protect the guild and Magnolia as well. He installed them slowly after he found the mysterious lacrima crystal below the guild. That lacrima crystal has enough power to protect the town from a Wizard Saint's attack.
But after his Anima plan is successful, they will have more power to use so the town will be super safe. Ben's goal was to make sure Acnologia's attack didn't destroy the town like it did Tenrou Island.
Besides, by using the magic power that the Anima absorbed to fuel the defense system, he can hide the Anima from the world. The defense system can absorb a high amount of magic power and even store it when Ben started the Anima plan, then use the stored power in the future.
Even so, there was a limit to how much they can store, especially if they're never used. That's why he's currently thinking of another way to store the stolen magic power before he started the Anima plan. He thought about that while on his way to the job's location.
"How long will it be before we reach the place?" Mira asked.
"Probably an hour at this speed. I can speed up if you want." Ben answered.
"No, it's okay. This speed is good enough. I still can enjoy the view at this speed. If you drive faster, I can't enjoy the view because everything becomes blurry." Mira said.
"Well, you're right." Ben acknowledged the point being made.
They are currently on a job to subdue a magical creature. Of course, it's a S-Class job with a high difficulty level even for a S-Class job. Many S-Class mages failed to complete this job since it was posted 7 months ago, so it's a difficult S-Class job.
What made the job difficult wasn't the target, but it's location. It was located out at sea so it was underwater. Their target is a specific Leviathan that started living in the sea trade route, preventing ships from sailing through the route.
They can't change the route because the sea was full of dangerous magical creatures. There might be more of them than on land because the sea is wider and deeper than land. Also, subjugation jobs for sea creatures was rare so they had a high population.
The group finally arrived at a small port in about an hour. It's where they'll meet the client, or more specifically, someone who will explain everything to them because the job was issued by the kingdom as the sea route was owned by the kingdom.
"There aren't many people here." Mira noted as she only saw a few people in the port.
"Is closed." Bella said as she pointed at a few closed shops.
"Yeah, many people must've left this port and gone to another town. With the sea route unable to be used, they won't have a lot to do and their income is decreased. So it's better to leave and work in a different town." Ben added.
"Ah, so that's how it is. They do live on a sea route." Mira nodded.
"Yeah, I guess it's not only the trading that got blocked but even normal activities like fishing are also hindered. With a Leviathan in the sea, the fishermen couldn't do their job and the supply for fish decreased. Fish is a staple for places like this so without it, they can't live here. Moving away is the best option, especially because this problem hasn't been resolved in months." Ben explained.
"You are correct." Someone suddenly said a few meters to their left.
Ben's group looked to the left and saw a group of people come their way. It consisted of a man dressed like a butler and 4 guards.
"Nice to meet you, mages of Fairy Tail. I am Riccardio, the one in charge of this town." Riccardio said with a bow.
"In charge of this town? I thought you were a butler." Ben stated.
The guards sigh after they heard that, but Riccardio just smiled. "Please don't mind my appearance as I am also a butler."
"What do you mean?" Mira was confused.
"Fu fu, I'm glad you asked. It's because lords usually dump all their work on their butler. It's just like how the kingdom dumps all the work in this town on me. It made me that I am just a butler for the kingdom. So to make my work more efficient, I dedicated my life to being a butler." Riccardio stated passionately.
"Okay?" Ben's group said with uncertainty as they didn't understand what he was saying.
"Um, please don't mind him. He's always like this, but he is an excellent lord." One of the guards suddenly said.
"Like what?!" Riccardio exclaimed.
"Yes, he is just obsessed with being a butler even though he is a noble." Another one chimed in.
"Butler is nice and very dignified." Riccardio nodded.
"Sometimes he talks nonsense, but he always does his work as a lord properly." The 3rd guard also chimed in.
"What do you mean nonsense?!" Riccardio demanded.
"If he wasn't like this, he would have a wife and children already. At this rate, he will run out of single women around his age and can only find elderly widows." The 4th guard added.
"Don't worry, I will find a young widow." Riccardio said as he extended his thumb.
The 4 guards just sighed while Ben's group was dumbfounded. They feel like they're watching a show or play right now. But at least they're sure Riccardio is the lord of this port town.
"Then, can we discuss the quest?" Ben asked.
"Yes, let's talk in my office." Riccardio said.
After walking for some time, they arrive at Riccardio's office, located in a big building in the center of town. This building consisted of people that had different jobs like officials, servants, maids, etc. But there is no butler at all because the lord is the butler.
"Just like what was in the job description you told me about, your job is to subdue a Leviathan that showed up in the sea route. As for the type of Leviathan, it's a Shark Leviathan." Riccardio explained.
The Shark Leviathan is a Leviathan that resembled a shark. But it was several times bigger than a shark and it also had an armored body. It can also use high level magic, it's a S-Class magical creature for a reason.
There are many different types of Leviathan and they all resemble fish. It's because Leviathans are fish with strong magic power. They grew rapidly and were said to mutate into monsters, becoming a Leviathan.
But all these mutated monsters are fake Leviathans. The real Leviathans were water dragons that went extinct along with other dragons. It's really a title instead of a name. Then the name Leviathan was used for these mutated monsters. They more resemble a Drake or Wyvern of the sea.
"Hmm, if it's just a Shark Leviathan, then this job would've already been completed. If it was a Whale Leviathan, that would be a different story because it's the strongest Leviathan. So why?" Ben asked.
"That would be the case if this was a ordinary Shark Leviathan. But this Shark Leviathan is really big, almost the size of the Whale Leviathan. It also has strong water magic that can destroy our ship easily. Also, I'm sure you're aware that the Shark Leviathan is the most aggressive Leviathan compared to the Whale Leviathan which is very gentle despite being the strongest Leviathan." Riccardio explained.
"Hmm, so it's like that." Ben nodded in understanding.
Riccardio told them a little more about the job. Then after they finished, Ben's group went to defeat the Leviathan.