On the night following the first day of the Grand Magic Games, the royal capital was bustling and lively.
The members of Fairy Tail had gathered at a tavern, where Makarov had rented out the entire venue.
After all... their trip was sponsored by the Ram Company, so there was no need to endure hardships anymore.
Makarov stood on the counter, raising his glass with pride as he roared, "We achieved a great victory on the first day! Let's maintain this momentum—our goal is to become number one in Fiore!!"
Almost all members raised their glasses in unison, cheering and howling.
Macao gulped down a mouthful of alcohol as he praised them.
Gray, resting his chin on his hand, exhaled and muttered.
"What are you talking about? I only placed fourth."
Juvia leaned over to flatter him. "That's only because Gray-sama was protecting me! Next time we meet, Gray-sama will defeat that Rufus!"
Gray didn't respond, drinking with a determined look in his eyes.
Juvia was right—sooner or later, he would confront Sabertooth and settle the score with that Memory-Make Mage!
While Gray and Juvia were reviewing their daytime defeat, Lucy was celebrating on the other side.
Having defeated Raven Tail, Lucy became the center of praise and admiration.
After a few drinks, she began feeling lightheaded and overconfident.
To make matters worse, Natsu carried her around like a trophy, holding her up by her legs as he ran across the venue, showcasing their victory.
The NaLu duo once again became the drunken, chaotic center of attention.
One could only imagine what expression Lucy would have when she sobered up the next day...
Gajeel watched them with annoyance, grumbling, "What's the Salamander so excited about? He didn't even compete."
Levy, holding Panther Lily, sighed. "Well... Lucy-chan and Natsu just have a special bond~"
Gajeel hopped off his stool, a sly grin spreading across his face.
"In that case, maybe I'll take advantage of the chaos to punch the Salamander—sounds fun."
Laxus held his glass. "Forget it. If you fight Natsu, this perfectly good tavern will be destroyed again."
Perhaps slightly drunk, Gajeel patted Laxus on the head and teased, "Oh~ oh~ where did your former dominance go, Laxus!"
Faced with this, Freed glared at Gajeel like a loyal dog defending its territory, while Levy quickly hugged Gajeel's waist and pulled him back, pleading:
"Don't be like this, Gajeel!"
If Laxus didn't treat his comrades differently from outsiders, Gajeel would be beaten to death!
On the other side, Elfman said dejectedly, "If only I hadn't given up my qualification to Cana earlier, I'd like to compete too."
Lisanna smiled and comforted him, "Don't say that. Cana went through special training with Gildarts, so she's probably stronger than you, Elf-nii~"
"Even you say that..."
"But," Elfman looked around and asked, "Where are Ankh and my sister? And Erza doesn't seem to be here either?"
"They went to visit Wendy," Lisanna thought for a moment and said. "It seems Mira and Erza went with Ankh-nii."
"Those three are really inseparable..."
...
While their guildmates were celebrating in the tavern, Ankh and the two women were standing outside the medical room, having just stepped out.
According to Porlyusica, Wendy's condition had recovered.
She just needed one more day of observation to prevent any aftereffects before she could participate in the competition.
"Thank you for your hard work, having to call you here for such tiresome matters."
Outside the door, Ankh expressed his gratitude to Erik and Macbeth.
The two didn't complain much.
They had been organizing information from the past seven years at the company and couldn't take on missions temporarily.
Moreover, Erik's girlfriend Kinana wanted to watch the Grand Magic Games, so they took this opportunity to come to the capital as a group.
The two of them were protecting Wendy here, while Jellal and Sawyer went to enjoy the festival, looking after the Fairy Tail support group members to prevent another attack.
Seeing Erik's radiant expression, Ankh couldn't help but laugh. "How are things between you and Kinana?"
Erik's cold demeanor had diminished; now he seemed more like a shy, sunny youth.
He scratched his head, too embarrassed to speak.
Macbeth shook his head and spread his hands. "He's planning to propose to Kinana, but he keeps feeling his status isn't good enough and can't bring himself to say it."
"Propose?!"
Ankh, Mirajane, and Erza looked at Erik with shocked expressions.
That's fast progress—it's only been three months since returning from Tenrou Island!
But... it seemed normal, considering Kinana had been with Erik since she was Cubellios, growing up together as childhood friends.
Mirajane looked at him with some envy and said softly, "I see, congratulations."
Erza's face turned bright red with steam, clearly starting to fantasize about something again...
Ankh patted his shoulder and said, "Do your best. Clear your name soon so you can live openly with Kinana."
"I understand," Erik nodded. "She's already waited seven years. I don't want to make her wait any longer."
After chatting with the two, Ankh and the women bid them farewell and prepared to head to the celebration banquet at the tavern.
On the way, Mirajane kept her head lowered, pondering the matter of the marriage proposal, her heart filled with envy.
How wonderful... settling down like that.
Unable to resist the itch in her heart, Mirajane glanced at Ankh, then reached out to hold his hand.
Ankh looked at Mirajane in surprise as she swayed her little braid, her mood seeming to brighten.
Erza, still lost in steamy fantasies about marriage, remained unaware that she was about to be "homewrecked" again.
"Mira, I..."
Just as Ankh was about to say something, the clanking of soldiers' armor and marching footsteps echoed through the air.
A squad of soldiers stood in formation before them, with their leader approaching Ankh and saying:
"Ankh-sama, His Majesty the King wishes to see you."
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