On Christmas Day—
Raizel didn't wake up until 10 a.m., having been out delivering gifts until almost 3 a.m. the previous night... And that was with a lot of help.
When he arrived at the guild, a group of people were sitting around yawning.
There weren't any special events planned for Christmas Day itself.
Some people were sitting together chatting, while others had gathered to play their new card game.
"We're heading back now," Layla said.
Layla, Jude, and Lucy were standing at the main entrance of the guild.
Earlier that morning, Lucy had taken her parents around Magnolia for a bit. After breakfast, the two of them prepared to return home.
"So soon?" Raizel perked up and went to the entrance, where Ur also came to stand by his side.
"We've had a wonderful time already. Today is for you young people to enjoy yourselves," Jude said, patting Raizel's arm.
"We'll come back for the Harvest Festival," Layla added.
"Not just for the Harvest Festival. If you ever come to Magnolia, just let me know, and I'll show you around," Ur said with a warm smile and a nod.
"Alright, it's a deal," Layla replied, her eyes smiling as she nodded in agreement.
"Let me see you off." Raizel and the others escorted Layla and Jude to the main town gate of Magnolia.
"If you run into any trouble, just write to me. Especially about money," Layla reminded Lucy before stepping into the carriage.
"Okay, Mom."
"No need to see us any further." Layla and Jude waved before the carriage doors closed.
In the year X785, after the New Year when all the various shops reopened, the airship modification plan was officially put on the agenda.
The modification of the Fairy Tail guild's ship proceeded very smoothly.
Kagura inscribed several anti-gravity magic circles, while Levy and Freed added various reinforcement spells to the hull.
Raizel and Erza managed to find a massive magic crystal to serve as the power source through various underground channels.
They also modified the ship itself, reinforcing it with lightweight, durable materials.
"All done!" Raizel jumped down from the deck and looked at the members waiting at the port.
Raizel test-started the airship in Hargeon, flew it to Tenrou Island, and back.
The current airship didn't have much combat capability, but its defenses were maxed out.
Originally, Raizel had considered installing the Magic Convergence Cannon—Jupiter—that they had confiscated from Phantom Lord.
But Ultear later vetoed the idea, pointing out that firing Jupiter would consume way too much power from their lacrima.
So, no heavy artillery installation, at least for now.
After all, their main goal was travel, not fighting a war.
The airship was ready, but the inaugural trip had to be postponed.
The first piece of good news of the New Year had arrived—everyone at the guild received a formal invitation from Alzack and Bisca.
Alzack and Bisca were getting married in just two weeks' time, on February 14th.
They decided to hold the wedding right at the guild hall.
"Let's do it! And do it big!" Makarov declared, slamming his mug on the table.
"Let's party! Party hard!" Macao and Wakaba chimed in.
"Let's eat! Eat a ton!" Natsu roared, flames spurting intermittently from his mouth.
Natsu paused, blinking.
"Wait? What did you say? Who's getting married?" He finally processed the information.
"Who else?! Who handed out the invitations?! The names are right there, printed so big on the paper you're holding!" Lucy looked exasperated, lightly smacking Natsu's arm.
The rest of the crowd surrounded Alzack and Bisca, bombarding them with questions all at once.
"Are you two getting married?!"
"When did you decide this?!"
"How long have you even been together?!"
"Wait! One at a time! How are we supposed to answer when you're all talking over each other?" Alzack was overwhelmed by the barrage of questions until Bisca stepped in to interrupt.
"We got together around the end of last year, just before the S-Class trials, and then we decided to get married," Bisca explained, both of them speaking with slight embarrassment.
"Hold on, that means you've only been together for a short while, right?" Lucy counted on her fingers—at most, it had been two months.
"You can't calculate it like that. If you include the time they spent making eyes at each other across the hall, it's been much longer," Cana wrapped an arm around Lucy's neck while teasingly looking at Bisca.
"I can't believe we missed such big news while modifying the airship," Raizel laughed. "I have a question! Who proposed?"
"Me!" Bisca pointed at herself proudly.
If she hadn't made the first move, who knows how much longer they would have dragged things out.
She didn't want to wait any longer.
Plus, neither of them had parents or family left now, so why not hold the wedding at the guild? It would be lively with so many people around.
"Ooooh!" Various cheers and catcalls echoed through the guild hall.
"That's so like you, Bisca!"
"Amazing!"
"Well, it's nothing special..." Bisca waved her hands dismissively, her face turning red.
Even the usually bold and spirited sniper felt somewhat shy when talking about marriage.
Alzack and Bisca were currently troubled about how many bridesmaids and groomsmen to choose.
The bridesmaids were easy—Ultear, Erza, Mira, Kagura, Cana, Lucy, Levy, and Juvia.
Looking at this lineup, they could pick anyone, and it would be perfect.
But the groomsmen side... could only be described as a disaster!
At best, they could only find two normal people: Raizel and Laxus.
The rest included Natsu, who randomly breathes fire and causes trouble; Gray, who walks around in nothing but his underwear and Elfman, the giant muscleman whose catchphrase is always "manly."
Loke barely counted as normal, but he flirted with far too many girls.
What if some jealous ex showed up and caused a scene at the wedding?
Then who would be the main focus?
Just thinking about it was terrifying, so Loke was the first to be eliminated—even Natsu ranked higher than him.
Gajeel was somewhat acceptable, but they weren't close and Gajeel occasionally had his moments of craziness too.
What if he suddenly grabbed a microphone and started singing?
"That's right! Freed, Max and Reedus! And them too!" Alzack suddenly remembered that these few could be considered relatively normal.
"No, we can only choose one between Freed and Laxus. Otherwise, it might become unclear who's actually getting married," Bisca quickly came to her senses, shaking her head vigorously.
"Alright then, let me ask Laxus for his opinion first before deciding."
On the other side of the hall, Raizel and the others were also scheming.
"Most likely, Bisca will invite you to be bridesmaids," Raizel said, looking at Ultear and Erza.
"Cana, Mira, and Kagura are possibilities too."
"Bridesmaid! Me! Me!!" Erza raised her hand high, incredibly excited.
"Don't get too excited. Bridesmaids are usually an odd number, but most of the time there are three. It's still quite hard for you to not be selected, though," Ultear reached out and pulled the nearly-standing Erza back down to her seat.
In contrast, the other candidates appeared quite composed.
Ultear wasn't particularly keen on being a bridesmaid, though she wouldn't refuse if Bisca ultimately chose her.
Raizel revealed a mischievous grin and leaned in.
"Though it's a wedding, we're Fairy Tail—we can't let their ceremony be too ordinary. I have some ideas. Everyone, gather closer."