Early the next morning—
"For now, I still need to train magic with Mr. Jura. But Lamia Scale isn't far away, so we'll be able to see each other often."
Lyon was saying goodbye to Gray.
"Who wants to see you often!" Gray crossed his arms and turned his head away tsundere-style.
"Wendy! Yukino! We have to meet often from now on!" Sherria held Yukino and Wendy's hands and shook them.
"Mm!" Yukino and Wendy nodded firmly.
"Jura, I'll leave Lyon in your care." Ul placed one hand on her hip, the corners of her lips rising slightly into a gentle smile.
"You are too polite, Lady Ur." Jura pressed his palms together and lowered his head.
"Lord Makarov, Lady Ur, Raizel, then we'll be taking our leave."
"Farewell. Have a safe trip!"
After Jura finished speaking, he led Lyon and the others away.
Once the members had each said goodbye to the people they were familiar with from the other guilds, the group boarded the Destiny.
Everyone stood on the deck, watching the capital city of Crocus gradually shrink in the distance.
"Goodbye! Crocus!" Happy clung to the railing and shouted toward the city.
"Goodbye!"
Happy's farewell resonated with the girls, and they also cupped their hands around their mouths and called goodbye to Crocus.
Thanks to the airship's special modifications, Natsu, Gajeel, and the others did not feel too uncomfortable. It was mostly just psychological discomfort.
Compared to them, Wendy, who had only just started getting motion sick, was doing much better.
She even used Troia to help relieve their symptoms a little.
"Natsu, what are we going to do after we get back?" Happy asked while sitting beside Natsu.
"Well… I want to take on more interesting jobs," Natsu said, moving his body around.
"I kind of want to go fishing," Happy said.
"If it's fishing, go with Raizel. He likes fishing the most."
Wendy and Lucy were trying to make flower crowns, and they also joined the conversation.
"After we go back, I also want to work hard and take on more jobs. What about you, Lucy-san?"
"Hmm… Oh right, this Grand Magic Games gave me some inspiration, so I want to write it into a novel."
"A novel! Lu-chan, I want to read it!" Levy waved her arms excitedly.
"What kind of story is it?" Ultear was also somewhat interested.
"Mm… I can't say yet!" Lucy winked, deliberately keeping them in suspense.
"What exactly have you been drawing this whole time?" Raizel walked over to Erza, who was sitting quietly in the distance and drawing.
"A design sketch for a new custom-made armor." Erza did not even lift her head, continuing to draw seriously.
"Sorry for disturbing you…"
Raizel knew what kind of masterpiece it would be, so he immediately turned to leave.
"No! You have to look!"
Erza grabbed Raizel back and forced him to admire her masterpiece.
"How is it?" Erza held up her masterpiece in both hands and looked at Raizel proudly.
Raizel looked at Erza's extremely abstract art style and the corner of his mouth twitched.
After calming himself down, he said, "…This is hard to judge."
Carla saw the drawing and broke out in cold sweat.
"It's so shocking it might appear in my dreams…"
"You flatter me, you flatter me!"
At times like this, Erza accepted everything completely.
"Erza, draw me a tasty fish first!" Happy looked at Erza with an expectant expression.
"Hehe, leave it to me. Sketching is what I'm best at!"
"…"
Raizel really wanted to ask if she was sure about that.
After Happy saw the fish Erza drew for him…
"This fish… I'd rather not eat it!"
…
After five hours of flying, the ship landed in the eastern forest.
Although Raizel could use teleportation magic to bring everyone directly back to the guild, the group actually found themselves missing Magnolia's streets and air, so they decided to walk back to the guild.
When Raizel and the others arrived at the town gate, they immediately sensed that Magnolia was different from usual.
Lanterns and decorations were everywhere, and the residents were far more enthusiastic than normal.
"They're here! They're back!"
"Hurry, everyone! Hurry over here!"
"We've been waiting for you for so long!"
"Welcome back!"
Magnolia's main street, wide enough for eight carriages to pass side by side, was now packed with people.
"Everyone! To welcome the winning guild of the Grand Magic Games, please greet them with thunderous applause!"
Under the mayor's lead, the residents applauded warmly.
"Fairy Tail… returns in triumph!"
Even Raizel was a little startled by the scale of the welcome.
He quietly spoke beside the mayor, "Mayor, isn't this a little too much?"
The mayor smiled and casually waved his hand.
"Not at all, not at all. This is the honor of being number one in the Kingdom of Fiore!"
"Look, Natsu seems to be adapting just fine."
The mayor pointed at Natsu, who had raised his right hand and was waving to the residents.
"We're back!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy jumped up excitedly.
"So many people actually came…"
Seeing the residents warmly welcoming them on both sides, Lucy could not help feeling surprised.
"It seems people from the towns near Magnolia came too," Erza said, noticing many unfamiliar faces in the crowd.
"This is almost like the Harvest Festival," Ultear sighed emotionally.
"We won the championship!" Makarov raised his arms and cheered.
From the looks of it, he was also adapting very well.
"Mira! Look over here!"
"Okay!" Mira looked toward the direction of the voice and smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Kagura! Wendy!"
"Laxus!"
"Everyone, thank you for your support!" Wendy bowed slightly toward the crowd supporting her.
"Lucy, you really did it!"
In the crowd, Lucy's landlady shouted loudly.
"Landlady, you came too!" Lucy stopped and waved toward her.
"Winning is winning, but rent is a separate matter!"
"Hahaha!" The people nearby laughed loudly.
"Sigh…"
Lucy helplessly sighed.
She felt she really needed Raizel to see this. How could she not care about money in this situation?
Otherwise, Raizel would keep teasing her for being a miser all day!
"Ultear, the Ice White Rose was beautiful!"
"Miss Erza! Your battle in the Pandemonium was the most amazing!"
"Kagura, your battle with Leon was also wonderful!"
"This is really embarrassing…"
At this moment, both Erza and Kagura's cheeks were a little red.
Along the way, they had received countless compliments.
"Laxus, your battle with Jura was incredible!"
Uncle Valo was tall and had long wavy black hair, making him very easy to spot in the crowd.
"I'll go to your shop tonight and drink with you!" Laxus was also very happy to see Valo.
Valo could be considered someone who truly understood him.
"Raizel, you come too!" Valo waved and shouted toward Raizel as well.
"No problem!" Raizel raised his arm in response.
"Then I'll show everyone on the street something good."
Feeling the enthusiasm of the crowd, Natsu put down his backpack and started rummaging through it.
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