"Joy"

"Ah!!"

Laxus woke with a start and let out a scream. The earlier battle had ended so quickly that he hadn't even had time to cry out.

"Oh, you're awake." Makarov had been dozing beside him and jumped at his sudden scream.

Laxus looked around and found himself lying in Fairy Tail's infirmary.

"Did I lose?"

Laxus looked down at his hands, still finding it hard to believe. Everything had happened so fast that it didn't feel real.

"Well, everyone has their own opportunities. You don't need to take it too hard, and that's not a move he can use whenever he wants," Makarov said, trying to console his grandson.

Laxus didn't answer. He just clenched his fists, his thoughts a mystery.

"Eleven's case was an accident. It can't be repeated, so don't get any strange ideas."

Makarov knew his grandson too well. One look was enough to tell him what Laxus was thinking. Who would have guessed that brat Eleven would improve so much after courting death once? He had waited there for Laxus to wake up because he was afraid his grandson would do something rash and try to copy him. He only had the one grandson. If Laxus succeeded in getting himself killed, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.

"I know, you old geezer. You're so annoying!" Laxus had grown a little impatient with Makarov and pushed him toward the door.

"Damn it, I won't lose next time!" Once Makarov had left, Laxus punched the wall and silently made up his mind.

"The Harvest Festival? What's that?"

As Eleven chatted with Cana, he used Telekinesis to pick up the shirt Gray had just taken off and put it on his head.

"Oh, right, you went away on a job last year, so you missed it." Cana stifled a laugh as she glanced at Gray in the distance, scrambling to put his clothes on, then continued explaining to Eleven. "It's Fairy Tail's big annual celebration!"

"What do you do at the celebration? Does everyone eat together?"

"Hehe, there'll be food too." Cana smiled helplessly. "But the most important part is that all of Magnolia gets decked out in decorations. Everyone puts on performances, the guild holds the Miss Fairy Tail Beauty Contest, and there's a grand magic parade at night!"

"Ah, I have no idea what any of that is. It sounds so boring." Eleven sprawled limply across the table like a liquid cat.

"Hehe, you'll find out when the time comes."

In preparation for the upcoming Harvest Festival, all of Magnolia seemed to come alive. Its colors grew brighter, and the atmosphere throughout the city changed. Everyone was busy, but they all wore smiles on their faces.

Cana pulled Eleven along as he floated through the streets. The master had asked them to buy decorations. Eleven had never experienced this kind of festive atmosphere before. Back at the guild, everyone was usually noisy and cheerful too, but it was nothing compared to Magnolia now. This seemed to be a purer kind of happiness.

Eleven felt his Spiritual Power completely immersed in the festive atmosphere, and his whole body felt light. The expression on his face was blissful. He could finally understand how excited Cana had been when she talked about the celebration, and now he was looking forward to the Harvest Festival too.

Because Eleven kept standing motionless, staring and grinning foolishly at the roadside, Cana had to huffily tie a rope around his waist and pull him along like a balloon. It was so embarrassing.

On this day, the Harvest Festival officially began with a chorus of ceremonial cannon fire.

Eleven came to Fairy Tail today with the orphanage children of all ages, and Gray joined them. A group of boys who acted older than their years all clamored to see the "Miss Fairy Tail Beauty Contest," only for Miss Maria to refuse them with a look of disdain. She pointed at Eleven, who was daydreaming nearby, and told them to learn from him instead of thinking about perverted things all day.

Incidentally, Fairy Tail did have dormitories, and they were free for children who couldn't work. Gray and Cana lived there. Eleven simply preferred living at the orphanage. He declared that he would stay there until the very last day of being fifteen, although he only went back to sleep.

Eleven was indeed daydreaming. His Spiritual Power had been completely assimilated into Magnolia's joyful atmosphere, leaving his thoughts somewhat muddled. Since Cana had grown fed up with him, no one was pulling him along with a rope, and he gradually became separated from everyone else. But Eleven didn't mind, or perhaps he hadn't even noticed. He simply wandered aimlessly through Magnolia's streets.

Listening to the vendors' shrill cries and the men's coarse chatter, watching the performers give their all and children play innocently, smelling the food wafting from the restaurants, feeling the gentle breeze, tasting the ice cream that had appeared in his hand at some point, and ignoring the crying brat behind him, Eleven became utterly intoxicated, drunk on this ocean called "happiness."

By noon, the men who had been drawn to the Fairy Tail guild by the beauty contest were all released. The streets grew livelier and more crowded. No longer able to float along smoothly, Eleven subconsciously drifted out over the river, where no one could jostle him.

Quite a few passersby knew Eleven and knew that the strange child was a mage, so no one made a fuss. Instead, they took it for his performance—floating on water.

The sun sank in the west.

"Hey, Eleven, what are you doing spacing out there? The parade's about to start, and we're all taking part!" Gray suddenly spotted Eleven, who had been missing all day. He hurriedly stopped by the river and urged Eleven to get back to the guild.

But Eleven was still daydreaming and paid him no attention.

"Hey!" Seeing no reaction from Eleven, Gray picked up a small stone from the ground and gently tossed it at him, hoping to get his attention.

Although Eleven was lost in thought, his Spiritual Power still protected him subconsciously. The little stone stopped abruptly in midair, then shot back with a whoosh.

Gray ran off crying with a big bump on his head. He silently swore that if he didn't beat that bastard up someday, he'd wear a skintight suit he could never take off.

Night fell.

The bang of a magic firework jolted Eleven awake. He felt as though he had just had the most comfortable sleep of his life. His mind had never felt so refreshed.

He looked around. It was dark, quiet, and there wasn't a soul in sight. Everyone had gathered on the central avenue to welcome Fairy Tail's parade floats. Eleven released his Spiritual Power, instantly covering all of Magnolia, and watched Fairy Tail's parade from a god's-eye view.

He saw Makarov performing a strange dance, Laxus sending out electrical sparks, Cana's cards flying through the air, and Gray streaking down the street...

When the parade reached the very center of the city, countless dazzling spells shot into the sky at once. The surrounding crowds cheered and celebrated together. At that moment, the joyful atmosphere throughout the city reached its peak.

Magnolia's emotions came from every direction, absorbed and interpreted by Eleven's Spiritual Power before being transformed into his own feelings. Eleven felt as though his Spiritual Power had come alive, constantly leaping and churning. Some kind of energy seemed to be born, flowing toward the deepest part of his mind, where his soul lay.

This was the first time Eleven had sensed the location of his soul. The energy born from the joyful emotions of all Magnolia continued to fill it.

Eleven vaguely felt something missing within him being filled. His heart was utterly full, as though he had been born anew, his soul elevated.

As the joyful energy poured into his soul, it grew stronger. As it was strengthened, great surges of Spiritual Power were born, flowing constantly into the space in Eleven's mind that was both his sea of consciousness and his source of magic power.

Only after the celebration ended and everything fell quiet did Eleven's released Spiritual Power slowly return. By then, the source of magic power in his mind had more than doubled in size.