Like a Lifetime Ago
Year X791.
Seven years have passed since the main force of Fairy Tail disappeared.
Seven years.
Enough for a baby to learn to walk, enough for a child to grow into a teenager, enough for a teenager to become an adult.
In these seven years, many new star mages have emerged in the Kingdom of Fiore.
Jenny of the Blue Pegasus replaced Mirajane as the first weekly girl of the Kingdom of Fiore.
Sabertooth, emerged out of nowhere, seizing the throne from Fairy Tail and becoming the number one guild in the Kingdom of Fiore.
Under Kagura's guidance, Mermaid Heel gradually gained fame throughout the Kingdom of Fiore.
Jura of the Lamia Scales is becoming increasingly secure in her position among the Ten Wizard Saints, and her earth magic has reached a level that inspires awe.
Compared to the previous ones, Quatro Cerberus is somewhat outdated, but it still manages to maintain the prestige of an old-established guild.
What's most puzzling is that Raven Tail, an organization once marked as a dark guild by the Magic Council, was surprisingly granted the status of a light guild.
No one knows how they did it, nor how much the Magic Council, but the matter was settled, in black and white, and publicly announced.
Two of the Balam Alliance's iron triangle were destroyed: Grimoire Heart and Oración Seis were both wiped out, and the remaining dark guild forces were almost completely eradicated by the Magic Council's purge.
They even wanted to wipe out the remaining Tartaros in one fell swoop, but after seven years they still couldn't find any trace of them, not even the slightest clue.
The most important thing is the Grand Magic Games that will sweep across the entire kingdom.
All guilds of Light are welcome to participate; the scale is unprecedented, and the prizes are generous.
The victorious guild will not only gain a great deal of wealth, but more importantly, they will gain the honor of being the kingdom's number one guild.
Max sat in a corner of the guild hall, closed his newspaper, and sighed.
The newspaper was crumpled up by him, with coffee stains on the edges.
"Well."
He tossed the newspaper onto the table, leaned back in his chair, and looked up at the ceiling.
Seven years have passed.
He closed his eyes, and his voice grew softer and softer.
Are they really still alive?
Romeo jumped up from the chair next to him and slammed his fist on the table with a loud thud.
He had grown quite a bit taller, and his clothing style was similar to Natsu's.
They are definitely still alive!
His voice echoed in the hall.
Max looked at Romeo with a complicated expression, his lips moving slightly.
Now there are only a few people left in the guild.
Such a large territory with so few people has made many people envious.
They caused Fairy Tail a lot of trouble, both openly and secretly.
On the surface, the problem is simply a lack of high-end combat power, an inability to handle high-difficulty missions, a gradual loss of missions, and an inability to support so many members, all of whom have been poached. There's nothing we can do about it.
Secretly, Ultear and her two companions dealt with many of those who were up to no good.
Macao sat behind the counter, a thick ledger spread out in front of him.
"The money left by Riyao is almost gone."
He closed the ledger and rubbed his temples.
Wakaba walked over and slapped Macao hard on the back, his hand making a dull thud.
"Back then, Riyao joked that you'd become the chairman, and he was absolutely right."
Macao was slapped so hard he leaned forward, and the teacup in his hand wobbled.
"You should act like the president of the student council."
Wakaba took the pipe out of his mouth and tapped it on the edge of the table.
"How about I let you be the headmaster?"
Macao pushed the ledger aside, turned to look at Wakao, and his expression was very serious.
"No, you should take the role."
Wakaba waved his hand, put the pipe back in his mouth, and mumbled something indistinctly.
"I don't want to be looking at the ledgers every day."
Asuka ran out from behind the table, clutching a pink candy wrapper that was slightly crumpled in her hand.
She ran up to Macao, stood on tiptoe, and held the candy out to him, her little hand outstretched.
"Grandpa Chairman, here's some candy for you."
Macao took the candy and touched his face.
"Just call him Uncle Chairman."
He stuffed the candy into his breast pocket and patted the pocket.
I'm not that old yet.
The guild members burst into laughter.
Laughter echoed in the hall, shaking the dust off the empty chairs.
"Man~"
A highly recognizable voice came from the doorway, its last syllable drawn out.
Everyone turned to look at the doorway.
He stood at the guild's main entrance all night, striking a pose.
He braced himself against the doorframe with one hand, raised the other high with his fingertips pointing to the ceiling, his body tilted at a subtle angle, his chin held high, and his expression full of confidence and smugness.
His three apprentices stood behind him, holding handfuls of flower petals, scattering them over him. The petals fell in a flurry, carpeting the ground.
Bisca reached out and covered Asuka's eyes.
His fingers were pressed together, his palm pressed tightly against the little girl's eyelids.
The child is still young; we mustn't leave her with psychological trauma.
These days, some things, once seen, are unforgettable.
I changed positions overnight.
He turned ninety degrees, crossed his arms in front of his chest, lowered his chin from its high position, deepened his gaze, and a mysterious smile appeared on his lips.
"Man~"
His three disciples scattered another handful of flower petals, which floated in the air for a few seconds before slowly landing on his head.
"Fairy Tail members! Stop sighing!"
After saying that, he changed his posture again. This time he turned his body back, spread his arms, faced the entire hall, and showed a compassionate expression on his face.
"Man~"
He paused, took a deep breath, and lowered his voice to create an air of mystery.
"We've detected unusual activity in the area where Tenrou Island is located!"
He changed his posture again.
He pulled his arms back, clasped his hands together in front of his chest, lowered his head slightly, closed his eyes, and his expression was devout and profound.
His three apprentices scattered the last handful of petals, then stepped aside in unison.
"Man~"
He opened his eyes, and a light ignited in them.
"It's very likely Riyao and his group!"
These three sentences made everyone in the guild stand up, and the chair legs scraped loudly on the floor.
Wakaba's pipe really did fall to the ground this time.
Macao stood up from behind the counter, braced himself against it with both hands, leaned forward, and stared wide-eyed.
Bisca removed her hand from Asuka's eyes, her own eyes widening even more than Asuka's.
Romeo was the most excited.
"Really?"
Hibiki emerged from behind him, adjusted his glasses, pushed them up with his fingers, and then pulled a data sheet from his pocket, densely filled with numbers and charts.
He unfolded the data table and pointed to the middle row of data.
"According to monitoring data, the magical fluctuations there have become more active, which is very likely..."
He put away the data sheet, folded it neatly, and put it back in his pocket, his movements steady and his tone calm.
"We, the Blue Pegasus, can use Christina to take you there and have a look."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Let's go quickly."
The sound came from behind. Xiang turned around and saw Romeo already standing at the door of the airship, one hand on the door frame.
Xiang's lips twitched, and he pushed up his glasses. The lenses reflected the light, obscuring his eyes, but you could see the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.
Fairy Tail is still as unconventional as ever.