Time flew, and most of their week of rest was soon over. Everyone had either gone off on vacation or taken a trip somewhere. Even the candidates and their respective partners were busy training, leaving the Fairy Tail Guild rather empty these past few days.
In the entire Fairy Tail Guild hall, only the old man Makarov remained, drinking by himself. On the very first day, he had sent Gildarts ahead to prepare the exam grounds on Wolf Island, the Holy Land of the Fairy Tail Guild.
That left him with plenty of leisure, and he spent it tucked away in the guild, enjoying his drinks alone.
"I wonder who'll actually pass this promotion exam." Makarov tipped back his head and drained an entire large wooden tankard, then wiped his mouth and muttered drunkenly, "We haven't had a new S-Class Mage in years. Mystogan's gone back to his own world, too, so the guild only has four left. Hopefully someone will pass this time and become a new S-Class Mage..."
While he was drinking, a burst of cheerful conversation suddenly came from outside. He looked up to see that blasted brat who had been getting on his nerves for ages—Achill—walking in with Erza, Mira, and Le Qi, all laughing and chatting.
Almost everyone, Achill included, had their hands full of bags of all sizes. Makarov merely glanced at them before returning to his drink. He had seen this plenty of times over the past few days, almost twice a day. They would go shopping in the morning, buy piles of things, then return at noon to put them away before heading out for lunch and another afternoon of shopping. They would only come back after a late-night snack around eight or nine. This had repeated nearly every day, and their