Proceeding as Planned

"Good evening, everyone. The next adult group competition will be hosted by Cana and Erza." Cana, standing on the wooden board, held Marcus's microphone and said shakily.

"Yes, yes, we'll do our best to commentate on the match," Erza was sitting upright and looking like a complete idiot, chimed in.

One of them was talking incoherently, while the other spoke haltingly several times, their voices carrying through the magical artifacts in their hands.

The lively atmosphere suddenly fell silent, and everyone, from Hughes and the other competitors in the lake to the guild members watching from the shore, froze.

"Great, the guild has a new host. Fairy Tail is doomed."

"Can Cana and Erza be hosts? Can they host? No! They don't have the ability, you know that?"

Seeing the growing opposition from the public, Cana anxiously stomped her feet on the floor.

The forest ice and fire people, who were acting as pillars beneath the plank, were so frightened that they scrambled to stabilize the plank.

Gray frowned and growled in a low voice, "Don't move, Cana, you'll lose your balance!"

Cana, who hadn't heard Gray speak, was still nervously stamping her feet. "What should I do? What should I do? Erza, everyone is against it. I told them I couldn't be the host, but you all insisted on making me."

Cana's voice was so tense it sounded like she was about to cry, so she stomped her feet hard to calm herself down.

"Relax, Cana, let's get serious now!" Erza stammered, annoyed at her own lack of composure. She also stomped her feet to relax, just like Cana.

Beneath the wooden plank, a forest fire and ice figure stands with its hands raised high: (≧皿≦)

Gray couldn't understand why he had agreed to Natsu's suggestion and insisted on becoming the mainstay.

"Gray, hold on!" Natsu gritted his teeth, standing below Erza, as his raised arm slowly lowered.

Erza's stomp is much stronger than Cana's.

"Natsu, we got Marcus's magical item first, so why aren't we on top of it?!"

"Even if we all attack together, we can't Erza!" Natsu said through gritted teeth, stating the harsh truth.

"But Erza and Cana are simply not capable of that, everyone's booing them, so it's better if we go instead!"

Natsu tilted his head. "Hmm?"

Gray: "Hmm?"

At this moment, the forest fire and ice creatures seemed to be of one mind...

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

The two mainstays of the performance simultaneously stepped back and jumped away, causing the wooden plank above their heads to fall to the ground with a loud thud. Erza and Cana, who were standing on the plank, were so startled that they fell to the ground.

"Erza, we've decided, let us be the hosts." Natsu grinned.

Gray nodded in agreement, and seeing this, Cana quickly handed the "hot potato" to Gray.

She didn't want to fool around with Erza for even a second longer; it was too embarrassing.

Natsu sidled up to Gray, the two of them squeezing together, and pointed at the microphone in Gray's hand. "Hey, next up is me and Gray..."

The two oblivious individuals failed to notice Erza's increasingly dark expression. "You two bastards are the ones who threw me down!"

Already angry Erza lowered her head and stood up, her two small fists clenched tightly, then suddenly swung them.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Hey~~", Natsu and Gray turned into two specks of light and disappeared into the sky.

Cana stood to the side, trembling. "Angry Erza is so scary!"

"Happy, was that you calling me just now?" Lisanna asked curiously, as Happy was nestled on her head.

"Hey, Lisanna, I've been working hard, so you can't slack off!"

Although nestled on Lisanna's head, Happy's two Cat Claws were far from idle, waving their two little flags with great enthusiasm.

"Strange, Happy was right on my head, so how did we hear Happy's voice coming from the sky just now?" Lisanna wondered.

Standing behind her, Elfman noticed Lisanna pause in her movements and mumbled a reminder, "Lisanna, wave the little flag. Mira might see you and scold you."

"I know, I haven't stopped either!" Lisanna said, waving her small flag loudly.

Not only her, but also the newly crowned runner-up in the swimming competition Elfman, was waving two small flags in his hand.

The small red flag on his right reads, "Hughes, the champion!"

This was written by Hughes himself.

The brighter-colored flag on his left read, "I was forced!"

Mira added this on her own initiative.

Not only those two and Happy, but even Mira was pulled out of the guild by Hughes.

They are standing at the very front, their faces cold and indifferent, acting as ruthless flag-waving machines.

"Damn it, why did Mira listen to Hughes and do such a shameful thing!" Lisanna said indignantly.

Looking around, everyone in the guild kept their distance, staring at them as if they were idiots, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

Happy put on the most effort, his Cat Claws flashing so fast they were practically blurry. "Hey, Mira promised to give each of us 10,000 J, enough to buy tons of fish!"

"Eat, all you do is eat! You'll get so fat, Happy!" Lisanna said irritably.

Soaking in the lake, Hughes scanned his surroundings. He hadn't chosen a track, so he was automatically assigned to the fourth track; Gildarts and Reedus were on the third and fifth tracks, respectively, nearby.

Wakaba was on track eight, while Laxus, who was the first to pick, chose track one.

While Gildarts and the others weren't paying attention, Hughes raised an eyebrow at Wakaba.

Wakaba spread his five fingers and pushed in the air, having already handed over the agreed-upon 5 million J to Mira.

Hughes turned to look at Mira on the shore. Receiving Hughes's gaze, Mira nodded silently.

The money has been received, now it's time to get down to business! Hughes breathed a sigh of relief; his task ahead was far from easy.

As our ancestors said, winning hearts and minds is the best strategy.

According to the previously agreed plan, they need to get Laxus into first place this time.

Therefore, Hughes deliberately arranged for Mira and others to stand behind Laxus and wave the flag high. He also specially wrote the words "Laxus, win the championship!" to provoke and mock Laxus.

Hughes glanced at Laxus on the first track and, sure enough, the Thunder Boy was looking utterly defiant.

Gildarts, who was standing next to Hughes, caught a glimpse of this scene and frowned.

To build the Gildarts Mode of Magnolia Town, he invested all the mission commissions he had saved up over the years, leaving him with only 5 million J.

Macao just approached him to ask if he wanted to place a bet, and explained the odds for each bet to him.

Gildarts listened attentively, thinking to himself, "Macao is practically handing me money."

He admitted that Hughes was very strong, but within the guild, Gildarts was second only to him. Gildarts immediately bet his 5 million J on winning the championship.

Now, seeing Hughes's little tricks, Gildarts felt uneasy. Was this kid up to no good?

"Hughes, give me some face and don't do anything reckless. I've staked my entire fortune on this." Gildarts rubbed his palms together, his tone slightly ingratiating.

Upon hearing this, Hughes smiled enigmatically at Gildarts.