Close My Eyes and It's Dark, Open Them and It's Light
"Hello everyone! I, Marcus, will be hosting and commentating on the upcoming adult matches!"
Marcus, having reclaimed his magical artifact, stood on the shore, passionately stirring up the atmosphere.
"Great! It's Marcus! There's still hope for our Fairy Tail guild!"
"I still want to see Natsu host!" Natsu, with a scarf wrapped around his head and disguised as a stranger, shouted from the crowd.
As for Gray, his pants had mysteriously disappeared, and he was currently busy looking for them.
On the lake, Hughes picked at his ear, ignoring Gildarts's various subtle and forceful attacks.
According to the original plan, he not only had to hold off Gildarts and ensure Laxus got first place, but he also had to get Wakaba second place, and he himself had to get third place.
This is a gambler duo, who have devised a plan to maximize their profits based on the betting situation.
The task was undeniably difficult, and to ensure the plan's success, the despicable gambler duo planned to pull some dirty tricks off the field.
Thinking of this, Hughes looked up at Macao on the shore.
Macao, who had been watching the battle closely, noticed Hughes's gaze, patted the bulge in his shoulder bag, and gave Hughes a thumbs-up; he was ready.
Hughes nodded, his eyes sweeping over the surrounding crowd with a hint of pity. The louder they cheered now, the more they would be crying and wailing in a moment.
According to the information provided by Wakaba, at least 70% of the guild members bet on Gildarts to win the championship, and many others bet on him and Laxus to get second and third place respectively.
Meanwhile, Macao and Wakaba, those two guys with hearts as black as coal, intend to take it all.
"Tsk... tsk!"
"That's outrageous!" Hughes shook his head. 5 million J was still too little.
"Hey, Hughes, I'm talking to you, did you hear me!" Gildarts was on the track next to Hughes, childishly splashed water in an attempt to get Hughes ' attention.
Hughes wiped the water droplets from his face, then swam further away. "Gildarts, don't do that, I'm afraid Wakaba will misunderstand."
Seeing this, Wakaba, who was on the furthest track, grinned silently, revealing his yellowed teeth from long-term smoking, and gave Gildarts a thumbs up.
Gildarts's money is his, and even the gambling god Wakaba is determined to have it; even Zeref comes, it won't work.
Seeing this, Gildarts immediately understood that Hughes and Wakaba were teaming up to get him, and he immediately broke down. "Bastards, you guys are utter trash!"
If this last 5 million J is swallowed up, how will he support those 2, 4, 6... n girlfriends?
Hughes shrugged. It was none of his business; he was just a henchman who got paid to do things.
"The adult competition is about to begin. Participants, please prepare yourselves!" Marcus's slightly immature voice spread across the entire lake through the magical artifact in his hand.
The tension began to spread...
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Beep!"
Hughes, floating motionless at the starting point, watched Gildarts take the lead.
Worried that things might get complicated if he waited too long, Gildarts suddenly pushed off with both legs, and his whole body shot out of the water like an arrow.
His long, slender limbs swayed rhythmically, and with a twist of his waist, he instantly took the lead, drawing gasps from the crowd watching on the shore.
Hughes was also amazed. As expected of the famous playboy in the Fairy Tail world, his waist was indeed excellent, clearly top-notch.
It would definitely fetch a lot of money if sold to a dark guild!
"Go for it, Gildarts! I've staked everything I have on you, charge!"
"Gildarts, whether I can eat four dishes this year depends entirely on you!"
"Gildarts, cheer up! If you win, I'll steal the president's treasured photo album for you!"
Eight Gates of shouts reached his ears, so jarring that Hughes couldn't help but pick at his ears; ahead of him, Wakaba, his teeth clenched, was temporarily in third place.
Laxus, who was arrogant before the match and wanted to trample Hughes underfoot, was struggling to keep up with Gildarts.
At this moment, Marcus walked up to Hughes with a microphone in hand. "Hughes, why aren't you leaving yet? Can you tell everyone something?"
Hughes calmly took the microphone from Marcus: "What kind of protagonist appears right at the beginning? Give Gildarts and Laxus some time to shine, lest they become completely invisible when I appear."
"A strong person is one who possesses unwavering confidence!"
These two short sentences drew boos and laughter from the shore. "Look what I just heard! Hughes says he's the main character, haha!"
"Please, please stop repeating this! I have a low threshold for laughter, I really can't help it!"
Natsu jumped high and shouted, "Hughes, Gildarts is the best!"
Seeing this, Hughes turned to face the guild members, a smirk playing on his lips, a mixture of disdain, mockery, and nonchalance. "When I close my eyes, it's dark; when I open them, it's light. If I'm not the protagonist, then who is!"
After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence, followed by bursts of laughter that soared into the sky.
"Ah, yes, yes, Hughes, you're absolutely right! Mira, hurry and go fetch Granny Porlyusica, Hughes's mental state is acting up again."
"They should be sent straight to Magnolia Hospital!"
Lisanna threw down her little flag and hid behind Elfman with Happy, her little shoulders trembling as if afraid of bursting out laughing.
"Happy, Hughes's expression is hilarious!"
"Ai!"
While everyone's attention was on Hughes, Macao revealed a sly smile and secretly emptied the contents of his small handbag into the lake.
Partnering with Hughes was the right move; he thought his mission would be difficult, but it turned out to be so easy.
"Laugh, all you do is laugh! You don't know anything! When I unleash my true power, you'll all be kneeling on the ground crying!" Hughes was still passionately arguing, buying time for Macao.
Meanwhile, Macao, who had already prepared to destroy the evidence, smoothly blended into the crowd, joined the mocking group, and secretly spread his fingers.
Hughes understood immediately; the monkey-teasing was over, and it was time to get rid of some people.
Hughes tossed the microphone back to Marcus, bent Hughes knees, and placed his feet on the lake shore.
"Bang!" The immense force shook everyone on the shore, and a crack began to spread from where Hughes had used the momentum to push off.
Using that momentum, Hughes, in an S-shaped trajectory, instantly caught up with Reedus on the adjacent track and grabbed his ankle.
"Wait, Hughes, what are you doing?"
"You'll thank me in a moment, Reedus!" Hughes grabbed Reedus's ankle, lifted him up, and whipped him back and forth in the water until Reedus was unable to fight, then threw him back to shore.
Macao just threw into the water was Lightning Storage Magic Crystal. To prevent people with low strength like Reedus and Warren from getting hurt, Hughes had to eliminate them before the Lightning Storage Magic Crystal was activated.
After all, even enthusiasts of new energy fishing can encounter accidents, let alone those using Lightning Storage Magic Crystal. The power of Lightning Storage Magic Crystal in water is no joke.