They fished from morning until evening.
As Gildarts expected, Natsu eventually ran back from the forest to challenge him again.
However, seeing the food, Natsu decided to spare Gildarts' life for the moment.
He sat down and devoured the last remaining portion of the "Grilled Meat Rice ProMax" (a super-sized portion).
Ultear and the others, knowing Natsu's bottomless appetite, had specifically brought extra for him.
Watching the three older men drinking, Natsu clamored to try some "adult juice" too.
Unfortunately, his physical strength wasn't enough to overpower Raizel, and his rebellion failed. In the end, he sat silently, clinking his juice cup against their beer bottles.
In the afternoon, Gray heard they were hanging out at the lake and came over to join the fun.
The moment Natsu and Gray saw each other, they started bickering.
BONK. BONK.
Gildarts gave each of them a light punch to the head to quiet them down.
Normally, he would let them fool around, but since the adults were in the middle of a serious conversation, their noise was distracting.
Natsu was fascinated by the "Decade Quest" Gildarts had undertaken.
He kept asking questions with stars in his eyes.
Surprisingly, Gildarts was patient, answering whatever Natsu asked.
Seeing this, Gray stopped picking fights and listened quietly too.
Raizel and Laxus also chatted with Gildarts, discussing methods to improve their strength. They couldn't waste the opportunity to get advice from the strongest man in the guild.
"After the Harvest Festival," Laxus said, a spark of lightning crackling in his eye, "fight me."
Seeing the determination in Laxus's eyes, Gildarts smiled slightly.
"Count me in," Raizel added. "I'll team up with Laxus. Two against one."
Gildarts laughed. "Alright. I accept."
They decided on South Gate Park as the location.
Fighting there was fine—Makarov declared that since they had Ultear and her Arc of Time, they could blow up the park as much as they wanted, and she would just fix it later.
When the Town Mayor heard about this, he immediately decided to make this showdown the "Grand Finale" of the Harvest Festival.
Even Jason from Sorcerer Weekly decided to bring a camera crew to provide commentary and special coverage.
...
The Harvest Festival (Fantasia)
This year, Raizel planned to be a spectator.
The guild was full of talent now, and there was no need for someone with zero artistic sense like him to clutter up the parade.
Ultear, Erza, and Kagura all signed up to perform. Even Ur joined in.
It seemed Wendy was the only girl who had to be a spectator due to her young age.
Seeing that Raizel wasn't participating, Ur assigned him a mission: Babysitting Wendy.
Raizel thought it made sense.
What would a five-year-old do on a parade float anyway? Just stand there and be cute?
Actually, that might work.
Since Wendy joined Fairy Tail, Magnolia had seen a surge in Wendy-themed merchandise.
While walking around town, Raizel spotted Wendy-shaped balloons and dolls selling like hotcakes.
Raizel also saw models of himself.
The ones depicting his human form were decent, but the figures of his Jesmon and Omegamon forms were... average.
They lacked detail!
The craftsmanship needed improvement, but the kids in town seemed to love them anyway.
...
Two days before the festival, Raizel, Ultear, and Erza welcomed some special guests.
Duke Grant, his wife Lady Julie, and their son Kevin hurried over from Oak Town in the northeast, accompanied by their butler, Ed.
Raizel hadn't seen Kevin for nearly two years.
The boy had grown considerably taller. He was still dressed in fine noble attire and his manners were as impeccable as ever.
"We planned to come last year," Kevin explained, "but Father was too tied up with official duties."
This year, Duke Grant had learned his lesson.
He cleared his schedule in advance to bring his family to the famous Magnolia Harvest Festival.
Raizel and Ultear escorted the Duke to the guild hall.
Makarov, having heard good things about the Duke from Raizel, took a liking to him immediately and invited the family for lunch.
During the parade rehearsals, the group took a day off to give Kevin a tour of Magnolia.
...
Night of the Festival
Fireworks exploded over Magnolia, painting the sky in brilliant colors.
For the parade, the "Gildarts Shift" was canceled. Cana had strictly ordered her father to control himself and not destroy any buildings.
The town was packed.
This was the biggest crowd Raizel had seen since arriving in this world. Between the tourists here for the festival and the fans here to see the "Raizel & Laxus vs. Gildarts" showdown, it was a sea of people.
The Fairy Tail Parade began.
There were seven main floats this year.
Float 1: The Openers Many guild members wore mascot costumes to liven up the crowd. On the sides, female members dressed in bikinis and fairy wings waved to the audience, acting as the "hype group."
Float 2: The Thunder God Band This vehicle featured Laxus and Varo performing heavy rock music.
"YEAAAAH!" Makarov used his Giant Magic to grow huge.
He stood behind Laxus, waving a massive support flag and cheering like a superfan.
The audience buzzed with laughter.
Laxus looked mortified, trying to focus on his guitar while his grandfather embarrassed him, but deep down, he was a little pleased.
Float 3: The Sword Dance Erza and Kagura engaged in a choreographed duel—Dual Blades vs. Single Blade.
They had rehearsed their speed perfectly; if they went full speed, the audience wouldn't see anything.
Their blades were coated in Rainbow Fire powder.
As they clashed, trails of colorful light followed their swords, making it look like a dazzling circus act.
Float 4: The Cards and Doves Cana, wearing a beautiful dress and wings, performed card magic.
She summoned a flock of pigeons from her cards. The birds flew over the crowd, scattering colorful confetti and cherry blossom petals.
"GO CANA! THAT'S MY GIRL!" Gildarts, utterly shameless, cheered louder than anyone else.
He was so intense that the tourists around him backed away in fear!
Float 5: The Smoke Show, Wakaba and Macao followed their usual routine, but this time, they had coordinated.
Wakaba's pink smoke blended with Macao's purple flares.
They spelled out "FAIRY TAIL" and "MAGNOLIA" in the air.
It was actually impressive and earned appreciative applause.
Float 6: The Fire Dragon, Natsu stood on his float, breathing massive amounts of fire.
He manipulated the flames to form the shape of a giant dragon—Igneel. It was a raw display of power that left a deep impression on the crowd.
Float 7: The Ice Garden, The finale was led by Ur, with Ultear and Gray assisting.
Using Ice Make, they created a mobile "Garden Stage." Ice sculptures of animals and plants grew and shifted in real-time. It was intricate and beautiful, requiring immense control.
Raizel thought it was a pity Lyon wasn't there; with him, they could have made an even grander structure.
Wendy watched the entire parade from a high vantage point—sitting on Raizel's shoulder.
Raizel had used Take Over: Omegamon.
Clad in the majestic white cape and armor of the Royal Knight, he flew alongside the floats like a guardian deity.
The contrast between the imposing armored warrior and the cute little girl on his shoulder drew just as much attention as the parade itself.
Along the route, Raizel spotted Mavis wandering through the crowd as a spirit, her feather-like ears twitching happily.
She was everywhere and nowhere at once.
The parade ended in the central plaza.
Every member of Fairy Tail, from the floats and the sky, raised their hand.
They pointed their index finger and thumb to the sky.
The mark of the guild.