"You absolutely have to go easy tomorrow, Natsu!!!"
"Take it easy on her, you must not hurt Wendy!"
"If Wendy gets hurt, you'll be held responsible!"
Macao, Wakaba, and a group of Wendy's fervent "uncle fans" were all gathered around Natsu, chanting their demands like a mantra.
Ever since the bracket for the Top 16 was announced after today's matches, they had been pestering Natsu non-stop.
"You're so annoying! I just want to eat my meal in peace————" Natsu fought fire with fire, shouting back at them with flames leaking from his mouth.
Happy had anticipated this scene early on and was sitting next to Raizel at the bar, enjoying some peace and quiet away from the chaos.
Only after the men covered their ears and stepped back a few paces did Natsu continue, "You have to go all out in a match! What's this about going easy? Holding back is disrespectful to the competition and to your opponent!"
"Um... There's no need for that. I'd also like to have a proper match with Natsu-san," Wendy said softly.
She had been trying to persuade them from the side, but the effect was minimal... These enthusiastic old folks simply couldn't hear her over their own protectiveness.
Ultear and Raizel sat at the bar, somewhat amused by the scene.
Raizel turned to Ultear and said, "It seems like no one cares about our match, huh?"
Ultear raised an eyebrow and replied coolly, "Isn't the outcome obvious? I'm no match for you."
Raizel rubbed his temples awkwardly and said, "You're making it hard for me to respond to that."
Ultear couldn't help but shoot Raizel an exasperated look and said, "I've said it too—no holding back."
Raizel nodded. "But honestly, Ur's luck with the draw really isn't great..."
Ur, who was awkwardly sipping her black tea nearby, turned her head upon hearing Raizel's words and said.
"Excuse me, I can hear you, you know..."
"It's not really appropriate for you to complain about Ur right in front of me," Ultear said.
She first glared at Raizel, then hesitated for a moment before turning to Ur and admitting herself.
"But I have to say, that luck with the draw..."
"Haha, sorry, sorry."
Ur herself was quite embarrassed, which was why she had planned to keep a low profile after drawing the lots.
She just hadn't expected Raizel to call her out on it.
Aside from the Raizel vs. Ultear matchup, she had also drawn Juvia and Gray together...
Whether Gray was happy or not was unclear, but Juvia was certainly thrilled right now.
Juvia was currently clinging to Gray's arm, lost in excited fantasies about their "love battle."
A faint, wry smile tugged at the corner of Ultear's lips as she changed the subject.
"Anyway, I don't really care much about this kind of internal competition. I'm more interested in facing off against other Guilds."
Raizel pinched his chin and pondered for a moment before saying, "Matches against other Guilds?"
Fiore Garden Square had hosted other competitions before, but matches involving multiple Guilds had not yet been held on a large scale.
These days, the venue hosted concerts or touring shows more often than it did magical competitions.
Raizel wasn't without this idea, but upon second thought, the influence of Fairy Tail alone wasn't enough to organize it.
Although they could contact guilds friendly with Fairy Tail like Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus to co-host the event, that would easily put them in debt of favors.
Moreover, the capital would later host the Grand Magic Games.
Opposing King Toma E. Fiore? Raizel had no such intention whatsoever.
"I've heard His Majesty has shown interest in preparing for a tournament," Raizel said quietly. "Over these years, Fiore Garden Square has generally been profitable, and both the Minister of Defense and Arcadios, the captain of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knights, seem inclined to agree."
This information was shared with Raizel by the town Mayor.
Before the competition began, the Mayor treated Raizel to a meal and discussed his conversation with the King—specifically, how King Toma was insisting on building a larger competition venue in the capital.
Helpless, Arcadios had invited the Mayor to the royal capital to review the revenue and expenses of Fiore Garden Square over the years as a model.
Ultear expressed some confusion. "If they're preparing for a tournament, then let them. The capital is quite far from us anyway, so it shouldn't really affect us much."
Raizel wasn't worried about this either and shook his head, saying, "It's not about whether it affects us or not. The tournament His Majesty is preparing could very well be the Grand Magic Games for all guilds in the Fiore Kingdom."
Hearing this, Ultear became quite interested. "Oh?"
Raizel shrugged and said, "Well, that's what the Mayor told me. I think it's something to look forward to."
...
"Hello everyone, and welcome to the third day of the Fairy Tail Harvest Festival Battle!"
"Today's matches will once again be commentated by the town Mayor, Makarov-san, Ms. Ur, and myself, Jason!"
"The thrilling moment is about to arrive, COOL!!!"
"Let's first welcome our first contestant—"
Jason enthusiastically drew out his announcement:
"Contestant...!!!"
"RAIZELLLLLLLLL BAELLL!!!"
Raizel slowly emerged from the left passageway, waving to the crowd cheering around him.
Makarov chimed in appropriately on the mic. "Raizel should be considered the top among the younger generation of our Fairy Tail. Even I don't have absolute confidence in defeating him."
Ur followed up. "Raizel's strength is more than sufficient to become one of the Ten Wizard Saints, though he himself doesn't seem particularly interested."
"When I first met Raizel, he was only thirteen. Even then, he possessed Magical Power that many Mages could hardly reach. Combined with his multiple Take Over forms and combat intuition, Raizel's practical combat ability is exceptionally strong."
Makarov wasn't being modest—he had witnessed Raizel's strike against Jose Porla, cutting through space to appear directly before him.
Jose hadn't reacted in time, and Makarov himself only realized what happened afterward.
Makarov didn't know how to describe that move—entering space and then slicing through to reappear?
That was his speculation, but he knew that aside from using the Three Pillar Gods for defense, he had no good counter against it.
Even if he used "Fairy Law," he might not necessarily defeat Raizel.
After all, he was growing old and generally on the decline, while Raizel was about to reach his prime.
"Makarov-san and Ms. Ur have given Contestant Raizel very high praise indeed!" Jason shouted.
"Now let's welcome our other contestant—"
"ULTEAR MILKOVICH!!!"
"Ultear! Go for it!!!"
The guild members showed equal support, cheering loudly for both Raizel and Ultear.
Makarov also lavished praise on Ultear. "Ultear has mastered the Lost Magic: Arc of Time, an extremely difficult magic to learn that requires exceptional talent. Moreover, her Magical Power far surpasses that of her peers. Even Erza, who is around the same age as Ultear, is clearly inferior to her in terms of raw Magic Power."
Jason then turned to Ur and asked, "Do you have anything to add, Ms. Ur?"
Ur smiled proudly. "She has also perfectly mastered my Ice Make Magic, including my most powerful techniques."
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