Time quickly arrived at the evening of the Harvest Festival.
As night fell, Magnolia's streets were bustling with people who had joyfully taken to the streets to participate in the "Fantasia" parade.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
Brilliant fireworks of various colors bloomed one after another in the night sky, their light illuminating the excited faces of the crowd.
The streets were filled with residents in eccentric costumes, all wearing smiles as they cheered at the passing parade floats.
The Harvest Festival was a carnival for Magnolia's residents and tourists alike, with festive music blasting from the city's speakers.
"Everyone, how are the preparations for this year's float parade?"
Standing at the center of the Guild stage at that moment was Makarov, dressed in a full jester costume with a goofy hat on his head, his hands clasped behind his back as he smiled at the Guild members.
At this moment, Makarov showed none of the dignity and imposing presence expected of a Ten Wizard Saint, appearing instead like a playful old man with a youthful heart.
This year, Makarov was feeling particularly festive and decided to join the parade himself, even specially preparing a costume for the occasion.
"Everything is ready!!!" the guild shouted back.
"Excellent!" Makarov was very satisfied with the energy in their response and was the first to jump onto the open-air café's parade float.
"Everyone, board the floats! Let's begin the annual Fantasia!"
As soon as Makarov finished speaking, the members of Fairy Tail boarded their respective floats.
Accompanied by music and fireworks, Fairy Tail's massive floats slowly advanced into the city.
Tourists instinctively stood on both sides of the street, forming a clear path for the floats to pass through.
The lead float featured a large statue of Happy on top.
There were no members riding there, but many guild members in eccentric costumes walked alongside the float, acting as atmosphere creators to hype up the crowd.
On the float behind, Juvia stood alone in the center, her right hand open with her palm facing the sky.
"Water Nebula!"
A whirlpool of water shot up into the sky like a tornado. From within the spinning water, two figures emerged.
It was Gray and Juvia, lifting their toes and spinning gracefully in sync with the whirlpool's rotation.
Their performance wasn't over yet; Juvia, positioned above, released countless small bubbles.
Gray continuously shot out tiny ice crystals to pop these bubbles.
The shattered bubbles, illuminated by the streetlights and moonlight, shone brilliantly, rivaling even the fireworks in their sparkle.
"Who is that girl? She's so cute too!!!"
The tourists completely ignored Gray, focusing most of their attention on the beautiful Water Mage.
Further back, Cana, Macao, and Wakaba used their magic to form a large pink heart together in the air.
Cana then shot a magic card arrow to shatter the heart, which broke into countless smaller hearts upon impact, raining down on the crowd.
"CANAAAAA!!!"
"Hey, hey, we're here too, you know!!" Wakaba loudly protested as the crowd only cheered for Cana.
Natsu opened his mouth and released a massive whirlpool of flames, then leaped high into the air and punched it, dispersing the fiery vortex.
Wendy, standing beside him, used her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic to gather the scattered embers back together, forming a huge ring of fire suspended in the air.
Then, Ultear used Ice Make to freeze the entire ring of fire.
Even frozen inside the translucent ice, the flames continued to burn fiercely—a beautiful fusion of elements.
"Wendy!!!"
"Ultear!!!"
Lucy, Levy, and Bisca changed into matching outfits: pink tops with large pink bows on their chests and white mini-skirts.
They danced in sync while holding small flags printed with the Guild Mark in each hand.
Though not using any magic, they were all beautiful girls, and the tourists enthusiastically cheered for their performance.
Raizel and Laxus sat on a rooftop, watching everyone's performances from above.
Raizel couldn't help but sigh. "They all seem more artistic than us."
Laxus retorted irritably, "Please don't say 'all'—I do have some artistic sense."
Uncle Varo had urgent business this year and was away from Magnolia these past few days, which made Laxus lose interest in participating in the parade.
He ended up being a spectator with Raizel; otherwise, he likely would have been on a float right now.
Elfman used Take Over: Beast Soul to become the Beast King, flexing his strong muscles and physique to the audience.
With his loud roar, the giant pink flower with closed petals behind him slowly bloomed, revealing Mirajane in a stunning blue dress.
"Mira!!!"
"Miss Mira!!!"
"Miss Mira, look over here!!!"
Mirajane's popularity remained as high as ever, with camera flashes and shutter sounds never stopping.
Mira enthusiastically waved and greeted everyone.
Then, she used her Transformation Magic to turn into a giant snake, stunning the audience with the sudden contrast!
"Mira's weird tastes again..." Raizel shook his head helplessly as he watched Mira disregard her beautiful image to transform into strange creatures.
"Erza!!!"
Erza had specially prepared a ceremonial dress for this Harvest Festival.
It was white-based with yellow and red accents, featuring small wings made of feathers on the chest—likely her Morning Star Armor or a variant of it.
Dozens of long swords rotated gracefully around her, with feather decorations on the hilts and ribbons tied at the ends.
...
"Master."
Gajeel stopped Makarov in the alleyway just as the Master was preparing to make a dazzling appearance.
"Aren't you planning to join the parade?" Makarov asked.
"Is it mandatory?"
"Well, no."
"Then forget it. This kind of event isn't for me."
"Bold words. Weren't you singing something in the guild before... Shooby Doo Bop?" Makarov teased.
"..."
"Master, this is for you." Gajeel decided to quickly change the subject, pulling out a note and handing it to Makarov.
"I found Master Ivan. I've located your son's whereabouts."
Makarov's expression turned serious for a moment. "Sorry for giving you such a dangerous mission."
"Don't worry about it. It was foolproof—they didn't discover I was a spy."
A member called out from behind Makarov, "Master, everything is ready."
Makarov put his prepared jester hat with two ears back on. "Good, I'll go up then."
"It's the Master!"
"The Master is coming out!"
"That looks so fun!"
"Is it really fun? I think it looks ridiculous. The Master's movements are so funny."
Makarov completely disregarded his dignity as a Wizard Saint, standing atop the float making various goofy movements and constantly waving his hands.
As long as you're not embarrassed, others will be—this saying applied perfectly here.
Though it was Makarov dancing up there, Laxus felt like he was the one being embarrassed...
Laxus covered his face with his hand, unable to bear watching his grandfather's antics.
"Owwww————"
Just as Laxus was about to say, "Raizel, why are you joining this madness," he saw Raizel sitting nearby, raising his arm high.
Raizel made Fairy Tail's iconic gesture—thumb and index finger extended, with the index finger pointing toward the sky.
Turning his head, Laxus then saw Makarov raising his arm high on the float, followed by Natsu, Gray, Erza, and the other members lifting their arms one after another, creating a sea of raised fingers pointing to the heavens.
Even if I cannot see your figure, even if we are separated by vast distances, I will always watch over you and forever protect you.
"The real show is just beginning!"
"I'm all fired up!!!"