Macao had performed surprisingly well in the finals, and Mirajane had a strong showing in the previous round.
With the veteran and the S-Class mage graciously stepping back to let the MVP shine, Wendy took the microphone for the victory speech.
"Although I had a feeling we might win before the competition started today, I never expected we actually would," Wendy said, clutching the trophy with a blush. "I'm really happy I could help the team win with my own strength. Actually, Mr. Alzack, Mr. Macao, and Mira-san were just as good as me. It's thanks to their excellent performances that we made it to the finals. I'm truly grateful to them."
Raizel took back the microphone he was holding. "Yes, let's give them another round of enthusiastic applause! This year's Card Flipping Competition ends here today. Perhaps there will be another competition next year. Thank you all for your passionate cheers! Thank you, everyone!"
The Card Flipping competition had lasted quite a long time.
Raizel hadn't expected Wendy and Erza's back-and-forth round to drag on for so long.
...
During dinner, Erza still seemed somewhat unsatisfied.
She poked at her food, constantly muttering that she didn't understand why she couldn't flip that last card over.
Raizel understood Erza's feelings well—it was the kind of frustration that would make you suddenly sit up in the middle of the night and question your entire existence.
Meanwhile, Macao was boasting to his son. "Watch your dad bring home a championship, Romeo! Our team is far ahead now—we've got 10 points from two first-place finishes combined!"
On the other hand, Natsu had become the target of ridicule for both Gajeel and Gray.
Though Natsu appeared unfazed while taking on both of them in a shouting match, he was really just being loud to cover his embarrassment.
Currently, only Team B and Team H had zero points.
Thus, Natsu became the main target of attacks and had now earned the dubious title of "Number One in Being Good at Nothing."
...
The fourth competition event was quite targeted—an Archery Contest.
This was the forte of Cana, Bisca, and Alzack.
All four team members participated together, each shooting 10 arrows from the same distance.
The total score of all four members was calculated, and rankings were based on the cumulative team score.
The results were unsurprising: Cana's Team G took First Place, Alzack's Team F came in Second, and Bisca's Team C placed Third.
This was because these three aces consistently scored either nines or tens, carrying their teams, while the rest depended heavily on the performance of their teammates.
Lucy had a pretty good performance in this round—she played a major role in her team's first-place finish alongside Cana.
She had specifically sought guidance from Sagittarius beforehand.
Additionally, she had received some archery training when she learned horseback riding as a child.
Jude Heartfilia's educational philosophy had been all-round development; Lucy was very active as a child and took quite a liking to archery and horseback riding.
Bisca's team came in third because Gajeel missed the target entirely with several of their initial arrows.
They adjusted later and improved somewhat, but the early misses cost them.
Natsu performed exactly as everyone expected—he missed all ten arrows.
The further he went, the more off-target his shots became, with the last arrow even flying sideways and hitting someone else's target.
As for Raizel and Laxus's team (Team D), their members were neither particularly good nor bad—some missed the target, while others scored nines.
Their total scores were perfectly average, so no one could really blame anyone else.
Raizel usually only used energy cannons at most and had no real experience with physical archery.
At first, Raizel kept missing the target, but he gradually adjusted his aim, with his final arrow even hitting the nine-ring zone.
The Archery competition was also added by Raizel.
The reason for including such an event was to give some members an advantage in certain categories, ensuring fairness.
Other members had their own strengths too, but they just weren't drawn by Happy and Carla in the lottery.
Raizel also planned to add a Quiz Competition later with two types: one was a conventional knowledge quiz, and the other was an unconventional, free-spirited quiz.
The conventional quiz would likely be the showtime for Ultear, Lucy, and Levy.
Raizel was actually quite looking forward to this competition, as it would probably reveal the clear, untainted foolishness of many members who lacked general knowledge...
...
The Archery competition ended relatively quickly, and Happy went up to draw the fifth event.
As soon as the result was announced, Natsu and Loke jumped up and high-fived each other excitedly.
The fifth event could be considered an advantage for Natsu and Gray, but if one had to pick, it was definitely Natsu's domain.
In truth, Raizel and Laxus also had a decent advantage in this event due to their Dragon Slayer metabolism, but Raizel and Laxus were more conscious of their image and simply couldn't eat as ravenously and messily as Natsu and Gray...
"The next event is—the Relay Speed-Eating Competition!"
"We have to win unconditionally! We still have zero points right now, and we have no way back! Everyone!"
Natsu's eyes seemed to spark with flames as he clenched his fists, a blazing fire named "I Need Points" burning in his heart.
Was their team weak? No, they weren't.
With Max, Bickslow, Loke, and Natsu, they had a solid lineup.
But if they ended up with zero points at the end of the festival, they'd probably be laughed at for a whole year.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"I just ate a lot of popcorn and drank soda..." Lucy groaned.
She mentioned that watching the members shoot arrows was incredibly entertaining, and she had mindlessly eaten a massive bucket of popcorn with carbonated drinks during the show.
"Let's show them our strength when it comes to eating!" Natsu cheered, raising his arm.
Raizel took out a sheet of paper with the rules and read aloud.
"Alright, the rules for the Relay Speed-Eating are as follows: there are Eggs, Ramen, Ice Cream, Chocolate, and Carbonated Drinks. You'll eat quickly in a relay format, timed, and then pass it on to the next person by blowing a whistle."
"But aren't there only four people per team?" Lucy raised her hand and asked.
"Good question. One person has to eat two items, but no one can eat two items consecutively. That means the first four items must be eaten by four different people, and the last item can be assigned to anyone to finish."
Seeing Lucy raise her hand again, Raizel answered before she could ask. "The order of eating can also be freely decided within the team."
"The ramen must be finished, including all the soup, to count as successful."
Lucy quickly withdrew her hand upon hearing this, clutching her full stomach.
...
"I can eat the ramen," Jet volunteered.
"I'll take the chocolate," Bickslow said.
"I'll eat the ice cream and drink the carbonated drink. I can handle cold things faster," Ultear volunteered calmly.
"Put the ice cream last, so you don't end up unable to blow the whistle after drinking the carbonated drink."
"Then I'll take the egg," Levy said, indicating she had no objections.
"Alright, Team A will go first. Please press the timer as soon as you start."
...
After discussing the order among themselves, the four decided that Levy would eat first.
"Start!"
Levy quickly peeled the eggshell and swallowed it whole without caring about her image.
Gulp.
"Levy! Look at me!" Natsu made funny faces from the sidelines at Levy.
Normally he wouldn't disturb her like this, but he currently had zero points and had to resort to extreme measures to distract the competition.
After swallowing the egg, Levy bounced up and down on the spot to force it down, ignoring the disturbances from Natsu and Gray, continuously chewing with her eyes closed.
Jet and Droy finally snapped out of it and dragged Natsu and Gray away from the sidelines to stop the interference.
"It's alright, take your time, take your time." Ultear, standing nearby, gently patted Levy's back.