The results of the "Miss Fairy Tail Contest" were released on the Wednesday following the Harvest Festival, together with the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly.
The guild was once again bustling with everyone holding a copy, as this entire issue was dedicated to content about Fairy Tail.
On his way to buy one, Raizel saw the results posted directly on the town's main bulletin board.
As Raizel expected, Erza Belserion took First Place, Cana Alberona was Second, Lucy Heartfilia was Third, and Juvia Lockser placed Fourth by a narrow margin.
Sorcerer Weekly listed the top ten "Miss Fairy Tail" contestants with accompanying pictures and vote percentages.
Although she didn't make the top three, Juvia was still very happy; it represented the audience's recognition of her, and that was enough.
As for the rankings... she only cared about her ranking in Gray's heart...
Raizel skimmed through the issue. Sorcerer Weekly was divided into several sections: the first part introduced the history and current state of Fairy Tail, the middle section featured the "Miss Fairy Tail Contest" rankings with glamorous pictures, followed by coverage of parts of the individual and team battles with action shots, and finally, interviews with Fairy Tail members.
After looking through it, Raizel was quite satisfied.
The quality of this weekly issue was such that any fan of Fairy Tail would be pleased.
...
"I got 500,000 Jewels again!!! That's seven months of rent!!!"
Lucy was so ecstatic she nearly took off flying.
While 500,000J wasn't enough to buy a rare Gold Celestial Spirit Key for combat, money earned for free was still money.
'Thank goodness the top three all got prizes this year, otherwise I'd have gotten nothing,' Lucy thought, breathing a sigh of relief as she rode the wave of excitement.
"Hmm, hmm, as expected of me."
Erza looked at the picture of herself as Number One in the weekly magazine and nodded proudly.
"I'm second, not bad either. Losing to Erza is acceptable."
Cana was also satisfied with the result.
With so many participants this year and the audience voting, she hadn't been confident initially.
Getting second place ultimately left her feeling very content.
"Hiks hiks... I only got Seventh... it must be because of my figure..."
Wendy rested her chin on the table, looking utterly dejected.
Being around all the mature beauties in Fairy Tail, Wendy felt quite wounded, especially since they all had such great figures compared to her.
"You're only twelve, it's normal!" Carla said beside her, wearing a helpless expression.
"Look at it this way, you're only twelve and you got seventh place. When you're a bit older, your ranking will definitely be even higher." Raizel patted Wendy's head to comfort her.
"It says here you're the 'Fairy Tail Eating Champion,' Natsu." Happy turned to a page with Natsu's feature and showed it to him.
The accompanying picture showed Natsu swallowing a block of chocolate whole.
Natsu had astonished the audience by gulping down chocolates and chugging carbonated drinks in one go during the eating relay.
The interview content about Raizel wasn't very long, mainly covering the new information he had told Jason during the interview, which was essentially just the names of some weapons.
Specific skills were rarely ever interviewed about, and even if they were, Raizel wouldn't publish his secrets.
...
Hargeon Central Street—
At this prime location in Hargeon, a new restaurant called [8-Island] had recently opened.
"Welcome! What would you two like to order?"
Lucy, wearing twin tails and a frilly orange maid outfit, smiled at the customers while holding a menu.
"Um, let me see... I'll have the Beast Meat Curry."
"I'll have the Sky Bolognese, and also a Holly Soda."
"Alright, thank you both very much." Lucy smiled sweetly as she took their orders.
'Your smile is just your protective facade,' Lucy thought, feeling her fake smile was about to freeze on her face from overuse.
"Would you like to order some dessert as well?"
"Then... I'll have this Ruby Sundae."
"I'll have the same."
The two customers couldn't resist the charm of the pretty girl—whatever she suggested, they'd order.
"Okay, please wait a moment." Lucy nodded and turned to leave.
"Excuse me, I'd like to order too!" Another newly arrived customer called out to Lucy.
"Alright, I'll be right there!" Lucy nodded with a forced smile.
...
"I... What on earth am I doing here?!"
Lucy threw the menu in her hand to the ground in frustration once out of earshot.
"This is part of the job too," Natsu, dressed in a waiter's uniform, said while carrying a tray past her.
"What kind of job is this for a Mage?! And why does the restaurant have to dress like a maid café?!" Lucy protested angrily, forgetting for a moment that they were in the middle of the dining hall.
"How should I know..." Natsu looked completely baffled, unsure what had set Lucy off.
"But, I think this actually suits me quite well." Lucy suddenly changed her attitude and started admiring herself in a reflection.
"That's because the Head Chef here specializes in Magical Cuisine, so he said the servers need to be people who can use Magic." Happy also came into the hall carrying a tray.
"Exactly, and we're helping you with your work right now," Natsu replied while chewing on a chicken leg he stole from the kitchen.
THUD!
A tray was slammed right into Natsu's face, but he continued chewing on the chicken leg unfazed.
"..."
The watching customers were a bit startled by the violence.
"Don't eat the customers' food!" Lucy maintained her throwing pose.
"You can't just throw trays around like that!" Happy sweatdropped as he complained.
"This job is so embarrassing..." Lucy groaned.
"Look at Erza, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Happy pointed.
Lucy's jaw dropped—Erza was wearing the same orange maid outfit with absolutely no sense of incongruity or shame.
"Let me take your order? What would you like?" Erza asked a table stiffly but politely.
"Well... what we want... is everything, of course!"
"Please bring us one of every dish!"
"Is that so? That's a huge help, thank you very much."
"We should be thanking you!"
'How can she be so enthusiastic about this...' Lucy broke out in a cold sweat, not knowing what to say.
"This is also a battle!" Erza clenched her fist and nodded vigorously after taking the order.
Looking around, Lucy realized Ultear and Kagura were also calmly taking orders from customers in maid outfits.
"Isn't this my job? Why did Erza and the others suddenly show up here?"
"Aye! Not just them, Raizel is here too, but he's in the kitchen," Happy raised a paw and replied.
At this moment, inside the kitchen, Raizel just wanted to scream: 'Please stop ordering!'
He could barely keep up with all the cooking!
Customers ordering with Erza acted as if the dishes were free, immediately declaring they wanted everything on the menu just to please her, nearly exhausting Raizel and the owner, Yajima.
Raizel and Ultear had come on their own to help out, not because they had accepted any mission, but simply because they heard Yajima needed a hand.