As one of the few summer resorts in the royal capital Crocus and all of Fiore, Tequila Paradise was quite famous.
It featured a massive indoor pool, couple's waterslides, an underwater aquarium, a pyramid adventure house, and a full range of other entertainment and sightseeing attractions.
There, Chase, Mirajane, and Erza happened to run into Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and the others who had also come to enjoy themselves.
And after today, this long-renowned amusement park entered a brief period of renovation and reconstruction.
Under Natsu and the others' rampage, the place had been reduced to ruins!
Future Makarov wept as he silently paid the compensation, growing even more determined to claim the 30 million jewel prize for the Grand Magic Games champions.
And so, the rare rest day passed in the blink of an eye.
Before they knew it, July 6th had arrived—the final day of the Grand Magic Games!
The support flags of the six competing guilds fluttered in the wind. The main venue, Domus Flau, was packed to capacity. Even the aisles were crammed with spectators.
The entire venue was buzzing with excitement.
"Welcome, everyone, to today's Grand Magic Games final showdown! As always, I, Chapati, and Mr. Yajima will be handling the live commentary and magic analysis."
Perhaps because it was the final day, the host Chapati had donned an expensive-looking suit and wig.
"As for our special guest, as you can all see, it's the head referee and mascot of this year's Grand Magic Games, Mr. Pumpkin Head!"
"You're not refereeing today, Mr. Pumpkin Head? Is that okay?"
The Pumpkin Head waved cheerfully at the audience. "No problem at all, pumpkin! Everyone, do your best, pumpkin~"
"Alright! Now then, the moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrived! Let's welcome the competing guild teams for today's final battle with our loudest screams!!"
"OOOOOHHH!!!" *n
Grand fireworks exploded high in the sky. Amid the excited cheers of the audience, the competing guilds entered in order from lowest to highest rank.
Though their performances over the previous days hadn't been perfect, each guild still had plenty of fans. Their entrances were met with no signs of dead air. The atmosphere was electric.
Fairy Tail Spectator Stands.
Chase, Mirajane, Gildarts, and the others were all together with their guildmates.
"Strange. Aside from the four competitors, it looks like everyone else is here. So who exactly is the fifth member the Master mentioned?"
Lucy glanced around. Levy, the Thunder God Tribe, Lisanna, Éclair, and all the other possible "outside" candidates were present. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
And the mysterious fifth member should already be with Erza and the others, preparing to make their entrance!
The other guildmates had similar reactions, looking at each other in confusion before turning to stare at Makarov's back, their eyes full of questions.
"How about taking a closer look?"
Chase, who had already noticed the one man who was missing, gestured with his eyes toward his idiot sister and smiled. "Like, say, the impossible things that are easier to overlook."
Lucy and the others followed his gaze. There, Future Wakaba stood at the very back, looking utterly bewildered.
In an instant, everyone's hearts skipped a beat. Their eyes widened in disbelief.
No... it couldn't be...
"Huh? M-Me? But I never received any notice!"
Future Wakaba grew flustered under their stares. The pipe in his mouth dropped to the ground as he waved his hands frantically. "No way. Someone like me would just hold everyone back. Right, Maka—huh?"
"Wait a minute. Where the hell is that bastard Macao?!"
Just as he shouted, the crowd erupted in cheers several times louder than before.
Fireworks burst. Banners emblazoned with Fairy Tail's emblem swayed in the wind.
The first-place guild, Fairy Tail, made their entrance. The standard-bearer was none other than Future Macao himself, clean-shaven and wearing a stylish coat, looking several years younger!
"What?! It really is him!!!" *n
"Oh my, oh my. As expected of the Master. He's thought of everything~" Mirajane's light laugh rang out.
"What part of this is thoughtful?!" Natsu was the first to protest.
"Hey, Master! Isn't he just going to give away points?!" Future Wakaba showed no mercy to his old buddy—he'd just been criticizing himself for being dead weight moments ago.
"Ahaha! Precisely because of that, Macao is the best choice for the fifth member!"
Makarov planted his hands on his hips and grinned back at the bewildered crowd, explaining. "Our point lead is too big. If the whole team was stacked, the other guilds might gang up on us right from the start."
"In that situation, leaving an opening for the opponents changes everything!"
Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood and cast pitiful looks toward Future Macao.
"I see. So it's about giving the opponents a glimmer of hope."
"From that perspective, he really is the only one for the job."
"Um, isn't that a bit harsh on Macao?"
"I somehow feel really bad for my dad..." Future Romeo sighed deeply.
During the rest day yesterday, he'd noticed his father acting extremely out of character. Not only had he not gone out womanizing, he'd even been practicing his magic with enthusiasm.
At the time, Romeo had found it strange. Ever since Natsu and the others had gone missing and his father had been forced to take over as guild master under pressure, he hadn't seen that sharp, motivated expression in years.
Who knew it wasn't the excitement of the final day, but because he'd been chosen as a full member!
Chase said nothing. He looked at the scheming Makarov and shook his head with a smile. This old man is quite the actor.
Deliberately leaving an opening to avoid being targeted sounded perfectly reasonable on the surface.
But given Old Makarov's usual style, he would never embarrass Macao on such a grand stage, nor was he the type to fear the other guilds teaming up.
If he were really worried about that, he would have just sent Chase and Gildarts up together!
So the real reason was probably that the old man recognized how hard the members who had stayed behind had worked over the past seven years. He wanted them to personally wash away their humiliation on the field and savor the final victory.
With their current points, there was no way they could lose. Especially with Erza and Future Gildarts on the team.
And Future Macao, who had borne tremendous pressure as acting guild master, was clearly the best representative. He was the one who most needed to lift that champion's trophy!
Team A, Team B, and the members who stayed behind.
From every perspective, this lineup was the perfect team for the final day.
That was precisely why Mirajane had smiled and said, "As expected of the Master."
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!