The banquet went on until very late, loud and lively from beginning to end.
Thankfully, there were no residential buildings too close to the Fairy Tail guildhall.
Otherwise, they would probably receive complaints every single day. Fairy Tail really was an incredibly noisy guild.
By night, everyone staggered home in a drunken haze.
X785 was right around the corner, and most of the guild members were already adults.
At banquets like this, drinking had naturally become part of the celebration.
As one of the main reasons for the banquet, Marco had also drunk quite a bit
After all, he was officially taking over as Guild Master, so everyone came over in turn to congratulate him.
There were a lot of people in Fairy Tail
Even if they only came over in small groups, the amount he had to drink was hardly small.
That said, Marco did not feel the slightest bit drunk.
With his powerful physique and extraordinary control over his own body, getting drunk was basically impossible.
As a result, by the time the banquet finally ended, Marco, the new Guild Master, was one of the few people still completely sober!
"Stand properly, all of you! Hold each other up!"
At the guild entrance, Marco watched as the girls headed off toward the women's dormitory under Erza's lead.
Then he began organizing his own group.
This group was heading to Fairy Home, where most of the guild members lived.
"This is what foresight looks like."
Marco couldn't help sighing emotionally.
The project from several years ago to build Fairy Home as a centralized residence had definitely been one of his wisest decisions.
It was similar to the housing districts built by large companies or factories.
For the "employees," it was extremely convenient.
For guild management, it was also hugely beneficial, especially when it came to strengthening unity.
Of course, those who already owned homes or property in Magnolia were not forced to move into Fairy Home.
Just like the women's dormitory, some things had remained unchanged.
Marco had already sent several older members who lived in the city and were dead drunk back to their homes.
With teleportation, it was convenient enough, and of course he knew where those old-timers lived.
As someone in a management position, Marco had a clear grasp of the guild members' family situations and basic information.
At the very least, he remembered everything they had registered with the guild.
He also knew most of their families.
When the old-timers were delivered home drunk, their relatives even thanked Marco for the trouble.
Together with Mirajane, Marco gathered the members who needed to return to Fairy Home.
Then he activated his ability and transported them there all at once.
Awakening his Cosmo had brought Marco all sorts of useful abilities. Teleportation and telepathic transmission were undoubtedly the ones he used most often.
Combined with the Aries Gold Cloth, his mental and spatial abilities had become even more powerful.
Wave after wave, it did not take long before Marco had used telepathic transmission to send all the Fairy Tail members back to Fairy Home, then settled each of them into their own homes.
"I really do have the fate of a babysitter. Always worrying myself sick."
After finishing everything, Marco sighed, though there was a smile on his face.
In truth, he felt a certain sense of accomplishment.
Perhaps that was the kind of mentality one needed to become a good Guild Master loved by everyone.
As the head of the family, he had to take good care of everyone.
Of course, the prerequisite was that they were worth caring for.
Then again, perhaps it also helped that Marco had not been doing it alone.
With Erza and Mirajane keeping him company and helping him, he certainly felt more motivated.
Juvia was helping as well.
Marco had not allowed her to drink at all.
Although people in the Kingdom of Fiore were legally allowed to drink from the age of fifteen, Marco still strictly insisted on waiting until eighteen.
It was for their own good.
Drinking itself was not necessarily forbidden.
A little in moderation was fine.
But excessive drinking was absolutely not allowed, and developing an addiction was even worse.
As for smoking, it was best not to touch that at all.
...
Soon, the next day arrived, and everyone woke up groggy and half-conscious.
When they remembered what had happened the night before, many of them felt rather embarrassed.
After all, they had caused trouble for Marco.
The banquet had clearly been held to celebrate him becoming Guild Master, yet in the end, Marco, the main guest of honor, had been the one stuck doing all the dirty work.
That guilt made everyone's work enthusiasm unusually high over the next few days.
They all wanted to contribute more to the guild, as if to repay Marco and prove that his concern for them had not been wasted.
Behind the guildhall, by the lakeside, Marco stood before the gathered members and began explaining the upcoming Grand Magic Games.
"For this year's Grand Magic Games, there's no limit on the total number of participants from each guild, but everyone has to enter in teams. Each team must have five or six members. I hear nearly a hundred teams have already registered, so it's time for us to choose our own participating teams too."
The moment Marco finished speaking, everyone immediately began discussing it heatedly.
"Erza, Mirajane, Laxus, Natsu, and Gray have already formed the boss team. We need to put together a team that can compete properly too!"
Freed looked around him.
For his team, Bickslow and Evergreen were essential.
The Thunder God Tribe had always been a set. But three people were not enough.
They needed at least five.
"Lucy! Would you and Hisui be willing to join our Thunder God Tribe team?"
Without any hesitation, Freed immediately approached Lucy and invited her, while also extending the invitation to Hisui.
Hisui had already returned to the royal capital—Crocus—but she and Lucy were always treated as a pair.
Inviting Lucy was basically the same as inviting Hisui as well.
Freed's choice was undoubtedly correct.
As Marco's disciples, Lucy and Hisui's strength was naturally beyond question.
The Thunder God Tribe plus Lucy and Hisui would only be a five-person team, but even so, their competitiveness would be undeniable.
"Uh... thank you for the invitation, Freed."
However, faced with Freed's invitation, Lucy spoke with a troubled expression.
The moment those words left her mouth, Freed's face darkened.
He knew there was no chance!
That was clearly the opening to a rejection.
"We already have four people on our side..."
Lucy looked apologetic.
A team could have at most six members.
Her side had four, while the Thunder God Tribe had three. There was no way to merge the teams unless they kicked someone out.
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