"Four people? Who?"
Freed was surprised.
He had not expected Lucy to gather four people so quickly. Had she arranged it in advance?
Then again, it was not too strange. The rules for the Grand Magic Games had already been announced.
It was perfectly normal for some people to learn about them before Marco said anything.
"Me, Hisui, Juvia, and Levy..."
Lucy smiled as she named the members of her team.
Freed frowned slightly.
He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he only nodded and did not say anything else.
Some things were not appropriate to say aloud.
For example, in Freed's eyes, Levy was somewhat out of step with the strength level of that team.
If Levy were removed and the two teams merged, they would become extremely competitive.
Freed did acknowledge Juvia's strength.
She was a monster of talent, and water magic was by no means weak. If Juvia were placed in another guild, she would absolutely have S-Class-level ability.
"That sounds pretty good. It almost makes me want to join your team and form an all-girls squad."
After hearing Lucy's lineup, Evergreen was rather tempted.
Lucy's team was not weak at all!
"Evergreen! Are you going to abandon us?!"
Evergreen's words shocked both Freed and Bickslow.
They knew Evergreen had been gradually integrating into the guild and that she had good relationships with quite a few of the girls, but hearing that she wanted to abandon them and join Lucy's team was still unbelievable.
Hadn't they agreed to remain the Thunder God Tribe for life?
"What's wrong with that? The two of you don't necessarily have to stay tied to me either."
Evergreen shrugged, not seeing anything particularly wrong with it.
If Laxus were on their team, she definitely would not think about leaving.
But now even their "Thunder God" was already on another team, so of course she could join a different one too.
"..."
Freed and Bickslow fell silent.
They still were not quite used to the idea.
"Evergreen, if you want to join our team, we'd definitely welcome you."
Hearing Evergreen's comment, Lucy smiled and extended the invitation.
There was no question about Evergreen's strength. Lucy naturally would not refuse.
"Lucy-san... C-Can I join too?"
Before Evergreen could answer, a timid voice sounded nearby.
Lucy turned toward the speaker and saw Wendy standing there with a conflicted expression, encouraged by Carla beside her.
The moment Carla heard Lucy's team lineup, she had immediately urged Wendy to apply to join them.
Wendy herself also wanted to participate.
She was twelve this year and would soon be thirteen.
Although she was still young, because she used Dragon Slayer Magic, her combat ability was actually quite decent—at least much stronger than an ordinary mage's.
Her mastery of Sky Dragon Slayer Magic was now far more practiced than before, and her combat ability had improved greatly.
Of course, compared to the other Dragon Slayers, she still had a long way to go.
"You want to participate too, Wendy?"
Lucy looked surprised at Wendy's request.
The others beside her also stared at the little girl in astonishment.
"Did Master Marco allow it?"
Lucy crouched down and asked Wendy quietly.
If Master Marco had not approved, Lucy absolutely would not bring Wendy along.
"Yes! I got permission!"
Wendy nodded seriously.
Of course she had applied in advance.
Her growth over the past few years had also earned Marco's recognition.
That was why she had been allowed to take part in the Grand Magic Games despite being just shy of thirteen.
"All right, then welcome to the team!"
Seeing how certain Wendy was, Lucy did not hesitate and accepted her directly.
With that, their team now had five members.
"What about you, Evergreen?"
After confirming Wendy's place, Lucy looked toward Evergreen again.
"Forget it. I'll stay with these two after all. I'm afraid that if even I leave, they won't be able to gather five people."
Evergreen shook her head and chose to remain.
She had only been saying it casually in the first place. The Thunder God Tribe was not that easy to break apart.
"I'm so moved!"
Bickslow, wearing his mask, laughed as he spoke.
"Hmph. Hurry up and find people. Otherwise, everyone will finish forming teams before you do."
Evergreen shook her head and began searching for other targets.
Her eyes soon turned toward Elfman and Gajeel.
When choosing teammates, strength naturally came first.
Those who had taken part in the S-Class Trial were obviously the priority choices.
Cana had already joined Levy and Juvia, clearly becoming part of Lucy's team as well.
With that, Lucy's team was full, and its average strength was quite good.
Evergreen felt that their team could not be weaker than Lucy's. Otherwise, they definitely would not make it to the end.
Their goal was obviously to reach the final stage and earn the right to challenge the boss team.
Who knew? Maybe they could even be promoted to S-Class because of it.
Freed and Bickslow were clearly thinking the same thing, so the two of them immediately went to invite Elfman and Gajeel.
"No problem."
Gajeel agreed very straightforwardly.
There was no need to explain the strength of the Thunder God Tribe. Teaming up with them would definitely give him a strong chance.
Elfman, however, had one condition: Lisanna had to come with him.
The siblings naturally wanted to be on the same team.
There was no helping it. Lisanna had originally wanted to join Lucy's team, but she had been one step too late.
Lucy's team was already full with six members.
"No problem. With that, the six of us are full too."
Freed accepted the condition.
Lisanna was a little weaker in terms of combat power, but that was not a problem.
The other five were already strong enough, and Lisanna was not so weak that she would drag them down.
At the very least, she could protect herself.
As time passed, everyone gradually finished forming their teams.
Lucy Team: Lucy, Hisui, Juvia, Levy, Wendy, Cana.
Freed Team: Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, Gajeel, Elfman, Lisanna.
Jet Team: Jet, Droy, Bisca, Alzack, Warren, Reedus.
Macao Team: Macao, Wakaba, Joy, Marcus, Vijeeter, Miki.
In the end, Fairy Tail formed a full four participating teams.
Young and old alike had basically sent people forward.
Technically, they could have formed even more teams. Fairy Tail had plenty of members, after all.
But after looking at the quality of the teams already assembled, the others felt too embarrassed to sign up.
These four teams had basically gathered all the guild's elite A-Class mages.
Anyone else who went would mostly just be along for the ride.
"All right. We'll call them Fairy Tail Teams A, B, C, and D, arranged in order of formation."
Looking at the impressive lineup before him, Marco nodded in satisfaction and offered everyone his encouragement.
"Do your best. Try to get all four teams into the main tournament!"
There were only eight spots in the main tournament, so it would still be difficult.
After all, this was a competition where more than a hundred teams would be cut down to eight.