"Listen up, everyone! As Mages, we must never neglect our daily training. Complete each day's work to earn tomorrow's sustenance!"
In the bustling Fairy Tail guild hall, Makarov stood atop the main bar counter, holding a giant glass of ale while giving an impassioned speech to his children.
"As the saying goes, the weather is unpredictable—sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy. Sometimes work can be completed effortlessly, while other times we must exert all our strength, even risking our lives!"
Makarov raised his glass high. "But tomorrow always comes. Maintaining our best condition before welcoming each new day—that's what Fairy Tail is all about!"
He paused dramatically, wiggling his hips.
His old face flushed red with excitement and booze as he laughed heartily.
"So, everyone! You've worked hard this year. To reward your efforts, tomorrow is the long-awaited... Cherry Blossom Viewing Party! Drink to your heart's content! Tomorrow we'll continue playing to our hearts' content!"
"Wooo!!"
The members below cheered excitedly in unison, and the large crowd once again descended into a massive wave of celebration.
Over at a side table, Levy excitedly pumped her fists, speaking to her Shadow Gear teammates, Jet and Droy.
"We didn't win the bingo grand prize last year or the year before! This year we must try harder!"
Jet asked, puzzled, "How do you try hard at a game of pure luck like bingo?"
"Through momentum, of course... Momentum!" Levy insisted, her eyes sparkling with determination.
Gajeel crunched loudly on some iron sheets.
He looked at the celebrating mages with utter confusion, muttering to himself, "Honestly, it's just cherry blossom viewing. Do we have to go this crazy?"
Levy immediately turned to him and retorted with a serious expression, "That's not right, Gajeel! Magnolia has a giant cherry blossom tree that even the royal capital of Fiore doesn't possess..."
She leaned in, her voice dropping a register. "This time of year is always Magnolia's second most lively event after the Fantasia Parade! Many young couples come here to see the Rainbow Cherry Blossom that can only be viewed under the moonlight at night! It's said that couples who view the blossoms together will..."
As she spoke, Levy's voice gradually faded.
Realizing what she was saying, her delicate face turned bright red.
Gajeel raised a pierced eyebrow and said discontentedly, "Will what? Don't leave me hanging."
"...Anyway, you shouldn't miss it."
With that, Levy abruptly turned her face away to hide her blush and stopped talking to him.
Gajeel could only scratch his spiky head in frustration.
But soon enough, Gajeel's attention was drawn to the gloomy aura beside him.
He looked over and asked, "What's wrong, Juvia? Why do you look half-dead?"
Juvia leaned her head against the wooden railing, weeping despondently.
A literal rain cloud seemed to hover over her head.
"Juvia worked so hard to finish her jobs, only to return to the guild and not find Gray-sama anywhere. It's too sad..."
Gajeel said irritably, rolling his eyes. "Come on, they're just taking over the leftover jobs we couldn't finish. They'll be back today. Is crying a river really necessary?"
Juvia continued sadly, dabbing her eyes. "But Juvia wants to go too~"
Gajeel curled his lip. "You're not in their team."
"Then why can Wendy go?!" Juvia whined.
"That kid just came from Cait Shelter. What's wrong with seniors showing her around and teaching her the ropes?"
"Waa—But Juvia is still so sad! Juvia really wants to see Gray-sama!!"
The guild floor was once again flooded with Juvia's comical tears.
...
Meanwhile, the source of the rain woman's lovesickness was completely unaware of her suffering as he carried out his mission far away.
Mount Hakobe was an extremely cold mountain range perpetually covered in heavy snow and blinding blizzards.
It was home to numerous magical beasts and wild animals, but also held rare cold-attribute magical herbs and materials for many magical tools and ores.
This was also where Ankh had taken his very first job making it a place filled with nostalgic memories.
While the sun shone brightly in Magnolia, warm and pleasant, Mount Hakobe was currently experiencing a heavy snowfall.
The freezing temperatures were constantly testing one's willpower.
However... most members of Fairy Tail were Mages trained in both magic and combat.
With their absurd physical conditioning, they adapted quite well to such extreme environments.
Ankh led the way, holding a client's hand-drawn picture of their target herb as he searched through the snowdrifts.
Despite the blizzard, he wore only a thin shirt that showed off his athletic figure, with a heavy coat simply draped over his shoulders—not even putting his arms through the sleeves.
His outfit looked quite similar to the style of Laxus.
Natsu remained in his signature summer sleeveless top, seemingly oblivious to the frost as he carefully leaned out and sniffed around the snow with his sharp nose.
Gray... was, as usual, completely bare-chested in the sub-zero temperatures.
Erza at least wore a full set of metal armor, striding confidently through the drifts.
But Wendy was shivering violently.
She hugged herself tightly, her teeth chattering as she looked enviously at Carla, who was flying freely in the freezing air beside her.
Wendy had come out wearing only a thin pink dress.
"A-A-Aren't you cold, C-Carla?" Wendy stammered.
Carla, wearing her elegant cat-style dress, crossed her arms and said calmly, "This level of cold can be overcome with willpower alone, child."
"T-That's nice..."
Wendy had actually never been particularly afraid of the cold since childhood.
Indeed, this was thanks to the physical constitution of a Sky Dragon Slayer.
Even a relatively weaker Mage like Wendy possessed exceptional cold resistance.
However, the low temperatures of Mount Hakobe surpassed all normal expectations.
Even Ankh had suffered from frostbite when he came here as a child, which explained why Wendy had finally fallen victim to the biting chill this time.
Still, compared to a certain someone in their party, Wendy's performance could be considered quite admirable...
"Wendy, if you're cold, why don't you come inside too? ...That's what she said."
At the rear of the group, a large standing clock with legs trudged along through the snow.
The clockface wore a benevolent, mustachioed expression as its muffled voice spoke.
The one who had actually uttered those words was none other than Lucy, who was curled up inside the clock's glass case.
Lucy, upon reaching the depths of Mount Hakobe, couldn't endure the freezing temperatures for another second.
She had summoned Horologium to seek refuge from the deadly cold.
Wrapped in a thick blanket and trembling nonstop inside the soundproof clock, Lucy extended the invitation.
Wendy happily squeezed inside the glass doors to keep her company, finally sighing in relief as the enchanted warmth washed over her.
Gray watched the two girls sitting comfortably inside Horologium with some envy.
He rubbed his arms and sighed, "Celestial Spirit Magic is really something. Having a Celestial Spirit to carry you around while staying warm..."
Ankh turned around, giving Gray a deadpan look.
"How about you put your clothes on before commenting on others' fear of the cold?"
"Huh?!" Gray looked down in shock. "When did I—"
"You haven't had them on since we entered the mountain trail," Ankh sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Natsu, holding his head and kicking at the snow, asked curiously, "Speaking of which, does that kind of medicinal herb really exist? One that can temporarily boost a Mage's Magic Power?"
Ankh shook his head, looking back at the drawing. "The client was quite adamant about it, so the effects should be reliable."
Erza, full of motivation as always, gazed up at the towering, silver-white snowy mountain peaks.
She suggested with a serious nod, "If it boosts magic power, why don't we gather a massive batch to bring back? We can use them as grand prizes for tomorrow's bingo tournament!"
"I don't really care about bingo prizes..." Natsu muttered.
Then, looking at Ankh, he suddenly remembered something.
He asked, "I recall that you didn't come back for the cherry blossom viewing last year, right?"
Ankh nodded, his breath pluming in the cold air. "I was continuously carrying out a decade-long mission with Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe. Because of that, I missed the cherry blossom festival for two years in a row..."
Natsu wasn't focused on the cherry blossoms at all.
His eyes ignited with fiery passion as he zeroed in on the other detail.
"A decade-long mission..." Natsu grinned widely. "A mission that hasn't been resolved for over ten years... I'd love to take on a mission like that too! I'm getting fired up!"
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