After all, as mentioned before, everyone who had made it this far wanted to win.
And as the strongest person recognized by everyone present, Kabe was destined to become the target of all the other teams.
Including the other two Fairy Tail teams.
Thomas also noticed the strange atmosphere in the hall, but he did not mind.
With a slight smile, he raised his wine glass and announced:
"Everyone, I wish you the best of luck in the upcoming matches. Now, let us raise our glasses and enjoy this lively banquet!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the already prepared royal musicians immediately began playing a graceful and melodious tune.
Outside the banquet hall, another group of gorgeously dressed noble men and women entered.
These people were clearly hired by Thomas to improve the atmosphere.
However, their appearance did successfully dilute everyone's worries about tomorrow's competition.
Almost immediately after entering the banquet hall, a group of beautifully dressed noble girls rushed toward Kabe and surrounded him.
"Kabe-sama, I am your fan. Would you be willing to dance with me later?"
"My lord, I am the eldest daughter of the Clave family. I sincerely invite you to visit my home tonight."
"Kabe-nii, I admire you so much. Can you tell me about your adventures?"
Facing all kinds of requests thrown at him by the group of girls, Kabe had not even gotten the chance to speak.
The girlfriend group led by Mirajane immediately charged into the crowd.
They forcibly pushed aside the group of flashy noble girls and built a protective wall in front of Kabe.
Mirajane said:
"Move aside. We need to discuss tomorrow's battle strategy. Unrelated people shouldn't interfere."
Juvia immediately followed:
"Exactly! You little girls don't even think about getting close to my Kabe-sama!"
Jenny also joined in:
"Everyone move away. You are not welcome here."
Seeing Jenny naturally mixing in with them, Cana snorted unhappily.
But she did not say anything.
Compared to these girls who clearly had impure intentions, the two girls from Blue Pegasus were much more acceptable.
"If you don't mind, please let me join as well."
"No, no, get lost. Who do you think you are..."
Juvia was about to drive away the person speaking just like before.
But when she turned around and saw who it was, the words instantly got stuck in her throat.
The person who spoke was the princess of the kingdom.
The same princess who had a proper marriage engagement with Kabe.
Hisui.
Looking at the little girl with emerald-green hair and a neatly worn light pink princess dress, Juvia's expression became extremely conflicted.
After all, judging by when she had confirmed her relationship with Kabe, this princess was someone who had become his woman earlier than her.
The princess's appearance also immediately caused the group of noble girls who had been angrily questioning why Mirajane and the others were monopolizing Kabe-sama to lose all their confidence.
They all knew about Hisui and Kabe's engagement.
Now that the actual person had appeared, these girls who had been dreaming of stealing someone else's man naturally had no reason to stay.
They all bowed to Hisui and quietly withdrew.
Seeing that Hisui's arrival had driven away those shameless "toads dreaming of swan meat," the anger on Mirajane's face faded slightly.
"Let's go. We'll find somewhere quieter to talk. Princess, you come too."
After saying that, she did not give Kabe a chance to refuse.
She grabbed him and walked away.
Hisui followed together with Juvia, Jenny, and the others.
From a distance, Thomas watched this scene with a trace of approval and guilt in his eyes.
'If there is anyone to blame, blame me, this useless father.'
'But believe me, building a good relationship with Kabe and the girls around him is definitely not a mistake.'
'Erza, Mirajane, Cana, Lucky, as well as Karen and Jenny from Blue Pegasus.'
'Every single one of these girls is an exceptionally talented mage.'
'Becoming one of them, whether for Hisui herself or for the entire Kingdom of Fiore, will only bring benefits.'
Thinking this, the king smiled again.
He stopped paying attention to the younger generation and began moving around the banquet hall, chatting happily with the nobles and guild masters.
Meanwhile, Kabe was the one suffering.
After being dragged away by the girls, he was forced to endure one round of questioning after another.
Throughout the entire banquet, his expression of suffering never disappeared.
The people around him who saw his situation did not dare to go over and talk to him.
They could only look at him from afar with a mixture of envy and sympathy.