On the second day after King Toma E. Fiore announced the Grand Magic Games to the major guilds across the kingdom, the members of Fairy Tail received some incredible news—the guild's airship modification was finally complete.
The interior renovation of the airship was overseen by Ultear, Raizel, and Erza, who were responsible for hiring skilled personnel for the luxury refurbishment.
Kagura, Freed, and Levy were in charge of constructing the complex anti-gravity magic circles.
The massive Magic Crystal required for the engine was originally Raizel and Erza's responsibility, but when they couldn't locate one large enough on the black market, Laxus took it upon himself to handle the task.
Laxus reached out to his personal friend, a wealthy merchant who traveled across the three continents.
The two maintained regular contact, and Laxus often purchased goods from him that were hard to find on the Ishgar continent—primarily Eastern specialties, including imported oolong tea for Raizel.
The airship, after being aggressively test-flown by Laxus, had already been moved from Hargeon Port to a massive clearing in the Eastern Forest—a place where Raizel, Ultear, and the others often trained.
Upon receiving the news, Raizel and the core members rushed over without delay.
Laxus had added an element of dramatic mystery, somehow obtaining a massive canvas cloth to cover the entire docked airship.
Laxus tried to keep them in suspense, but unfortunately, Mavis wasn't having any of it and kept urging him impatiently.
Ever since Raizel informed her ghost that the guild's ship was being modernized, Mavis had nearly caved multiple times to the urge to fly down and check on the progress at Hargeon Port.
"Hurry up! Hurry up! I want to see it!" Mavis demanded, her hands on her hips, pouting with impatience.
"Alright, alright," Laxus nodded helplessly.
If Makarov were the one urging him, he might have teased the old man for dragging things out and being secretive.
But facing the cute First Master, he couldn't.
What if she started crying? He had no idea how to comfort a century-old ghost.
"Three... two... one!" At Laxus's command, he, Freed, and Bickslow pulled the massive canvas cloth off together.
The flying warship was modified from the guild's original wooden ship, so its overall silhouette wasn't drastically different.
However, it couldn't really be called a warship anymore, as no heavy weapons had been installed per Ultear's request.
The super airship measured exactly 46.02 meters in length and 12 meters in width, boasting five spacious decks.
The superstructure was constructed using sleek, high-strength metal and lightweight alloys.
The original canvas sails and wooden masts were removed, and massive magical thrusters were installed at the stern, glowing brightly, powered by the core Magic Crystal.
The engine room was reinforced with heavy defensive Jutsu Shiki spells, and the four massive Magic Crystals serving as the power source were well-protected behind steel bulkheads.
There was no need to worry about the massive crystals running out of energy mid-flight: firstly, the crystals themselves could autonomously absorb ambient Ethernano from the air, secondly, external manual replenishment was possible—Raizel and the others could directly channel their own Magic Power into them.
Although there would be some energy loss during transfer, it wasn't a significant issue.
Four primary anti-gravity magic circles were constructed underneath the hull, with an additional balancing circle on each side for auxiliary aerial stability.
Lightweight metal was used to reinforce the outer hull—the lightest metal Raizel could find.
It wasn't exceptionally sturdy against artillery, but it could withstand high-altitude bird impacts without issue.
Of course, it wouldn't hold up against a direct attack from larger Magic Beasts like Wyverns.
But even if it got damaged in combat, it wouldn't be a big problem as long as Ultear was on board.
If the entire ship were to be damaged, Ultear could instantly repair it mid-flight using her Arc of Time.
Of course, if some parts or materials were lost and detached after a period of time, even Ultear would be powerless to restore them.
A major highlight at the stern was a series of terraced decks with reinforced glass railings, offering unobstructed panoramic views of the beautiful scenery during flight.
This refit wasn't just superficial on the outside—the interior had also been massively upgraded.
The main deck was the yacht's centerpiece, featuring a sprawling, open-concept living room.
A stylish spiral staircase connected the main deck to a lower area with a large formal dining table, plush lounge seating, and a sleek mahogany bar—though the bar currently had no alcohol stocked.
The ship could comfortably accommodate 20 people in luxury, and squeezing in more for a party wouldn't be a problem if needed.
All guest cabins had their own private en-suite bathrooms.
There were no so-called VIP rooms or Master bedrooms, all the quarters were roughly the same size, differing only in slightly varied decor styles.
Ultear was primarily responsible for the elegant interior design themes.
Besides the main control room, the engine room, and the guest cabins, there was a dedicated service area with magical washing machines and dryers.
In addition to ordinary dry storage, there was a specialized refrigerated storage room for perishables, not too large—about twelve square meters.
Raizel originally thought the heavy refrigerated storage was unnecessary for short trips, but Ultear insisted. Since it wasn't a major structural issue, Raizel agreed to fund it.
The top deck was furnished with comfortable sun loungers and supplies for open-air picnics.
The storage also held over ten durable camping tents—occasionally sleeping in a tent on the top deck beneath the stars might be quite nice.
"It's all so beautiful!" Mavis cheered, darting straight through the metal walls of various rooms as soon as she boarded the flying yacht.
"How much did this even cost?!?" Makarov shrieked, clutching his heart as he looked at the mahogany floors.
"Hard to say, but it didn't come from your official funds, so no need to worry, Gramps," Raizel sighed. He was used to Makarov's money-focused panic attacks.
The renovation costs were shared privately by about ten people, including Ur, Raizel, Mira, Erza, and Ultear.
Contributions varied based on savings, but it was the thought that counted.
Those with little to no money, like Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, weren't asked to contribute anything.
Ur hadn't spent much over the years.
She received a massive monthly stipend from the Council for being a Wizard Saint and occasionally took on well-paying freelance jobs.
Aside from the 100,000 Jewel monthly rent for their house, she had no major expenses.
Moreover, since Ultear started earning S-Class bounties, Ultear had been covering the rent. In short, Ur was secretly extremely wealthy.
The massive engine Magic Crystal was said to be funded by Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe together, though Raizel strongly suspected Laxus covered most of the exorbitant black-market cost himself.
"The bar is really well done too," Macao and Wakaba praised, running their hands over the polished wood.
"Just a pity there's no alcohol stocked yet..." Cana shook her head regretfully with closed eyes.
Though neither Macao nor Wakaba could go on any long journeys yet, as they couldn't abandon their young families in town, there was something to look forward to.
Wouldn't they get to ride it in luxury when attending the Grand Magic Games in Crocus?
"Honestly, that's enough complaining. You just drank at the guild!" Lucy yelled, not knowing where to begin her complaints with the drunkards.
From Lucy's wealthy perspective, this flying yacht could definitely be described as luxurious.
Her family could easily afford one but hadn't bought one for the estate, mainly because safety during aerial travel was hard to guarantee against sky pirates or magical storms.
Hiring mercenary guards meant relying on untrustworthy outsiders, unlike guild members who could be treated like family.
But Fairy Tail was different—every single person on this airship was a walking weapon of mass destruction. It'd be a miracle if they didn't actively cause trouble for others while flying it.
Natsu patted the polished metal walls of the ship left and right, expressing his regret.
"Gildarts would probably cry, right? The guild has remodeled such a fine ship that he won't get to see for a while since he ran away."
"Even if he were here, this old man wouldn't allow him aboard!" Makarov declared righteously, his tone so severe that his white beard trembled.
If Gildarts were to casually board this luxury ship, no matter how sturdy it was built with magic, it would be utterly useless.
He'd accidentally smash the hull to pieces in minutes with his Crush magic!