"As expected of Levy!!!" Freed gave a thumbs-up, playing the role of the straight man.
"As expected of you, Freed." Raizel sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead.
This time, the Grand Magic Games hadn't designated specific lodging, so Laxus had already made reservations.
They arrived at their booked hotel—the Honey Bone Inn. The inn's sign featured a bee with a skull for a head.
The hotel was roughly mid-tier—not luxurious, but certainly not shabby either. Its main advantage was its good location, quite close to the competition venue in the west.
Laxus hadn't chosen this place because of a lack of funds; the luxurious hotels were all fully booked.
Furthermore, the only rooms left were six-person rooms.
Fortunately, the rooms were relatively spacious, so even with six people, it didn't feel crowded.
Especially since the guys traveling together basically had no luggage to speak of.
But then Raizel's assumptions were proven wrong.
Erza, having no space in her own room, had piled some of her luggage in Raizel's...
"I've finished reading! I'll give a general explanation now."
The first thing Levy did upon arriving at the inn was put on her glasses and start studying the rulebook for the games
"There are three main important points. First, the Guild Masters of each guild are not allowed to participate."
"Second, those without a Guild Mark can only be spectators and are similarly ineligible to compete."
"Third, the events are kept secret until the official start, and the rules for each event are only explained right before they begin."
Erza leaned against the wall, slightly bowing her head as she said, "So there's no useful reference information. It really is somewhat similar to our Harvest Festival battle."
Makarov nodded. "Well, the games don't officially start for another three days. Everyone can feel free to explore the city during this time. It's not often we get to come to the royal capital."
"Alright, let's go check it out! Happy! Lucy!"
"Aye sir!"
"Let's go, let's go!" As Natsu dashed out, Happy and Lucy quickly followed.
Erza seemed about to say something, but Ultear stopped her. "It's fine, Lucy is with them. They won't get lost."
"In that case, let's go out and explore too. It's been a long time since we last visited Crocus." Erza then turned her gaze to Kagura and Raizel.
The last time they came to Crocus, they had been here together on a mission. It had been so long that Crocus had undergone many changes.
"You guys go ahead. We already explored yesterday," Laxus said dismissively with a wave of his hand.
...
"No wonder it's called the City of Flowers. The entire royal capital is filled with flowers everywhere." After wandering around with Natsu for a while, Lucy realized that flowers were truly a ubiquitous sight in Crocus.
"It truly lives up to its name as the Capital of a Hundred Flowers."
Meanwhile, Raizel, Ultear, Wendy, and the others were also out exploring.
However, compared to Natsu's group who were just wandering around looking for fun, their group had a much clearer plan.
First, they visited Crocus's famous landmarks, then tried food at renowned restaurants, and finally went shopping.
Before they knew it, evening had fallen.
"What's happening over there?" Wendy stood on her tiptoes, trying to see what the large, bustling crowd was gathered around.
"I don't know, it sounds like a fight?" Raizel pricked up his ears and seemed to hear cheering sounds.
Watching excitement is human nature, even if you're a Mage.
"A fight!!!" Natsu rushed right in under the eyes of Raizel and the others.
"Wait for us, Natsu! Seriously!" Lucy and Happy chased desperately from behind.
By the time Natsu squeezed through the crowd, the fight had already ended with a one-sided outcome.
Two seemingly underage kids, standing half a head shorter than him, were standing over a dozen large men they had defeated.
The blond-haired one was still taunting, "Why aren't you getting up? You're so weak."
The black-haired one wore an expression that kept others at arm's length—an expression Natsu recognized as what people called "dead fish eyes" or an "expressionless face."
If it were a woman with such coldness, she would be called an "ice queen."
"They were never any match for you guys anyway," a red cat nearby spread its paws dismissively.
"A cat?" Compared to Sting and Rogue, this talking cat clearly captured Natsu's attention more.
When Natsu spoke, both Sting and Rogue, who had been quite arrogant moments before, turned to look at him.
"You are?" Sting couldn't quite believe he was actually seeing Natsu in person.
"Natsu Dragneel..." Rogue narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing Natsu's magical power, speaking with some caution.
"A cat?" Meanwhile, Happy, Lector, and Frosch made eye contact.
"What's with you, cat who looks useless?" Lector pointed at Happy.
"Frosch thinks so too." Frosch, wearing a pink frog onesie nearby, also pointed.
"They can actually speak human language!!!" Happy pressed his paws to his cheeks in disbelief.
"Should I make a sarcastic remark about this..." Lucy didn't even know where to begin.
"You know me?" Natsu pointed at his own nose.
"Dragon Slayer Mage, Natsu Dragneel, known as the Salamander," Sting answered.
"Really? So I'm called the Salamander?" Natsu scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.
"I'm Sting, this is Rogue. We'll also be participating in the Grand Magic Games this time."
As fellow Dragon Slayer Mages, Sting actually regarded Natsu as his idol, currently struggling to restrain himself from rushing up to ask for an autograph.
Rogue beside him was somewhat inconspicuous, though Gajeel would probably remember if he were present—this was the same Rogue who had followed him around last year in Phantom Lord.
He had wanted to join Phantom Lord, but unexpectedly, the guild had suddenly disappeared.
After Phantom Lord disbanded, Rogue joined Sabertooth together with Sting.
Along with them, three other powerful mages joined at the same time.
These five formed the team Sabertooth sent to participate in the Grand Magic Games.
Guild Master Jiemma had given them a strict order: the goal was to become Fiore's number one!
To outsiders, Sabertooth's current goal might seem unrealistic, but those within knew their own strength.
Two Dragon Slayer Mages, one God Slayer Mage, the Memory-Make user, and the young lady with spatial magic—they certainly had the capital to compete.
Moreover, these two were third-generation Dragon Slayer Mages who had personally killed the dragons that raised them and implanted Magic Crystals.
The biggest obstacle would undoubtedly be Fairy Tail, followed by Lamia Scale, which boasts Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints.
It's said that for this competition, Lamia Scale had indeed dispatched Jura.
The hotel where Jura was staying had been bustling with visitors every day.
Fairy Tail certainly possessed similar appeal.
If they were to send Ur... As the only female among the Ten Wizard Saints at present, Ur enjoyed immense popularity.
However, Ur had no intention of participating in the competition, believing such events should be left for the younger generation.
Even without Ur's participation, given the reputations of Raizel, Laxus, Ultear, and Erza, it's likely that tomorrow their doorstep would be worn out by the stream of visitors.
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