Dinner went on for a full two hours.
Of course, Natsu's table still had not stopped eating.
Night settled over Magnolia, and the gathering gradually reached its end. At Ur's suggestion, everyone gathered for a group photo as a keepsake.
Ur might not have a fist big enough to force everyone into place, but her idea received unanimous approval.
She set up the tripod, adjusted the timer, and hurried back to Ultear's side.
Ur arranged everyone's positions herself, using tables and chairs to make four rows.
The tallest people, like Raizel, Laxus, and Elfman, were placed in the very back row. Of course, Caine, who was over three meters tall, could just stand on the ground.
As for Makarov...
He sat on Raizel and Laxus's shoulders, and he looked very happy about it.
"Old man, you kicked my head!"
Gray complain.
One kick would have been fine, but Makarov had used a whole combo on his head!
The first two rows were all girls.
Ur left the center of the first row to Selene and Irene, with Anna and Erza sitting on either side.
The center of the second row went to Wendy and Mavis, with Yukino and Chelia beside them.
There was no battle over the center position, nor any fight for ranking.
If anything, everyone kept trying to give the best spots to someone else.
Erza even felt she was sitting too close to the middle. Ur first glanced at Irene, then turned back to Erza.
"For this photo, it's only right that you two sit together."
Of course, Sherry, Juvia, and the others insisted on squeezing in somehow, so Ur arranged them in the row in front of Lyon and Gray.
In short, Ur put a lot of thought into the arrangement. Under her direction, Layla sat to Anna's left, and Lucy sat beside Layla.
"Three, two, one..."
As Ur counted down, everyone smiled and shouted together.
"Cheese!"
...
Mira brought Lisanna, Yukino, and the others along to hand out the developed group photos.
"This is everyone's Harvest Festival gift. Please take one."
As for Raizel, Laxus, and the others, they were currently being directed by Ur as they adjusted the photo wall and put up the huge copy of the photo.
And it really was huge!
It was 2.54 meters long and 1.905 meters wide, with an area of nearly five square meters.
It had become the largest photo in the guild by far, and nothing else even came close.
This year's Harvest Festival parade might have drawn even more attention than the Harvest Festival Battle.
Aside from Erza, Kagura, and the others performing a sword dance, two dragons appeared in the parade and flew through the sky.
One was Sword Saint Dragon Kurnugi.
The other was technically Raizel.
Irene had forged a giant sword for Kurnugi that he could use in dragon form.
The two even clashed in the air for a while, lance against greatsword. It was incredibly eye-catching.
Raizel had reported it to the mayor in advance, and the Kingdom of Fiore and the Magic Council were both aware of it as well.
Aside from making the cover of Weekly Sorcerer, it did not cause any trouble.
Selene sat somewhere high above and enjoyed watching the parade.
Irene, meanwhile, was busy preparing to open a shop.
This year's Harvest Festival Battle lasted for five days. The first day was a quiz, and all the questions were related to guild members.
For example, what sweet did Erza like the most? Could Natsu eat his own flames? What was Bloodman the God of Death's nickname?
Natsu answered, "God of Death!"
"Ding! Wrong."
After a long series of dings, Raizel finally announced the correct answer.
"Correct answer: Mira's bitch!"
"..."
After Raizel announced the answer, the packed Fiore Garden Plaza fell completely silent.
After that came all kinds of strange competition events.
There was even tug-of-war.
Kurnugi, who would do anything to win, revealed his true form, and in the end, the match evolved into a contest between a giant dragon and berserk Caine plus Elfman in full Beast Soul Take Over.
Of course, Kurnugi won in the end. His mass was simply too much.
There were shooting contests, dodgeball, and even a five-on-five general-slaying flag capture game split into top, middle, and bottom lanes.
All kinds of scenes appeared during that match.
Erza and Kagura dueled with blades in the top lane.
Ultear and Ur bombarded each other with spells in mid. Cana and Wendy fought Mira and Lisanna in bottom.
There were also various items and buff effects prepared by Irene scattered across the map, but players had to defeat guardian magical beasts to obtain them.
Since Irene had prepared those buffs herself, they were powerful enough to change the entire game.
Laxus turned into lightning and raced through all three lanes.
Kurnugi guarded the base alone, holding the line like one man against ten thousand.
"Fifty health left!"
Raizel, serving as commentator, shouted with a roar loud enough for the whole arena.
"Kurnugi defended the base! He has not fallen!!!"
"He's still trying! He's still trying!"
"Go in! What are you scared of? You're giving everything away!"
"This trade isn't bad. This trade is a tiny loss. This trade is huge!"
"This lineup is ahead by five thousand gold! Cough, wrong game."
When Raizel saw Wendy use Enchantment Magic to apply a slowing abnormal status to Mira and the others, even more bizarre commentary came out of his mouth.
"Canyon relativity! If you slow the enemy down, it's the same as speeding yourself up!"
Toma, Hisui, Jason, and Yajima were all amazed and felt they had learned something useful.
They could use this at the next Grand Magic Games.
The five-on-five match was spectacular, like watching eight immortals cross the sea, each displaying their own unique powers.
All kinds of dazzling techniques appeared one after another.
In the end, Ur's team won the five-on-five match.
That was thanks to the many tactics they had practiced, including one person defending bottom while two slipped through the jungle to steal buffs and harass all three lanes.
Kurnugi was strong, but he was far too arrogant and had poor teamwork.
He ended up defending the base early, getting eliminated early, and going fishing early.
Makarov presented the award at the end. After Ur's team received the trophy, Raizel began his closing speech.
"This year's Harvest Festival Battle has come to an end. Every team worked hard, and we also thank all the spectators for your passionate support. If you have any suggestions for the competition, you can send a letter to the Fairy Tail guild tavern or the lord's mansion. Good suggestions and creative ideas may receive a mysterious reward."
The five-day Magnolia Harvest Festival Battle finally came to a close.
Although the number of spectators could not compare with the Grand Magic Games, the excitement and momentum of the Harvest Festival Battle might have surpassed it.
As evening deepened, the crowds slowly left the arena.
Magnolia's taverns and hotels were packed full, and even though the Harvest Festival Battle had ended, the visitors were still buzzing with excitement.
Raizel and the others walked along the brightly lit streets, surrounded by bustling crowds.
Everywhere they went, they could hear people discussing the competition.
Residents who knew Raizel called out to him from time to time.
"Raizel, you have to hold this again next year!"
There was no doubt about it.
This kind of competition was far more entertaining to the crowd than one-on-one duels!
Even Selene could not resist it. She specially came to find Raizel.
"Can't you hold this competition every day?"
"Don't worry. There'll be more!"
Raizel had already lost count of how many times he had answered people along the way.
Still, he was enjoying it.