Open-air banquet hall—
Raizel, Jura, and Jellal each held a glass of red wine as they chatted about this and that.
Most of it was Jellal and Jura talking about the Magic Council's current operations, such as wiping out dark guilds and hunting down the remaining remnants of the Black Magic cults.
Jellal had devoted himself to that work lately and was so busy he could barely breathe.
Meredy was getting along very well with Ultear, Erza, and the others now.
At the moment, they were chatting about all kinds of shops and restaurants in Crocus and Magnolia.
Thanks to her work at the Council, where she often had to communicate and coordinate with others, Meredy had become much livelier and more cheerful.
Natsu and Happy were sitting directly on a table. Natsu had a burger in one hand and a chicken leg in the other, stuffing his face like there was no tomorrow.
Happy, meanwhile, was eating the fish in his mouth while staring at the fish still in the pot.
Quite a few people were gathered around Laxus, including Elfman, the Thunder God Tribe, and Jenny Realight.
Gray and Lyon stood shirtless on either side, while Juvia and Sherry looked at them with hearts in their eyes.
Wendy, Yukino, Chelia, and Lisanna had gathered together in their own little group.
Then there were Kurnugi, Macao, Wakaba, and Cana, the four alcohol lovers.
Kurnugi had been led astray by Macao and Wakaba.
These days, he drank beer like it was plain water.
The only reason nothing had gone wrong was because a dragon's stomach was ridiculously sturdy.
Reedus had come to the banquet too, but he had brought a drawing board and brush and had already started painting.
"Everyone! His Majesty has a few words he would like to say to you all!"
Arcadios appeared first on the viewing platform and called down to the crowd.
Everyone quickly quieted.
"Hello, everyone!"
King Toma hopped onto the railing of the viewing platform and shouted to the people below.
"X786 has been a year Fiore can be proud of! In the face of dark forces, we fought bravely!"
"History is a mighty river, and the efforts of generation after generation have created the Kingdom of Fiore we know today!"
"Today's Fiore is a kingdom full of life and energy! A kingdom closely connected to the world! A kingdom where dreams continue to come true!"
"For that, I must thank everyone here, as well as all the citizens of Fiore!"
"Tomorrow's Fiore will create miracles through effort, draw strength from unity, and place its hopes in the young!"
"And here, I would also like to announce something important—the next ruler of the Kingdom of Fiore! The new king who will work together with all of you to build an even better Fiore!"
"Hisui E. Fiore!"
Amid thunderous applause, Toma jumped down from the wall.
Standing before everyone was the former Princess Hisui, dressed in full royal attire, and now King Hisui.
No one objected to Toma's decision.
Hisui had always been a princess who loved the people and stayed close to them, and besides, she had ministers like Arcadios to support her.
Hisui did not give a long speech.
She simply praised those who had made outstanding contributions during the battle against the Black Dragon and said that she would continue leading the Kingdom of Fiore well.
As for Toma, he was not actually old enough to need retirement.
But he had a dream.
He was planning to open a restaurant.
Apparently, he wanted to open a small diner in Crocus and personally serve as the chef.
Add Yajima, who had also retired to become a cook, and it made a Mage's final career path look suspiciously like becoming a chef.
To be fair, Raizel, Ur, and Mira could all become chefs after retirement too.
Of course, retirement was still a long way off for them.
Precht and Warrod, two old men already over a hundred, were still working at the Council, and Makarov, a ninety-year-old man, was still clinging to his position as Fairy Tail's third master!
...
A week had passed since Hisui became Fiore's new king.
The effects of the western continent's invasion and the war against the Black Dragon had basically settled down, and the citizens of Fiore returned to their peaceful lives.
Fairy Tail, naturally, was not affected either.
Those who wanted to take jobs took jobs.
Those who needed to train trained.
None of the guild members became arrogant just because they had participated in the war against the Black Dragon and helped kill him.
Irene, Selene, August, and the others still stood before them like mountains waiting to be climbed, leaving Laxus, Natsu, Erza, and the others with plenty of goals to surpass.
As for Raizel?
Everyone's attitude was simple.
'Whoever wants to surpass him can go ahead. I'm not doing it.'
No one could block that slash anyway.
Besides, Erza and the others knew their next goal was not far away.
Raizel had promised Law Dragon Elefseria that he would accept the 100 Years Quest within two years.
Nearly a year had already passed since that promise.
Raizel was indeed planning to take them there soon, but before that, there was something just as important.
Magnolia's Harvest Festival of X786.
On top of that, this year marked the one hundredth anniversary of Fairy Tail's founding.
Everyone's opinion on the matter was simple.
Hold it.
Hold it big.
Hold it as big as possible!
Raizel also planned to invite August, Brandish, Dimaria, and the others. Of course, even if Raizel did not invite August, he would definitely come anyway.
...
October 1st, the night before the Harvest Festival parade.
The various small teams participating in the parade had already been rehearsing intensely for almost a month.
Tonight, everyone gathered in the guild tavern.
Fairy Tail's one-hundredth anniversary Harvest Festival had been long awaited, not only by Fairy Tail's members, but also by the many visitors coming from outside.
Blue Pegasus, Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, and other guilds had all received invitations.
Among the Spriggan 12, August, Invel, Brandish, Dimaria, and Ajeel came. Zeref and Minister Yajeel also accepted the invitation.
The Ten Wizard Saints, including the Four Gods of Ishgar, also arrived, along with Council members Org and Belno.
As for the former Oración Seis—now assault captains—Richard, Cobra, Sorano, and the others?
They came uninvited.
Jude and Layla also made time to come to Magnolia.
The sight of Anna, Layla, and Lucy, three generations of the Heartfilia family stretching across more than four hundred years, was honestly rather amusing.
Magnolia also suddenly welcomed more than a hundred tall minotaurs, who had come at Raizel's invitation.
After the mayor learned that they had previously rushed all the way to Fiore to help defend against the western continent, he specifically arranged lodging for them.
Over the past few days, Irene and Selene finally understood what it meant for a town to be packed with people.
The streets were full and lively, and whenever the two went shopping, they were greeted warmly from every direction.
The residents of Magnolia now knew that Irene was not Erza's older sister, but actually Erza's mother!
Although they found Irene's sudden appearance a little strange, the easygoing people of Magnolia were not the type to worry about such details.
In the nearly two months since Acnologia's defeat, Selene and Irene's behavior could basically be described as "thoroughly checked out."
Every day, they were either shopping or soaking in hot springs.
Don't ask how Raizel knew.
The answer was simple.
He had run into them while shopping with Ultear and the others, and he had seen them when visiting the castle.
"I've already thought of tonight's menu!"
Mira suddenly spoke excitedly while shopping for ingredients.
Today's chefs were Raizel, Mira, Ur, Yajima, and Toma.
One was Ishgar's actual strongest, one was a former cover girl for Weekly Sorcerer, one was a Wizard Saint, one was a former Council member, and one was a former king.
It was a truly star-studded lineup!
--------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator