December 25th.
Parnell Café—
The café opened by Selene and Irene was not located particularly close to Magnolia's city center, so foot traffic was relatively light.
Fairy Tail's own outdoor café was also only three streets away, meaning the two establishments technically competed for much of the same clientele.
Not that it mattered.
Neither Irene nor Selene particularly cared whether the café made money in the first place.
When Raizel and the others arrived, there were only a handful of customers inside.
Selene and Irene had claimed the best table in the house, each with a steaming enamel mug sitting in front of her.
Sunlight poured through the windows, and neither woman was wearing her usual headwear.
The warm winter light fell across Irene's crimson hair and Selene's platinum-blonde locks, making the scene look almost like a painting.
At another table nearby, Misaki was quietly enjoying a cup of black tea.
Kiria, meanwhile, had completely given up on maintaining any dignity.
She was bent forward with her face pressed against the tabletop, both arms sprawled loosely beside her as she slept soundly.
She looked utterly useless.
Raizel merely nodded toward Irene in greeting. Selene had her back to him, but after noticing Irene's response, she turned and saw the newcomers as well.
Rather than disturb the two of them, Raizel led Ultear and the others to a row of seats nearby.
Raizel, Ultear, Kagura, and Erza sat side by side.
In front of them, from left to right, were steaming hot oolong tea, coffee, black tea, and...
An ice-cold cola.
Whoosh—
Raizel, Ultear, and Kagura simultaneously turned toward Erza.
Completely unbothered, Erza picked up the chilled glass and took a sip.
"Isn't an ice-cold cola especially delicious in the middle of winter?"
"Who goes to a café and orders an iced cola?!"
"One of the employees went out and bought it for me."
The café staff had been created by Irene through Enchantment, and Erza was Irene's daughter.
In other words, she was practically the owner's daughter.
Sending someone out to pick up a cola for her was apparently considered perfectly reasonable.
Although Irene had never opened Parnell Café with profit in mind, she had instructed the staff to develop an extensive selection of desserts and afternoon-tea dishes purely to satisfy her own tastes.
Whether Irene and Selene had personally worked their way through everything on the menu was unclear.
Erza certainly had.
...
Jellal, Meredy, and Sorano had attended Fairy Tail's Christmas party the previous night, and during the gathering Jellal had told Raizel's group about his newest idea.
He wanted to open a Magic academy.
The school was scheduled to formally begin operating after the New Year, and Jellal had invited Raizel and the others to attend the opening ceremony.
Their plan was to establish the first academy in Crocus as a trial.
If it proved successful, similar schools could eventually be opened elsewhere throughout Ishgar.
Jellal was now both a Council member and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, after all.
And the academy was not merely an attempt to fulfill Zeref's old hope of providing proper magical education.
Meredy, Yukino, and several others had come to share the same wish.
When Jellal and Meredy invited Fairy Tail, they had put it simply.
"With how famous all of you are now, the children will probably be thrilled to meet you."
The moment Erza heard there would be children, she became unusually enthusiastic.
"What kind of formal dress should I wear?"
Raizel shook his head.
"There won't be any especially important guests, and it isn't that formal an occasion. Just wear what you normally do."
The academy was Jellal and his companions' personal project rather than an official Magic Council initiative, so Jellal had not invited the other Council members.
...
The Magic Academy was already visible in the distance as Raizel, Ultear, and the others stood atop a small hill overlooking it.
With the name of Wizard Saint Jellal attached to the project, it had naturally attracted a large number of children from Crocus and the surrounding region who wanted to learn Magic.
Thanks to Queen Hisui's enthusiastic support, the academy had been built on the western outskirts of Crocus, right beside Domus Flau, the arena used for the Grand Magic Games.
The location had been chosen deliberately.
Domus Flau could serve as a practical combat venue for the students, and whenever the Grand Magic Games were held, the academy could bring its students to watch professional Mages compete.
If nothing else, they would certainly be surrounded by the right atmosphere.
The area had originally been nothing more than a broad stretch of open plains.
Now, an entire Magic Academy had risen there in the architectural style commonly seen throughout Crocus.
Which mostly meant there were flowers and greenery everywhere.
From the hill, they could see a large athletic field, numerous training facilities, an artificial lake, and even tennis, basketball, and football courts intended for recreation.
The school's name was equally straightforward.
Crocus Magic Academy.
Before the official opening ceremony began, Raizel used teleportation to quietly transport everyone directly into the headmaster's office.
They were supposed to appear later as surprise guests, so Jellal had deliberately kept their attendance secret from the students.
Jellal, Meredy, and Sorano were already waiting inside.
The headmaster's office was surprisingly spacious.
Even with more than a dozen people arriving at once, it did not feel particularly crowded.
Perhaps Jellal had planned from the beginning for the office to accommodate large groups of visitors.
Jellal and Meredy were seated on the sofa, while Sorano sat in an office chair farther away with a book in her hands.
An entire wall behind her had been converted into bookshelves.
The instant Yukino arrived, however, Sorano completely forgot about reading.
"Yukino!!!"
She sprang out of her chair and rushed straight toward her younger sister.
Sherria and Wendy, who had been standing beside Yukino, were so accustomed to this by now that they silently stepped out of the way before Sorano even reached them.
Seeing everyone arrive, Jellal stood and nodded in greeting.
"You're here. Please, sit."
Levy did not sit.
Instead, she pointed toward the enormous wall of books.
"Can I take a look at those?"
"Of course. Help yourself."
That was all the permission Levy and Lucy needed.
Both immediately wandered over to inspect the collection.
Meanwhile, Meredy unfolded a diagram and began explaining the academy's layout to Juvia, Cana, and the others, pointing out the various buildings and facilities.
Raizel looked toward Jellal.
"What made you decide to open a Magic Academy?"
"I'm not doing it for profit," Jellal explained. "Anna-san gave me some inspiration, and I had already been considering something similar for a while. Meredy, Sorano, and Richard were all supportive, so eventually we decided to actually do it."
Anna had already opened a school in Magnolia, although most of her students were orphans.
Whenever Cana, Juvia, Lucy, and the others were in Magnolia, they often went over to help.
Jellal's Magic Academy would operate differently.
Admissions would be based on an entrance assessment.
A child had to pass before being accepted, though students with strong magical aptitude but poor family circumstances could receive scholarships from the academy.
Jellal did not support forcing magical education on children simply because their families desperately wanted it.
If someone came from a poor household and had little or no aptitude for Magic, he believed it was better for them to learn another practical skill that could reliably provide a living rather than spend years stubbornly pursuing something for which they had no talent.
Sorano had already wrapped both arms around Yukino and was happily rubbing her cheek against her sister's when she suddenly raised an eyebrow and gave Jellal a teasing look.
"There's a much more complicated story behind all this, though. Isn't there... Siegrain?"
Raizel's gossip radar immediately activated.
Something about Sorano's voice and expression practically screamed that there was a story here.
"Why are you calling him Siegrain?" he asked. "Wasn't that just the alias Jellal used when he infiltrated the Magic Council?"
Ultear and Mira, who were sitting on the sofa, immediately turned their attention toward Jellal.
Lucy and Levy stopped browsing the books.
Cana and Juvia, who had been listening to Meredy explain the academy layout, also pricked up their ears.
Everyone waited for Jellal's answer.
Jellal shook his head.
"No. Actually, Siegrain is my real name."
He paused.
"It's not particularly important or even much of a secret."