Makarov woke up with his head spinning.
"Ugh… Where am I?"
"The guild," Laxus said, handing him a wet towel, an unusually considerate move for him. "Wipe your face first."
"Ugh..." Makarov groaned, pressing the cool towel to his face. After a few moments, his mind cleared a little. "Wait, weren't we at a banquet? How did I end up back here? How'd we get back?"
"You really overdid it," Laxus sighed, pouring a cup of hot water for his grandfather. "Rhodes said you always get this drunk at every meeting."
The moment he heard "Rhodes," Makarov tried to recall what happened. His memory failed him… but he still managed to piece together the general story in his head.
"Hehehe… So he carried me back?"
Makarov chuckled sheepishly. It sounded right, Rhodes was responsible, and he had blacked out. Seemed reasonable enough.
Seeing his grandfather like this, Laxus could only shake his head. "You should really start showing some restraint. You're not young anymore. You need to take care of yourself."
He hesitated, then added, "And stop giving Rhodes so much trouble."
Makarov completely ignored the second part, nodding solemnly with a saintly smile.
"I know."
He absolutely did not know.
No one, not Mira, not Rhodes, not even the entire guild combined, could ever make Makarov quit drinking.
They had tried everything: soft words, harsh threats, moral lectures, guilt trips.
At best, he'd cut back for a few days before returning to his old ways.
Stretching and cracking his back, Makarov hopped off the bed.
"Hah! Sounds like the guild's lively today. Perfect timing. Let's go, I've got an announcement to make."
A few minutes later, the grandfather and grandson appeared on the second-floor balcony.
Laxus stood tall and imposing beside him, naturally drawing everyone's attention.
Makarov, seeing his towering grandson, had no choice but to leap onto the railing to make himself visible.
"You brats!" he roared, voice echoing through the hall.
The guild's noise gradually faded. One by one, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the small but mighty figure standing proudly on the railing.
"Listen up!" Makarov bellowed. "More than half of April's already gone. You know what that means! In less than two and a half months, the Grand Magic Games will begin!"
"That's right! The biggest festival in the kingdom, and the perfect stage for Fairy Tail to make our glorious return!"
He raised his fist. "Our goal is thirty million, no, our goal is victory!"
"Ohhh!!!"
"Huh? Oh…"
The mixed reaction made Makarov freeze mid-pose.
He'd expected roaring enthusiasm, but only the Tenrou Team, Romeo, and Asuka were actually cheering.
Macao, Wakaba, and most of the others looked less than inspired.
"Do we really have to join?"
"That kind of competition's too much work."
"And it's impossible to place high anyway…"
"Dad!" Romeo called from below. "Show some spirit! You're not the acting Guild Master anymore, we can totally win this time!"
"Huh?! You brat!" Macao's face turned red. "Are you saying we'd definitely lose if I were still Guild Master?!"
Romeo quickly hid behind Rhodes. "I'm just saying… we never even made it into the top ten before."
"That was bad luck!" Macao barked, trying to chase him down.
"Don't get mad," Wakaba said, slinging an arm around his friend's neck. "He's just telling the truth."
Macao glared murderously. He was furious, mostly because it was the truth.
Rhodes ruffled Romeo's hair. "Our guild really is cursed with bad luck."
Since deciding to participate, he'd reviewed the records from the past few years, and it was almost comedic.
Every year, Fairy Tail's event lineup somehow missed their members' best skills.
The year Alzack and Bisca competed? No shooting contests.
The year Jet entered? No running events.
Every time, without fail, the events that played to their strengths were removed, replaced by things like giant slug wrestling or underwater endurance.
Even when their members weren't any weaker than the competition, they always got eliminated before showing what they could do.
Therefore, Fairy Tail's results in the Grand Magic Games had always been… less than stellar.
Every year, something went wrong.
That one time Bisca finally got to join a competition? It turned out to be a dance contest.
Her opponent: Blue Pegasus's so-called "most handsome man," Ichiya.
The result: utter disaster.
Defeated not by strength, but by Ichiya's overwhelming "Men's Parfum Power."
In short, after a long string of embarrassments, the standby members had completely lost motivation. Aside from Romeo, who still brimmed with youthful enthusiasm, and Asuka, who didn't really understand what was going on, everyone else visibly deflated the moment "Grand Magic Games" was mentioned.
Romeo turned hopefully to Rhodes.
"Rhodes, you don't want to participate either?"
"No," Rhodes said plainly, then met Romeo's gaze and smiled. "But if everyone's lost their spirit because of past defeats… then that's exactly why we should participate."
He stood up, voice carrying through the guild. "Not for the prize money. Not for the fame. But to prove who we are."
"Exactly!" Makarov's booming voice echoed from the second floor.
"The shadows cast over our family, will be dispelled by us! The darkness that lingers over our name, will be illuminated by us! And the honor that belongs to Fairy Tail, will be reclaimed by us!
That, my children, is what Fairy Tail is about!"
A few people clapped. Wakaba puffed smoke from his pipe, chuckling.
"He really went all out with that speech, huh."
Macao scratched at his thinning hair and sighed. "Well, when the old man puts it like that, we can't exactly say no."
Laki added, "I probably won't get chosen, but I'll help with logistics and support."
Kinana, Max, Nab, and the rest of the standby team nodded in agreement.
Soon, smiles spread around the room, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, all of them caught up in the mood.
And, of course, Natsu jumped up onto a table, flames bursting from his hands.
"I'm fired up now! This year, victory is ours!"
The guild erupted in cheers, laughter, and clinking glasses.
When the noise finally calmed, Makarov raised a hand for quiet and cleared his throat.
"Alright, now then, by tradition, how many participants does each guild field?"
Rhodes sighed. "Five main members, one substitute."
"Excellent," Makarov said as if reading off a pre-written list. "The current chosen members are: Rhodes, Mirajane, Erza, and Laxus!"
Rhodes didn't even blink, he'd seen that one coming.
Mira only smiled.
Laxus and Erza exchanged glances, slightly caught off guard, but didn't object.
The rest of the guild simply nodded. It was the obvious lineup, their top fighters.
If all of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages participated, this would be their strongest team yet.
"As for the fifth main slot," Makarov continued, "I was planning to call Gildarts… but that idiot's vanished again. Who knows where he's wandered off to this time."
Cana raised her bottle in salute. "Even if you find him, he'd probably just laugh and walk away."
Makarov chuckled, conceding, "You're right about that. Then that leaves one main spot and one substitute."
He looked over the hall.
Immediately, hands shot up and chairs scraped.
Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Gajeel, Juvia, Cana, and the entire Thunder God Tribe all looked at him with burning anticipation.