On the ship sailing directly toward Hargeon Port, Natsu, who had been temporarily cured of his motion sickness by Wendy's Troia spell, was running around the deck excitedly.
Lucy, enjoying the fresh sea breeze, was very happy.
This mission to subdue the Oración Seis had been quite rewarding for her.
She had obtained three Golden Keys at once: Aries, Scorpio, and Gemini.
These three Celestial Spirits were originally contracted to Angel.
After Angel was captured by the Council, the contracts were dissolved, and the three Spirits voluntarily chose to become Lucy's Celestial Spirits.
They really liked Lucy's kind way of interacting with Spirits.
After all, Scorpio and Aquarius were boyfriend and girlfriend, and Aries was also quite familiar with Leo, so they were well aware of Lucy's character.
"Please take care of me from now on," Lucy said softly, holding her key pouch at her waist.
...
"The air in Magnolia is just more comfortable!"
Natsu was exhilarated the moment he set foot back in Magnolia, seemingly having completely forgotten his earlier motion sickness.
"We're back!"
BANG!
Natsu kicked the guild doors open forcefully.
"Everyone, thank you for coming back safely," Mirajane said with a warm smile, her hands clasped happily in front of her.
"Grandpa."
Raizel stepped forward and greeted Makarov, who was sitting on the bar counter.
"You did very well. With the Oración Seis disbanded, the Dark Guilds should lie low for a while."
Makarov stayed serious for only a second before jumping up from the bar counter, raising a mug.
"To celebrate Raizel and the others' safe return, let's have a party!"
Makarov started the ruckus. "Go wild! Make some noise!"
"Great, I'm all fired up!"
"Gray-sama, you didn't sneak any snacks outside, did you?" Juvia asked suspiciously.
"What are you even talking about?" Gray replied, confused.
"Carla, would you like some of my fish?" Happy offered, holding up a fish.
"I don't want it," Carla replied coldly, turning away.
"Natsu is right, the Guild really is the most comfortable place."
Leaning against the bar, drinking the tea Mirajane had made for him, and watching the noisy members, Raizel felt he could watch this scene forever.
How should he put it? It always felt new and fresh.
...
Raizel and the others returned just in time.
In a few days, it would be Magnolia's annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
Inside the Fairy Tail Guild, Makarov stood on the bar counter with his arms crossed, speaking with great authority.
"Listen up, all of you! As Mages, you must never neglect your daily training and practice, and you must do your utmost to complete the requests you accept. The weather is unpredictable; sometimes it's sunny, sometimes it rains. Sometimes work can be finished effortlessly, other times you have to fight with all your might. But... no matter the outcome, tomorrow will always come."
"As Mages, we must still charge forward courageously. Only by doing so are we Mages of Fairy Tail."
"Ohhhhhhh!!!"
Everyone followed Makarov's lead, raising a finger towards the sky in the guild's signature pose.
"Everyone, you've all worked hard this past year. To reward your efforts, tomorrow is the highly anticipated Cherry Blossom Viewing Party!"
Makarov was already dancing around on the counter in excitement.
Raizel stepped forward and shouted to the Guild members to get their attention.
"Also! This year's Bingo tournament will take a different format; everyone will find out tomorrow!"
Makarov leaped up directly: "To celebrate tomorrow's cherry blossom viewing party, let's drink!!!"
Raizel looked helplessly at the group of drinkers already starting in the guild.
"Hey, listen up, tomorrow is the cherry blossom viewing party. If you get too drunk now, don't come complaining tomorrow when you can't get up."
Wakaba mocked himself, puffing on his pipe: "We live like it's cherry blossom season all year round anyway, doesn't matter."
Elfman shouted while chugging a drink: "A real man views cherry blossoms!"
Romeo excitedly looked at Macao and said, "Dad, you have to win the top prize in this year's bingo game!"
Macao pounded his chest while assuring his son, "Yeah, although Raizel said the format will change, no problem, leave it to me! This year I'll definitely take first place and show you!"
Levy rested her chin in her hands and sighed, "I didn't win any prizes last year or the year before. Alright, this year I'll try hard at bingo too!"
Lucy, sitting next to Levy, was very interested. "Was the previous bingo difficult?"
Levy shook her head with a smile. "Not really, it's all about luck."
Levy suddenly remembered something and looked at Wendy. "Now that you mention it, I think Wendy wins every year, right?"
Wendy was momentarily stunned before nodding shyly. "Well... maybe I'm just a bit luckier."
Lucy cupped her cheeks in anticipation. "I should head back early today to prepare for tomorrow's cherry blossom viewing party. This is my first time participating."
Wendy also nodded excitedly. "The cherry blossoms in Magnolia are incredibly beautiful, and they even turn Rainbow-colored at night."
Gajeel drank his alcohol while looking puzzled at the excited members.
Even Raizel and Laxus were this excited, which he couldn't understand.
"These people... it's just a cherry blossom viewing party, yet they can get this worked up."
Nab, standing by the request board, answered Gajeel's question.
"Even many clients know about this—during this period, 'Fairy Tail' gets too excited and completely neglects work, so we even get fewer job requests."
Gajeel suddenly grumbled, "I'm telling you, you should occasionally take on some work too..."
...
Outside the guild doors, Ultear looked at Raizel in confusion.
"Why did you suddenly call us out here?"
The key point was it was right outside the guild doors... it didn't seem like anything important.
"I need your help with materials for tomorrow's bingo game," Raizel explained.
Ultear and the others didn't hesitate, quickly nodding. "What do you need us to do?"
"Simple—Ultear, you go buy... Mirajane, you go buy... Erza, you go buy... Kagura, you go buy..." Raizel listed off the items rapidly.
"If you think it's too much to carry, you can bring people along to help."
Ultear shook her head. "No need, if we're buying this much we can have the merchants deliver it at that time tomorrow."
Mirajane nodded in agreement. "Right, if we're buying this much, no matter how many people we bring we couldn't carry it all."
Raizel slightly furrowed his brows in thought.
"As for me, I'll prepare tomorrow's prizes for everyone. But honestly, I still have no ideas about the prizes right now. Since we don't know if winners will be male or female, young or old, they need to have some universal appeal."
Mirajane rested her finger on her chin and pondered for a moment before saying, "If I really can't think of anything, buying some Magical Tools would be fine too. With this bingo game you mentioned, just playing it sounds like great fun."
Beside her, Erza had already turned starry-eyed, clasping her hands together and exclaim.
"Yes, I can't wait for tomorrow!!!"
Raizel pointed toward the central shopping mall and said.
"Then let's hurry up and set off!"