In the Flower Capital, Crocus, under King Toma's orders, the kingdom's top craftsmen had worked themselves half to death through endless overtime, and the banquet palace within Mercurius had finally been repaired.
Lights blazed brilliantly inside Mercurius. Out in the city, the citizens were still repairing their homes with help from the army, though many of them could not help looking toward the palace with a little envy.
"I heard the king is holding a banquet in the palace for the guild mages."
"Well… they're the mages who drove back dragons, after all."
"It's still hard to believe dragons really exist in this world…"
"Those noisy people are probably already dancing by now, aren't they?"
…
Inside Mercurius, in the women's dressing room, Princess Hisui had specially arranged many gorgeous formal dresses for the female guild mages to choose from and change into.
Yukino wore a sexy low-cut white gown decorated with soft feathers, and she covered her chest in embarrassment as she asked.
"Is it really okay for me to dress like this?"
Lucy pinned up her long hair and giggled. "Relax. You look really charming in that outfit, Yukino."
Although Yukino's personality leaned more toward that obedient little-sister type, her appearance and aura were actually more cool and elegant.
This outfit suited her image extremely well.
Lisanna was holding up her chest, struggling no matter how hard she tried because she could not reach the zipper on the back of her dress, so she quickly went to Mirajane for help.
"I think they got bigger again… What a pain."
Hearing Lisanna complain, Mirajane only smiled without saying anything.
When it came to girls and figure problems, it was always easy to find common ground.
For example, Lucy, who was currently struggling to squeeze herself into her dress.
…And Wendy, whose face looked like she was about to cry!
Erza, meanwhile, had changed into a graceful, luxurious gown that made her look even more like a queen.
Perhaps because the great battle had left her yearning for a peaceful life, she looked at Bisca, who was originally around her age, happily helping her daughter Asuka change clothes, and could not help saying with envy.
"Having a daughter really seems wonderful."
Holding Asuka in her arms, Bisca smiled and said, "Well, everyone's almost at that age anyway. Mira, don't you plan to have children~?"
Mirajane's little face instantly flushed red.
She poked her fingers together and stammered quietly, "I do want to… but we still have to wait for the right chance…"
Cana leaned over in confusion and said in disbelief, "Wait… don't tell me you two still haven't done that?"
As she spoke, Cana even made a rather unbroadcastable gesture with her hands, making the faces of every girl present turn red.
Mirajane drooped her little face and whispered, "We've only been dating for eight days. The Grand Magic Games and the war happened one after another, and we were staying at an inn with everyone else around. Where would we even get the chance…?"
"That's easy!"
Cana suddenly hugged Mirajane from behind, and with both hands, she wickedly gave Mira's breast a playful little "duang-duang-duang" bounce.
With a mischievous grin, she said, "Once we're back in Magnolia, everything will be fine. With Mira's ability, maybe our guild will have another kid right away!"
"Stop it! Cana!"
Mirajane's embarrassed cry and Cana's wicked laughter rang out without pause.
Wendy and Levy stared at that surging scenery with blank dot-eyes, and the resentment radiating from them was probably enough to summon ghosts.
…
"Achoo!"
Ankh, who had no idea the girls were discussing such thrilling topics, suddenly sneezed several times in a row.
He muttered in confusion, "Strange. Is Soda cursing me again?"
"Are you all right, Lord Ankh?"
Across from him stood Princess Hisui, dressed in a dignified white gown, asking with concern.
She had come to ask Ankh whether she should let Yusalk stay with her.
Regarding that matter, Ankh felt it was better to keep Yusalk around than to let Him run off and cause trouble outside.
At least this way, Yusalk would remain under his watch.
Besides, Yusa seemed to have taken quite an interest in Hisui.
If they really let Him go out looking for entertainment again, no one knew what kind of disaster He might create next.
Seeing Laxus, Gray, and the others walking toward them, Princess Hisui lifted her skirt, gave a polite curtsy, and tactfully took her leave.
Gray looked at the magnificent palace and sighed. "This was repaired after the war? I wonder how luxurious the original Mercurius was."
Laxus was broad-shouldered and powerful, and in a suit, he looked very much like a violent gangster.
A group of lovestruck young ladies had gathered around him, and he was impatiently trying to drive them away.
Clearly, Laxus's type was very popular with the girls of the royal capital.
There were not as many pretty women gathering around Ankh anymore.
Most likely, it was because the image of him slashing Minerva during the Grand Magic Games had made him seem fierce and brutal.
Combined with the fact that he was no longer single, the public's attention on him was no longer as exaggerated as before.
"Ankh-san! Gajeel-san!"
Just then, Sting brought the members of Sabertooth over to Ankh's side.
Rogue looked at Gajeel, who was wearing a suit with his messy hair tied back, and said with shame.
"I'm sorry about that other me…"
Gajeel was tearing into a piece of meat with huge bites.
His words came out muffled as he scolded him, "Don't feel ashamed over something you haven't done yet. If you're really scared of it happening, then keep your heart under control and don't let the shadows swallow you!"
Rogue instinctively straightened his back and shouted in a reflexive response, "Yes, sir!"
Rogue, whose original name was Ryos, had developed his admiration for Gajeel back when Gajeel was still part of Phantom Lord.
Though rather than admiration, it was more like blind obedience.
After all, Gajeel had not exactly been a good person back then either.
Rogue had merely been one of the little followers tagging along behind Gajeel while he threw his weight around.
Gajeel had only remembered that matter later.
Sting looked around, holding red wine and a wine glass in his hands, and asked in confusion, "Speaking of which, is Natsu-san not here?"
Lector helplessly spread his paws. "Sting-kun's strategy to get closer to him failed before it even began."
Ankh accepted the red wine Sting handed him and casually asked, "What do you plan to do from now on? You still haven't found Minerva?"
Sting's eyes dimmed.
But very quickly, he pulled himself together again and said, "We're still searching. We'll definitely bring the young lady back! And from now on, I want to build Sabertooth into a guild like Fairy Tail, a guild where everyone is connected by bonds and feelings, not by authority and violence!"
After witnessing the strength of his idol Natsu, and being subtly influenced by him, Sting now seemed like a completely different person compared to the first day of the Grand Magic Games.
To put it simply…
After seeing a wider world, the little dragon could no longer act so arrogant.
"Wow… so beautiful!"
Just as Ankh was listening with interest to Sting describe his future plans, cries of amazement suddenly came from the entrance.
Mirajane and the others had finished changing and had just walked into the hall, only to be startled by the scale of the ball.
Tables were filled with delicious food and pastries.
Fine wine and desserts could be found everywhere, and many attendants moved through the hall, serving everyone.
The atmosphere was extremely lively.
"The other guilds arrived early. We should hurry too!"
Just as Lucy was excitedly preparing to enjoy a feast, she suddenly felt the body of Yukino, whose hand she was holding, stiffen completely.
Yukino looked at the members of Sabertooth, who were staring back at her, and her body could not help trembling.
She quickly turned around, wanting to leave.
Sting came back to his senses and hurriedly shouted, "Yukino!"