The harvest season was coming.
For Fairy Tail and all the residents of Magnolia, this was a festival no less grand than New Year's Day.
Wendy and Carla, who had just joined the guild, were curious and excited, wondering what they should perform.
As for Caesar, he returned to the guild quietly.
No one knew where he had gone or what he had done during this time.
Even Mirajane couldn't get any information out of him.
The only thing she knew was that Caesar had returned this time with several sealed demon souls.
Mirajane absorbed them and used their power to strengthen her three main demon souls — Satan Soul, Demon God Halphas, and Demon Man Shutli.
With Caesar's constant help, Mirajane's power grew stronger and stronger. She was completely different from the Mirajane who had once lost her spirit.
Not to mention, after mastering alchemy, Caesar improved his potion formulas and created a third version of the Magic Potion, which was not for sale.
Compared to the earlier versions, Magic Potion No. 3 greatly increased magic reserves and did not conflict with previous potions.
It was so valuable that even the strongest wizards would envy it.
Because of that, Caesar made it a non-sale item, reserved only for those closest to him.
...
"Any plans for this year?"
It was a new day. Mirajane helped Caesar with his clothes, then asked about the upcoming harvest season.
"Not yet." Caesar kissed her gently, then said, "Mira, after the harvest season, I plan to go to the western continent of Alakidacia. It won't take long — a month at most. You can come with me."
Mirajane nodded. "You're worried about Carla, right? I'll go with you. It feels like it's been ages since we took on a mission together."
"It hasn't been that long." Caesar smiled. The two washed up, ate breakfast together, and then went to the guild.
This year, Fairy Tail had grown by nearly one-third, so the scale of the Harvest Festival Parade expanded by half.
It was grander and livelier than ever.
Even Macao and Wakaba brought their children to enjoy the celebration.
Caesar, however, had no plans to perform this year. He focused on creating magic fireworks.
And no, it definitely wasn't because his show got canceled again!
Everyone who saw Caesar making fireworks with a gloomy face tried hard not to laugh — though Natsu failed miserably and was now hanging from the ceiling like a chandelier.
"Brother Caesar, why was your show canceled?"
Wendy came over and asked curiously, "I never even got to see it."
Looking at her innocent face, Caesar sighed. "It was too expensive. The parade is paid for by Master, and one show from me would probably empty his savings — maybe even his coffin money — so it was rejected."
Makarov coughed awkwardly, glaring at Caesar.
Yes, the reason was simple — he had no money.
As for Caesar paying for it himself? No way.
This was a guild event. How could he let the younger members pay for it?
"What a pity," Wendy said. She had really wanted to see Caesar's act.
Even without his show, the Harvest Festival went smoothly.
Without Fairy Tail's usual brawls, there was less chaos — but it was still plenty lively. Too much chaos wasn't always good.
By the way, in this year's Miss Fairy contest, Wendy surprisingly won first place.
Everyone agreed she was too cute to beat. Even Carla became protective, glaring at the rowdy guild members like a hawk.
...
At Magnolia's port, Caesar and Mirajane boarded a large ship he had chartered the morning after the festival.
The ship slowly sailed westward.
On deck, Caesar wore beach shorts and sunglasses, while Mirajane wore a pure white bikini with a light gauze wrap.
They lounged on deck chairs, watching the waves.
"Caesar, what are we going to do in the Western Continent?" Mirajane asked, stretching lazily.
"Fight." Caesar answered simply, eyes closed under the sun.
"So simple?"
"It's that simple." Caesar pointed toward the sun. "I heard there are many strong mages over there. I want to test myself against them."
"I feel like you have another reason."
Mirajane sat on his lap, took off his sunglasses, and looked into his eyes. "Otherwise, Carla wouldn't have mentioned it. You trust her too much for that."
Caesar smirked and playfully slapped her on the hip, making her roll her eyes.
"Don't overthink it. Even if I have another goal, it still leads to fighting."
"Just sit back and watch your lover show off a little."
"Hmph, I don't believe you," Mirajane said, standing up and stretching again. Her figure glowed in the sunlight. "Forget it. If you don't want to talk, fine. We'll be stopping at Galak Island midway — it's a resort island. Can you stay with me for a day?"
"Of course." Caesar made an OK gesture and smiled. "Actually, I planned for three days. After we rest up, we'll fly the rest of the way."
"Okay. Love you." Mirajane smiled, kissed him on the cheek, and went inside the cabin.
Caesar watched her go with a faint smile.
But once she disappeared from sight, his expression turned serious.
He thought of his talk with Jellal on Tenrou Island — and understood his plan.
The Albareth Empire was just one of Zeref's games, a development project and backup plan.
Once Zeref fully awakened, he would overturn everything and burn the world to ash.
And that was only one of his many plans.
Even if Caesar destroyed it all, Zeref wouldn't care.
To him, everything — every life, every empire — was just a pawn in his game.