As the team that finished first in the preliminaries, Team B naturally enjoyed the longest rest period, and they really did sleep well.
Well… mostly.
Around two or three in the morning, Rhodes woke briefly to the sound of voices in the hallway.
"Damn it, we came in last place!"
That was unmistakably Natsu.
Lucy added in a weary tone, "A lot of the maps didn't match up…"
Gray followed with a groan, "And why were there so many unrecorded passages?"
Cana, sounding resigned, said, "You guys must've been wandering around drunk."
Erza spoke like she was reporting on a crime scene. "I analyzed the labyrinth walls. They can't be destroyed by ordinary magic. Every hole we passed belonged to a Magician of considerable strength."
"That makes it even better!" Natsu shouted. "Strong opponents are the best! They wasted our time and nearly ruined our qualifiers. When we meet them in the finals, we're gonna beat the daylights out of them!"
Erza chuckled softly. "I look forward to it as well."
Lucy mumbled timidly, "I… I'd prefer if we could win a bit more peacefully."
Rhodes couldn't tell if Lucy was complaining or if the whole team was blaming each other.
Either way, they passed, so he didn't care.
He rolled over and went straight back to sleep.
It felt like only moments later when Mira's gentle voice called out to him.
"Wake up."
"Just a little more…" Rhodes grumbled, almost reaching out to pull Mira into the bed with him.
Remembering where they were, he stretched instead with an exaggerated yawn.
Fortunately, no one noticed the slip, because the noise outside suddenly exploded into a full festival symphony.
Fireworks burst one after another.
The drums and horns of the military band blared. The roaring cheers of thousands filled the Royal Capital.
There was no mistaking it, the Grand Magic Games had officially begun.
The group washed up and then, following Master Makarov's instructions, changed into their specially tailored team uniforms.
Laxus wore a form-fitting top that highlighted every muscle on his chest and abs, paired with a black fur-collared coat… in the middle of summer.
Gajeel's outfit didn't look much different from his usual style, just with a black fur mantle draped over his right shoulder.
Juvia wore a black hat trimmed in white fur, and her upper half resembled a fur-collared winter coat that covered her entire neck. But the hem of her dress was split incredibly high, revealing the sea-blue guild mark on her left calf and the sheer thigh-high stockings beneath.
If Rhodes had to categorize them, these three were the Heat-Proof Trio, proudly wearing fur in sweltering weather.
Rhodes's own outfit was relatively normal: a simple black shirt (he skipped the tie out of laziness), a gold-and-blue pendant hanging at his chest, its silver spider-silk cord shimmering like glass.
He wore standard black trousers and soft-soled leather shoes.
The Master had also prepared a Ten Wizard Saints cloak and a matching staff, but Rhodes felt wearing a cloak was ridiculous.
Carrying the staff for appearances was more than enough.
Honestly, if not for maintaining the guild's image, he would've walked out in flip-flops.
Rhodes leaned on his staff, hands on his waist, studying his reflection in the mirror. Then he turned to Mira.
"How do I look?"
"Very handsome," Mira said warmly. She stepped close to smooth out the wrinkles where his shirt was tucked in, then stepped back to admire the result. "Perfect."
"But you have a problem," Rhodes said, reaching over to tug up Mira's neckline, though the dress itself was already too low-cut for that to help.
Mira lightly slapped his hand and laughed. "Should I change into a strapless dress instead?"
Rhodes gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Mira disappeared into the changing room.
When she returned, Rhodes sighed dramatically. "It looks even more alluring… Having such a beautiful wife is a serious burden."
Mira tapped his arm gently. "Everyone's watching. Be serious."
Rhodes immediately straightened. "Right. Let's go to the waiting area, and bring victory home to Fairy Tail!"
"Oh!" the others chorused.
They didn't need extra motivation. Just a simple exchange of glances was enough to fill their expressions with confidence.
The military band finally quieted, the fireworks faded, but the arena crowd continued roaring with barely diminished excitement.
Up in the commentary box, three commentators were already seated, and the host's voice boomed across the stadium through the loudspeakers.
Team B listened from the waiting area.
"Chapati Lola…" Rhodes murmured. "He's supposed to be a famous reporter, right?"
Mira nodded, sounding like a seasoned veteran. "He started making a name for himself seven years ago. I didn't expect the young man to grow this successful."
Rhodes grinned. "Mira, you sound like an old lady. Very world-weary."
Mira clenched her fist threateningly.
"Say the word old one more time. Go on. I dare you."
Rhodes wisely shifted topics immediately.
"Haha, did Mr. Yajima bite his tongue? Can someone that nervous even commentate properly?" He leaned forward slightly. "And the guest is Jenny, huh."
A host, a commentator, and a celebrity guest, a perfectly standard trio.
Jenny's popularity was undeniable. The cheers that had just begun to settle surged back to life the moment she greeted the audience.
Sensing the perfect timing, Chapati smoothly transitioned to the highlight of the opening ceremony.
"And now, everyone! The moment you've been waiting for… the contestant entrance!"
"Please guide us, ah… ah… please guide us…" Yajima stammered repeatedly.
He'd been muttering meaningless phrases since the broadcast began, prompting peals of laughter from the crowd.
Rhodes couldn't help but worry about the old man's blood pressure.
Chapati, being a trained professional, pretended not to hear any of it and continued with practiced enthusiasm:
"Entering first is the eighth-place team from the preliminaries, a group whose clumsiness contradicts their cute name… Fairy Tail! Will they reclaim their former glory?"
Natsu somehow ended up leading the formation, one arm raised heroically. Gray and Lucy flanked him, while Cana and Erza walked on the outermost sides.
The moment "Fairy Tail" was announced, a wave of cheers rolled through the audience, but it quickly weakened and shifted into confused murmuring.
"Didn't they say a Wizard Saint would be competing?"
"I don't see Mirajane either."
"This isn't what they advertised. What's going on?"
Thankfully, it didn't escalate into booing.
And the Fairy Queen still commanded a strong following, several loyal fans in the crowd were waving the lone magazine cover Erza had ever posed for.
Their voices, if one listened closely, were calling for her to return to the spotlight.
Natsu and Lucy's bright expressions faded into gloom.
"What the heck is this? Are they supporting us or insulting us?" Natsu complained.
Lucy drooped. "Our popularity… is really low…"
But then, before the mood could sink further, a thunderous cheer erupted from a particular corner of the stands.
There stood Makarov, leaning dangerously far over the railing, yelling, "Go, Fairy Tail!!!"
Happy and Carla hovered nearby in mid-air, unfurling a banner between them. Laki waved the guild flag with all the strength her arms could muster.
Everyone else joined in with a powerful chant, a unified beat that outshouted entire sections of the crowd.
Even Warren, who should have been in a research lab here in the capital, had taken special leave just to cheer for them.
A handful of Fairy Tail members suddenly created more noise than several hundred spectators combined.
And seated right beside Makarov was a girl invisible to everyone except Fairy Tail: Mavis Vermillion, the First Master, happily pumping her tiny fists in the air.
"Go, go, Fairy Tail! Fight on!" she shouted, her legs kicking excitedly.
If one listened carefully, they would realize that the chanting rhythm the guild members followed wasn't Makarov's…
It was Mavis's.
At last, Yajima delivered his first clean commentary line of the entire morning:
"That radiant Fairy Tail… has completely regained its former spirit. Truly wonderful. My heartfelt congratulations."