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"So this is the City of a Hundred Flowers? It's huge!"
Seated atop the black cloud formed by iron sand, the guild wizards looked ahead at the massive city that had come into view, all wearing expressions of awe.
Crocus, the City of a Hundred Flowers, was located at the far eastern edge of the kingdom. It was not only the most prosperous city but also the largest in the entire kingdom.
Compared to Magnolia Town, Crocus spanned dozens of times more in area.
The most eye-catching feature was the brilliantly golden royal palace in the center of the city—Mercurius. The palace radiated opulence and grandeur.
Instead of taking the guild members directly into the city, George landed at the city's entrance.
According to the rules of the Grand Magic Games, all participants were required to register at the city gate first. Only after that would the royal family arrange accommodations within the city.
"So it really is the City of a Hundred Flowers."
After Macao, as guild master, completed the registration, everyone successfully entered the city.
True to its name, the entire city was covered with flowers of all varieties.
Along the roads, in front of houses, on walls and rooftops—everywhere bloomed vibrant flowers. The people of this city clearly loved them too; many wore floral accessories in their hair, each styled with different blossoms.
Some street-performing wizards even used plant-based magic that made flowers bloom in dazzling displays.
With the Grand Magic Games underway, the city felt particularly lively. Many visitors had come not only from other cities but even from other kingdoms, drawn by its fame. The crowd far surpassed even that of the Harvest Festival held earlier in Magnolia.
And it was easy to sense that many people walking the streets carried powerful magical energy. Just like them, these were likely representatives sent by various guilds to compete.
The five participants selected for the tournament were given specially arranged lodging, while non-participants had to find accommodations at their own expense.
But this was of no concern to the guild. With a simple swipe of his paw, George arranged for the best lodgings for all the guild's wizards.
Fairy Tail had once been poor, but ever since George joined, things had steadily improved.
Even though the number of jobs had significantly decreased, and many wizards were still reluctant to take missions after what they'd been through, the guild still had solid foundations.
That first night in the city passed peacefully without any unexpected events.
This was mostly because, while Fairy Tail was famous throughout the kingdom, the wizards representing the guild on this trip were not well-known.
People were familiar with legends like the Saint Wizard Makarov, the cover girl Mirajane, the Fairy Queen Erza, and the Fire Dragon Natsu—but they were all still sealed within Fairy Sphere on Tenrou Island.
George himself rarely took on missions. He typically only appeared at the end of others' missions to clean up and wrap things up using teleportation.
He had briefly gained some recognition during the Harvest Festival, but given his appearance as a cat and how quiet he was, most wouldn't associate him with anything noteworthy unless he spoke.
So, since they hadn't made any public announcements, the other guild wizards had no idea that this team of four people and one cat was representing the once-legendary Fairy Tail.
Most simply assumed they were from some unknown guild.
After all, over a hundred wizard guilds had signed up for this tournament.
Many of them were newly formed and hoped to use the event to gain fame.
Some weren't even proper guilds—just a few wizards who had temporarily banded together and registered under a new name to participate once they learned about the Grand Magic Games.
The following morning, the royal family sent officials to the lodgings of each guild's participants.
"All participants, please follow me. The first match of the morning will be held at Domus Flau, the arena built atop the stone mountain east of the city.
Our King spared no expense in constructing Domus Flau specifically for this year's Grand Magic Games."
On the way, a sweet-looking hostess pointed toward a structure resembling a Roman coliseum, explaining to the gathered guild wizards.
The Domus Flau arena covered an enormous area and looked genuinely spectacular.
At each of its four corners stood a giant stone statue wielding a massive sword. The outer walls were adorned with carvings of various monsters.
"What's the first match about? Is it going to be a chaotic free-for-all inside that arena?"
A wizard called out loudly to the receptionist, and the other wizards all perked up their ears to listen.
However, the receptionist simply shook her head and replied:
"Sorry, I don't know either. The specific details of the match will only be announced by the host once you arrive at the arena."
"Everyone here seems so strong… I wonder if we'll be able to handle it?"
Levy, with a red ribbon tied in her hair, muttered anxiously as she sensed the powerful magical energy radiating from the other guilds' wizards around them.
Hearing her, Marcus—who loved to chatter—quickly jumped in to reassure her:
"Don't worry! We're not weak either. And besides, we've got our Guild Master with us!"
"Hey, be careful! George told us not to call him Guild Master here. The Guild Master now is Macao. If the royal officials hear us and think we're cheating, it could be a real problem."
Bisca and Alzack hurriedly reminded them.
The four of them nodded in unison, then looked toward George, who was lying seemingly asleep on Levy's shoulder. The final rank their guild would achieve still depended on George. The four of them were mostly just there to make up the numbers.
At the moment, George wasn't actually sleeping. He had made a small breakthrough the night before while studying the Fairy Sphere, and was now meditating to consolidate what he'd learned.
Since nothing urgent was happening before the tournament officially started, he figured it was a good time to focus inward. He had also left a strand of his consciousness outside, so he could respond immediately if anything happened.
As they followed the receptionist into the massive tournament arena, the sound of cheering reached their ears.
The enormous arena was already packed with spectators on all sides.
Every time a group of wizards entered under a receptionist's guidance, the crowd would rise and cheer loudly for their favorite contestants.
In this world, famous wizards were like idols in the real world—adored and followed by masses of fans.
Someone like Mirajane, who frequently appeared on magazine covers, had the same kind of appeal as a top-tier pop star to the general public.
There were even stories about people impersonating Natsu, the Fire Dragon, to trick naive young girls in various cities. Lucy, when she first wanted to join Fairy Tail, was almost deceived by one such impostor.
"There really are a lot of people!"
At that moment, George finally opened his eyes and stood up from Levy's shoulder.
Sweeping his gaze across the stands, he spotted Macao and the other guild members sitting in the third row. They were cheering their hearts out for the four humans and one cat, but their voices were drowned out by the rest of the crowd and couldn't be heard at all from the arena floor.
Currently, the names drawing the loudest cheers from the audience included Jura Neekis, the Ten Wizard Saint from Lamia Scale; the trio of handsome wizards—Hibiki, Ren, and Eve—from Blue Pegasus; and Jenny Realight, who ranked second on Sorcerer Weekly's list of most desirable magic-girlfriend candidates.
(End of Chapter)