The next day, under Future Makarov's leadership, the Grand Magic Games participants and support crew arrived safely in Crocus, the capital of the Fiore Kingdom.
Compared to Magnolia, this city—known as the City of Flowers—was far more prosperous. Its wide, flower-adorned boulevards were bustling with people. Aside from the locals, tourists, merchants, and mages from all over had gathered for the Grand Magic Games, creating a lively atmosphere.
The Fairy Tail group strolled through the streets, curiously taking in the sights of the royal capital. They eventually stopped at a central plaza with a fountain.
"Registration is all taken care of. You all know where the designated inn is, right?" Future Makarov asked the future version of Team Strongest.
The designated inn was lodging arranged by the Fiore Kingdom specifically for participants. The others, who had come to cheer them on, would need to find their own accommodations.
Of course, none of them knew that this arrangement did not include Chase's Team B.
"Yeah, it's at the southeastern corner. Not too far from here," Gray said with a nod.
"But seriously, the organizers couldn't even arrange lodging for the rest of the guild? How stingy!" Future Lucy complained.
"Aye~ I don't think Lucy's in any position to say that!" Future Happy said, not mincing words.
"Shut up, you stupid cat!" x2
Both Lucys' voices rang out simultaneously, drawing strange looks from passersby.
Future Lucy froze. Lucy, hidden inside the card, quickly clamped her hand over her mouth.
To avoid being discovered and disqualified, Chase's group were all carrying their counterparts in card form. They could perceive everything outside and switch places with their counterparts when needed to stretch their legs.
Of course, all the cards were under Chase's monitoring to ensure no accidents occurred.
"Dammit! Why don't Chase and Éclair have to go through all this hassle?!"
Inside the card carried by Future Natsu, the real Natsu looked envious of Chase, who was standing outside with everyone else.
"Because there's no version of them in this world's guild," Happy said in a soothing, fatherly tone. "Just hang in there for now, Natsu. We'll switch with them when we get the chance~"
Though Lucy had quickly caught her loud voice, the pedestrians whose attention had been drawn didn't look away.
However, their focus wasn't on the strange sounds—it was on the Fairy Tail emblems everyone was wearing.
"If I'm not mistaken, that weird group over there are Fairy Tail mages, right?"
"Pfft, Fairy Tail? The perennial last-place losers? They still have the nerve to compete?"
"Haha! They're the perfect backdrop to highlight the greatness of my beloved Sabertooth!"
The blatant mockery and ridicule reached their ears. The hot-tempered Future Natsu couldn't take it and wanted to go teach those people a lesson with his fists.
"Let it go, Natsu. No need to bother with them. We'll have our chance to wipe those smirks off their faces," Chase said, effortlessly pulling Future Natsu back like a rag doll with one hand, while the other hand supported Asuka on his shoulder.
If those people had been mages with some actual skill, he wouldn't have minded beating them up. But to him, these boring nobodies weren't even worth the effort.
"Chase is so amazing! He stopped Natsu just like that!" Asuka clapped her hands in delight, bouncing with joy.
Future Makarov, unaware of Chase's true thoughts, looked at Future Natsu, who was now squatting on the ground, and waved dismissively. "That's right. Let them laugh if they want. We'll just focus on doing what we need to do."
Fairy Tail was never a guild that cared about what others thought.
"Aye~ Since the Master said so, I won't hold back!"
Future Happy flew over to Future Jet and the now-round-as-a-ball Future Droy, covering his mouth mischievously. "Pfft~!"
"Why are you laughing at us specifically?!" x2
Future Jet and Future Droy felt deeply insulted.
"Speaking of which, it's strange. Putting aside Laxus and Gajeel, who prefer to go solo—" Future Lucy scanned the crowd and noticed something off. "Mira and Juvia are nowhere to be seen either!"
They had all come together, but after registering for the Grand Magic Games, those two had disappeared.
"They're probably handling the check-in procedures for the others," Future Gray said.
Is that really the case?
Lucy, inside the card, was suspicious. Even if they were handling check-in, they seemed far too eager. And Chase's comment about "having their chance" sounded odd too!
"Ahem, never mind Mira and the others for now. You should familiarize yourselves with the competition rules first."
Fearing they might let something slip, Future Makarov coughed twice to interrupt their speculation and pulled a thick book from his pocket.
According to Future Alzack and the others, the Grand Magic Games had different events each year, including shooting and racing competitions—events that the less specialized members hadn't participated in.
"Lucy, let me take a look for you!" Future Levy put on her Glasses of Wind Reading, which allowed for rapid reading.
After a quick scan, she soon had the general rules for this year's Grand Magic Games.
First, participants had to bear their guild's emblem, and guild masters were not allowed to compete—that was obvious.
Second, the events wouldn't be announced in advance; they would only be revealed on the opening day.
Third, and most importantly, all participants had to stay in the designated inn before midnight tonight!
As everyone was still discussing this strange requirement, Future Natsu and Future Happy had already bolted.
"Got it! While we still have time, Happy—let's go have some fun~!"
"Aye, sir!"
Watching the pair disappear tens of meters away in an instant, Future Lucy sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Did they even understand anything..."
"He's got a point. I guess we'll go do our own thing for now."
Future Gray, having reached an agreement with the Gray in his card, said his goodbyes and walked off, doing whatever he pleased.
"Um, Master, we'd really like to go see the famous Mercurius Palace—the one where the King lives!" Future Wendy said, pulling Carla along.
It seemed they had done their homework in advance.
"I'm going to head back to the inn to check if anything seems off. What about you, Lucy?" Future Erza asked.
Having learned about Team B from herself, she had initially wanted to pull Team Strongest into one final training session. But on second thought, balancing work and rest before the competition was also important, so she decided to let it go.
"Huh? We were planning to grab a bite first, then explore a bit with Éclair. I heard there are a lot of trendy beauty salons in Crocus."
Having just been criticizing Future Natsu and Happy, Future Lucy immediately laid out her own plans.
This was something she, Lucy, and Éclair had decided on from the start.
And so, with Future Makarov's approval, everyone set off with their counterparts to do as they pleased.
***
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