"As the master of Fairy Tail, I hereby declare the Fairy Tail 24-Hour Endurance Race officially over!!"
Makarov stood on the temporary stage, announcing the end of this year's Fairy Tail 24-Hour Endurance Race.
"This year's endurance race is different from the past. We have two winners: Irene Belserion and Selene!"
"Since we have two champions this year, there will be no second place. Instead, we'll move directly to the third place!"
"The third person to finish the race is none other than a frequent champion candidate, Evan Belserion!!"
"These are the winners of this year's Fairy Tail 24-Hour Endurance Race. Let's give them a round of applause and cheers..."
"As for those who didn't win, don't be disheartened. Although you didn't win, you won't be punished either! Congratulations, everyone!!"
As the 24-hour countdown ended, Makarov stood on the temporary stage, announcing the conclusion of this year's endurance race and the winners. He also encouraged the non-winning guild members, though his encouragement was rather peculiar...
As Makarov finished speaking, Irene, Selene, and Evan stepped onto the podium to receive their medals and prize money from Makarov.
"Miss Selene, you can do it! I always knew you'd win!"
"Irene, you're the best! Irene, you're the strongest! You're our queen!"
"Evan, get off the podium! You're ruining the view! Get out of here, you jerk!!"
"Replace Evan with Ul, get Ul up there!!"
Below the podium, the Fairy Tail mages cheered for Irene and Selene, while expressing their dissatisfaction with Evan being the only male on stage.
"You guys treat the 24-Hour Endurance Race as a Fairy Tail beauty pageant... This isn't a beauty contest."
Evan silently grumbled to himself as he stood on the podium, watching the guild members below.
"Ara~ We won, so why are they happier than us?"
Selene looked puzzled as she observed the cheering mages.
"It's probably because we're all guildmates, sharing each other's joy."
Irene gently touched her cheek, contemplating before answering.
"No, it's because both of you are beautiful..."
Evan silently added in his mind after hearing Selene and Irene's conversation.
"Next..."
As Irene, Selene, and Evan received their awards, Makarov's expression changed to a mischievous grin.
"Hehe, next up is the long-awaited punishment time~"
"Who will be punished this year?"
"The ones to be punished are Gray Fullbuster, Lyon Vastia, Freed Justine, Evergreen, and Bickslow!!"
Makarov announced the names of those to be punished, all of whom had failed to return from the mountain with the apple before the timer ended.
"This couldn't be helped, right? We were caught in a spell from the start, so we couldn't move!"
"Yeah! Using magic in the race is too much!"
Gray and Lyon, naked, protested with exasperation.
"Yeah, but you two were the first to use magic..."
"About using magic, you have no right to complain about others!"
Macao and Wakaba yelled at Gray and Lyon, declaring their protest invalid.
"We underestimated Ur's strength, Laxus. We're sorry for embarrassing you as members of the Thunder God Tribe..."
On the other side, the Thunder God Tribe trio, who had been frozen by Ur's ice until the race ended, looked remorseful as they spoke to Laxus.
"Achoo, achoo..."
"It's not your fault. With your current strength, you can't handle someone like Ur."
Laxus, who had suffered at Ur's hands, reassured the trio between sneezes. In truth, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen were among the top mages in the guild, though not in the top ten, as the current top ten were all monsters.
But in the top twenty, they were contenders, comparable to S-class mages in other guilds. Unfortunately, they faced the Saint-level Ur Milkovich...
So Laxus didn't blame them. Even he had been overpowered by Ur. In his eyes, no one in all of Ishgar could match Ur in ice magic.
Therefore, Laxus saw Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen's defeat as inevitable against Ur's overwhelming power. If Ur couldn't easily defeat them, that would be more surprising.
"We understand, Laxus. You don't need to comfort us."
Freed, tears glistening in his eyes, clenched his fists. Laxus's kind words deeply moved him.
"Laxus, you're too kind..."
"Yeah, we heard you went to confront Ur for us."
"Despite us dragging you down, you still stood up for us..."
Evergreen and Bickslow exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with gratitude as they spoke to Laxus.
"No, I didn't..."
"Wait, are you even listening to me?"
Laxus sighed. He was merely stating facts. Their current strength couldn't compare to Ur's. He went after Ur because she was his target from the start. After seeing his team frozen, he did seek revenge, but he didn't gain any advantage in their fight.
Looking at his tearful teammates, Laxus was at a loss for words...
"So, what's the punishment this year?"
Freed wiped his tears, ready to accept the consequence as a member of Laxus's personal guard, the Thunder God Tribe.
"Yeah, no matter the punishment, we won't be afraid as Laxus's loyal followers!!"
Evergreen struck a confident pose, determined not to be defeated by a mere punishment.
"Bring it on! Let the punishment be as fierce as it can be, baby~"
Bickslow crossed his arms, laughing boldly. Facing failure bravely was the mark of a true Thunder God Tribe member.
"This year's punishment is..."
Makarov, smiling mischievously, rummaged through the punishment box he had prepared, pulling out a small note.
"Ah, here it is. This year's punishment is for the mages to exchange clothes with the person wearing the least in the guild..."
Makarov read the note aloud.
As the words left Makarov's mouth, an eerie silence fell.
"Exchange clothes with the one wearing the least?!"
Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen were stunned.
"What a joke! Gray and Lyon never wear clothes!! Dammit!"
Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen yelled angrily.
"Yeah! This seems like a punishment aimed specifically at you three, which isn't fair..."
"Oh, I know. How about this: Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen, you pick two of you to exchange clothes with Gray and Lyon."
"But besides the exchange, there's an additional condition. Freed's group only needs to take a photo in Gray and Lyon's clothes to pass. Gray and Lyon must wear Freed's group's clothes for a week without taking them off."
"What do you think?"
Makarov smiled at the five, awaiting their response.
"A real devil..."
Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen sweated nervously. Makarov seemed more like a demon than their friendly guild master.
"Fine then..."
Freed swallowed hard, reluctantly agreeing. He knew if they didn't, Makarov might come up with something worse.
"Which two of you will exchange clothes with Gray and Lyon?"
Makarov grinned at Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen.
Though called an exchange, it meant two of them stripping down...
"Hehe, isn't it obvious?"
Freed smiled.
"Yeah, Freed and I are guys, so Evergreen should be spared, right?"
Bickslow smiled at Evergreen.
"Freed, Bickslow, this punishment is on you..."
Evergreen looked at them with gratitude, her eyes shining.
"Huh? What are you saying, Evergreen?"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
"We mean, as a lady, Evergreen should be the one to take the punishment."
Freed and Bickslow cut off her gratitude, speaking expressionlessly.
"What?! Return my gratitude, you jerks!!"
Evergreen was stunned. Did these jerks not know how to treat a lady?!
"Bickslow, let's settle this between us!"
"Sure, Freed. Even if it's you, I won't hold back..."
As Evergreen seethed, Freed and Bickslow turned on each other.
"They're not united at all!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Gray and Lyon, also facing punishment, watched the Thunder God Tribe's internal conflict with amusement.
"Freed, Bickslow, you can't bully a lady!"
"Master, I'll take Evergreen's place for the punishment..."
As Freed and Bickslow argued, Laxus stepped in to stop them and volunteered to take Evergreen's place in the punishment.
"Alright~"
Makarov, delighted, watched as Laxus took Evergreen's place as if Laxus's embarrassment had nothing to do with him...
No, Makarov seemed to enjoy seeing Laxus embarrassed. That's family for you?!
"Laxus, you're the best~"
"As expected of Laxus..."
"Laxus, you're amazing..."
The Thunder God Tribe, hearing Laxus's words, stopped fighting and smiled proudly.
Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen surrounded Laxus, exchanging knowing glances...
Mission accomplished!!
Yes, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen hadn't been fighting. They'd staged it to get Laxus to take the punishment for them!
"Something feels off..."
Laxus, surrounded by his happy team, frowned. He felt he'd been tricked by his own people.