Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Fairy Tail Collapsing Stars Chapter 343

A Thank-You from August (Part 1)

…

That day, Precht, Warrod, and Mavis talked for a long, long time…

The three of them kept chatting all the way until sunrise the next day!

None of the guild’s wizards interrupted them. Everyone simply watched the joyful gathering of Fairy Tail’s founding members with warm smiles.

“Um, how about we take a commemorative photo together?”

As the sun rose and the sky gradually brightened, Evan pulled out a camera and approached Mavis, Precht, and Warrod with a cheerful smile.

“A commemorative photo?!”

A nostalgic look appeared on Warrod’s face. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had taken a photo with someone.

“Hmph…”

Precht gave a cold snort. In fact, the photo taken on the day Fairy Tail was founded, with Mavis, Yuri, Warrod, and himself, was the only photo of himself that still existed.

“Sounds good, sounds good! But… I’m a ghost. A normal camera wouldn’t be able to capture me, right?”

Mavis lit up like a child, the wing-shaped adornments on her head perking up with excitement.

Just like her appearance, Mavis still had the heart of a young girl.

But then she remembered she was currently in a ghostly form, an extremely special kind of ghost that only Fairy Tail members could see. Ordinary cameras wouldn’t be able to photograph her, which made her visibly deflate with disappointment.

“Don’t worry, Master Mavis…”

Just as Mavis drooped in despair, Evan stepped up to her with a smile.

“This camera was modified by Rest-senpai. It can capture ghosts~”

As Evan spoke, he clicked the shutter and then showed Mavis the display screen.

“Whoa~!”

Mavis stared wide-eyed at the camera. She could clearly see herself in the photo.

“In that case, everyone, let’s take a group picture! Please, everyone!”

Overjoyed, Mavis floated lightly like a feather onto the bar counter and shouted to the guild members.

“Oh!”

This was a request from Fairy Tail’s first guild master, how could anyone refuse?

Even if it wasn’t a request from the founding master, no self-respecting “gentleman” in Fairy Tail would ever let such a cute girl feel sad…

Even if that “girl” was over a hundred years old and had a son roughly the same age as Makarov…

Speaking of Mavis’s son, the King of Magic, August, Evan scratched his cheek, wondering if he should invite him for the group photo, too.

“Heh…”

The thought sparked an amusing image in Evan’s mind.

“Guild family photo! Family photo! Family photo!”

Mavis was as giddy as a child, skipping out into the streets of Magnolia. She looked out over the bustling town with wonder and nostalgia. Back when she, Yuri, Precht, and Warrod first arrived here, it was nothing like the thriving town it had become.

Times had truly changed. Time pressed forward relentlessly, and both Magnolia and her friends had transformed.

Perhaps the only ones who hadn’t changed… were those stripped of the right to change, by that great and cruel god.

“Master Mavis, Master Precht, and Warrod-senpai, you three should stand in the center…”

“Then, Master Makarov, as the third guild master, you’ll stand next to the founders. That way, the first, second, and third masters are all together!”

“Then Ajeel-senpai, Rob-senpai, and Rest-senpai can follow…”

Evan directed the group while holding the camera, arranging the members for the photo. He even left space behind Makarov for his own “family unit.”

“Never thought we’d be taking a group photo after all this time…”

Warrod stood next to Mavis, clearly moved.

“This reminds me of when we first founded the Fairy Tail guild, and the four of us, me, you, Yuri, and Mavis, posed for a photo in front of the guild hall!”

Warrod smiled at Precht with sentiment in his eyes.

“Hmph. Too bad Yuri isn’t here to see this…”

Precht snorted again, but his expression softened.

“Yuri may be gone, but his son, and his descendants, are still here!”

Warrod gave a gentle smile as he spoke.

“Yuri’s son?!”

Precht blinked and then turned to look at Makarov.

“Heh…”

Something seemed to click in Precht’s mind, and he let out a soft chuckle.

“Kid.”

He looked at Makarov and called him quietly.

“Master Precht.”

Makarov smiled slightly. In that moment, he was transported back to the days when Precht was guild master, and he was just a mischievous youth causing trouble, just like the brats in the guild did to him now.

“Evan! Why did you leave so much space open? Isn’t it just you left?”

Some of the guild members pointed out that Evan had left space for about five people in the photo.

“Ara~”

“Who said it’s just Evan?”

Just then, a graceful and cool female voice rang out. A stunning, curvaceous woman with flowing crimson hair and a staff appeared before them, Irene.

“Whoa, no way! Irene’s here too?!”

The puzzled guild members immediately understood and fell silent.

“Five spaces… That’s just enough for you, me, Evan, Erza, and Kurnugi, right?”

Then, in a swirl of water, Selene appeared beside them, dressed in a modified kimono that showed off her long legs. She smiled sweetly.

“Even Selene came?!”

The entire guild grew tense, afraid these two might start fighting again.

But perhaps because today was special, neither Irene nor Selene showed any signs of hostility…

“It’s a guild family photo. Of course I invited Irene and Selene.”

Evan looked around at the guild members and raised an eyebrow.

It was a guild photo, after all, so naturally, Irene and Selene, as part of Fairy Tail, were included.

“R-Right. Got it.”

The rest of the guild members nodded vigorously, their faces serious.

They all understood just how dangerous Irene and Selene could be.

“Gildarts… Would you stand next to me in the photo?”

Kana walked up to Gildarts, hands behind her back, cheeks slightly flushed.

“Hm? Haha, of course!”

Gildarts agreed without hesitation.

He always accepted invitations from cute girls, after all, he was Fairy Tail’s No. 1 gentleman.

“Gray, Lyon, you two better not take off your clothes during the photo!”

Ultear lectured them sternly.

“Yeah, yeah…”

“What, are you our mom now?”

Gray and Lyon tilted their heads like they understood, sort of.

“Do you think I want to be your mom?”

“It’s just that the real woman who should’ve raised you properly totally abandoned her duties, so now it’s up to me to clean up her mess…”

Ultear sighed, rubbing her temple. Behind her, Silver and Ur were facing off once again.

Fortunately, Silver had already turned over a new leaf with Ultear’s help…

“Hey, Silver, if we fight again, I’ll freeze you completely this time.”

Ur’s eyes gleamed with sharp intent as she looked at Silver.

“Heh… Go ahead and try.”

Silver smirked.

He had only lost during the S-Class trials because he let his guard down.

If there were a rematch, he wasn’t going to lose again.

Yes, although Makarov had declared Silver the winner, in his own heart, Silver believed he had lost…

In other words, whether it was Silver or Ur, both of them felt they had lost and neither wanted to lose to the other again.

…

A Thank-You from August (Part 2)

…

“Hahaha…”

Silver and Ur looked at each other and burst into laughter without another word.

But behind that laughter, both had the clear intent to take the other down…

“These two are hopeless!”

Ultear sighed as she looked at Silver and Ur. At this point, she had to act as the guardian of four people, it really was exhausting.

“Kurnugi, you stand here, then Selene-senpai, next is Irene, then me, and finally Erza…”

Evan arranged the central position and assigned everyone their spots.

“Evan, don’t you want to stand next to your big sister~?”

Selene looked slightly displeased when she realized she’d be standing next to Irene and Kurnugi.

Not because of who she was next to, she didn’t mind Irene, but because she didn’t want to be next to that foolish son of hers.

She really wanted to be in between Irene and Evan…

“Save your heat for another day, you vixen~”

Irene, watching Selene go into “flirty” mode again, reached out and gave her a hard pinch on her round, plump rear.

“Ugh…”

Selene’s cheeks turned red as she had been trying to seduce Evan just a moment ago.

“You little…!”

Selene turned to Irene, fire in her eyes.

“Heh~”

Irene didn’t say anything more, she just chuckled softly.

“Hmph~”

“Fine, I won’t argue with you today.”

Selene huffed and turned her head away proudly.

“Phew…”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at Selene’s decision to back down.

With Selene and Irene in position, the other guild members gradually found their spots as well.

Mirajane naturally stood beside Erza. Though she often gave Erza a hard time, she only ever did that with her.

Next to Mirajane were Elfman and Lisanna, and then Kagura and Cana, two sisters-in-arms who had both failed multiple S-Class exams.

As for Cana, she stood beside none other than Fiore’s number one scumbag, Gildarts.

On Kurnugi’s other side stood Laxus, who intentionally positioned himself far from Makarov, as if to hide the fact they were grandfather and grandson.

But no matter where Laxus stood, that face, so much like Makarov’s, already gave him away.

Next to Laxus were the Thunder God Tribe, and nearby were Natsu, Happy, Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica, whom Wendy had begged to come.

Originally, Evan had placed Porlyusica in the front row, but she refused and stood in the second row with the younger generation.

Naturally, Gray and the others were by her side.

Elsewhere, Macao, Wakaba, and the rest had found their places as well.

Soon, the entire Fairy Tail guild, well over a hundred people, lined up in front of the guild’s entrance, striking their photo poses.

And just as everyone was ready, a realization hit them…

If everyone was in the photo…

Who was going to take it?!

“Should we head into town and ask a kind stranger to help us?”

The Fairy Tail mages asked in unison, a bit embarrassed.

“If you don’t mind, I could take the photo for you.”

Just as the awkwardness peaked, an old voice rang out.

An elderly man with short white hair, wearing a purple magic robe, appeared silently at the guild’s gate.

He took the camera from Evan and smiled gently at the Fairy Tail members before him.

“This old man… is no ordinary person.”

At the same time, Makarov, Warrod, Laxus, and other powerful mages instantly sensed something unusual about him.

“August-senpai, you made it?!”

“Since you’re here, why not join us for the photo instead?”

“As for the camera, don’t worry, it has an auto-shoot function~”

Evan smiled at August, the man he had summoned from the Alvarez Empire of the Western Continent, and reminded him gently.

“Oh? Technology is that advanced now?”

Yes, the elderly man was none other than August, King of Magic.

But what surprised him wasn’t the camera’s function, it was Evan’s words.

Originally, Evan had only invited August to take the group photo.

Now suddenly, he was asking August to be in the photo.

That caught August completely off guard.

And the other Fairy Tail members were stunned too.

“Evan, this is a group photo of Fairy Tail guild members!”

“Yeah! Even if it feels rude to say this about that old guy… isn’t it kinda inappropriate to include a non-member?”

A few members questioned Evan’s judgment.

“Well, let’s just say… August is technically part of Fairy Tail too. Wouldn’t you agree, Master Precht~?”

Evan knew exactly why the guild was reacting this way.

It was, after all, a symbolic “family photo.”

Including an outsider would naturally feel off to many.

But August was no outsider.

He was the son of Mavis, Fairy Tail’s first master.

If Precht hadn’t abandoned him long ago, August might’ve become Fairy Tail’s third or fourth master.

Surely, he would’ve inherited Mavis’s will and strived to protect Fairy Tail.

But Evan believed it wasn’t too late to change August’s fate…

He glanced at Precht with a teasing smile.

“Uh…”

A flicker of panic crossed Precht’s face.

Unlike the others, he recognized August.

He knew this man with power neither of light nor dark, but something chaotic, was the very child he had once taken from Mavis and cast aside…

So, strictly speaking, August was indeed a part of Fairy Tail.

“He is one of us.”

Sweat gathered on Precht’s brow, but he nodded, acknowledging August’s place in the guild.

“Eh?!!”

A collective gasp echoed through the guild.

“Then let him join us for the photo~”

“I don’t know why, but I get the feeling he’s not a bad person~”

Mavis looked August up and down.

She couldn’t explain it, but the old man gave her a strange sense of closeness.

“Then… thank you.”

August moistened his dry lips and walked toward the group.

“August, you can stand here!”

As August approached, Precht stepped aside and made space for him, right next to Mavis.

“Master Precht.”

Makarov raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled by Precht’s gesture.

But he said nothing, he trusted Precht had his reasons.

“Alright everyone, big smiles~”

Once August was in place beside Mavis, Evan smiled, lifted the camera with gravity magic, and took the rare, precious photo…

“Thank you, Evan.”

August stood beside the fairy-like girl and smiled from the heart.

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