Fairy Tail: Starting with Marrying the Dragon Queen Irene

Fiore Kingdom's capital.

Inside the Royal Palace Mercurius.

"You mean to say that the mages of the Fairy Tail Guild, after arriving in my royal city, did not destroy it? On the contrary, they surprisingly obeyed the rules of the city and orderly proceeded to the Domus Flau Arena on the western mountain to register for this year's Grand Magic Games?!"

King Toma sat on the throne, frowning as he listened to his soldier's report.

If the Fairy Tail Guild—those troublemaking mages—had come to the capital in full force, only to participate in the Grand Magic Games and win the meager prize money, Toma would not believe it, not even a million times.

"I must see this for myself."

Toma stood up from his throne as he spoke.

"Eh?!"

The soldier was stunned by the king's words.

"Do you mean...?!"

"Your Majesty, are you intending to go to the arena in person?"

"No way! Absolutely not! Even if you kill me, I won't let you..."

The soldier looked at the king in disbelief, feeling an ominous premonition rising.

"Hehe, keep this secret for me, Pumpkin!"

"From now on, you will call me Tom."

"And this is not a request, it's an order."

With that, Old Toma used Requip magic to don a circus-themed pumpkin costume. His eyes carried curiosity as he intended to go incognito and observe up close...

This Fairy Tail Guild, which was regarded as a thorn in the side by many of the top powers on the Ishgar Continent—just what kind of existence were they?

By the way, although Old Toma was the king of the Kingdom of Fiore...

In addition to being a king, he was also a powerful mage.

It was said that in his younger days, he possessed strength comparable to an S-class mage of the Light Guild, so using Requip magic was something he could easily manage.

Meanwhile, at the Domus Flau Arena on the western mountain of Crocus, the registration area for the Grand Magic Games...

The Fairy Tail mages had gathered here, each one signing up for the tournament.

This version of the Grand Magic Games...

Was not yet the one that was conducted by guild teams in later years, known as the Grand Magic Tournament.

Currently, the Grand Magic Games hosted by the Kingdom of Fiore had the primary purpose of strengthening palace security by selecting powerful court mages and knights, so registration was on an individual basis. The registration fee was ten thousand Jewels per person.

"Once you register, your matches will be arranged immediately. Winners will advance, while losers lose everything and leave immediately! If any defeated participants wish to compete again, they must pay the registration fee once more."

The registration clerk explained the well-known rules as usual, not believing that anyone would show up without knowing the rules.

"Ten thousand Jewels, huh!"

Originally, upon discovering that registration was individual, many Fairy Tail mages who were hoping to try their luck were suddenly hesitant. To them, ten thousand Jewels was quite a sum.

"So, there is prize money for the winner?"

Wakaba, with a cigar in his mouth, eyed the cute girl at the registration counter, an unsavory glint visible beneath his sunglasses.

"Does that mean you lot came here without even understanding the rules of the Grand Magic Games?!?"

The girl at the registration area was also enthusiastic…

She rubbed her pale temples with some exasperation. They didn't even know the rules and yet showed up to register? Was there really no problem with this Fairy Tail Guild, the one her superiors had specifically asked her to keep an eye on? They seemed like amateurs...

In fact, she herself was no ordinary person; she was the captain of the White Tiger, the elite knight squad under Fiore's command. Her real name had long since been forgotten...

But her enemies affectionately called her "White Tiger."

She was confident that her skills could compete with any S-class mage from the Light Guilds—and she even believed her combat abilities were far superior, as her missions often required bloodshed.

"In any case, let me go over the rules properly for you all."

White Tiger sighed deeply before explaining the rules to the Fairy Tail members.

"Thank you very much."

Wakaba smiled, convinced that it was his charm at work. He proudly shook his slick hair, which only served to make the battle-hardened White Tiger a little queasy.

"I can't believe this... they've managed to make someone as tough as me feel nauseous. I really underestimated these Fairy Tail mages. I absolutely cannot be careless." White Tiger thought to herself.

"As for those who lose..."

"As I said before, they'll be eliminated immediately..."

"And for the winners, they'll continue fighting!"

"The battles will go on for a total of one hundred rounds."

"In these one hundred matches, the system is points-based."

"Winners get one point, draws earn nothing, and losers lose one point..."

"As soon as a participant's points drop to zero, they are eliminated and must re-register to compete again."

"If anyone manages to survive all one hundred rounds without being eliminated, they will earn the honor of being summoned by His Majesty and become a court mage under the Fiore Kingdom..."

At this point, White Tiger straightened up unconsciously.

Indeed, she was one of those strong enough to emerge from this very arena.

"Moreover, any mage with an outstanding performance in the Grand Magic Games can be granted noble status, turning from a wandering mage into a nobleman."

"And if someone wins one hundred matches consecutively, they will be crowned 'King of Combat,' and not only receive a huge monetary reward but also go down in history..."

White Tiger paused, her voice dripping with temptation.

"Big reward?!"

Wakaba's eyes lit up, convinced he had found the key point.

"It's about going down in history, you idiot!"

White Tiger was speechless. Was the money really the point here?!

"Of course, since the construction of Domus Flau Arena, only four people have achieved this!"

"Those four are represented by the four giant statues surrounding the arena!"

"Each of them is legendary, so treat it like a story—it's impossible for ordinary people to accomplish."

White Tiger shrugged nonchalantly.

"So if we accomplish it..."

"Our statues will also be erected in the arena for everyone to admire, right?"

Erza seemed to catch the key point as she spoke with a faint smile.

"Uh, exactly."

White Tiger blinked, nodding in confirmation.

"Then it's pretty simple, isn't it?! We only have one goal—to achieve one hundred consecutive victories..."

After White Tiger's answer, Laxus, Mirajane, and Eresh all smiled. Only one hundred consecutive victories? If they couldn't even do that, they wouldn't deserve to be part of Fairy Tail!

"Are you all insane?"

White Tiger felt that Laxus and the others must be mentally unstable.

Anyway, after understanding the tournament rules…

Laxus, Mirajane, Ultear, Eresh, Natsu, Gray, Lyon, and others all paid their fees and registered. Natsu and some others borrowed their registration fees from Erza…

Of course, Erza also signed up without hesitation.

"Our goal, one hundred consecutive victories."

Erza's mind was completely filled with White Tiger's words. Her eyes were ablaze with fighting spirit.

"These people are crazy."

White Tiger muttered as she proceeded with everyone's registration.

"Speaking of which, the prize money…"

Right after the Fairy Tail members left, an elderly man dressed like a clown approached her, whispering.

"Are you still thinking about the prize money?!" White Tiger sighed but, true to her professional conduct, explained, "For every victory, participants receive points and a monetary reward equal to their points times ten thousand Jewels. In other words, if someone manages one hundred consecutive victories, they'll win fifty million Jewels."

"Phew…"

The elderly man drew in a sharp breath, seemingly unable to believe what he just heard.

"Could you repeat that?" he asked, looking at White Tiger.

"Fifty million Jewels!" she confirmed.

"I understand…"

"Please register me."

"My name is Makarov Dreyar."

"Currently, I am the fifth of the Ten Wizard Saints."

The old man—Makarov—pulled out a dried-up pouch from his wrinkled pants pocket and handed over a crumpled ten-thousand-Jewel bill, damp from countless times of being soaked in sweat.

"Uh…"

White Tiger accepted the money, unable to hide her speechlessness.

"By the way, if I defeat all the participants in one go, that counts as one hundred victories, right?"

Makarov asked.

"Well, yes, but no one has ever done that before."

White Tiger nodded lightly, not believing that anyone could defeat all one hundred participants in one go, considering that many of them were as strong as S-class mages.

"Got it!"

Makarov said, striking the pose for "Fairy Law."

"One hundred people shouldn't be too much for me."

Makarov murmured, as his almost "inhuman" magic power burst forth, causing the entire Domus Flau Arena and even the Flower Capital of Crocus to tremble.

"Guild Master! What are you doing?!"

However, before the White Tiger could continue processing Makarov's registration, the Fairy Tail members who had left suddenly returned, picking up the old man, whose mind was completely clouded by the desire for money, and striding away from the registration area.

"Stop! You ungrateful brats!"

"Let me register! I'm about to become a multi-millionaire!"

"Let me use Fairy Law to wipe out all obstacles!"

"Hahaha…"

Makarov let out a manic laugh, his mind consumed by the fifty million Jewels prize.

In that moment, Makarov resembled Laxus during his rebellious phase—intoxicated with power and ready to use "Fairy Law" to crush all dissenting members within Fairy Tail.

"Guild Master, calm down."

"You have to maintain your image outside."

"You're one of the Ten Wizard Saints, after all. Isn't it beneath you to participate in some amateur tournament?"

"Image? Reputation?!"

"Can you eat those things?!"

"It's money! I need money!!"

Makarov only had one thing on his mind—money.

"Is a guild led by this kind of person really a threat to the kingdom?"

White Tiger muttered as she watched Makarov being forcibly taken away.

To her, Fairy Tail was far from a threat to the Kingdom of Fiore.

Indeed, rumors...

Should always be taken with a grain of salt, as hearing is different from actually witnessing it firsthand.

"Worry not about those Fairy Tail losers, dear lady."

"And why is that?"

"Because they will never achieve one hundred consecutive victories!"

"Because we have come to hunt them…"

At that moment, a cocky man with slicked-back hair approached White Tiger, placing nine ten-thousand-Jewel notes before her, with an infuriating smile.

"If I defeat the Fairy Tail mages, would you care to join me for a drink afterward? And after that, perhaps a nice dinner, a movie, and then…"

The slicked-back man's attempt at flirtation made White Tiger roll her eyes.

"Let's talk after you defeat the Fairy Tail mages."

White Tiger was speechless. Why did she keep encountering mentally unstable people today?

However, she still registered the group of nine who looked abnormal.

Elsewhere…

Wolfheim, the second-ranking member of the Magic Council ERA, had also arrived near Arena. He would be serving as a judge and a guest in this year's Grand Magic Games.

At this moment, all the powerful people had gathered in the Flower Capital.

"You guys better win! Make sure you bring back a big haul for me!"

From the stands of Domus Flau Arena, Makarov, unable to participate in the tournament, was wiping his tears as he loudly called out to his Fairy Tail mages.

"Don't worry, old man."

Laxus and the others walked with determined strides, their figures stretched long in the sunlight. Their steps were brimming with their hunger for victory, reflecting Makarov's unwavering faith in them.

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