Chapter 543 - 543: The Fairy, Officially Launching!

"That's a pretty name," Meredy smiled, having absolutely no strong opinions on the matter and simply supporting her friend's suggestion.

"In that case, how about the Celestial Spirit?" Lucy chimed in, naturally defaulting to the magic she loved most.

Standing nearby, Yukino nodded vigorously in agreement. Honestly, she had wanted to suggest naming it the Sorano or the Big Sister, but she was too shy to say it out loud. The Celestial Spirit was a fantastic compromise.

"If we're going that route, I think we should name it the Little Sister or the Yukino!" Sorano declared without a moment of hesitation, wrapping her arms around her younger sister from behind.

"S-Sister!" Yukino squeaked, her face instantly turning a bright, glowing red. She hadn't expected Sorano to blurt out a name so incredibly similar to her own private thoughts. The mere idea of a massive, heavily armed warship flying around with her name plastered on it made her want to die of embarrassment.

"Hehe, I think it's a wonderful name!" Sorano giggled, aggressively rubbing her cheek against her sister's. Yukino tried to push her away, but she was entirely too flustered to mount a real defense.

"I think the Big Sister would be perfect," Lisanna grinned, looking pointedly at Mirajane while completely ignoring Elfman. Mirajane just smiled back, knowing exactly why Lisanna suggested it, though she sincerely doubted the guild would ever agree to it.

"I believe the Knight is the most appropriate choice!" Erza announced with absolute, deadpan seriousness, nodding in profound satisfaction at her own naming sense.

"Ultimately, naming the ship is a decision for the Guild Masters," Ultear chuckled, highly doubting any of the proposed names were going to make the final cut. She turned to look at Makarov and Mavis.

"Noah, what do you think we should name it?" Makarov immediately passed the buck, looking at his grandson.

"I am terrible at naming things. Do not put this on me," Noah immediately waved his hands in surrender. Nearly every spell or martial arts technique he used was shamelessly borrowed from media in his previous life. Asking him to name the guild's flagship was asking for trouble.

"The First Master should name it," Noah said, pivoting smoothly and gesturing to Mavis.

"Me?" Mavis blinked, pointing a delicate finger at herself.

Noah nodded. The rest of the guild quickly murmured their agreement. Having the founding mother name their first airship felt incredibly fitting.

Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Mavis didn't decline. She placed a hand on her chin, her brilliant mind working rapidly.

"The name 'Fairy Tail' represents a sense of eternal mystery and endless adventure. Do fairies have tails? Do they even exist at all? No one knows. That is why our guild is an eternal adventure," Mavis said softly, her voice carrying across the lounge.

"This is the guild's very first airship. It is a vessel designed to carry all of us toward new horizons and new adventures. Therefore... I think we should name it the Fairy. The Fairy, flying alongside us on our endless journey."

"A ship named after the core of the guild. It's incredibly fitting. I fully support it," Noah nodded instantly.

Makarov remained silent but nodded in profound agreement.

"The Fairy... yes, that is a wonderful choice," Ultear smiled.

While the other members had their own silly preferences, absolutely no one was going to argue with the profound, historical weight behind the name Mavis chose.

And just like that, the airship was officially christened: The Fairy.

"Alright, that's enough fighting for now. We have a name. It's the Fairy," Noah called out, looking over at the chaotic brawl still raging inside the Thunderdome barrier.

Seeing that absolutely none of the brawlers had any intention of stopping, Noah just chuckled and tapped a single rune on his holographic console.

VMMM!

"WAAAH!"

The air inside the combat barrier suddenly vibrated violently. Without warning, the localized gravity within the rectangular arena spiked massively. The brawlers were instantly slammed face-first into the floor, pinned helplessly beneath the crushing, invisible weight.

Seeing that the fighting had abruptly stopped, Noah tapped the console again, returning the gravity to normal.

The brawlers groaned, pushing themselves up from the floor and shaking off the sudden disorientation. They immediately zeroed in on Noah, knowing full well he was the only one petty enough to manipulate the gravity like that.

Noah casually repeated the announcement. The brawlers blinked, momentarily forgetting what they had even been fighting about in the first place. Since the ship had been officially named, their sudden bout of aggression fizzled out, and they grumbled as they walked out of the arena to find seats.

With the brawlers dispersed, Noah tapped another rune. The shimmering protective barriers over the furniture dissolved, and the levitating sofas and armchairs smoothly glided back to their original positions in the center of the lounge.

In truth, Noah hadn't even needed to manually intervene. The ship's internal sensors were fully automated. If a brawl broke out, the furniture would automatically evacuate and the shields would deploy. Furthermore, almost every structural fixture and piece of furniture on the ship was reinforced with passive durability enchantments powered directly by the engine.

Noah knew his guild perfectly. He absolutely refused to spend his free time constantly repairing a flying warship because Natsu and Gray had a disagreement over a piece of meat. Automating the damage control was the only logical solution.

"The name is set. Prepare for takeoff," Noah announced, his voice echoing through the ship's PA system.

The lounge erupted in excited chatter. Those who had sat down instantly stood back up, rushing to the massive panoramic windows.

Noah swiftly tapped a sequence of commands across the holographic screens. The heavy boarding ramp smoothly retracted and sealed into the hull with a heavy, pressurized hiss.

All systems were green.

"The Fairy, officially launching!" Noah declared, slamming his palm onto the primary ignition rune.

Beneath the ship, a massive, brilliant golden magical array flared to life across the sand.

Without a single shudder, vibration, or sound, the colossal airship smoothly defied gravity, lifting effortlessly off the beach.

"WOOOHOO! WE'RE FLYING!" the guild members cheered wildly.

"HAHAHAHA! I'M NOT SICK! I'M NOT SICK AT ALL!"

Natsu sprinted wildly across the massive lounge, his arms flailing in absolute, unadulterated joy. He stared out the window as the ground rapidly shrank away, completely devoid of the crippling nausea that usually accompanied transportation.

Noah had promised that the ship's slipstream arrays were specifically calibrated to counteract Dragon Slayer motion sickness by tricking their enhanced vestibular systems. Knowing it theoretically and actually experiencing it were two very different things. For the first time in his life, Natsu could ride a vehicle without wanting to throw up. It was a miracle.

Sitting nearby, Laxus and Gajeel watched Natsu act like an idiot, but both men were harboring identical, massive grins. They were far too proud to run around screaming, but the sheer, profound relief of not suffering debilitating motion sickness on their own guild's airship was intoxicating.

The rest of the guild members were equally captivated, their faces pressed against the reinforced glass. For the vast majority of them, this was their first time ever experiencing true, high-altitude flight.

As the ship ascended, they soon found themselves flying perfectly level with the canopy of the colossal Tenrou Tree.

Moments later, the airship breached the invisible, golden barrier hiding Tenrou Island from the world, rippling through the boundary like a stone dropping into a calm pond.

Once they were clear of the island's airspace, Noah tapped the console again. A faint golden energy shield rippled across the hull of the Fairy before turning completely invisible. The standard cruising defenses were now active.

"Engaging autopilot. Destination: Magnolia," Noah announced.

He selected the coordinates on the holographic map and engaged the navigational arrays. A golden propulsion matrix flared to life at the rear of the ship, and the Fairy banked smoothly, accelerating toward the mainland.

"WOAAAAAH!"

The guild members watched in awe as the endless blue ocean rushed past them below. The familiar sights of Earthland looked completely different from several thousand feet in the air.

Since the autopilot was engaged, Noah didn't need to stay at the helm. He stood up and pulled several dozens of high-end magical cameras from his spatial pocket, placing them on a nearby table.

"Feel free to take pictures, everyone," he offered.

"Ooh! Perfect!" Sorano's eyes lit up. She snatched a camera immediately. "Yukino! Come here! I'm taking a picture of you with the clouds!" She dragged her blushing sister toward the nearest window.

The other members eagerly grabbed cameras, snapping photos of the breathtaking aerial views and posing with each other in the luxurious lounge.

The Fairy cut through the sky with incredible speed. Within a remarkably short time, the distant coastline of Fiore came into view.

"Hey, look! Down there! That's Hargeon Port!" Lucy yelled, pointing excitedly at the sprawling coastal city rapidly approaching below.

The rest of the guild quickly recognized the layout. It was Fiore's primary port city; almost everyone had passed through there at some point.

"That was incredibly fast. I remember the boat ride from Hargeon to Tenrou Island took several hours. We just flew that entire distance in a fraction of the time," Lyon noted, genuinely impressed.

"It only took about thirty minutes. This is infinitely faster than sailing," Simon agreed, looking out the window.

"For the record, we're not even flying at maximum cruising speed right now. We're taking it relatively slow," Noah mentioned casually from the side, causing several members to look at him in absolute awe.

~~~

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