Smile down The Runway! [Louie's A-rank Exam]

After being accepted into one of Fiore's most famous guilds, Fairy Tail, Louie had not spent a second inside their guildhall ever since. It had only been a short while since he joined, but his absence made the recruitment feel more like a dream than anything. But as time passed, it was clear that the blonde didn't need to be physically present to reap the guild of its benefits. Neighboring guilds and employees of big-shot companies still reached out to him because of his connection to Fairy Tail, and he was able to make a lot of connections because of it. If Louie had to rate his experience in the guild thus far, he'd say that he's wildly satisfied, especially considering that he didn't even have to step foot in the guildhall ever since.

Alone in his suite in Capital Crocus, Louie hung over his balcony railing, reading some sort of journal. Inside the journal was a list of various addresses and snippets of detailed information next to them, along with various labels. It was a list of properties, plots, and rental spaces that he could purchase. In other words, Louie was finally looking to purchase his first home now that his life in this third-world country was finally beginning to yield some prizes. After signing the blood-contract with Lady Twilight, supporting his own and others' businesses, and joining a guild, settling down to some extent seemed like the next natural step. The suite was becoming too small for him as well.

With the wealth he possessed now, he could afford either one large estate or several smaller ones, but all of them were incredibly expensive to the average citizen in Fiore. They were located in various places like Rose Garden, Hosenka, Shirotsume, and here in Capital Crocus as well. He had picked up this journal a week ago, but he still couldn't decide what he wanted to do.

Louie had come outside onto the balcony so he could focus better, but as Capital Crocus woke up and the sounds became harsher and more audible, he could no longer feel truly alone with his own thoughts. The birds chirping, the shuffling of feet, the chatter among the mongrels below. How obnoxious!

However, what did catch his attention was a particularly immense sound from above. There was the distant howl of an airship—the ordinary kind that carried passengers from one place to the next—floating on the cerulean sky like a speck of dust. The blonde let his hand hang over the railing, the journal in hand as he looked up at the distant airship. He looked like he was scowling at it, but his face often frowned when he was concentrating on something, taking his other hand and almost pinching his fingers completely together, just enough so that when he held it up to the airship, it looked as if it were fitted perfectly in between them.

Louie exhaled through his nose, his eyes narrowing just slightly as he pressed his almost-pinching fingers together, the tiny airship disappearing in between. "Hmph..." he grunted, turning his hand around to look at the marking he received from Lady Twilight. Louie was quite fond of his mark, as it was a symbol of his newfound power, but every time he looked at it, thought of it, the craving for souls and blood tugged at his desires, like a mild itch that he could only scratch through bloodshed. He couldn't quite explain or even understand just what it was that was eating at him, but he knew it was.

Looking at his hand, he saw something appear in the corner of his eye. When he peered to look at it, what he thought was another distant object in the sky turned out to be... an envelope? The scowl on his face vanished into disbelief, his crimson eyes squinting at the item skeptically. "What the..."

Fwip!

As the envelope came into arms-reach, Louie snatched it from the air and glared at it curiously. There was no doubt now that it was most certainly an envelope, and while he could only guess at what magics permitted it to float to purposefully to his balcony, he was at least interested in the item. Louie placed his journal on a glass table on the balcony, returning to the railing so he could inspect what he had just acquired. It was an ordinary envelope; white paper, a mediocre seal keeping it closed, and an address to no other but himself, "Louie Calvin Klein", on its back.

For me? Who sent this? Louie thought to himself, looking over the envelope one last time before finally slicing it up and plucking a folded letter out from inside. It read as follows:

Hey Louie!

How's things?  Hope it's well. It's Arcadia. As Executive Manager of Fairy Tail, I count most of the corporate big wigs of Magnolia among my contacts, and I've my made my fair share of other business contacts across all of Fiore and even a few beyond Fiore's borders. Point is, if you are still up to it, I am certain that your designs could make you and Fairy Tail some decent jewel.

To do that, we must get you and your designs out there the public light. I have taken the liberty to pull some strings with a couple of my contacts to get you in as a contestant on 'The Runway'.  If you have not seen it, it is one of the hottest streaming shows on the lacrima-net. The contestants compete in various design-related challenges over the course of the show. The winner gets their own show to show off their designs in Crocus.

The great thing about being on the show is win or lose, if you play your cards right, you get your name out there, and make a couple of business contacts of your own. I should warn you, however, 'The Runway" is as popular for its no-holds-barred rules on magic as it is for the designs the contestants produce. About the only rules are no killing or permanently maiming your fellow contestants or any bystanders. All else is considered fair play. You'll want to keep a close eye on the other four contestants. If you have any tricks up your sleeve, I suggest you keep them handy. You may need to make the most of anything you've learned since joining us to have a shot at that show in Crocus.

Love, Luck, and Lollipops,
Arcadia Mavis Elaine Fairchilde, Executive Manager of Fairy Tail

Abruptly, the letter began to crinkle at the edges as Louie's delicate hands squeezed it tightly. His expression had screwed into a wild grin, and peals of laughter fell from his mouth. "Ahahaha!! Some pigs do make bacon after all! Well done, Arcadia!" Louie praised the little girl he had met the other day. She was perhaps the most fruitful person Louie had met that day and judging by this letter, she was certainly the most useful. While he was certain barbarians who were hard on the eyes like Mura and the dull-witted Nessa were skilled in combat, they couldn't offer him anything quite like Arcadia could! There on the balcony, Louie laughed so much that the neighbors below him could only watch him in awe from their own balconies.

---

It had been three days since Louie received Arcadia's letter, and in some private building somewhere in Capital Crocus, Louie and four other contestants gathered for the competition. It was about as extravagant as one might expect it to be; there was a large film crew, foldable chairs for directors or other "V.I.Ps" to sit in, and a large, brightly lit runway in the center of it all.

Louie was sitting alone towards the outskirts of the runway like everyone else, his focus switching between his iLac and his mirror, playing with his fingernails. Although this wasn't a beauty pageant, many of the contestants were touching up on their makeup, doing their nails, or other beauty routines. Louie, however, possessed a natural and captivating beauty that didn't require a single product to enhance. Instead, he sat there pondering the announcement of the rules that were made earlier.

"Hey beautifuls! Thank you SO much for participating in the seventh season of The Runway! Woohoo! Anyway, we thought we should let you five in the know about the rules for the show! You can't permanently maim or kill your fellow contestants or the bystanders in the audience, but everything else goes! Good luck, beautifuls!" Louie recalled one fruity man saying.

The entire time Louie was sitting at his station, he was smirking to himself rather devilishly. He had full confidence that even without the magical interference that he would win this competition. Fashion and money were his entire livelihood, after all! There was not a shadow of a doubt that his designs would win in one big swoop! But, after signing his contract with Lady Twilight and unleashing the dormant mana within him, he couldn't resist an opportunity to use it, especially to his advantage.

The themes for the show had already been distributed among the contestants, and their designs were likely already made: a summer's eve, a cool winter morning, sunny spring noon, and windy autumn night. Needless to say, it was a seasonal theme, and Louie and the contestants made four separate outfits that matched each theme. Each one of them would walk the runway to show off their designs to the three judges, explain them, and then repeat. It was an incredibly simplistic arrangement, but everyone cheered as if they were watching a blood sport. In some sense, it was!

It was finally time to walk the runway, and Louie had schemed exactly what he would do. The first man to walk was a short-haired, crew-cut brunette with thick lips and a particularly confident attitude. His designs were nothing to remember aside from its atrocious pastel color schemes. Pastel for a summer theme? His brain may have actually been nonexistent! When he walked, Louie had used his fiery magic to heat up the runway, so that their struts and strides felt as if they were walking on hot coals! It wouldn't actually burn their skin, but it would certainly feel like it! Louie did this for all of the contestants except himself, and the only interference his competitors could hope to offer were things such as turning off the lights or throwing things at him, but their magics were so terribly inoffensive compared to his own that anything that came too close to him during his strut reduced to ash in milliseconds!  

The shenanigans continued for the next three rounds, and the final round had finally approached. Louie's devilish smirk had peaked as the time for his greatest interference had come! For each contestant that walked the runway one last time, Louie had sent their outfits and fabrics up in flames as they walked, even their undergarments! By the end of their turns, they had been naked and pale with shock and embarrassment, none of them even having the guts to stay there on the runway, running back into the curtains. When it was Louie's turn, none of the contestants had the spirit to even attempt to bother him, many of them still trying to acquire clothes.

Needless to say, Louie left that contest as the winner, since there was hardly much competition with or without the other contestants' designs. Just as Arcadia said in her letter, his reward was a show specifically meant to showcase his designs there in Crocus, and they set a date and time to discuss the details later. If Louie had to rate his day, he'd give it a nine!

I'll have to permit that jailbait to speak to me next time I see her. Unlike those other germs, she has some real usefulness. Ah, I bet the gorilla would love to see my success as well! Louie thought to himself. What an entertaining day!

---