[Third Person POV]
Riser's group was sitting at the bar of the dimly lit pub, enjoying their dinner.
Erza was focused on the strawberry cake Riser snuck in with his storage ring, unreactive to even the loud cheers of the pub's patrons who were watching the football match on the TV.
Riser and Viola were discussing Viola's desire to help build a city that wasn't built on the suffering of others.
Viola asked Riser about other landmarks and attractions, hoping to understand better, though she was mostly confused by the kinds of things people were willing to see.
As they talked, the four people who had just entered sat down near the other end of the bar, loudly laughing and talking.
The leader of the group talked the most, bragging about his recent 'conquests', his words drowned out as Shamrock Rovers scored against Dundalk.
As the four men drank and talked and talked and drank, one of them looked across the bar and spotted two beautiful women, Erza and Viola.
"Hey, Ulick," Kieron nudged his leader's shoulder, pointing to the other side of the bar. The four of them turned to look at Erza, who was biting into one slice of cake. "Check her out!" He said excitedly, believing that the woman put him in a better mood.
Seeing Erza eat distractedly made Ulick grow tunnel-visioned.
Ulick thought that a beauty of her caliber should be his woman, so he subtly used his aura to intimidate any other patrons who were walking too close to her. He was a frequent customer of the place, often paying thousands for his drunken escapades after recovering from the hangover, so despite noticing what he was doing, the bartender just sighed and continued working.
Finishing his drink, Ulick stood up slightly tipsy. Two of his companions, Owen and Oscar, a pair of twins, helped steady him before he walked over and sat down beside Erza, full of confidence.
"Hey there, lass, couldn't help but notice you eating here all by yourself and thought you might want some company," Ulick confidently stated, his head barely tilted in Erza's direction as if he felt she'd already be focused on him, allowing him to look cold but friendly.
Unfortunately for him, Erza didn't realize Ulick was talking to her. She was far too enraptured by her cake to notice the barstool next to her had been occupied. Furthermore, his words didn't make sense to her. She was with Riser and Viola, so whoever was speaking couldn't be talking to her.
Slowly savoring another bite of cake, Erza closed her eyes, enjoying the flavors she loved so much.
Across the bar, Kieron, Owen, and Oscar were all watching as Erza smiled shortly after his arrival, mistakenly believing their leader was that charming.
Unexpectedly, Erza turned to Riser a few seconds later, asking what they were talking about, curious about Viola's goals. Ever since she escaped the Tower of Heaven, her only goal has been to be strong enough to protect herself and her friends.
Now she had new people to protect, and much more dangerous threats she was completely unprepared to face.
After hearing about Viola's past, she would've assumed Viola had a goal like her own: to get stronger to prevent a similar tragedy. Instead, Viola's desire to create a place where people can truly enjoy living made her rethink things. In the Tower of Heaven, she only knew how to survive; once she escaped and joined Fairy Tail, she switched to taking jobs or fighting, only occasionally thinking about what other professions might be like when taking jobs from people like that playwright in Onibus.
Ulick, seeing the girl he was trying to seduce ignore him in favor of talking to a child, suddenly realized the two women Kieron had pointed out earlier were both talking to Riser.
Jealousy filled him as he wondered how a child could be better than him.
'Maybe it was a rich dwarf?' Ulick thought, trying to justify to himself why they didn't pay attention to him. 'Yeah, that must be it. Those two tramps are probably gold diggers, and that kid is just a short guy they're scamming.' He internally laughed, thinking he solved some grand mystery that would get him what he wanted.
Reaching out, he tapped on Erza's shoulder, finally getting her attention.
"Hi there, gorgeous. Did you want to accompany me later?" Ulick laid on all the 'charm' he could to get her into his bed.
"No, thank you." Erza declined immediately, then continued talking to Riser and Viola.
Ulick flushed with rage at the thought of being rejected.
When was the last time a woman rejected him? He couldn't even remember!
Ever since he joined the Cuige Laighean fian, he had been one of the most popular warriors in Ireland. The only times his bed was empty were when he was out getting someone to fill it later. He didn't understand how a woman would reject him.
Angrily, he stood up, raising his voice toward Erza.
"Who do you think you are, girlie? Do you know who I am?!" He loudly asked, drawing attention from some of the other patrons.
"Why, did you forget?" Riser retorted, seeing this guy trying to intimidate his servant. Erza snorted upon hearing his comment, while Viola covered her mouth to laugh.
This infuriated Ulick even further. "I am the great Ulick Cianan! I am the leader of the 6th brigade of the Cuige Laighean fian, and you will show me the proper respect!" Ulick slammed his fist down on the counter to emphasize his point.
By now, Ulick was making a scene that drew the attention of most of the pub. Too drunk to realize he was starting to say things he shouldn't, he boasted about his achievements. Ironically, it was only thanks to them being in an Irish pub that talking about the supernatural was allowed, since it would just seem like random drunk talk to any observer.
Winding his fist back, Ulick's friends started panicking as they realized what their friend was about to do. They knew he could be temperamental, but attacking regular people in a public place was practically asking to get kicked out of the fian.
Before Ulick could do anything, a fist slammed into his cheek, sending him tumbling to the floor, eventually stopping beside his now bewildered friends. Meanwhile, the culprit behind the attack looked completely innocent, already back to eating her cake.
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Author's Note:
For those of you curious about the Cuige Laighean fian, Ireland can broadly be divided into Munster in the south, Ulster in the north, Connaught in the west, and Leinster (or Cuige Laighean) in the east. A fian is a band of boys (basically an adventuring party). So I have 3 future groups to play around with, should Riser return later. I'm ignoring written symbols like á or ō, so I don't have to keep copying them each time I write something; the only exceptions are words like fiancée, which can be autocorrected.
Also, for anyone who knows Danmachi lore, there's a character named Fianna, after the most well-known Fianna (plural of fian) led by Fionn mac Cumhaill. I only learned about it while researching this chapter. The more you know (insert star gif here).
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!