Riyao strolled into the kitchen, intending to see if Erza was sneaking a snack, but as soon as he pushed the door open, a bizarre odor hit him so hard he stumbled back.
In front of the stove, Erza was wearing an apron and holding a giant wooden spoon, stirring the pot with an expression as serious and earnest as if she were carrying out an S-Class Quest.
A mass of purple-black, viscous liquid was bubbling away in the pot, emitting purple bubbles.
Every time a bubble burst, it made a "pop" sound, splattering a few drops of an unknown liquid that hissed slightly as they landed on the stove.
Riyao took a closer look, his eyelid twitching, and he subconsciously took half a step back; his occupational habit kicked in, and he commented in a professional tone.
"Who are you planning to poison? This thing is even more toxic than the medicine I brew."
Erza turned around with her hands on her hips, looking unconvinced. Her apron was covered in purple-black stains, making her look more like an evil alchemist.
"I am making chocolate! Not poison! I followed the recipe strictly!"
Mirajane leaned over to take a look, and upon seeing the unidentified object bubbling with purple gas, her expression became very subtle.
The color, the texture, and the way it bubbled were exactly the same as the potions Riyao usually brewed.
If she hadn't seen Erza pour chocolate chunks into it with her own eyes, she would have suspected that Riyao had secretly switched the pots.
Mirajane asked cautiously.
"Erza, are you sure this is chocolate?"
Erza nodded firmly.
"Of course! I added chocolate, milk, sugar... to increase the richness of the chocolate."
She counted on her fingers.
"And some spices for seasoning."
Riyao asked warily, "What spices?"
Erza thought for a moment and answered with a serious face.
"Cinnamon, cloves, star anise, chili powder, and a little mustard for flavor."
Riyao was silent for three seconds before slowly giving a thumbs up. "You're a talent."
The purple gas drifted out the window. A little bird flew by happily and accidentally inhaled a mouthful of that bizarre purple gas.
Its wings stiffened, and it fell straight from the sky, landing on the windowsill, foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling back, and its claws twitching twice.
Riyao walked over to check on the bird, then looked back at the pot, used Healing Magic to cure the bird, and the bird flapped its wings and flew away as if its life depended on it.
He returned to the stove and gave a thumbs up, his expression complex.
"This could be one of the guild's super magics. It has a wider range than Fairy Law."
Erza glared at him.
"Stop with the sarcastic comments!"
At this time, the other girls arrived one after another: Levy wore a cute pink apron, Lisanna had her hair in twin tails, Juvia was emitting steam of happiness, Bisca held an apron, and Cana was chewing on a wine bottle. Everyone carried ingredients for making chocolate.
Mirajane turned around and ordered Riyao to leave, pushing him out by his back with both hands.
"Alright, alright, you go out now. The next part is girls' secret time."
Riyao refused to leave, gripping the door frame with both hands, looking unwilling.
"I can be a girl! Let me in! You can't discriminate based on gender!"
Mirajane shook her finger, smiling gently but with a firm attitude.
"No, you have to be good."
Before Riyao could say anything else, Mirajane leaned in and kissed his cheek.
Then, while he was stunned, she pushed him out and slammed the door shut with a "bang."
Laughter from the girls came from inside the room. Riyao stood outside the door, touching the cheek that had been kissed.
Although he had been kicked out, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
Riyao helplessly left the kitchen and wandered into the main hall, where he saw Natsu lying on the table teasing Happy, poking Happy's belly with his finger. Happy giggled as he was poked, rolling over with his belly up.
Riyao sat down next to Natsu and also reached out to scratch Happy's chin. Happy squinted his eyes in comfort, making a purring sound.
Elfman walked over holding a wine glass. Looking at the lazy appearance of the female-version Riyao, he helplessly covered his forehead, his large palm almost covering half his face.
"Brother-in-law, you are not being manly at all like this. It's one thing to turn into a girl, but to act like this..."
Riyao picked his nose, looking indifferent, crossing his legs and leaning back on the chair, his posture as casual as it could be.
"Elfman, let's not be single men. Look at your sister and me, then look at yourself. Where is the gap?"
Elfman was choked for words, and after holding it in for a long time, he blurted out.
"A man doesn't need a girlfriend!"
Gray sat opposite, watching Riyao use a girl's hand to pick his nose. He felt terrible and covered his forehead with a look of disgust.
"Every time I see you turn into a girl and pick your nose, it's gross. Can you pay attention to your image?"
Riyao chuckled, cheekily flicking the booger onto Gray. The movement was smooth, and after flicking it, he even blew on his finger.
"You!"
Gray reflexively started to take off his clothes, then realized his clothes were gone, leaving only his boxers.
He froze for a moment, then hurriedly looked around for his clothes, completely forgetting about the booger, searching the whole hall for his shirt.
Riyao watched Gray's back as he searched the hall for his clothes and nodded with satisfaction.
Natsu lay on the table, his nose twitching. He sniffed hard like a puppy, smelling the rich chocolate scent drifting from the kitchen, drooling, his mouth glistening.
"So fragrant!"
He sniffed hard again, then wrinkled his nose.
"Huh, why is it mixed with a suffocating smell? It's both fragrant and stinky, how strange."
Riyao chuckled and explained slowly.
"It's normal, because Erza is in there too. That suffocating smell is her masterpiece."
The people around them changed expressions and fell silent.
Can that thing be eaten?!
Won't it contaminate the other chocolates?
If Erza's poison chocolate gets mixed in with the normal ones, whoever gets it is unlucky.
Several men subconsciously touched their throats, their faces turning pale.
It was a Fairy Tail tradition that every Valentine's Day, the girls in the guild would make chocolate together, put it all out, and let the male members choose, to see if they could pick the chocolate of the person they liked.
If you picked correctly, it was fate; if you picked wrong... may God help you.
In fact, this tradition was something Riyao had discussed with Makarov just to have some fun.
Riyao felt Valentine's Day was too boring, so he went to suggest to Makarov that they hold a chocolate selection event to see if those idiots could guess correctly.
Makarov thought it was very interesting when he heard it, thinking it might even help form a couple, so he agreed with his eyes shining.
The first two times, Riyao had even joined in to make chocolate, and the taste...
...left Natsu unable to forget it for a long time. Whenever he recalled it, he felt that burnt fish was a delicacy of the world.
Because the chocolate Riyao made was even worse than burnt fish—not just usually bad, but the kind of bad that made you question life after one bite.
Once, Natsu didn't believe it, took a big bite, and his face turned green for three whole days; even the fire he spat out was green.
Max stroked his chin and thought about it. His eyes rolled, and his businessman's sense of smell allowed him to see a business opportunity.
"Erza's chocolate... why not pick it out and let me sell it? It can be sold to the military as a biochemical weapon."
Makarov pressed his shoulder and said earnestly.
"As the saying goes, charity begins at home; let's just let our own guild members eat it. Good things should be kept for our own people."
Riyao mercilessly exposed Makarov's lie, looking at him sideways.
"The old man is clearly afraid of complaints and chose to sacrifice the guild members. Using your own people as a shield, you're really something."
Makarov brushed it off, waved his small hand, and pretended not to hear.
"Don't worry about these small details."
Everyone cast looks of contempt, their gazes uniform, like a row of searchlights shining on Makarov.
Makarov was embarrassed by the stares, the little old man's face turned red, and he hurriedly changed the subject, pointing at Riyao's face.
"Riyao, why do you only change your face? You look so plain right now?"
Riyao also gave him a look of contempt, arms crossed, looking down at Makarov.
"You old pervert, don't think I don't know what you're thinking? Keep dreaming."
Everyone burst into laughter, and Macao slapped his thigh and laughed.
"The Master shouldn't have changed the subject; it just made things look worse."
Makarov was so angry his mustache curled up.
"You bunch of brats!"
Natsu smelled the chocolate scent drifting from the kitchen, and the more he smelled it, the hungrier he got; he was drooling like a river.
He looked left and right, and finding no one paying attention to him, he quietly slid off his chair, hunched over, tiptoed, and snuck to the kitchen door like a cat stealing fish.
Just as he reached out to push the door, a long sword flew out from the crack in the door with a "whoosh," grazing Natsu's forehead, slicing off a few hairs, and pinning itself into the wall behind him, deep into the wood.
Erza's voice came from inside the room, icy cold, without a trace of warmth.
"Natsu, if you dare to sneak a snack, I will hang you in the hall and whip you for three days and three nights."
Natsu shuddered in fear, retreated two steps with a dry laugh, and raised his hands above his head to surrender.
"I won't sneak, I won't! I was just passing by, just passing by!"
He turned to sneak back, but as he retreated, he bumped into someone; the person's chest was rock hard.
Natsu looked back, and good heavens, Jet was standing against the wall, his expression as tense as if he were on an infiltration mission.
Before Natsu could speak, he discovered that Droy was also standing next to Jet, also against the wall, looking anxious.
Looking further to the side, Alzack was crouching in a corner, Nab was pretending to look at the request board on the wall, and Wakaba was puffing on his pipe...
Several people were sneaking around near the kitchen door, each with their own thoughts. No one spoke, but everyone knew exactly what everyone else was doing.
Natsu looked at this line of people, his mouth twitching.
"What are you all..."
Jet explained in a low voice.
"I'm just seeing if Levy has come out."
Droy followed up in a low voice, "Me too."
Alzack blushed and crouched lower.
"I... I was just passing by."
Wakaba stared at the request board without turning his head.
"I am observing the requests."
Nab poked his head out from behind a pillar.
"I am also looking at the requests."
Laughter from the girls and the sound of dishes clashing came from inside the kitchen door. The men outside looked at each other, none daring to take another step closer.