Lucy waited anxiously, counting every stall Jason passed on tiptoe, until finally, he walked up to her.
She straightened her back, put on her brightest smile, and folded her hands over her apron, ready to be interviewed.
She had already rehearsed this countless times in her mind.
Jason would marvel at her beauty and ask for her thoughts on being a Celestial Spirit Mage, she would answer elegantly, and the next day, her name would be the headline of the weekly magazine.
Jason stood in front of the stall, his gaze sweeping over it before fixing on Natsu and Happy, and he jumped up in excitement.
"COOL! The legendary Fire Dragon Natsu! The flying kitten Happy!"
Natsu grinned at Jason, revealing a row of white teeth, while Happy flapped his wings and flew a circle around him.
Lucy gestured wildly, waving her hands above her head, wishing she could jump right in front of Jason.
"What about me! I'm here! I'm part of this stall too!"
Only then did Jason notice someone else wearing a maid outfit standing nearby; he gave her a dismissive glance and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, blonde maid."
That's it? Just those four words, "blonde maid"?
Lucy felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her from head to toe, and she completely wilted.
She crouched on the ground, wounded, hugging her knees as tears fell plop-plop, forming a small puddle on the floor.
"I'm clearly a Celestial Spirit Mage... I clearly have the keys to the Zodiac... Why am I just a blonde maid..."
Virgo crouched down considerately, gently patting Lucy's back to comfort her, her movements tender and meticulous.
"Princess, it's alright. A blonde maid is also very cute."
Jason's gaze was suddenly drawn to Virgo, and he became so excited his voice cracked, almost dropping his notebook.
"COOL! The legendary Virgo of the Zodiac! Virgo! To think I could see a Celestial Spirit with my own eyes!"
He circled around Virgo twice, scribbling furiously while muttering to himself.
"COOL! COOL! COOL!"
Lucy was even more wounded, crouching on the ground and drawing circles; if even her own Celestial Spirit was cooler than her, what did that make her as a Celestial Spirit Mage?
Happy flew over, covering his mouth with his little paws, his tail shaking with laughter.
"Lucy is such a background character, pfft! Even Virgo is more popular than Lucy!"
Lucy's eye twitched twice, and she suddenly reached out, grabbed Happy, pinched his cheeks and wings, and smiled sinisterly, her voice squeezed through her teeth.
"You stinky cat, let me borrow your wings!"
"Ahhh! Lucy's gone crazy! Help!" Happy struggled desperately, his little paws flailing in the air.
Virgo continued to gently pat Lucy's back from the side.
"Princess, please be a bit more composed."
Natsu, however, hadn't noticed the chaos at all; he stood in front of the grill, took a deep breath, and puffed out his chest.
Then, he suddenly opened his mouth, and a burst of flames surged out, precisely enveloping the black-backed bass on the grill.
The temperature of the flames was just right; the fish skin sizzled, grease dripped onto the charcoal with a popping sound, and the aroma instantly filled the air.
"Fire Dragon's Barbecue!" Natsu triumphantly held up the grilled fish.
Jason was so stunned by this scene that he became incoherent; the writing in his notebook was crooked and illegible, and his hand was shaking like a leaf.
"COOL! A Dragon Slayer's flames can actually be used to grill fish! This is truly a legendary cooking method!"
Natsu handed the slightly charred black-backed bass to Jason; the aroma was intoxicating, the skin golden and crispy, and the fish meat snow-white and tender.
Jason took the grilled fish and carefully took a bite; the sweetness and charred aroma of the fish exploded in his mouth, and combined with the slightly charred skin, the texture was layered and distinct.
"COOL! Dragon Slayer grilled fish is so cool! This is the coolest fish I've ever eaten in my life!"
Natsu chuckled, stuffed one into his own mouth, and chewed until his mouth was oily.
Lucy watched Jason leave happily with a desolate gaze; her carefully prepared stall had been ignored, her maid outfit had been worn for nothing, her self-introduction had been prepared in vain, and even her name hadn't been remembered.
"I hate this world." Lucy slumped over the stall, feeling like life was meaningless.
Jason happily headed to the next stall, still savoring the taste of the Dragon Slayer grilled fish, when suddenly his eyes lit up again, and he almost bumped into the people queuing in front of him.
"COOL! The Weekly Magazine's number one girl, Demon Mirajane! Fairy Tail's poster girl Lisanna! The beastly man, Elfman!"
Mirajane had changed into a gentle, girl-next-door style today; a cream-colored dress made her look extremely sweet, the skirt fluttering gently in the breeze, a stark contrast to her usual cool and sharp style.
She stood behind the stall, greeting customers with a smile, as gentle as a spring breeze.
"Oh my, isn't this Jason?"
Mirajane recognized the weekly magazine reporter and smiled, handing him a delicate small cake, sprinkled with golden crumbs and exuding a rich aroma.
"Here, have a small cake. It's durian-flavored, a recipe I just developed."
Lisanna was also wearing the same style of dress; the sisters standing together were so pleasing to the eye, one gentle and graceful, the other sweet and cute, almost as if they had walked out of a painting.
She handed a cup of fruit tea to Jason; colorful fruit chunks floated in the tea, and ice cubes clinked against the cup walls.
"This fruit tea is made from fruits grown in my brother-in-law's orchard. The flavor is random, and it also has beauty and skincare benefits."
Elfman was crouching on the ground cleaning fruit, his hands covered in juice, looking serious as he peeled apples, sliced oranges, and deseeded grapes, his movements rough but surprisingly meticulous.
"A man must clean fruit! Handle every piece of fruit with a man's spirit!"
Quite a few people had gathered in front of this stall; some were attracted by the sisters' beauty, standing nearby holding their small cakes and sneaking glances, their faces as red as apples.
Others were there because of the fruit tea; hearing that it had beauty and skincare benefits, the female customers had formed a long line.
Jason took a sip of the fruit tea; the cool, sweet tea, wrapped in the fresh aroma of the fruit, slid down his throat, leaving a long-lasting aftertaste.
He took another bite of the durian small cake; the richness of the durian and the creaminess of the cream blended in his mouth, sweet but not cloying, fragrant but not common.
"COOL!!! The fruit in this is so potent! What variety is this! How is it so delicious!"
Mirajane covered her mouth and smiled.
"This is grown in our own orchard, catalyzed by Riyao's magic; it's more nutritious than the fruit on the market."
Jason scribbled furiously, writing the words "Magic-catalyzed fruit" heavily in his notebook.
After finishing the fruit tea, Jason looked at the stall next door and shouted excitedly, almost throwing the cup in his hand.
"COOL! The Kingdom's number one Healing Mage! Riyao!"
Riyao was sprawled on a rocking chair like an old man, legs crossed, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan in one hand and holding a cup of herbal tea in the other; the rocking chair swayed, making a "creak, creak" sound.
His stall was the most rudimentary in the entire venue; a folding table held several thermal buckets, and a handwritten cardboard sign stood on the table with crooked writing.
"Don't walk by and miss out: roasted sweet potatoes, tea eggs, crispy grilled sausages, and self-service herbal tea."
Roasted sweet potatoes were piled next to a simple charcoal stove, steaming hot; tea eggs were soaking in soy sauce broth; crispy sausages were spinning on a grill; and the herbal tea was stored in several large thermal buckets, each labeled with its benefits, with a stack of paper cups nearby.
The whole stall looked like a roadside snack stand thrown together, forming a stark contrast to Mirajane's exquisite small cake stall next door.
Mirajane walked over, bent down to help Riyao turn the sausages on the grill so they wouldn't burn, and then helplessly poked Riyao's forehead.
"What happened to stunning everyone? Didn't you say yesterday that you were going to make food that would make everyone look at you in a new light?"
Riyao rolled over, the rocking chair creaked, and he fanned himself even more leisurely.
"Just take a sip of the herbal tea and you'll know what's stunning."
Hearing this, Jason poured himself a cup of herbal tea; the brownish-red tea liquid swayed slightly in the paper cup, emitting the scent of herbs.
He tilted his head back and downed it in one gulp.
Then, his entire face twisted together, his features scrunching up as if he had been attacked by a lemon and a bitter melon at the same time.
He trembled all over, tears squeezed from the corners of his eyes, and his mouth opened to say something, but his vocal cords were sealed by the bitterness.
( ᗒ ᗩ ᗕ ) ՞
"Bitter! COOL!"
Riyao fanned himself calmly, not even raising his head.
"If it's bitter, go to the stall next door and have some small cake. It'll neutralize it."
Mirajane didn't know whether to laugh or cry; she looked at Riyao's old-man demeanor and then at Jason's twisted face, sighing helplessly.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Riyao chuckled, peeked out from the rocking chair, and gave Jason a thumbs-up.
"Good medicine tastes bitter; this herbal tea of mine has over a dozen kinds of herbs added to it. The one for kidney deficiency is almost empty, heh heh."
Jason took a long while to recover from the bitterness, and then, trembling, he wrote in his notebook.
"The Kingdom's number one Healing Mage's herbal tea; it's bitter enough to make your soul leave your body, but it's said to be very healthy."
He looked at the roasted sweet potatoes and tea eggs on Riyao's stall, hesitated for a moment, and then took a roasted sweet potato.
He peeled off the charred skin to reveal the golden flesh inside, steaming hot; he took a bite, and it was soft, glutinous, and sweet.
"COOL! This roasted sweet potato is actually pretty good!"
Riyao nodded with satisfaction.
"Of course, I roasted it for forty-nine minutes."
Mirajane rolled her eyes nearby, thinking that he had been sleeping on the rocking chair for half an hour, and it was Elfman who helped him turn the sweet potatoes.
In the end, Jason silently poured himself another cup of herbal tea.