On the streets of Magnolia, the colorful flags of the Harvest Festival were still swaying gently in the breeze, and the sweet scent of the celebration lingered in the air.
Residents gathered in twos and threes at street corners and alleyways, smiles of lingering satisfaction on their faces, discussing the interesting events of the festival and that earth-shattering civil war.
There was also the Miss Fairy Tail beauty contest, where Ao Strauss was proven to be a pervert and disqualified.
In the end, Erza shed her usual stern demeanor, gaining massive support with her "gap moe" and taking first place.
The votes for everyone else were neck and neck; Lucy covered her face and wept, her rent drifting away once again.
It could only be said that each had their own merits, and all possessed their own unique charm.
However, Riyao now only wanted to find a quiet place to slack off; he did not want to socialize.
Wave after wave of people surged over, wanting to befriend him—merchants from neighboring towns, Mages who had come by reputation, and even a few young girls who claimed to be his fans.
He wore a stiff smile on his face, the curve of his lips appearing as if fixed in place by glue.
While dealing with the endless stream of visitors, he prayed frantically in his heart for someone to come and rescue him—even getting hit and sent flying would do.
What was even more troublesome was that there were old acquaintances among them, and he really couldn't bring himself to just dodge away.
Riyao caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye and immediately felt like he had found a treasure.
He rushed over in two or three strides, stepped on Ichiya who was posing, and using this "human pedal" for height, waved enthusiastically at Master Bob of Blue Pegasus.
"Master Bob, you've come to Magnolia to visit too!"
Riyao smiled brightly, secretly applying a bit of force under his foot, causing Ichiya to let out a muffled groan.
"The old man is in his office reading the swimsuit weekly."
Master Bob raised his hand to cover his mouth, letting out a signature barbell-like laugh. That laugh was deep and resonant, drawing glances from many people around.
"Oh my, little Riyao is still so energetic."
Master Bob lowered his hand, his eyes carrying a hint of mischief.
"You guys made quite a scene this time, oh."
Riyao immediately raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, looking innocent as he distanced himself from the situation.
"It was all Laxus's doing; it has nothing to do with me."
"MAN~ Riyao, your leg technique is still so impressive."
Ichiya lay beneath Riyao's feet, lifting his head with difficulty, and exclaimed in his signature tone.
He struggled symbolically under Riyao's foot, but finding he couldn't break free, he simply gave up resistance, slumped onto the ground, and adopted a "whatever" attitude.
Riyao looked down at Ichiya beneath his feet, a wicked smile curling the corner of his mouth, and with a kick, sent Ichiya flying like a ball toward Erza not far away.
Erza was elegantly sipping a cup of black tea when she caught a glimpse of an unidentified object flying toward her. Her pupils constricted sharply, and the teacup in her hand nearly slipped.
She let out a short shriek and, with a speed completely inconsistent with her usual heroic image, turned and ran, darting behind Mirajane and revealing only half of her vigilant face.
Ichiya traced a parabola in the air and eventually landed face-first on the spot where Erza had just been standing. He raised one hand and gave a thumbs up.
"MAN~"
People from Lamia Scale had also arrived.
Jura was wearing a brand-new Ten Wizard Saints robe, the fabric of which shone with a subtle luster in the sunlight, making his already burly figure appear even more steady and reliable.
He walked over with large strides, each step carrying a sense of reassurance.
"Lord Riyao, how have you been lately?"
Jura nodded slightly, his voice deep and gentle.
"I could say things are going quite well."
Riyao looked up and down at Jura's new attire and nodded.
"Jura, you look even more reliable wearing the Ten Wizard Saints robe."
Jura gave a wry smile upon hearing this and raised a hand to scratch the back of his head; that honest smile formed a strange contrast with his status as one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
"Don't tease me; this Ten Wizard Saints title should have been yours."
Riyao waved his hand, his tone casual yet revealing a sense of clarity.
"Impossible. With the Council's previous temperament, how could they allow my guild to have two Ten Wizard Saints stealing their spotlight?"
Jura opened his mouth, thought for a moment, and ultimately did not refute it.
He nodded silently, a flicker of complex agreement flashing in his eyes.
Just then, Lyon popped out from behind Jura and spotted Gray in the crowd at a glance.
He walked over quickly, and before the two had chatted for more than two sentences, Lyon's eyes turned red, as if hail had gotten into them, and tears gushed out.
He rushed to Ur in a single stride, knelt down with a thud, hugged Ur's thigh tightly with both hands, and cried uncontrollably, his face a mess of snot and tears.
Gray stood to the side, watching this scene expressionlessly. He raised a finger slightly, and an ice blade shot from his fingertip, precisely carving a long, thin crack into the floor.
He gestured with his chin at the crack, his tone as flat as if he were saying the weather was nice today.
"Lyon, I've left you a crack in the ground; don't mention it."
The two dark-skinned guys and the dark-skinned girl under Gajeel also came to visit.
They pushed through the crowd, saw Gajeel and Juvia sitting in a corner, expressions of surprise on their faces, and walked over quickly.
"Gajeel, Juvia, I never thought you two would actually join Fairy Tail."
The dark-skinned guy patted Gajeel on the shoulder, his tone full of emotion.
"That guy Totomaru said he's going to be a fire magic teacher; he doesn't want to fight and kill anymore."
The dark-skinned girl added, shrugging her shoulders.
Gajeel leaned back in his chair, took a screw out of his pocket, tossed it into his mouth, and crunched away, the metal fragments making a harsh grinding sound between his teeth.
After swallowing, he wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb and snorted.
"Hmph, if it weren't for Juvia begging me to join, I wouldn't have come."
Before the words had even landed, Natsu came over, sniffing the air as if he had a radar installed.
He squeezed out of the crowd, stood in front of Gajeel with his hands on his hips, and puffed two streams of flames from his nostrils.
"Huh? What are you saying, iron lump? Do you want to fight?"
Lucy followed behind Natsu, holding her forehead with a helpless expression, her mouth twitching as she retorted.
"How did it get to fighting?"
Juvia's gaze passed over Natsu and locked firmly onto Lucy.
Her eyes became deep and resentful, and a visible black aura of resentment began to permeate around her. The resentment was as thick as ink, making the surrounding temperature seem to drop by a few degrees.
"Love rival~"
Juvia's voice drifted out eerily, the long, drawn-out ending full of jealousy.
Lucy felt a chill down her spine under this gaze, her mouth twitched, and she sighed helplessly.
Happy popped out from who knows where, one paw covering his mouth, the other pointing at Lucy and Juvia, clicking his tongue, and speaking in that cheeky tone.
"Something going on~"
"Stinky cat!"
Lucy swung her fist in anger and embarrassment, but Happy dodged nimbly, avoiding it.
Just then, Carla walked into the guild with Wendy.
Happy's eyes instantly turned into two hearts, and the whole cat transformed into a blue flash, appearing instantly in front of Carla at a speed the naked eye could barely track.
He knelt on one knee, held up a fresh fish that was still flopping about with both paws, held it high, and beamed with a fawning smile.
"Get lost, you idiot tomcat!"
Carla disgustedly swatted Happy's face away with a paw.
Happy was swatted and spun around twice, but he clutched his cheek with a look of intoxication.
"Carla's first sentence when she came in was to me, yay."
Seeing this, Lucy immediately seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for revenge, covered her mouth, clicked her tongue, and mimicked Happy's tone.
"Something going on~"
Wendy took small steps over to Riyao, folded her hands neatly in front of her, bowed slightly, and spoke in a soft, sweet voice.
"Mr. Riyao, Mira-nee."
Mirajane's eyes instantly lit up. Without a word, she crouched down, pulled Wendy into her arms, and began rubbing her cheek against her vigorously.
The rubbing was both affectionate and forceful, just like petting a furry little animal.
Mirajane's voice was full of intoxication.
"Wendy is still so cute. Join our guild, hehe, and you can come stay at my place then."
Wendy's little face was rubbed out of shape, her mouth squeezed into a small circle, and her voice came out vaguely from Mirajane's embrace.
"Mm, Mira-nee, can you let me go first?"
Lisanna also saw Wendy, her eyes lit up, and she skipped over to join the ranks of "ravaging" Wendy, gently rubbing Wendy's head with both hands.
Wendy struggled to extend a hand from the gap in Mirajane's embrace, shaking it toward Carla for help.
Carla turned her head away expressionlessly, pretending she hadn't seen anything.
Are you kidding? If she got caught by those two humans and rubbed vigorously, where would Carla's dignity be?
Riyao stood to the side, watching Wendy being rubbed back and forth, his fingers moving involuntarily.
To be honest, he really wanted to hug and rub Wendy too; he didn't know how she was born, but she was so cute.
Lucy took the key from her waist, gave it a gentle turn, and with a flash of golden light, Leo was summoned from the Celestial Spirit World.
As soon as Leo landed, he saw Master Bob. The two looked at each other, simultaneously revealed expressions of surprise, walked quickly toward each other, and exchanged warm greetings.
The three members of the Thunder God Tribe also naturally blended into the guild's atmosphere.
Bickslow chatted happily with the people around him. He also added in all seriousness that if he had told Gray to wear more clothes back then, he might not have been injured so badly; this remark drew a burst of laughter from those around.
Evergreen sat to the side, carefully examining her face in a small mirror, her fingers gently fiddling with the bangs on her forehead.
She was simply being vain; otherwise, if she had taken off her glasses and scanned the whole place back then, who knows how many people would have suffered.
Freed sat quietly in a corner; he had cut his hair extremely short, and his scalp could almost be seen through the thin layer of stubble.
As soon as Riyao saw him like this, his eyes lit up immediately. Without a word, he walked over, placed a palm on Freed's head, and began rubbing frantically.
( ´ ◊ ω ◊ ｀ )
A prickly, itchy sensation came from his palm, and the texture was surprisingly good. Riyao became more addicted the more he rubbed, while Freed let him do as he pleased with a look of utter hopelessness.
It could be said that the three of them had initially just really felt that the guild members were too lax, and they had treated the civil war as a training exercise.
Now, looking at the lively scene in the guild, the corners of their mouths curled up in a smile involuntarily.