Candidate for the Ten Wizard Saints

On the ruins of the guild, the morning light shone among the rubble and tiles, and the dust kicked up danced in the sunlight.

Everyone had started cleaning up the mess. Some were moving bricks, some were carrying wood, and some were clearing away broken glass. Although the guild was gone, everyone had a smile on their face.

Natsu carried a steel beam thicker than his body, humming a little tune as he walked with a light step, as if he were taking a stroll.

Gray used Ice Magic to freeze the broken bricks into large chunks, carrying them out one by one, muttering, "It's so hot."

Elfman did the work of three men, carrying a bag of cement in his left hand and a bundle of steel bars in his right, shouting as he went, "A real man should do heavy work!"

Makarov sat at the makeshift bar, a large blueprint spread out in front of him, a pencil in his hand, his brow furrowed.

He was brainstorming ideas for how to build the new guild, drawing and erasing repeatedly on the paper with his pencil, until a small pile of eraser shavings had accumulated beside him.

After moving a load of stuff, Riyao grabbed a glass of water from the makeshift bar, took a sip, then leaned over, put his arm around Makarov's shoulder, and peeked at the blueprints.

"Grandpa, I suggest we build a garden, plant some flowers and grass, anything would be nice. Look at how bare and shabby our guild entrance is."

Makarov didn't even look up, just rolled his eyes.

"I'm afraid those flowers and plants won't survive two days before these bastards ruin them. Do you want Natsu to practice fire in the garden? Or do you want Gray to practice ice?"

Riyao thought about it and agreed; with the destructive power of these people, planting anything would be a waste of time.

Mirajane walked over with a plate of sandwiches, distributed them to the workers, then leaned over to look at the blueprints, his eyes lighting up.

"Make the kitchen bigger! The current kitchen is too small; it's hard to even turn around. The new guild needs to be able to accommodate at least five people cooking at the same time!"

She gestured with her hands as she spoke, a hopeful smile on her face.

"We need to add another baking area; I want to try making more different kinds of cakes."

Makarov nodded, circled the location of the kitchen on the drawing, and marked it "Enlarge".

Erza, who had changed into casual clothes at some point, walked over with a cup of tea in her hand, overhearing the discussion in the kitchen.

"I'll buy some cake-making tools; I'll make a strawberry cake for you all later."

The moment those words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent.

Natsu, who was carrying bricks, slipped and nearly fell flat on his face. Gray dropped the ice cube in his hand with a thud.

Cana's drinking motion froze in mid-air. Even Happy spat out the fish.

Everyone took a step back in unison, as if they had rehearsed it.

Erza, holding her teacup, glanced at everyone with a gentle smile that sent chills down one's spine.

"Gray, Natsu, what do you guys think?"

Her tone was gentle, but her reddish-brown eyes clearly said, "You dare say it's bad, just try it."

Gray and Natsu exchanged a glance, both seeing deep fear in each other's eyes.

Tears streaming down their faces, the two nodded frantically, their voices trembling like candles flickering in the wind.

That's wonderful!

Erza's cake must be amazing!

After they finished speaking, they both turned their faces away and silently shed tears.

Levy peeked out from behind the pile of books, her eyes shining, her fists clenched and raised above her head.

"Make the library bigger! The current bookshelves aren't big enough; I want a huge bookshelf that goes from floor to ceiling!"

Makarov nodded again and made a mark on the drawing.

Others also offered their suggestions, which Makarov found reasonable and did not refuse. He even accepted Natsu's suggestion to build a training ground, as building a training ground was better than using the guild hall as a training ground. At least building a training ground would mean not having to repair the guild hall every time.

Just as Riyao was about to make his suggestion, a messenger delivered a letter bearing the sealing wax of the Magic Council, the red wax seal standing out prominently in the sunlight.

Riyao opened the letter, glanced at the contents, and his expression changed from indifference to disgust, as if he had swallowed a fly.

He handed the letter to Makarov, his tone tinged with impatience.

"The Magic Council is up to its old tricks again."

Makarov took the letter, and the others curiously crowded around, their heads crammed together, eager to see what was inside.

Everyone gasped in surprise after reading it.

Natsu shouted the loudest, jumping three feet high, almost causing the makeshift bar to collapse.

"What?! Riyao is going to become Ten Wizard Saints?!"

Riyao quickly pressed his hand down, signaling to keep a low profile, and glanced around, afraid that more people would hear.

"Keep your voice down! I'm just one of the candidates, not the one who's already chosen. Jura from Lamia Scale is also very strong."

Erza her arms and nodded, her expression serious.

"Jura of the Iron Rock, a veteran S-Class Mage, is slightly stronger than me. His Iron Rock Magic is a perfect blend of offense and defense, making it almost impossible to find a weakness in a direct confrontation."

Mirajane snorted coldly, put her hands on her hips, raised her chin slightly, and looked unconvinced.

"My Riyao is even stronger; Riyao could take on both of us by himself."

Erza raised an eyebrow.

"You can't say that lightly. Jura has a wealth of combat experience."

Mirajane was not to be outdone

"Riyao has a lot of combat experience, and he also has Life Magic. Can Jura recover from his injuries immediately?"

The two began a heated discussion, each speaking at once, becoming increasingly excited, and the air around them seemed to heat up.

Natsu leaned over, patted his chest, and shouted.

"Stop arguing, all of you! I'm the strongest! Let me be one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

Erza and Mirajane turned to look at him at the same time, their eyes cold.

"You?" they both asked in unison.

The next second, Natsu was punched and kicked, flying through the air in a beautiful parabola before crashing into a pile of rubble in the distance.

Makarov ignored the farce over there, stroked his chin, and looked thoughtfully at the contents of the letter.

"The reason the Magic Council listed you as a candidate is most likely because of your reputation as the kingdom's number one healing mage. After all, in the entire Kingdom of Fiore, there's no one else who can rival your Healing Magic."

Riyao shrugged, looking completely indifferent.

"They probably don't want our guild to have two Ten Wizard Saints, so they created a candidate list as a formality. I guess the old man just rejected them for me; it's such a hassle."

Gray stared at him in astonishment, his mouth agape.

"Hey, do you know what the Ten Wizard Saints represent? They are the ten strongest mages in the entire kingdom! So many people dream of becoming Ten Wizard Saints!"

Natsu crawled out of the rubble, a piece of broken brick on his head, and jumped up.

"Hahaha, if Riyao isn't fit, let me be it! Let me be it!"

Makarov ignored him and fell into deep thought. Two little figures appeared in his mind.

The little white figure stands with its arms crossed, looking very serious.

"Riyao will definitely be more responsible now that it's part of the Ten Wizard Saints. Maybe it can take over your responsibilities, and you won't have to worry about it every day."

The little black figure rubbed his hands together, a wicked grin on his face.

"If Riyao becomes Ten Wizard Saints, how impressive would that be! I could brag to other guild leaders that I have two Ten Wizard Saints at home!"

The two little figures looked at each other and gave each other a high five in unison.

Makarov's lips unconsciously curled up, higher and higher, his eyes gleaming with cunning.

Riyao had been observing Makarov's expression, and when he saw the upward curve of the corners of Makarov's mouth, his eyes immediately turned hostile.

"Old man, are you plotting something to sabotage me?"

Makarov quickly waved his hand, his expression turning serious in an instant.

"No, no, how could that be? I'm seriously considering matters concerning the guild."

Riyao looked at Makarov with deep contempt in his eyes.

"Your grin is practically reaching the back of your head, and you're still pretending? I refuse! I'd rather die than be one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

Makarov chuckled, folded the letter neatly, and tucked it into his pocket, his tone carrying a profound meaning.

"Young people shouldn't speak too soon."

Riyao's expression changed, and he reached out to snatch the letter.

"Old man! Give me back the letter!"

Makarov nimbly dodged, grinning like a cunning old fox who had stolen a chicken, and held the letter above his head.

"I'll think about it some more."

"Think about it my ass! Give it back!"

Two people, one old and one young, chased each other across the ruins, raising a cloud of dust.

Mirajane stood to the side with a sandwich in hand, watching Riyao chase Makarov all over the field. He shook his head helplessly, but a doting smile played on his lips.

Gray watched the commotion from the sidelines, laughing so hard he almost fell over. Then he looked down and realized his clothes were gone again.

"Where are my clothes?!"

Happy flew past, fish in his mouth, and glanced at Gray with his head tilted.

"Gray, you've taken your clothes off again."

"I didn't take them off!"

Laughter from the ruins echoed throughout the street, and the residents of Magnolia couldn't help but shake their heads and smile as they passed by.

These guys are so happy even though their guild is gone.

But this is Fairy Tail.