Schrödinger's Progress

The guild's reconstruction is in full swing, and the ruins are bustling with activity every day, like a market.

Actually, the progress depends entirely on these people's mood.

Today everyone is in a good mood, so we've made it to 30% of the way. Tomorrow, Natsu and Gray will fight and blow up half a wall, so the progress will regress to 25%.

Makarov was too tired to even get angry anymore. Anyway, he just kept fixing and tearing it down, treating it as exercise.

During lunch break, people sat in twos and threes beside the ruins to eat lunch.

Some people were eating sandwiches, some were drinking alcohol, and some were simply lying on the grass sunbathing.

Mirajane mysteriously pulled out a large rolled-up piece of paper from behind the bar, a smug smile on his face, like a kitten that had stolen a fish.

Ta-da! Here's what the new guild looks like!

With a flick of her wrists, she unfolded the paper and held it up in front of her to show everyone.

The paper contains a drawing of the front of a building.

The colors used are quite rich, including red, green, blue, purple, and all sorts of other colors.

But the design itself was crooked and the windows were out of proportion.

There was a huge flower painted on the roof, and two stick figures standing at the door, one with the words "Riyao" and the other with the words "Mirajane," and a heart was drawn next to them.

The whole scene is filled with the atmosphere of a kindergarten art class.

There was a two-second silence.

Gray, with a sandwich in his mouth, leaned closer to take a look, tilted his head, examined it for a while, and then commented seriously, "Who drew this? It's so ugly."

The air froze instantly.

Mirajane's smile vanished in an instant, her crimson eyes narrowed slightly, and the curve of her lips changed from sweet to dangerous.

An invisible sense of oppression emanated from her, and the surrounding temperature dropped by three degrees.

Before Gray realized what terrible thing he had said, and was about to add a few more comments, he felt a force suddenly grab his ankle.

The next second, his world spun around him.

Bang!

Gray was stuffed into an empty barrel, with only his two legs sticking out and kicking weakly, like the legs of a frog that had been caught.

Cana sat on the barrel next to her and kindly picked up Gray's clothes that had been thrown off, covering his two kicking legs with them.

"Your clothes, Gray."

Cana patted the bundle of clothes, her tone as casual as if she were saying that the weather was nice today.

After Mirajane finished dealing with Gray, she turned around, her sweet smile returning to her face, as if nothing had happened.

She hugged Riyao's arm, pressed herself against him, and tilted her head back with a bright smile.

"Honey, do you think my drawing is good?"

Riyao glanced down at Mirajane's painting, then at Mirajane's bright eyes, his mind racing.

He cleared his throat, his expression earnest and sincere, his tone as affectionate as if he were reciting a love poem.

"This painting is full of childlike innocence, with vibrant colors and rich layers; it's perfect for hanging at home and appreciating at your leisure."

Not a single word was said about how good it was, but not a single word was said about how bad it was either.

Perfect diplomatic language.

Mirajane happily tiptoed and kissed Riyao on the cheek, then glared fiercely at the others, her eyes screaming, "Anyone have a problem with that?"

Natsu, Elfman, Macao, and the others immediately turned their heads away, whistling in unison, looking up at the sky, the clouds, and the birds, pretending they hadn't seen or heard anything.

Their level of understanding was so high, it was as if they had rehearsed a hundred times.

Lucy stood at the back of the crowd, arms crossed, looking at the painting and silently criticizing it.

This is a low-EQ translation. This drawing is so childish, I'd be embarrassed to show it to anyone. What kind of evaluation is Riyao, "childlike innocence"? It's just terrible drawing!

As she was thinking, a blue figure suddenly appeared behind her.

Happy had somehow flown onto Lucy's shoulder, tilted his head, and leaned close to her ear with a sly look, saying in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Lucy, you've finally let your guard down."

Lucy shuddered, nearly jumping up, her heart pounding in her throat.

She abruptly turned her head to look around, nervously observing the reactions of others, afraid that someone might hear what she was thinking.

But the people around her continued eating and drinking as usual, no one looked in her direction, and no one showed any strange expression.

Lucy was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, her face turned bright red, and she reached out to grab Happy.

"You stinky cat! I'm going to tear your mouth apart! You scared me to death!"

Happy nimbly dodged, twirled in the air with the fish in his mouth, and grinned, "Lucy's so fierce~"

Lucy chased Happy all over the place, the two of them leaping and bounding across the ruins like a cat playing with a mouse.

Natsu watched this scene, chewing on meat, and mumbled his comments.

"Lucy and Happy are getting more and more in sync."

Gray finally managed to break free from the barrel, his hair stained with wine, looking utterly disheveled.

He was about to complain when he saw Mirajane give him a smile, so he immediately shut his mouth and silently went to wring the wine off his clothes.

Just then...

Bang!

A wine glass flew through the air, tracing an arc, grazing Lucy's ear before smashing against the wall behind her, scattering shards everywhere.

Lucy screamed in fright, instinctively crouching down and covering her head, her heart pounding like a drum.

The shards of the wine glass were scattered at her feet, nearly hitting her on the head.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look in the direction from which the wine glass had flown.

Laxus was still holding a half-empty glass of wine, his golden hair shimmering in the sunlight, his expression cold and arrogant.

Erza put down her teacup, slowly stood up, her brown eyes fixed on Laxus on the second floor, her face as gloomy as the sky before Tempester.

Say it again!

Her voice was calm, but everyone could hear the anger beneath that calm.

Laxus looked at Erza, a smug smile playing on his lips, his eyes filled with contempt.

"Then I'll make things clear now."

He put down his glass, his voice low and cold, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"This guild doesn't need weaklings!"

His gaze swept across the crowd, finally settling on Jet and Troy in the corner.

Laxus chuckled, his voice full of mockery.

"What a spineless Phantom Lord, completely looked down upon by that trash Spectre."

Jet and Troy lowered their heads, their fists clenched white, but they dared not refute.

They did perform poorly in battle, that much cannot be denied.

Laxus looked at their bowed heads and felt even more disdainful.

"To be honest, I have no idea what your names are."

Jet's shoulders trembled slightly, and Troy bit his lip.

The surrounding members exchanged glances, some wanting to say something, but swallowed their words under Laxus's intimidating presence.

After mocking the two, Laxus turned his attention to Lucy.

"And you, the culprit, you rich young lady who only knows how to play Celestial Spirit."

Lucy's face turned pale instantly. She gripped the key at her waist, her lips trembling, but she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

The Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail was indeed because of her.

This fact was like a thorn stuck in her heart, and Laxus's words pushed that thorn even further in.

Just as Laxus was about to continue speaking, he caught a familiar gesture out of the corner of his eye.

Riyao had somehow pulled out that damned crystal ball and was secretly recording a video, the camera pointed at Laxus, a look of schadenfreude on his face.

Although Laxus felt there was nothing wrong with his actions, recording a Riyao video was never a pleasant experience.

Laxus's words caught in his throat, and his face turned grim.

"Snort."

He snorted coldly, turned his head away, and said no more.

Riyao clicked his tongue, put the crystal ball away, and looked regretful.

"I wanted to keep recording, what a pity."

Laxus stared at the Riyao, his eyes blazing with fury, golden lightning flickering around him.

"You're just a womanizer. If I were the president, the first thing I'd do is kick you out."

Riyao rolled his eyes, speaking in a lazy tone, as if he were talking to a child throwing a tantrum.

Do you still consider yourself a child?

Laxus's tone became even harsher, his voice carrying a chilling edge.

"All you're good for is sweet talk to women."

Mirajane's anger was instantly ignited.

She abruptly broke free from Riyao's grasp, her scarlet eyes burning with fury. Demonic power surged within her, making her resemble a lioness about to erupt into a rage.

"What did you say?!"

Riyao grabbed Mirajane tightly, his strength preventing her from breaking free.

A mischievous smile crept across his lips as he slowly said, "He's still a kid. A single guy who's never been in a relationship wouldn't understand these things."

The entire room fell silent for half a second.

Then, crackling lightning filled the surroundings.

Laxus's face turned a deep purplish-red, and golden lightning crackled wildly across his body like enraged electric snakes.

His fists were clenched so tightly they cracked, and the veins on his temples bulged; he looked like a volcano about to erupt.

"What did you say!"

Instead of backing down, Riyao continued to attack, a smug smile on his face and a tone full of mockery.

"Oh dear, whose kid tried to provoke them and ended up getting angry? No way, no way, someone's so angry they're about to fight."

Laxus's lightning grew stronger and stronger, leaving charred marks on the floor.

Laxus took a deep breath, then another, his chest heaving violently.

He stared intently at Riyao, the killing intent in his eyes almost tangible.

But Riyao just looked at him with a smile, showing no fear whatsoever.

Laxus snorted coldly, his body transforming into a golden bolt of lightning, instantly disappearing from the scene.

Mirajane angrily shook off Riyao's hand, her cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish.

"We should just go up there, pin him to the ground, and beat him to a pulp!"

Riyao reached out and pinched Mirajane's puffed-up cheeks, smiling gently.

"Calm down, calm down. A beating won't teach him a lesson."

Mirajane snorted, but was soothed by Riyao's pinching of her cheeks. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she still remained defiant.

"If he talks to you like that again, I'll definitely beat him up."

Lucy stood to the side, patting her chest with lingering fear, and complained, "I really can't accept his attitude towards his friends, but he probably won't become the student council president, right?"

Lisanna smiled and leaned closer, hands behind her back, tilting her head as she said, "Laxus is the guild master's grandson, so he has a good chance of becoming the guild master."

Lucy was taken aback, her eyes widening in surprise.

"What?! The president is so gentle, and he's so awful, how is that possible?!"

Lisanna continued, her tone as casual as if she were talking about the weather.

"It's said that the guild leader refuses to retire because he's afraid of Laxus inheriting the position."

Lucy's mouth formed an "O" shape, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.

Riyao and Mirajane walked over. Riyao reached out and poked Lisanna's forehead. Lisanna covered her forehead and pouted.

"What are you thinking? If Gildarts were willing to agree, he would be the Gildarts by now. Laxus wouldn't dare utter a word then."

Mirajane covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes curving into crescents.

"And what about Uncle Gildarts? You rejected him too."

Huh!

Everyone around was hearing about it for the first time, and they all turned to look at Riyao, their eyes filled with curiosity and shock.

"Riyao refused to be the chairman?" Natsu asked, his mouth full of bone.

"When did this happen?" Cana put down the wine barrel.

Riyao shrugged, looking completely indifferent.

"The old man just thinks my title is useful; it doesn't necessarily mean I'm the strongest in the guild to become the guild leader. Maybe Macao could even become the guild leader."

Macao was drinking water nearby when he heard his name called, and he almost spat out his water.

He scratched his head, chuckled, and couldn't help but let his mind wander; his eyes began to light up.

"Me, the president? Hehehe..."

Wakaba poured cold water on the idea from the side.

"You? You can't even handle your wife, and you're trying to run a guild?"

Macao's face instantly fell.

The surrounding crowd burst into laughter, the sound echoing across the ruins, and the gloom brought by Laxus gradually dissipated amidst the laughter.