Embarrassing Stories

This table is filled with beauties: Mirajane's dashing charm, Lucy 'Levy liveliness, Cana's generosity, Lisanna's sweetness, Bisca's boldness, Juvia's... resentment, plus the stunning blonde woman, the whole table seems to be filtered.

This table instantly attracted the attention of all the men in the guild.

The men who had been pretending to look at the order board all turned around at once. Those drinking forgot to put down their glasses, and those chatting forgot where they were. The whole hall fell silent for a moment.

A new member whispered a question to the person next to him.

"Hey, who's that beautiful blonde? She's gorgeous, I've never seen her in the guild before."

The person next to him twitched his lips and answered with a complicated expression.

"Uh... that's Riyao..."

"Riyao? That healing mage? Isn't he a man?"

"He likes to use Transformation Magic to dress up as a woman..."

The new member paused for three seconds, then sighed with regret.

"Damn it, he already has Mirajane, otherwise I could have tried for Riyao."

The man next to him silently stood up, took his wine glass, and moved to another table, getting away from this guy.

On the other side, Jet, Troy, Alzack, and Max sat around a table, the atmosphere quite subtle.

Alzack rubbed his hands awkwardly, his face as red as a boiled shrimp, and his voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"I wonder if I can recognize this year's Bisca chocolates..."

Jet clenched his fists, his face resolute, as if he had made a momentous decision.

"I absolutely have to have Levy's chocolate this year! I've already prepared a return gift!"

Troy clenched his fist and spoke in unison with Jet.

"I absolutely have to eat Levy's chocolate this year!"

The two exchanged a glance, instantly transforming from comrades-in-arms into rivals, their eyes blazing with tension.

Max took the opportunity to pull a small notebook from his pocket, opened it, and began to promote his product.

"How about buying some small gifts in return? I have all kinds of necklaces, bracelets, and hair accessories here. Valentine's Day special: buy two get one free!"

Jet and Troy both rolled their eyes.

"You're even using Valentine's Day as an opportunity to make sales?"

Max shrugged confidently.

"Doing business is nothing to be ashamed of."

Gajeel sat in the corner, chewing on a piece of iron, making a crunching sound. He looked at the group of idiots worrying about Valentine's Day, snorted coldly, and looked at them with disdain.

Natsu leaned closer, staring curiously at the iron block in Gajeel's hand, then took a piece and put it in his mouth to try taking a bite.

Then his face scrunched up, and he threw the metal block away in disgust.

"Ptooey! What is this stuff?! It's hard and tastes awful!"

Gajeel glanced at him sideways.

"Idiot."

"You're the idiot! You lump of iron!"

Gray sat to the side, watching Natsu and Gajeel interact. Before, Natsu only had him as a target of his provocations, but now there was Gajeel as well. He didn't know why, but he felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.

Gray: "..."

Ur was laughing so hard he was slapping the table.

At this moment, Riyao took out a few photos and waved them in front of Juvia.

"Come here, Juvia, here's the picture of Gray after his bath that I promised you. Take a look and see which one you like."

Juvia's eyes widened instantly, as if he had seen some rare treasure.

(* /ω*)

His hands trembled as he took the photo, his face flushed, steam billowing from his head, his whole being like an overloaded steam engine.

The photo shows Gray right after taking a shower; water droplets slide down his muscle lines, and steam swirls around him—the composition is perfect.

She clutched the photo tightly to her chest, as if afraid someone would snatch it away, and a blush spread from her face all the way to her ears.

"Um... Juvia wants them all!"

Gray walked by, glanced at the photo, froze, and then let out a scream.

"Riyao! When did you take this picture?! Hand it over!"

Riyao calmly handed Juvia a new set.

"Don't rush, don't rush, there are more angles to see."

Gray rushed forward to grab it, Riyao nimbly dodged, her movements as graceful as a dance.

Ur had somehow gotten closer, peeked at the photo, and then burst into laughter.

"Great filming! Hey, did Gray know? Hahaha... Let me tell you, Gray was so much fun when he was little."

Gray's face turned deathly pale instantly.

"Ur! Don't say it!"

Ur wouldn't listen. She picked up her wine glass, found a comfortable position to sit down, and looked on with a nostalgic expression.

"You know, when Gray was little, he was terrified of cold water when he took a bath. I always had to coax him for ages before he'd get in. Once, he slipped and fell, and ran around outside naked, crying and looking for me..."

"Ur!!" Gray wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Riyao's eyes lit up, and he took out a crystal ball to start recording. He pointed it at Ur and smiled like a shrewd businessman.

"Keep going, keep going, Ur, don't stop."

As Ur recounted embarrassing incidents from Gray's childhood, several more people gathered around, and the crowd grew larger and larger.

Lisanna covered her mouth and laughed, Levy notes in her notebook, Lucy listened with great interest, and even Erza put down her strawberry cake and came over.

"Gray used to wet the bed when he was little," Ur said, getting more and more excited.

"That was when I was a kid!" Gray covered his face in Despair.

The conversation quickly escalated from Gray's embarrassing incident to a full-blown gossip session.

Lisanna covered her mouth and whispered the news.

"Natsu almost roasted Happy Egg when he was little. He thought it was a dragon egg and wanted to heat it up to see if it would hatch."

Natsu jumped up.

"That was an accident! How would I know!"

Happy hugged his tail, trembling.

"Natsu so scary..."

Mirajane smiled and began to expose her brother's shortcomings.

"Elfman was very shy as a child and was afraid to talk to girls."

Everyone burst out laughing when they imagined Elfman's current appearance and his shy demeanor.

Riyao leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, popped another blueberry into his mouth, and slowly began to speak.

"Hey, before you guys came, Cana was even more shy. When she first joined the guild, she spoke so softly it was like a mosquito's buzz, and she would blush all the time."

Cana's face flushed instantly, she almost crushed the tarot cards in her hand, and she stood up abruptly, pointing at the Riyao.

"Hey! Riyao, shut up!"

(▼ヘ▼#)

Riyao raised his hands in surrender, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more. But Cana, you really were..."

"Try saying another word!" Cana grabbed a barrel of wine and was about to smash it over.

Riyao quickly hid behind Mirajane, peeking out half his head and making a face.

Mirajane shook his head helplessly, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

Laughter filled the guild hall, and the tension of Valentine's Day dissipated largely amidst the gossip.

Looking at the lively scene before him, Riyao quietly moved closer to Mirajane and, when no one was looking, gently squeezed Mirajane's fingers.

Mirajane tilted her head slightly and gave him a gentle smile.

This is Fairy Tail's Valentine's Day—noisy, chaotic, and full of commotion, but everyone enjoys it.

Meanwhile, Erza was trying to make chocolate in the kitchen...