Chocolate

Riyao strolled into the kitchen, intending to see if Erza was sneaking a bite, but as soon as he pushed open the door, he was hit by a strange smell and stumbled.

In front of the stove, Erza, wearing an apron, was stirring the pot with a huge wooden spoon in her hand, her expression serious and focused as if she were carrying out an S-Class mission.

A murky, viscous, purplish-black liquid was bubbling and churning in the pot, releasing purple bubbles.

Each bubble bursts with a "pop" sound, splashing out a few drops of unidentified liquid that land on the stovetop with a slight sizzling sound.

Riyao stared intently, his eye twitched, and he subconsciously took half a step back, his professional instincts kicking in, and he offered his evaluation in a professional tone.

"Who are you planning to poison? This stuff is more potent than the medicine I brew."

Erza turned around with her hands on her hips, looking defiant. Her apron was covered in purplish-black stains, making her look more like an evil alchemist.

"I'm making chocolate! Not poison! I'm following the recipe exactly!"

Mirajane leaned closer for a look, her expression quite subtle as she stared at the unidentified object gurgling and emitting purple gas.

The color, the texture, the way it bubbled—it was exactly the same as the medicine that Riyao usually brewed.

If she hadn't seen Erza pour chocolate chips into it with her own eyes, she would have suspected that Riyao had secretly switched the pots.

Mirajane asked cautiously.

"Erza, are you sure this is chocolate?"

Erza nodded firmly.

"Of course! I added chocolate, milk, sugar... to make the chocolate more flavorful."

She counted on her fingers.

"And some seasoning spices."

Riyao asked warily, "What spices?"

Erza thought for a moment, then answered with a serious expression.

"Cinnamon, cloves, star anise, chili powder, and a touch of mustard for flavor."

Riyao paused for three seconds, then slowly raised a thumbs up. "Talent."

Purple gas drifted out the window, and a small bird flew by merrily, inadvertently inhaling a breath of that eerie purple gas.

Its wings stiffened, and it plummeted straight down from the sky, crashing onto the windowsill, foaming at the mouth, its eyes rolling back, and its claws twitching twice.

Riyao went over to look at the bird, then at the pot, and used Healing Magic to heal the bird. The bird flapped its wings and flew away as if trying to escape.

He returned to the stove, gave a thumbs-up, and had a complicated expression.

"This could be considered one of the guild's Super Magic. It has a wider range of damage than Fairy Law."

Erza glared at him.

Stop making sarcastic remarks!

At this moment, the other girls also came in one after another. Levy was wearing a cute pink apron, Lisanna had her hair in pigtails, Juvia was radiating happiness, Bisca was holding an apron, Cana was holding a bottle of wine. Each of them was carrying chocolate-making materials.

Mirajane turned and gave Riyao a shoo-in, pushing him out the door with both hands.

"Alright, alright, you can go now. This is the girls' secret time."

Riyao refused to leave, clinging to the door frame with both hands, looking unwilling to give up.

"I can be a girl! Let me in! You can't discriminate based on gender!"

Mirajane shook her finger, her smile gentle but her attitude resolute.

"No, you have to be good."

Before Riyao could say anything, Mirajane leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Then, while he was still stunned, she shoved him out and slammed the door shut.

Laughter from the girls came from inside the door. Riyao stood outside the door, touching his cheek that had been kissed.

Although I was kicked out, I couldn't help but smile.

Reluctantly, Riyao left the kitchen and staggered into the hall, where he saw Natsu lying on the table playing with Happy, poking Happy's belly with his finger. Happy giggled and rolled around on his back.

Riyao plopped down next to Natsu and reached out to scratch Happy's chin. Happy squinted his eyes in comfort and made purring noises.

Elfman walked over with a wine glass in hand, looked at the female version of Riyao's languid appearance, and helplessly rubbed his forehead, his large hand almost covering half of his face.

"Brother-in-law, you're not manly at all. It's one thing to turn into a girl, but to act like this is another."

Riyao picked his nose, looking completely nonchalant, and leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, his posture as casual as could be.

"Elfman, let's not be single men. Look at your sister and me, then look at yourself, where's the difference?"

Elfman was speechless for a moment, then finally blurted out a sentence.

"A real man doesn't need a girlfriend!"

Gray sat opposite her, watching Riyao pick her nose with a girl's hand, and he was disgusted, rubbing his forehead in disgust.

"It disgusts me every time I see you picking your nose like a girl. Can't you be a little more mindful of your image?"

Riyao chuckled and cheekily flicked a booger onto Gray, the movement fluid and graceful. After flicking it, he even blew on his fingers.

"You!"

Gray reflexively started taking off his clothes, only to find that they were gone, leaving him in just a pair of shorts.

He paused for a moment, then quickly looked around for clothes, completely forgetting about the booger, and searched the entire hall for a shirt.

Riyao watched Gray's retreating figure as he searched for clothes throughout the hall, and nodded in satisfaction.

Natsu lay on the table, his nose twitching as he sniffed like a puppy. The rich chocolate aroma wafting from the kitchen made his mouth water, and his lips glistened.

"It smells so good!"

He sniffed hard, then wrinkled his nose.

"Huh, what's that suffocating smell mixed in? It's both fragrant and foul, how strange."

Riyao chuckled and explained slowly.

"That's normal, because Erza was in there too. That suffocating smell was her doing."

The expressions of those around him changed, and some fell silent.

Is that thing edible?!

Will it contaminate the other chocolates?

Erza's poisoned chocolate is mixed in with normal chocolate; whoever eats it is doomed.

Several men instinctively touched their throats, their faces turning pale.

As is a tradition in Fairy Tail, every Valentine's Day the girls in the guild make chocolates together, then put them all together for the male members to choose from, to see if they can pick the chocolate for their favorite person.

If you choose correctly, it's fate; if you choose incorrectly... well, good luck.

Actually, this custom was something that Riyao came up with by consulting with Makarov for some amusement.

Riyao thought Valentine's Day was too boring, so he went to Makarov and suggested that they hold a chocolate-picking contest to see if those idiots could guess the answer.

Makarov found the idea intriguing and thought it might even bring a couple together, so he readily agreed with a sparkle in his eyes.

The first two times, Riyao even sneaked in to make chocolates; the taste... well...

It was something Natsu couldn't forget. Every time he thought about it, he felt that even the burnt fish was a delicacy.

Because the chocolate made by Riyao is worse than burnt fish. It's not just bad, it's the kind of bad that makes you question your existence after just one bite.

Once, Natsu, not believing in superstition, took a big bite, and his face turned green for three whole days, even the fire he breathed was green.

Max stroked his chin thoughtfully, then his eyes lit up; his businessman's instincts told him he saw a business opportunity.

"Erza's chocolate... I might as well pick it out and sell it. It could be sold to the military as a biological weapon."

Makarov pressed his shoulder and said earnestly.

"We should keep the good stuff within the family; let's give it to our guild members. We should keep the best for ourselves."

Riyao mercilessly exposed Makarov's lies, glancing at him sideways.

"The old man is clearly afraid of complaints, so he's choosing to sacrifice guild members. Using his own people as a shield, you're really something."

Makarov dodged the question, waving his hand dismissively as if he hadn't heard.

Don't worry about these little details.

The crowd cast disdainful glances at Makarov, their gazes unanimously fixed on him like a row of searchlights.

Makarov felt embarrassed by the stares; the old man blushed and quickly changed the subject, pointing to Riyao's face.

"Riyao, why did you only change your face? You look so ordinary now."

Riyao also gave Makarov a disdainful look, crossed his arms, and looked down at him.

"You old pervert, don't think I don't know what you're thinking? Dream on."

Everyone burst into laughter, Macao slapped his thigh and laughed heartily.

"The president might as well not have changed the subject; the more he tries to explain, the worse it gets."

Makarov was so angry his mustache stood on end.

You bunch of brats!

Natsu smelled the chocolate wafting from the kitchen, and the more he smelled it, the more his mouth watered.

He looked around and, finding no one paying attention to him, quietly slid off the chair, bent over, tiptoed, and crept to the kitchen door like a cat stealing cream.

Just as he reached out to push the door open, a longsword "whooshed" out from the crack in the door, grazing Natsu's forehead, shaving off several strands of his hair, and embedding itself deeply into the wall behind him.

Erza's voice came from inside the door, cold and devoid of any warmth.

"Natsu, if you dare steal food, I'll hang you in the hall and whip you for three days and three nights!"

Natsu shuddered in fright, chuckled sheepishly, took two steps back, and raised his hands above his head in surrender.

"I won't steal, I'm just passing by!"

He turned to slip back, but as he backed away, he bumped into someone whose chest was hard as a rock.

Natsu turned around and saw Jet standing against the wall, looking as tense as if he were on a stealth mission.

Before Natsu could speak, he noticed Troy standing next to Jet, also pressed against the wall, looking uneasy.

Looking further to the side, Alzack was squatting in the corner, Nab pretending to look at the commission board on the wall, and Wakaba was puffing on his pipe...

Several people were lurking suspiciously near the kitchen entrance, each with their own thoughts. No one spoke, but everyone knew exactly what they were doing.

Natsu glanced at the row of people and his lips twitched.

"What are you doing...?"

Jet explained in a low voice.

I'll just check Levy has come out.

Troy whispered, "Me too."

Alzack blushed and squatted down even lower.

"I... I was just passing by."

Wakaba stared at the order board without turning his head.

"I'm observing the commission."

Nab poked his head out from behind the pillar.

"I'm also looking at commissions."

Laughter and the clatter of dishes came from inside the kitchen. The men outside exchanged glances, none daring to take another step closer.