Herbal tea

Lucy waited and waited, tiptoeing and counting every stall Jason passed by, until finally Jason came up to her.

She straightened her back, flashed her brightest smile, and placed her hands clasped in front of her apron, ready to be interviewed. She had already rehearsed it countless times in her mind.

Jason was amazed by her beauty and asked her about her experience as a Celestial Spirit Mage. She answered gracefully, and the next day her name was on the front page of the weekly magazine.

Jason stood in front of the stall, his gaze sweeping across the area before settling on Natsu and Happy, at which point he jumped up excitedly.

"COOL! The legendary Fire Dragon Natsu! The flying kitten Happy!"

Natsu grinned at Jason, revealing a row of white teeth, while Happy flapped his wings and flew around Jason once.

Lucy danced with joy, waving her hands above her head, as if she wanted to jump right in front of Jason.

"And me! I'm here too! I'm from this stall too!"

Jason then noticed a woman dressed as a maid next to him, gave her a condescending glance, and nodded.

"Mmm, blonde maid."

That's it? Just the four words "blonde maid"?

Lucy felt like she'd been doused with ice water; she was completely deflated.

He crouched on the ground, injured, hugging his knees, tears streaming down his face, forming a small puddle on the ground.

"I'm Celestial Spirit Mage... I have the keys to the Twelve Gates of the Zodiac... so why am I just a blonde maid...?"

Virgo thoughtfully knelt down and gently patted Lucy's back to comfort her, her movements tender and meticulous.

"Your Highness, it's alright, the blonde maid is quite cute too."

Jason's gaze was suddenly drawn to Virgo, and he became so excited that his voice changed, and he almost dropped his laptop.

"COOL! The Virgo of the Twelve Gates of the Zodiac! Virgo! She actually saw Celestial Spirit with her own eyes!"

He circled around Virgo twice, writing furiously while muttering to himself.

"COOL! COOL! COOL!"

Lucy was even more hurt, squatting on the ground drawing circles. Even her own Celestial Spirit was cooler than her. What was she, a Celestial Spirit Mage, anyway?

Happy flew over, covering his mouth with his little paws, laughing so hard his tail was shaking.

"Lucy's a nobody, pfft! Even Virgo is more popular than Lucy!"

Lucy's eyes twitched twice, then she suddenly reached out and grabbed Happy, pinching Happy cheeks and wings with both hands, and chuckled sinisterly, the sound squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Hey cat, can I borrow your wings for a second?"

"Ahhh! Lucy's gone mad! Help!" Happy struggled desperately, his little paws flailing wildly in the air.

Virgo continued to gently pat Lucy's back.

"Your Highness, please be more reserved."

Natsu, completely oblivious to the chaos, stood in front of the grill, took a deep breath, and his chest puffed out.

Then it suddenly opened its mouth, and a burst of flame shot out, precisely engulfing the blackback bass on the grill.

The flames were at the perfect temperature, the fish skin sizzled as it roasted, the oil dripping onto the charcoal crackled, and the aroma instantly filled the air.

"Fire Dragon Grilled Fish!" Natsu proudly held up the grilled fish.

Jason was so shocked by what he saw that he was speechless. The words on the notebook were crooked and illegible, and his hands were shaking like a leaf.

"COOL! COOL! Dragon Slayer's flames can actually be used to grill fish! This is practically a legendary cooking method!"

Natsu handed Jason the slightly charred blackback bass. The aroma was irresistible; the skin was golden and crispy, and the flesh was snow-white and tender.

Jason took the grilled fish, carefully took a bite, and the sweetness and smoky aroma of the fish exploded in his mouth, paired with the slightly charred skin, creating distinct layers of flavor.

"COOL! Dragon-Slaying Grilled Fish with Thai Chili! This is the coolest fish I've ever eaten in my life!"

Natsu chuckled, stuffed a piece into his mouth, and chewed it until his mouth was greasy.

Lucy watched Jason leave with a look of utter disappointment. Her carefully prepared stall had been completely ignored; her maid outfit had been wasted; her self-introduction had been prepared in vain; and he hadn't even remembered her name.

"I hate this world." Lucy lay sprawled on the stall, utterly dejected.

Jason happily headed to the next stall, still savoring the taste of the Dragon Slayer Grilled Fish. As he walked, his eyes lit up again, and he almost bumped into the people in line ahead of him.

"COOL! Weekly No. 1 Girl, Demon Mirajane! Fairy Tail's mascot Lisanna! The beast-like man Elfman!"

Mirajane changed into a gentle, girl-next-door style today. A beige dress made her look extremely sweet, and the hem of the dress swayed gently in the breeze, a stark contrast to her usual cool and edgy look.

She stood behind the stall, greeting customers with a smile, her gentleness like a spring breeze.

"Hey, isn't this Jason?"

Mirajane recognized the weekly magazine reporter, smiled, and handed her a delicate little cake, sprinkled with golden crumbs and emitting a rich aroma.

"Here, have a small cake. It's durian flavored, a new recipe I developed."

Lisanna was also wearing the same dress. The two sisters looked so good together; one was gentle and elegant, and the other was sweet and lovely. They looked like they had stepped out of a painting.

She handed Jason a cup of fruit tea, in which colorful pieces of fruit floated and swayed in the tea, while ice cubes clinked against the sides of the cup.

"This fruit tea is made from fruit grown on my brother-in-law's farm. The flavor is random, and it also has beauty and skin-nourishing effects!"

Elfman squatted on the ground cleaning the fruit, his hands covered in juice. He peeled the apples, cut the oranges into pieces, and removed the seeds from the grapes with a serious expression. His movements were rough but surprisingly meticulous.

"A real man cleans fruit! He handles every single piece of fruit with the spirit of a man!"

A crowd had gathered in front of the stall, some drawn by the sisters' good looks, standing nearby peeking at them while holding small cakes, their faces as red as apples.

Another reason is the fruit tea here, which is said to have beauty and skin-nourishing effects, causing female customers to line up in long queues.

Jason took a sip of fruit tea; the cool, sweet tea, infused with the fresh aroma of fruit, slid down his throat, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

I took another bite of the durian mini cake. The rich durian flavor and the creamy smoothness blended together in my mouth, sweet but not cloying, fragrant but not cloying.

"COOL!! The fruit in these is so juicy! What kind of fruit is this?! It's so delicious!"

Mirajane covered her mouth and chuckled.

"These are fruits grown on our own estate, enhanced by Riyao's magical catalysis; they are more nutritious than fruits available in the market."

Jason scribbled furiously, writing the words "magic-catalyzed fruit" heavily in his notebook.

Jason finished his fruit tea, looked at the stall next door, and shouted excitedly, almost throwing his cup away.

"COOL! The Kingdom's Number One Healing Mage! Riyao!"

Riyao sprawled on a rocking recliner like an old man, legs crossed, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan in one hand and holding a cup of cool tea in the other, the recliner creaking and groaning.

His stall was the most rudimentary in the entire area, with a few insulated buckets on a folding table and a handwritten cardboard sign standing upright on it, the handwriting crooked and messy.

Don't miss out! Roasted sweet potatoes, tea eggs, crispy sausages, and self-service herbal tea are all available.

Roasted sweet potatoes were piled up next to a simple charcoal stove, steaming hot; tea eggs were soaking in soy sauce soup; crispy sausages were rotating on the grill; and herbal tea was stored in several large insulated containers, each labeled with its own health benefits, with a stack of paper cups beside them.

The entire stall looked like a random roadside food stand, a stark contrast to the exquisite little cake stall next door, Mirajane.

Mirajane walked over, bent down to flip the sausages on the grill for Riyao to prevent them from burning, and then poked Riyao's forehead helplessly.

"What happened to 'amazing everyone'? Didn't you say yesterday you were going to make a dish that would impress everyone?"

Riyao rolled over, the recliner creaked, and he fanned himself even more leisurely with the palm-leaf fan.

"You'll be amazed after just one sip of herbal tea."

Upon hearing this, Jason poured himself a cup of iced tea. The brownish-red tea swayed gently in the paper cup, emitting a refreshing herbal aroma.

He tilted his head back and gulped it down.

Then his whole face contorted, his features scrunched up, as if he had been attacked by both a lemon and a bitter melon at the same time.

He trembled all over, tears welled in his eyes, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but the bitterness sealed his vocal cords.

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"Bitter! Cool!"

Riyao calmly fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan, without even raising his head.

"If it's bitter, go next door and have some small cakes. That'll neutralize it."

Mirajane was both amused and exasperated. He looked at Riyao's old-man-like demeanor, then at Jason's contorted face, and sighed helplessly.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Riyao chuckled, poked his head out of the recliner, and gave Jason a thumbs up.

"Good medicine tastes bitter, but it's good for the disease. This herbal tea of mine has more than a dozen herbs added, and the one for kidney deficiency is almost empty, hehe."

It took Jason a while to recover from the bitterness, and he wrote in his notebook with trembling hands.

"The kingdom's number one healing mage's herbal tea is so bitter it'll make your soul leave your body, but it's said to be very healthy."

He glanced at the roasted sweet potatoes and tea eggs on Riyao's stall, hesitated for a moment, and then took a roasted sweet potato.

Peel back the charred skin to reveal golden sweet potato flesh inside, steaming hot. Take a bite, and it's soft, sweet, and delicious.

"COOL! This roasted sweet potato is actually pretty good!"

Riyao nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right, I baked it for forty-nine minutes."

Mirajane rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, "You've been sleeping on the recliner for half an hour, and Elfman was the one who turned the sweet potato over for you."

Jason quietly took another cup of herbal tea.