We're Home

In Earth-land, above Magnolia, a rain of cat-like creatures began to fall.

Countless Exceed descended from the sky, pouring down like beans, their tiny, furry figures filling the entire expanse.

The cats weren't quite used to their new surroundings in Earth-land yet.

Their innate Wing Magic became erratic; some spun around in the air, while others kicked wildly and fell, meowing in panic.

"Everyone, calm down, our Wing Magic hasn't failed."

Queen Shagotte had anticipated this, and her voice carried steadily throughout the hall.

Hearing the sound, all the cats calmed themselves down, spread their wings again, and flew around in the sky.

A vast expanse of vibrant colors—white, black, orange, and floral—with cats flying everywhere, it was quite a sight to behold.

"Wuhu! The magic here is so abundant, meow!"

"But we can't go home, meow."

"Idiot, why are you saying such discouraging things at a time like this, meow!"

"Where's Nobita? He's still holding my dorayaki!"

"Man~"

Riyao landed first, reaching out to catch Mirajane steadily and gently placing her on the ground.

We're home.

"OK."

Wendy plummeted straight down, flailing her arms and legs in the air. When she saw Riyao below, tears welled up in her eyes, and she cried out in despair.

"Brother Riyao! Help me!"

Riyao's tail extended and curled out, catching Little Wendy steadily and gently placing her on the ground.

"Oh, isn't this my guard?"

"Stop talking..."

Wendy covered her face, her ears were so red they could fry an egg on them, and she curled up into a ball, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

The incident of shouting slogans in the capital was embarrassing enough, but now I have to be ridiculed by Brother Riyao to my face.

Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, the three rough-looking men, fell one after another.

"Ah!" x3

Three muffled thuds echoed as the impact created a large crater in the ground, sending dust flying.

Erza landed precisely on the three of them, her armor—which she had somehow donned—slamming into them and causing them to howl in pain.

"Ah!"

"Ah!!"

"Ah!!"

Erza saw Lucy fall, stretched out her hands, and caught Lucy just in time to fall.

A princess carry, perfectly steady.

Their faces were very close.

Lucy's breath hitched when she saw Erza's handsome face so close to hers, and her face flushed red.

Riyao appeared silently behind Lucy and clicked his tongue in a teasing tone.

"They're having an affair~"

"Ah!! You bastard, Riyao, don't suddenly appear behind me!! And don't imitate Happy!!"

Lucy was so startled she almost jumped out of Erza's arms, her hands unconsciously tightening around Erza's neck.

Happy spread his hands innocently.

"That was taught to me by Riyao, not by me."

"You two are evenly matched!" Lucy huffed.

Gajeel climbed out of the pit and scurried among the cats, searching for Lily.

During the trip, I accidentally bumped into a few female kittens and got hit hard by their paws several times, leaving several bright red claw marks on my face.

But he didn't care and kept digging, determined not to give up until he got what he wanted.

"Black cat! Where are you?! Come be my cat!"

Riyao retracted his Azure Dragon Form and leaned lazily against Mirajane, as if he had no bones, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm exhausted, Mira, can you carry me back?"

You'd better be too weak.

Mirajane said this, but let him lean on her, her tone both helpless and indulgent.

Riyao grinned and hugged her waist tightly, their heads close together, completely oblivious to those around them.

Lucy, who was not far away, watched the two of them, and her lips twitched.

"Can you guys tone it down a bit?"

"Why don't you just find someone? Then you can be all lovey-dovey like us every day."

Riyao didn't even look up, lightly piercing Lucy's heart, and Mirajane chuckled softly.

At this moment, everyone's hands started twitching like lucky cats.

Human-to-human transmission has also occurred.

This problem is definitely something he caught from Nadi.

"Did we catch it from that long, black cat?!"

Lucy's right hand twitched, and she couldn't help but complain.

"Haha, I think this is quite interesting."

Natsu grinned broadly, his hands twitching with extra vigor.

"Yeah, it's good to be silly once in a while."

Erza nodded, her hands moving in rhythm with the movement.

"It feels weird, I can't seem to stop."

Gray said that, but he kept up with the pace very quickly, competing with Natsu to see who could draw more skillfully.

"What kind of strange fetish is this?"

Mirajane looked puzzled, but her hands had already joined in automatically.

"It's just that long, black cat's peculiar habit; maybe it's a lucky cat."

Riyao explained, and his own hand began to twitch.

"I also saw a cat that looked exactly like Mr. Ichiya..."

Wendy shared her unusual discovery in a low voice, her hand twitching slightly in response.

"Really?!" Everyone turned to look at Wendy.

Gajeel is the only one who doesn't use his ultimate, isolating himself from everyone else.

He was so busy looking for the black cat Lily that he ignored everything else, burying himself in the cats like an excavator.

Happy and Carla, two cats, bid farewell to the Exceed and flew back to their companions.

"Aye!"

Mirajane leaned close to Riyao's ear and whispered.

"Should we take a kitten home? They're fluffy and cute, and easy to pet."

"Hmm~ But these are all so ugly. Look at those, they look like an old man. Forget about them."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cats at Riyao's feet silently lowered their heads and walked away.

That's so hurtful to the cat.

How could you say such a thing in front of a cat?

That's outrageous!

Mirajane looked around but didn't find a cat that caught her eye, so she gave up on the idea.

I was originally thinking of bringing a few back to exploit... to help manage the farm, and I could pet the cats when I had free time.

These little creatures are fluffy, but... their looks are a bit lacking.

Never mind, the Riyao looks better.

At that moment, the shrunken Lily emerged from the group of cats, dragging his large sword.

Against the backdrop of the broadsword, his small stature looked particularly comical.

He looked up at Gajeel.

"Hey, do you still stand by what you said? I want to join His Highness's guild and see what it's like."

Gajeel looked down at Lily, who had shrunk considerably, and stared blankly for a long while.

Who are you?

"I am Panther Lily! The black cat you fought on the floating island! Did you get hit on the head and lose your memory?!"

"How did you shrink?!"

"This is energy-saving mode, is there a problem?"

Gajeel scooped up Lily and rubbed his face against hers, causing Lily to struggle and Lily.

"Hehe, I'm a dragon with a cat now! Only that bastard Riyao doesn't have one!"

Riyao held Mirajane and spoke softly.

"I have Mira! It's fragrant and soft."

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Lucy said expressionlessly, "Riyao, that's enough."

Riyao confidently, "I'm stating the facts."

Mirajane couldn't help but chuckle and reached out to ruffle Riyao's hair.