The First Day of Competition Ends

After a day of competition, Fairy Tail Elite Team remained firmly in first place, while Raven Tail remained firmly in last place.

The group gathered in the tavern to celebrate. The wooden door was pushed open, and a crowd poured in, filling the entire tavern to capacity.

Makarov jumped onto the table, raised his glass above his head, bounced twice on the surface with his short body, and his voice was so loud that the whole tavern shook.

"Tonight's on me! You little brats, get this party started!"

The members all raised their glasses in response, the wine swirling in the glasses and splashing out quite a bit.

"Wow! It's on fire!"

"Give me two more barrels of Baihua wine!"

"We're drinking until we drop tonight!"

"You have a match tomorrow, don't drink too much."

Nobody listened to the last sentence.

The members' faces were beaming with joy, and they couldn't stop smiling.

Natsu grabbed a torch from the wall, sucked the flame into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it, with a few wisps of smoke still hanging from his lips.

Lucy pointed at Natsu, her finger twitching twice in mid-air.

"Don't eat the decorative torches on the wall!"

Juvia covered her face with her hands, but peeking through the gaps between her fingers at the shirtless Gray.

Gray's shirt was gone again, and he was clinking glasses with someone.

Ur put his arm around Juvia's shoulder from the side, draped his arm over her shoulder, and whispered in her ear.

"Oh, if you want to see it, just look!"

Juvia's face turned red from between her fingers to the roots of her ears.

Cana held the barrel upside down and gulped down the liquor.

The wine dripped down her chin and onto her clothes, but she didn't care.

Several people were lying face down around them, sprawled haphazardly between the tables and chairs.

Some people had their faces pressed against the table, some were lying face down on the bench, and one person was lying directly on the floor.

The tavern was booked out by Fairy Tail today.

Or rather, the tavern has been completely booked for the past few days, with a "Reserved" sign hanging at the entrance.

They weren't worried at all about other guests barging in.

Acquaintances from other guilds also came to join in the fun, pushing open the tavern door and squeezing into the crowd.

For example, Lyon came running over excitedly, and as soon as he entered, he looked everywhere for Juvia.

A large group of people were crammed into the tavern, creating a lively atmosphere.

The sounds of clinking glasses, laughter, and table-pounding mingled together, almost lifting the ceiling off the building.

Riyao wasn't in the tavern.

Because a large crowd had surrounded them, a dense, dark mass.

Riyao was scared away and escaped by climbing out the window.

Even when they first debuted, it was a gradual process; there weren't nearly as many people blocking the way as there are now, a dense, endless sea of people.

Following the marks left yesterday, Riyao passed through several dark alleys and arrived behind Future Lucy.

"Oh my, look what I've found!"

Future Lucy jerked her shoulders back, frantically pulled down her hood to cover her face, and hurried deeper into the alley.

"Sorry, you've mistaken me for someone else."

Riyao followed behind Future Lucy, his steps neither hurried nor slow, the soles of his shoes making a rhythmic clattering sound on the stone pavement.

She was faster than him, their pace quickening, the soles of their shoes scraping against the stone slabs with a soft rustling sound.

She turned a corner, and he followed, turning into a side road, and then into another side road.

In the Future Lucy didn't dare look behind her; her neck was stiff and she just kept walking forward with her head down.

Riyao deliberately let out a strange laugh, his voice low and echoing in the alley.

Future Lucy was about to cry; tears welled up in her eyes, and her fingers gripped the edge of the hood until her knuckles turned white.

She now has no Celestial Spirit Key, no River of Stars, is powerless, and has nothing to defend herself.

"Alright, Lucy, don't go."

Riyao called out to her, his tone returning to normal.

Future Lucy froze, her feet rooted to the spot.

She slowly turned her head, twisting her neck one notch at a time.

When she saw Riyao, her eyes widened and her mouth slightly opened.

"Riyao?!"

"It's me, Riyao, nicknamed 'Cold-Faced Little Azure Dragon'."

Riyao stood with his hands on his hips, chin raised, and a smug expression on his face.

Future Lucy's tears kept falling, one after another, rolling from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks, and dripping onto the stone floor.

"Riyao..."

Riyao scratched his head, ran his fingers over his scalp a couple of times, and looked a little lost.

Future Lucy staggered over, her steps unsteady, then grabbed Riyao and threw herself into his arms.

His shoulders were trembling.

Riyao froze, his hands hovering in mid-air, unsure of what to do.

He looked down at Lucy in his arms, then at his own hands.

He sighed, then lowered his hand and gently patted Lucy's back, his palm landing softly on her back.

When Lucy was almost done, her voice gradually faded.

"So, you're Lucy from the future, aren't you?"

"Um... yes."

In the Future Lucy wouldn't be at all surprised that Riyao would discover she came from the future.

She nodded, her voice still nasal.

"Judging from your reaction, it seems we're all doomed?"

Future Lucy wiped away her tears, rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, her eyes were red.

"Uh... yes, in the end I was the only one left."

Don't use my clothes to wipe your nose!

Riyao shoved Lucy's head away, placed his palm on her forehead, and pushed her an arm's length away.

Lucy sniffed, her nose twitched twice, and her voice was muffled.

He reached out and patted Lucy's head twice with his finger.

"By the way, what year are you from? How old are you this year? How are things going with Natsu? Do you have any children?"

Future Lucy froze, her entire body rooted to the spot, completely still.

Her pent-up urge to complain suddenly exploded, and her voice rose abruptly.

"Is this right? The story shouldn't be going this way! Shouldn't you ask me what's going to happen in the future, and then we can come up with a solution together?"

Riyao took out a handful of sunflower seeds, rummaged around in his pocket, grabbed a handful, and slowly started cracking them open.

Click, click, click, the rhythm is neither too fast nor too slow.

"The Eclipse Gate, ten thousand dragons."

How did you know?

Future Lucy was stunned, her eyes widening even further.

"The Princess Hisui told me, not the Eclipse Gate that you had Princess Hisui build?"

"How could that be! I came back to stop that door from opening!"

"So, there's another one who came back from the future."

Riyao spat out the sunflower seed shells, which drew an arc in the air before falling to the ground.

"Let me sort this out. So, you've released a giant dragon over there, right?"

"Um."

"So someone must have traveled from the distant future back to the present, bewitched Princess Hisui into opening the Eclipse Gate, releasing a dragon, which caused a dragon to appear in your future..."

He paused, then ran his fingers along his chin twice.

"It's a bit convoluted, but I think I understand now."

Why don't you doubt me?

Future Lucy.

"We're partners."

Riyao spoke casually, his tone flat, his face expressionless.

"Besides, time travel has already happened before, didn't your mom Layla tell you about it?"

"???"

In the Future Lucy's expression changed from sadness to confusion; her eyebrows furrowed, her mouth agape, and her mind was filled with questions.

"Stop scratching your head, I'll take you to find Grandpa. It's too dangerous for you to stay outside alone, and you smell terrible, how long has it been since you showered?"

"Shut up!"

Riyao grabbed Lucy's wrist and led her towards the hotel where Makarov was.

He took such fast and long strides that Lucy had to jog to keep up.

Lucy was still a little worried, and she followed along while speaking softly.

"Won't this lead to an unpredictable future?"

"Isn't that better? Only through unpredictability can we find a way to break the deadlock."

The two sneakily climbed through the window into the old man's room, pried open the window, and climbed in one after the other, landing quietly on the floor.

Makarov had just finished showering and stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, his hair still dripping wet.

When he came out, he saw two dark figures crouching by the window, acting suspiciously.

"Hey! How dare you steal from my room!"

Makarov assumed a fighting stance, his fists clenched, and magic began to surge in his arms.

"Stop! It's me, Grandpa!"

Riyao quickly spoke up, raising both hands with palms facing outwards.

Makarov then realized it was Riyao and Lucy, and stopped his stance.

He touched his chin, rubbed his fingers together on it a couple of times, and glanced back and forth between the two of them.

"You can't steal, but you can't have an affair either! How could you do this to Mira?"

A big question mark popped up above Riyao's head, and the corner of his mouth twitched twice.

"You old bastard! What nonsense are you spouting?! I'm innocent, how dare you slander me! Prepare to die!"

Riyao pounced on him, grabbing Makarov's towel with both hands and pulling it down forcefully.

Makarov gripped the edge of the towel tightly, and the two remained locked in a stalemate.

"Let go!"

"Don't loosen it!"

Lucy stood to the side, sighing and covering her forehead with her hand, shaking her head.

But a slight smile played at the corners of her lips, and although her eyes were still red, a smile overflowed from them.

"Still the same old thing."