Climbing Out the Window

Riyao skillfully climbed out the window, braced himself against the windowsill, and with a push of his foot, his figure disappeared into the night.

After a while, he led Mirajane in through the main gate, the two walking side by side through the palace's main entrance at a leisurely pace.

As he passed by the gatekeepers A and B, he held his head high, chin up, nostrils pointing at the two of them, looking extremely arrogant.

He swayed his head left and right a couple of times, as if inspecting soldiers.

The goalkeeper, A and B, remarked that it was getting dark.

Riyao and Mirajane arrived at the prepared room, right next to the Princess Hisui's.

Pushing open the door, the room was spacious, with deep purple velvet curtains and a neatly made bed.

He threw himself onto the bed and rolled around, sinking into the mattress and rubbing his face against the blanket.

"Great, I can finally hold you while I sleep. I couldn't sleep at all last night, tossing and turning."

"Really? I slept very soundly."

Mirajane sat on the edge of the bed, her hands supporting her on the edge, a smirk playing on her lips.

The two wrestled for a while, pillows flying around, and then rolled together, laughing so hard they couldn't catch their breath.

The lights are off...

The sun was high in the sky when sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a golden line on the floor.

The second day of the Seilah.

As Princess Hisui walked out to the arena, she stood in the corridor, her resentful eyes and dark circles accusing the two of them.

There were two dark circles under his eyes, and the edges of his hair were sticking up, indicating that he hadn't slept well all night.

Riyao chose to ignore her glare, staring straight ahead and taking large, quick strides, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Mirajane smiled sheepishly and scratched her cheek with her fingers.

Princess Hisui felt things couldn't go on like this. She stared at the two figures as they left, and a plan popped into her mind.

Riyao felt a chill run down his spine, and a cold wind swept across the back of his neck.

He shrank back, quickened his pace, and pulled Mirajane away from the palace, heading towards the arena.

Commentator Chapati passionately launched into his commentary, his voice booming from the loudspeaker and making the entire arena buzz.

"I'll be giving the explanation today! We've also invited Jason, the weekly magazine's star reporter, and former Congressman Mr. Yajima!"

Jason was so excited that he jumped up from his seat, waving his arms wildly in the air.

"Cool, cool!"

Yajima nodded slightly, his eyes narrowed into slits, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Good morning, everyone.

Chapati continued his commentary, raising his voice even higher.

"The theme of today's first match is 'Chariots'! Please select your participating players."

In the stands of the Fairy Tail Elite Team.

Gajeel knelt on the ground in the dogeza position, his forehead touching the ground, his hands flat on the ground, his whole body flattened.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime request, please, Wendy!"

Wendy looked at Riyao helplessly, her hands clasped together in front of her, her eyes pleading for help.

Riyao shrugged indifferently and nodded his chin toward Wendy.

Gajeel continued, his face still pressed against the ground, his voice muffled.

"That Fire Dragon guy is going to fight in this match, and I want to go up there and beat them up. Besides, you've already fought before, so give me a chance."

"So Mr. Gajeel wanted to go on stage, huh? That startled me."

Wendy breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

"If Riyao and the others have no objections, I don't care."

Gajeel turned to look at the other four, his neck snapping back quickly, his eyes filled with anticipation and nervousness.

Riyao indicated that he didn't care and that it was fine with him, spreading his palms out and raising his chin.

Mirajane listened to Riyao, took his arm, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Taking advantage of the situation, Cana extorted two barrels of wine from Gajeel, made a two with her fingers, and curled the corners of her mouth into a smile.

He was forced to agree, gritting his teeth as he nodded, his facial muscles twitching slightly.

Laxus nodded, crossed his arms, and slightly raised his chin.

"Just don't lose too badly."

Gajeel jumped off the stands, landing steadily, and turned back to wave at them.

"Don't worry, Thunder Dragon. I've got this game covered!"

After a while, everyone in Fairy Tail was speechless.

Their expressions were remarkably similar; the corners of their mouths were all turned down.

Three Dragon Slayer stood at the starting point, moving their feet with difficulty.

His feet were rubbing against the ground, his face was turning pale, sweat was pouring down his forehead, and his stomach was churning. Every step he took was a struggle against his body.

Gajeel's face was filled with disbelief, his eyes wide open, his mouth agape, and his expression contorted.

"Ugh... Why do I get motion sickness too?! Isn't that something only stupid Fire Dragons do?"

Sting smiled at Gajeel, a hint of sympathy in his eyes, but his steps were equally heavy.

"Hmm... Congratulations, Mr. Gajeel, on taking this step and becoming a true Dragon Slayer."

Natsu crawled with difficulty, using both his hands and feet, moving forward with his body close to the ground.

"I'll climb to the finish line even if it kills me."

The three of them struggled to move at the back, forming a line, their movements slow, as the runners behind them passed them one after another.

Riyao grinned from ear to ear, his mouth almost reaching his ears, and he slapped the railing of the stands with a loud thud.

"Haha, didn't these two idiots even think about why this is called Chariot? Too bad, if Gajeel hadn't stolen it, I was thinking of letting Laxus go up there."

Everyone else turned to look at Laxus, their heads snapping to him.

Laxus felt a little embarrassed by the stares, her face flushed slightly, and she scratched behind her ear with her fingers.

Please don't tell anyone else.

"We won't, because it's no longer needed."

These words made Laxus suddenly open his eyes, his eyelids snapping open and his pupils dilating.

Riyao had already reached the Fairy Tail stands, moving at incredible speed, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him.

You bastard!

Laxus's roar was deafening, the sound exploding in the arena and startling the spectators nearby who covered their ears.

Ignoring the noise, Riyao waved his hand near his ear, turned to the Fairy Tail group, and gave them a wicked smile.

"Let me tell you, Laxus also gets motion sickness. He stopped taking transportation to do quests and walked everywhere after that."

"I can't believe such a thing exists."

"He's kind of cute for some reason."

So Laxus was on a hiking trip during the time he was away?

The Fairy Tail members all burst into laughter, the laughter rising and falling, some slapping the table, others clutching their stomachs.

Laxus huddled in a corner, curled up in a ball, his face buried in his knees, unwilling to face reality.

Cana patted his shoulder, pressed her palm against his shoulder twice, and spoke in a comforting tone.

"Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. Have a drink, and you'll forget about it."

As she spoke, she took out a bottle of mineral water, which shimmered in the sunlight.

Open the bottle opening and unscrew the cap.

A strong smell of alcohol spread and instantly filled the entire stands.

Mirajane tapped Cana on the head and flicked her forehead with her finger, making a crisp snapping sound.

Then he reached out and confiscated the flammable mineral water, stuffing it into his own pocket.

No drinking.

"Oh, even if I'm drunk, Riyao can cure my drunkenness."

"Dream on! No drinking means no drinking."

Cana, unwilling to give up, clung to Mirajane, wrapping her arms around Mirajane waist and rubbing her face against her shoulder.

Riyao returned with a handful of melon seeds, piling them up in his palm to form a small hill.

"What's going on here? Sure enough, Cana, you bastard, you've been eyeing my Mira all along!"

He stepped forward, pried Cana off, grabbed her wrist with his fingers, and pulled her off Mirajane. He then hugged Mirajane tightly with his arms around her.

"Go away, go play somewhere else."

"You bastard, then make Mira give me back my wine!"

Cana stomped her foot, making a loud thud on the ground, her face full of resentment.

What kind of wine?

Riyao looked at Mirajane with a puzzled expression, his eyebrows furrowed.

Mirajane waved the mineral water bottle in her hand, the bottle swayed twice in the air, and the liquid inside rippled.

Riyao caught it, flipped his wrist, and tossed it to Cana. The bottle arced through the air before landing steadily in her arms.

"Let's drink after the match. Look at Bacchus from the Quatro Cerberus next door, he's so filthy."

All Quatro Cerberus turned to look at this direction, their heads snapping to the side.

Bacchus rolled his eyes, his pupils rolled upwards, and the corners of his mouth turned down.

"Riyao, if you run into me, I will definitely avenge what happened eight years ago!"

"It's all because you have bad drinking manners and say hurtful things."

Riyao rolled its eyes back, its eyelids twitching in perfect unison with Bacchus's.

"..."

Bacchus scratched his cheek awkwardly, ran his fingers across his face a couple of times, and looked away.

Wendy, curious about what had happened, tilted her head and blinked.

Mirajane spread his hands, palms up, and shrugged his shoulders.

"That's Bacchus of the Quatro Cerberus, known as the Drunken Hawk. Eight years ago, we bumped into him on our way to a commission. He was drunk, making suggestive advances at me, and then you know."

Wendy immediately imagined what would happen next, her lips twitched, and her gaze drifted to Bacchus, a hint of sympathy in her eyes.

It's probably a mixed doubles match.