????

After a few minutes of meticulous cleaning, Riyao relaxed and couldn't help letting out a long breath into the air.

The breath carried the pungent aroma of freshly eaten garlic and wafted straight into Erza's face.

Erza's face instantly tensed, her lips pressed into a straight line. She forced herself to hold her breath, not daring to breathe deeply, and even the tip of her nose wrinkled slightly.

(´~`)

Riyao smelled it himself, but instead of showing the slightest embarrassment, he scratched the back of his head and grinned unabashedly.

"Ah, I had a bowl of bone broth noodles when I hurried back this morning, and ate a couple of cloves of sweet garlic pickled in the sauce jar with it. They were delicious, haha."

Then he reached out to straighten Erza's head and took the opportunity to give it two squeezes. Before Titania rose to prominence, shouldn't he make the most of the chance to pick on her?

"All right, don't tilt your neck. Hold that position. I'm going to pour in a potion to aid regeneration."

After instructing Erza, he turned toward the door and called out at the top of his lungs.

"Old man! Don't let that bunch of clumsy fools barge in and ruin my work for the next half hour!"

Makarov's lazy answer immediately came from outside, mixed with the old man's leisurely yawn.

"I know, I know. I'll get a stool and stand guard at the door. Anyone who barges in gets a knock on the head, so focus on your treatment!"

Only then did Riyao fish a vial of emerald-green potion out of his magic space. The bottle looked like an oversized eyedropper, and its label still bore his handwriting.

He unscrewed the cap, carefully aimed it at Erza's eye socket, and poured the cold potion in little by little along the bone. Before long, he had filled the entire socket to the brim, all the while holding the back of Erza's head steady, not daring to move it.

"It's a little itchy... Is that normal?" Erza couldn't help fluttering her eyelashes as she asked in a low voice.

"Mm, don't move. If it spills, I'll have to mix it again, and that's a lot of trouble."

As he finished speaking, a faint fluorescent green glow rose from Riyao's palm. Warm life force seeped from his hand into Erza's eye socket, and though his hands were busy, his mouth wasn't idle either. He smiled and teased her.

"Say, little Erza, how about I give you different-colored eyes? Scarlet on the left and emerald on the right. Everyone would turn to look at you when you walked by. It'd look much better than your original color. You really won't consider it?"

"Senior Riyao, there's no need to go to the trouble... My original color is just fine."

Erza hurriedly refused.

"You really won't consider it? It'd look amazing. All the girls in the guild would envy you."

"No."

Erza pursed her lips, her tone decisive.

"All right, all right."

Riyao clicked his tongue twice and came up with another dubious idea, sounding like a street vendor.

"Then how about a special ability instead? Do you want a foresight eye that can see the future, or a mind-reading eye that can see what people are thinking? Take your pick."

"Huh? You can add abilities like that? You can really do it?"

Erza took the bait, unable to resist asking in curiosity.

"Nope! Hahaha, just kidding!"

Riyao laughed so hard his shoulders shook.

Erza was instantly left speechless. As sleepiness crept over her, her voice grew faint and helpless.

"Senior... Riyao... You really do have... an awful sense of humor..."

"It's normal to feel sleepy. There's a sedative in the potion. Just close your eyes and get some sleep. By the time you wake up, it should be about done."

Riyao stopped laughing and softened his tone, even patting his chest as he made a promise.

"Don't worry. Your senior here is a proper gentleman. I absolutely won't take advantage of you."

Erza had only known him for half an hour, but she had already figured him out. Though he talked nonsense and liked teasing people, he wasn't bad at heart. So she relaxed and obediently closed her eyes.

But less than two seconds after she closed them, Riyao let out a wicked chuckle beside her ear, and Erza's eyes flew open in fright.

●_ㅍ

Riyao gave a theatrical cough, gently covered her eyelids with his hand, and closed them for her.

Then he wiped the smile from his face entirely and pushed his Healing Magic to its limit. The green light in his palm surged, and a rich, luminous blue-green mist slowly spread.

It dyed all the tables, chairs, and ornaments in the reception room a gentle emerald green, and the fresh scent of growing plants filled the room.

After nine times nine, or eighty-one, minutes, simple ingredients often needed only the simplest methods, and the fragrant braised beef noodles were ready.

Riyao sat comfortably at the bar with a bowl bigger than his face, one leg crossed over the other. He picked up some noodles and happily slurped them down, the repeated slurping making the people nearby swallow in spite of themselves.

Makarov, who had been waiting outside long enough to get hungry, hurried over with a bowl of his own and slurped noodles alongside him. After eating a big piece of beef, he wiped his mouth and tilted his head toward the reception room.

"That girl's been asleep for almost an hour and a half, and there's still no sign of her stirring? About how long until she wakes up?"

Riyao finished slurping down a chopstickful of broth-coated noodles and took a gulp of hot soup before casually lifting his eyes.

"She'll wake up naturally when she's done sleeping."

Makarov bristled with anger, banging his chopsticks against the rim of his bowl as he laughed and scolded, "You little brat, that's as good as saying nothing. What else would that be but nonsense?"

"Oh, how would I know how long she'll sleep? Erza hasn't had a good night's sleep in a long time, so I simply made it stronger to let her get a good rest."

Hearing that, Makarov's smile faded a little. He picked up his glass, took a sip of aged liquor, and sighed, his tone softening.

"You're right. That child has suffered enough since she was little. It's good that she can sleep soundly for once."

No sooner had the two finished speaking than an uproar suddenly broke out at the other end of the guild. Magic flew everywhere, and all manner of cups, plates, bowls, and chopsticks were sent flying through the air, hurtling straight toward them.

"Hahahahaha!"

Riyao turned to look at Makarov.

"Old man, could you stop laughing so weirdly? It's creepy."

"What? I wasn't laughing."

Riyao didn't continue the banter. He had just been about to slurp up his last mouthful of noodles when an empty glass mug struck him squarely on the back of the head, giving him no time to dodge.

The blow was so hard it shoved half his face into the bowl, covering it in noodles and hot soup.

The next second, he jerked his head up, broth dripping from his oily bangs. His normally languid gaze turned as sharp as a drawn blade, and his whole bearing changed in an instant. The hunt had begun.

(#`皿´)

He tore the noodle stuck to the tip of his nose away and rolled up his sleeves, grinding his teeth.

"Fine! Fine! If I don't hang you all on the guild's outer wall as decorations today, I'll write my name backward!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he leaped up with a yell and charged into the chaotic crowd, instantly getting tangled up with the two who had started it all.

The sounds of laughter and cries of battle nearly lifted the roof, making the lively atmosphere unique to Fairy Tail even more boisterous.

Makarov slurped up his last mouthful of noodles and sighed. He looked at the brawling crowd, ready to step in and put a stop to them when they endangered guild property.