Trouble Brews

"Hisui! You red egg! Give Mira back to me!"

The Riyao's rays boomed through the palace corridors, the echoes striking the stone walls and bouncing several times.

Arcadios gripped Riyao's arm tightly with both hands, his shoes screeching on the paving stones as he was dragged forward half a meter.

"Brother Riyao... calm down... calm down..."

"Dark-faced uncle, your princess has gone too far!"

With a flick of his arm, Riyao nearly sent Arcadios flying, but he stumbled a couple of steps before quickly grabbing back.

"They actually kidnapped my Mira! How am I going to sleep tonight?!"

"Well..."

Let's rewind ten minutes.

Princess Hisui hugged Mirajane tightly, wrapping her arms around Mirajane's waist and burying her face in her shoulder, nuzzling against her.

"Mira, let's sleep together tonight. I'll tell you about the interesting things that happened during these past seven years."

Her voice was soft and drawn out, completely different from the dignified princess she usually was.

"OK."

Mirajane agreed without much thought and patted Princess Hisui on the back.

The two chatted as they walked toward the princess's bedroom, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, their laughter drifting over intermittently.

Princess Hisui leaned her head on Mirajane's shoulder, hanging on her body. She took a few steps and almost tripped over her skirt, then quickly adjusted her pace.

She even turned back and gave Riyao a sly smile.

Riyao stood there, stunned.

His mouth was slightly open, his eyes were wide open, and his fingers were still in the same position as when he was trying to hold Mirajane's hand, hanging in mid-air, motionless.

"And what about me?!"

The sound echoed twice in the corridor, but no one paid any attention to him.

Arcadios sighed, rubbing his forehead. He slid his hand from his forehead to his chin, wiping his entire face, his expression filled with helplessness.

Princess, is your plan for a good night's sleep really reliable?

"Brother Riyao, the princess has no other choice."

Arcadios lowered his voice, leaned closer, and his mustache moved in sync with his lips.

"You guys stayed up too late last night."

"So what? This bed isn't that big..."

"But you two were making a ruckus all night."

Arcadios interrupted him, his tone slightly harsher, his brow furrowed, and several deep lines appeared on his forehead.

"The princess was listless the next day; she had dark circles under her eyes and was unsteady on her feet."

"Uh... okay."

Riyao sighed, his shoulders slumped, his head drooped, and he looked half a head shorter.

Arcadios wiped the sweat from his forehead, rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, and shook it twice.

Sweat splattered on the floor tiles, leaving a few dark spots.

Finally, they managed to calm the old man down.

Riyao took a few steps and then suddenly stopped.

He stomped his heel on the floor tiles.

"By the way, did you find that person from the future?"

"I haven't found him. I don't know where he's been these past few days."

Arcadios shook his head, his beard swaying from side to side.

"The search is still ongoing. The guards have turned the palace upside down, but they haven't found a trace of it."

"Can you sense how strong the other side is?"

"This..."

Arcadios pondered for a moment, then rubbed his fingers on his chin, causing his beard to bristle.

"Oh, right, we forgot to tell you, according to our investigation, he should be the future Rogue."

"That gloomy Rogue from Sabertooth?"

Riyao tilted his head, raised his eyebrows, and gave a half-smile.

"Yes, he's several times stronger than Rogue is now."

Arcadios lowered his voice even further, glancing around to make sure no one was nearby.

"Judging from his hair color, he seems to also possess Sting's White Dragon Slayer Magic."

"Uh... is it really that hasty?"

Riyao's lips twitched twice.

We didn't pay attention to these things at first.

Arcadios sighed, his shoulders slumped, and his tone carried a hint of regret.

"At the time, I was only thinking about the Eclipse Gate plan; I didn't care about any of this."

Riyao waved his hand, his palm waving twice in the air, and turned to walk towards his bedroom.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow I'll call three helpers to the palace. Don't worry about their status; they're more reliable than the Magic Council."

"Helper?"

Bang.

The bedroom door was already closed; the door panel shook, and dust fell from the door frame.

Arcadios left with a dark expression, his lips turned down, his footsteps heavy and echoing in the corridor.

In the hotel, Lucy) huddled in the darkness, with only a small desk lamp lit, its dim light just illuminating the diary on the table.

She bit the end of the pen, leaving the cap covered in teeth marks, and then scribbled down line after line of text.

Lucy) pushes the door open and presses the light switch with a click.

Why aren't you turning on the lights? What are you writing?

The light was so bright that Lucy) squinted. She quickly closed the diary, pressing her hand firmly against the cover.

"It's nothing, just a diary entry."

Lucy leaned closer, her body jutting out so that Lucy noses were almost touching, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Will I ever publish a novel?

Lucy) shrank back, waved her hand, and fanned herself twice with her palm.

"I can't say it, I can't say it. If I do, the future might change."

"Such a small thing should be fine, right?"

"If you knew that, you'd lose motivation."

Upon hearing this answer, Lucy pursed her lips, thought about it, and agreed.

Instead of dwelling on the issue, she plopped down on the bed, leaned back, and dangled her legs in the air, inquiring about other gossip.

A moment later, Levy also crawled in.

The door was pushed open a crack, and a head peeked in through the gap, glanced left and right, and then slipped inside.

"Big Lucy, Lucy Lulu, I was worried you were afraid of the dark, so I came to sleep with you."

"You'd better be."

The two Lucy spoke in unison, their voices overlapping, not a single word different.

The two looked at each other and burst out laughing at the same time. One covered his mouth and his shoulders shook, while the other tilted his head back and laughed until his eyes were squinted into slits.

Levy chuckled and, without any hesitation, jumped onto the bed, bouncing into the blankets and creating a large bulge.

The three of them crawled into bed, the blankets bulging, and huddled together, their heads huddled together, beginning their late-night gossip.

After a while, the room became lively.

Almost all the girls in the guild gathered around.

Lucy couldn't help but complain, peeking half her body out of the covers, her hair sticking up in a mess.

"Is it really appropriate for us to gather together and gossip in the middle of the night? We have a match tomorrow."

Erza didn't even look up, continuing to wipe the sword, sliding the cloth across the blade from left to right, then from right to left.

"Don't panic, don't panic. If I'm really too tired tomorrow, I'll ask Riyao for a Healing Magic."

Lucy sighed, rubbing her forehead, her hand sliding from her forehead to her chin, stretching her face long.

"Does Riyao know you treat his magic like coffee?"

Levy burrowed into the covers and mumbled a sentence.

"So what if he finds out? He can't out-argue all of us anyway."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a few muffled laughs came from under the covers, the blankets jiggling and bulging as they rose and fell.

Outside the window, on the streets of the capital, three figures moved through the night.

Meredy followed behind Ultear, her toes tapping against the roof tiles, which made a soft clicking sound.

Jellal landed on the other side, his cloak fluttering in the night wind, the fabric stretched taut by the wind.

The three of them swept through street after street, their eyes scanning every shadow and corner. Occasionally they would stop and whisper a few words before quickly separating to continue their search.

The moonlight cast their shadows, sometimes long, sometimes short, across the rooftop and walls, flashing by in an instant.

After leaving Sabertooth, Yukino was rejected by Lucy for the key and was recruited and protected by Arcadios.

Natsu's challenge to Sabertooth sparked a heated discussion throughout the guild.

In the capital of Fiore, a storm is brewing.