Shattered for Peace

Remembering how unlucky he had been at the guild, Riyao weighed his options in secret and decided to speak up, offering to take Erza on her first job.

"Old man, Erza hasn't done her first job yet, has she? By our guild's old rules, a veteran always takes a rookie on their first job. How about letting me take her?"

Makarov narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard. He couldn't have thought of a better arrangement, so he nodded at once.

"In that case, I'll allow it. Erza, go pick a suitable job."

With the master's approval, Erza immediately straightened her back. Her expression was utterly solemn, and her voice rang out with conviction.

"I'll never betray your trust, Master!"

With that, she hurried toward the job board, her steps light and a little eager.

Riyao, meanwhile, hunched his shoulders and carefully hid behind Gildarts, grumbling inwardly, There's always some scoundrel out to get this emperor.

Gildarts looked at him cowering there and raised an eyebrow helplessly. "Riyao, you little brat, did you do something wicked out there? Like toy with some girl's feelings? You're awfully unlucky today."

Riyao looked up and rolled his eyes without the slightest restraint. "You old geezer, do you think everyone goes around flirting like you, only for their own daughter to show up at the door looking for her father?!"

Cana immediately chimed in, letting out a sigh of feigned grievance.

"That's right. Poor, lonely me traveled over mountains and rivers to find the guild, and that bastard father of mine didn't even recognize me. Someone else had to remind him before he realized who I was. How heartbreaking."

Gildarts was at a loss, scrambling to comfort his daughter before turning to glare fiercely at Riyao.

As he glared, a little of his powerful magic leaked out beyond his control. An invisible pressure suddenly bore down on Riyao, slamming him flat against the floor.

But Gildarts showed no guilt whatsoever. Instead, he planted his hands on his hips and burst out laughing.

"Hey, hey, hey! You did that on purpose, you old geezer! Rein in your magic! Are you trying to murder the future pillar of the guild?!"

"Pillar? More like an unlucky idiot."

Riyao finally managed to free his upper body from the magical pressure and brushed the dust off himself, looking indignant.

"I've been minding my own business at the guild, and all this happened out of nowhere today. What am I supposed to do about it?!"

Meanwhile, Erza had already picked a job and hurried over to hand it to Makarov.

The master took the request and narrowed his eyes as he examined it for a moment. Finally, he nodded and approved it.

Riyao was still on the floor bickering with Gildarts when Erza came over with the request. He had no choice but to fall silent, then cheerfully followed her out toward the job site.

Riyao took the request first and quickly scanned its contents: clear out the monsters in an abandoned mine outside the city. Shadow Spiders and Ore-Devouring Giant Rats were known to have taken up residence there.

The mine had been abandoned and neglected for so long that monsters had taken it over. Every night, they emerged from the cave and attacked passing travelers.

The bounty wasn't particularly generous, but it came with an additional reward: a suit of armor and a matching longsword.

After reading it, Riyao handed the request back to Erza while twisting aside just in time to avoid the dirty water thrown out of a nearby shop.

The shopkeeper, Wendemu, poked his head out and waved his hands apologetically. "Sorry, sorry, little Riyao. I didn't notice anyone passing by."

Riyao waved it off. "It's all right, Uncle Wendemu."

The two walked side by side toward the outskirts of the city. As Riyao kept a wary eye out for the little mishaps that kept cropping up, he casually asked, "Nervous about your first job?"

Erza gripped the sword at her waist. Her gaze was serious, though it held a trace of inexperience.

"A little, but I'm more excited than anything. I want to use my own strength to complete a job for Fairy Tail."

"Don't worry. With me here, those Shadow Spiders and Ore-Devouring Giant Rats won't cause any trouble."

Riyao thumped his chest, only for his foot to slip as soon as he finished speaking. He nearly stepped into a small puddle by the road and hurriedly caught his balance.

The smile on Erza's lips grew a little wider.

"Senior, you look... even busier than the monsters."

"Hey, that's not my fault. My luck's just off today."

Riyao pursed his lips.

"Once we get inside the mine, you'll see what I'm like when I'm dependable."

"Yes, I believe you, Senior."

Erza nodded gently, looking toward the hazy gray mine in the distance.

"Let's hurry. The sooner we clear out the monsters, the sooner people traveling at night can feel safe."

Riyao felt uncomfortable all over, as if someone were watching his every move. One misfortune after another kept finding him.

Fortunately, he had been prepared and narrowly avoided most of the unexpected mishaps.

On the outskirts of Magnolia.

Erza deliberately kept about three meters away from Riyao, suppressing a smile as she spoke softly. "Senior Riyao, would you like to clean the dog poop off your shoes in the stream over there?"

"You're obviously laughing at me. I can see it. I never thought you were like this, Erza."

Riyao replied irritably.

He couldn't figure out why his bad luck hadn't let up since he'd left the guild. He couldn't even help wondering if someone from his hometown had come specifically to mess with him using some kind of cheat.

The thing was, he hadn't gone looking for anyone from his hometown. Could the person backing Nildo Longra be one of them?

If that were true, he was done for. He didn't know how to use a boomerang.

Riyao shook his head and stopped letting his imagination run wild. If it were true, he had no clues at the moment anyway.

And if it weren't, there was even less reason to waste his thoughts on it.

Just then, as Erza turned around, the battered longsword hanging at her waist suddenly swung around and struck Riyao squarely in a vital spot.

Riyao's legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees. His eyes went blank as he murmured weakly, "Shattered for peace..."

Erza immediately panicked. She hurried over, at a loss, and asked repeatedly, "Senior Riyao, are you all right? Are you all right?"

Are we going to have to call each other sisters from now on... like hell we are! Riyao roared inwardly. He hurriedly channeled the Healing Magic inside him, barely managing to recover and get back on his feet.

He stood up as if nothing had happened and spoke with forced composure. "I'm fine, go play with a yo-yo. It's just a little fatal injury, no big deal."

"You just about got a chance to take advantage of me, and we almost had to call each other sisters. What's the big deal?"

Erza carefully stepped forward to support him. Full of guilt, she promised she would be more careful from then on.

The two finally reached the entrance to the abandoned mine. It was pitch-black inside, so dark they couldn't see their own hands, and an eerie chill drifted out.