Aha Moment
Erza gently touched her eyelid with her fingertips. A pang of guilt stirred in her heart as a possibility took shape in her mind, making her nose sting slightly.
She immediately straightened up, then bent at the waist and bowed solemnly to Riyao with her eyes lowered. Her voice was full of unmistakable sincerity. "Thank you, Senior Riyao."
The corner of Riyao's eye twitched twice before he hurriedly stepped aside to avoid her overly solemn bow. He teased her with a hint of resignation.
"Oh, I'm 'senior' again? It wasn't that big a deal, so don't worry about it."
Riyao, the honest man, said, "Besides, that might not even be the reason. I don't have the power to see the future. Maybe it was something else."
Makarov rubbed his graying beard, frowning slightly as he sank into thought. He suddenly remembered the bottle of "eye drops" he had prepared long ago.
The others in the guild whispered among themselves, looking half convinced and half skeptical. After all, the idiot trait had always been contagious around here.
But there was a real genius among them. Levy pushed up her glasses, light glinting across the lenses, and spoke with the confidence of someone who had it all figured out.
"According to the records you just mentioned, Precognition Magic should have helped that mage avoid danger, but he only lasted a day."
"Something's fishy. That mage saved his entire hometown, affecting a huge number of people and having an enormous impact, so the accident he faced was more severe too."
"Riyao accidentally altered the future of Erza's eye, which affected far less, so the accident was much less severe too."
Riyao immediately gave her a thumbs-up, his eyes shining with agreement as he nodded vigorously. Then he rubbed his hands together, a hint of mischievous anticipation in his eyes.
"Come to think of it, the records didn't mention a name for this curse, did they?"
Gildarts scratched his messy hair and tilted his head in thought for two and a half seconds before giving a vague answer.
"I didn't see one. Maybe it had one originally, but the records were incomplete. I filled in what I just told you based on the context."
"How about calling it the 'Aha Moment'?" Riyao grinned, a sly gleam in his eyes.
Cana idly toyed with the cards in her hand and rolled her eyes, sounding rather unimpressed.
"What kind of ridiculous name is that? And why name it in the first place? Aren't you afraid a god will give you another 'surprise'?"
Makarov gave Riyao a complicated look. He knew it definitely hadn't been an "accident," but Riyao didn't want to talk about it, and he had no intention of exposing him.
While everyone continued arguing about "gods," Erza carefully took out an exquisite strawberry cake box. The moment she opened the lid, the faint scent of cream and the sweet fragrance of strawberries wafted out.
She held the cake with a look of reluctance, yet her expression was utterly sincere. Her fingers gripped the plate tightly, and she hesitated for a long time before offering it to Riyao.
"This is my thank-you gift."
Riyao unceremoniously reached out and gripped the cake plate, his fingertips already touching its cool porcelain rim. A triumphant smile spread across his face.
"Then I'll gladly accept. Let go."
"You have to treat it well." Erza pursed her lips, still holding on.
"Don't worry. It'll live a happy life in my stomach." Riyao raised an eyebrow.
"It's a limited edition I stood in line for half an hour to buy!" Erza stressed, her voice full of affection for it.
"Uh-huh, I know, I know. I'll enjoy every bite." Riyao nodded vigorously.
"I couldn't even bring myself to take a bite," Erza said, her voice softening with a hint of aggrieved anticipation.
"You have to tell me exactly what it tastes like after you finish it!"
(ー_ー)!!
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Riyao's mouth twitched. He reluctantly let go and sighed, pretending to be troubled.
"Forget it. I won't eat it. I've had a toothache lately."
Erza's eyes lit up like stars, all her reluctance vanishing as she hurriedly took the cake back. Her voice brimmed with barely concealed delight.
"Really? No, I mean, you really shouldn't eat sweets with a toothache. I'll treat you when you're better!"
She happily hugged the cake to her chest and eagerly scooped a big spoonful into her mouth, not even bothering to wipe the cream from the corner of her lips.
Gray and Cana turned away, their shoulders shaking as they tried to hold back their laughter. Their cheeks were bright red, and even their ears felt hot.
Riyao rolled his eyes irritably and picked up the request form on the table, reading it carefully.
On the surface, he was staring at the writing on the form, but his mind was in turmoil. There are other gods? The trigger for this curse definitely isn't as simple as altering the future. Otherwise, when Igneel and the others traveled from the past to X777, they should have been cursed too.
If they hadn't traveled through time, Natsu and the others would have died of old age in the past. They couldn't possibly have defeated the Black Dragon in the future. That was a huge change affecting the entire world.
I can't figure out the trigger at all.
At least it only lasts seven days. If it went on forever like Zeref's, I might as well find a hole and bury myself. My tombstone could read, "Ill omens in my later years. Do not disturb."
That bratty goddess... probably didn't know this would happen, right? Is that why she just gave me Healing Magic? Fuck, the more I think about it, the more my nostrils hurt.
Damn it, I forgot to ask her name! Otherwise, I could at least pray to her for some peace of mind.
Bratty... Bah! Lady Goddess, please watch over me!
A certain little girl known as "Lady Bratty-Bah Goddess" suddenly slammed the thick book in her hands to the floor with a loud smack, making the office worker in front of her, who had just died from overwork and had yet to recover, shudder and nearly slip out of his chair.
"Um, uh, bratty..." The office worker swallowed and forcibly stopped himself from saying what was on the tip of his tongue.
The little girl narrowed her eyes and gave him a dangerous look. "Hmm? What did you call me?" →_→
"L-Lady Goddess!" the office worker hastily corrected himself, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Back at the guild, Riyao had finished sorting the medical requests and got up to leave.
While he had been suffering his misfortune earlier, Makarov had quietly adjusted the prices for medical requests.
Riyao had been young before and needed to work his way up gradually with small jobs for practice. Now the kid was strong enough that treating those minor ailments would be a waste of his talent, so Makarov had simply screened out more than half of them.
However, Magnolia's local residents would still be treated according to the old rules. They had always been so accommodating; in another town, Gildarts occasionally zoning out and crashing into people's houses alone would have been enough to bury the guild in complaints.
Riyao happily returned home to pack his luggage and tend to the fruit trees and medicinal herbs in his garden.
After that, he headed for Magnolia's train station. He happened to be able to take care of two households' medical requests on the way, and once again people pressed plenty of snacks on him along the road.