Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe Come Home for a Visit
The tavern never had a name; its signboard was blank, and the flags on the roof were also without any design.
When the residents of Magnolia pass by, they can't help but picture the Fairy Tail crest and recall the lively days of Fairy Tail in the past.
The morning sun shone on the stone pavement, and the mist on the street had just dissipated.
When neighbors pass by this two-story wooden building, they always subconsciously slow down and look up at it.
For decades, the noise coming from this house has been the town's morning alarm clock.
Now that it's suddenly quiet, everyone feels like something's missing, and it feels strange.
Riyao set up a small stall at the entrance, lounging in a recliner like an old man, with a sign on the stall's cloth reading "Free Medical Treatment".
The local residents would just take a look and leave; hardly anyone stopped. Everyone, whether sick or not, had been treated by Riyao, so there were hardly any patients left in the area.
From the moment he settled down, he would readily treat anyone in town who had a headache, fever, backache, or leg pain.
Over the years, the men and women of the town have become so healthy that they can run marathons.
As everyone passed by carrying their shopping baskets, they all greeted Riyao with smiles.
I set up this stall simply because Riyao and wanted to watch the place at the entrance.
After working for two days, Elfman started clamoring to go out and practice asceticism. He wanted to become a flower that had escaped the greenhouse and grow into a man who could face everything on his own.
When the pub first opened, Mirajane specially assigned her own younger brother to be the greeter and security guard at the door.
Elfman was over two meters tall, like a wall, with muscles bulging like stones on his arms.
As a result, this big guy got itchy all over after standing for less than two days. On the third day, early in the morning, he carried a huge canvas bag, yelling that a real man should be tempered in the wind and rain, and rushed out of the town without looking back.
With the absence of the intimidating security guards at the entrance, Riyao was pushed out by Mirajane.
Since Riyao had nothing better to do than set up a small stall at the entrance.
He even specially displayed the hangover cure version 6.0, a colorful array that filled half the table, with all sorts of flavors—this was the blood and tears of Fairy Tail!
Riyao has a book covering his face. The book is titled "The Little Story of the Black Mage and the Black Dragon." Rumor maker: Riyao.
The book cover was made of coarse kraft paper, and on the cover was a large black lizard and a little person wiping away tears, drawn crookedly in charcoal.
He clasped his hands on his stomach, nestled in the bamboo chair, swaying gently in the breeze, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.
"Hey, what are you doing lying here? You'd think there was an old man lying at the door."
A familiar voice rang out.
A gruff voice boomed overhead, and several small wooden carvings, no bigger than a palm, floated in mid-air, circling the recliner.
Riyao reached down and pulled the small brown paper booklet off his face, glancing up with half-open eyelids.
"Who did you think it was? Why are you back? Did you miss your older brother?"
He casually tossed the booklet onto the table, not sitting up straight, but shifting to a side-lying position, propping his head up with his elbow, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
"Bullshit, you're the boss of farts."
Bickslow slapped Riyao's table, causing the potions on it to bounce.
With a bang, Bickslow slammed his hand on the edge of the table, causing the medicine in the test tube to shake violently.
The puppet hovering beside his shoulder shrieked, "Big brother of a fart! Big brother of a fart! Shameless!"
The group that returned were Laxus, Freed, and Bickslow.
Laxus stood with his hands in his coat pockets, the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his cheek glaring in the morning light, staring coldly down at the limp Riyao.
Freed stood respectfully to one side, adjusted his sword, and surveyed the quiet street around him.
"Stop yelling! Wasn't Evergreen with you guys? Where is she? Did that blondie kidnap her?"
"There's no blond guy, but there's a big white guy."
Two eerie laughs came from behind the mask, Bickslow made a large triangle gesture in front of his chest.
Riyao looked puzzled. What white-haired giant?! That name sounded familiar.
Freed explained, "On the way back, we ran into Elfman, Evergreen went with him."
They bumped into Elfman halfway there, who was doing squats while carrying a large rock. Evergreen said she was disgusted, but then she ran after him.
"Not bad, not bad, this kid's finally getting it. He's been working out those dead muscles all day, I'm afraid he'll pop his head like a pimple one day."
Riyao nodded, but the words that came out of his mouth were incredibly sarcastic.
He casually picked up the warm tea on the table, took a sip, and his gaze naturally fell on the tall, blond figure beside him who hadn't said a word.
"What's the point of having something that big, don't you think, Laxus?"
As he spoke, he deliberately looked Laxus up and down, his eyes full of disdain.
Laxus's forehead showed prominent, crisscrossing veins.
This bastard is constantly contradicting himself.
From childhood to adulthood, Riyao has never changed his habit of being a chatterbox; if he doesn't say something sarcastic, he'll feel itchy all over.
"Snort."
Laxus exhaled a heavy breath through his nostrils, turned his face away, and forcefully suppressed the ball of lightning in his chest.
He didn't want to demolish the newly built tavern again.
Freed scratched his head, looking at the two of them, feeling utterly overwhelmed.
He took half a step forward, blocking their view, and quickly steered the conversation back to the main topic.
"Besides checking on the tavern, we also wanted to ask if you had any news about Chairman Makarov?"
Since announcing its dissolution, Makarov has vanished without a trace, leaving no information behind.
By the time Laxus and the others found out, quite some time had passed.
When Laxus returned home, he found that most of Makarov's belongings were missing, and there was no message left for him.
The old man's pipe and his usual robe were all taken away, and there wasn't even a single note left on the table.
He was so angry that he flew into a rage, literally flying into a rage.
That night, a golden bolt of lightning shattered the old house's chimney, and the neighbors thought a downpour was coming.
That damn old man has the nerve to talk about me like that.
Riyao sank back in the recliner, his hands lazily resting on the armrests, his eyelids drooping.
"The old man didn't leave me a message, but there's no need to worry. He'll probably decide for himself. Maybe he's out having some fun."
When he said this, his face was so sincere, he didn't even change the rhythm of his breathing.
He knew where Makarov had gone, of course, but Makarov hadn't left him any information, so he couldn't say it directly. He would guide others to find clues later.
If the matter of the Alvarez Empire and the Spriggan 12 in the Western Continent were revealed now, given Laxus's temper, he would probably seize a ship and march on the Western Continent that very afternoon.
Laxus stared at Riyao with suspicion.
His golden eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze sweeping across Riyao's face like a knife.
He knew this guy's character all too well.
That bastard always tells the truth, but he always hides half of it, so you can't tell he's lying at all.
The two gazed at each other for a moment in the morning light, as fallen leaves swirled around their feet.
Laxus ultimately failed to detect even the slightest flaw in Riyao's smiling face.
"Never mind, it's better for that old man to suffer a bit out there."
Laxus grabbed a handful of blond hair in frustration, threw down a curt remark, turned and strode off, pushing open the tavern door.
The brass bell on the door jingled.
Freed and Bickslow exchanged a glance, put away their weapons, and followed them inside with smiles.
Riyao watched the three figures enter the room, a slight smile playing on his lips. He then grabbed the book "The Black Mage and the Black Dragon's Little Stories" again, covering his face with it, and continued to doze off amidst the creaking of the bamboo chair.