An Outing

"Huh? The tavern's closed today?"

Romeo stood in front of the tavern, where the notice of closure on the door was so conspicuous.

It was a scrap of paper torn directly from the brown paper used to wrap the meat, with a line of large characters scrawled crookedly on it by a stick of charred charcoal.

We're out having fun, so we won't be open for business for the next few months.

This notice was very hasty; it was clearly written offhand and completely careless.

They didn't even write down a specific opening date, and they couldn't even be bothered to draw a signature.

Romeo sighed, put his hands in his pockets, and kicked pebbles home. He had originally planned to come over and ask Riyao for a drink.

Riyao and his companions rushed to Crocus overnight, hoping to wake up in the morning to a different view.

The golden light of dawn streamed into the room through the carved window frames, illuminating the spacious marble balcony.

He stood on the balcony of the room, elegantly holding a tea set, and took a small sip of the hotel's black tea.

Riyao wore a crisp white casual shirt, with the top two buttons undone loosely at the collar. He held an exquisite bone china tea tray in one hand and a teacup handle in the other, leaning against the white marble railing as he gazed at the bustling streets below the capital.

"Hmm~"

He tilted his chin slightly back, closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh, as if savoring the mellow sweetness and aftertaste of this top-grade tea.

The next second.

He poured the black tea into the drain on the balcony.

"Ugh~ This tastes awful."

Mirajane shook her head speechlessly as Riyao woke up early in the morning just to make cups on the balcony. She then pulled Riyao to change his clothes.

Mirajane had just finished washing up and came out of the bathroom. Her long, silvery-white hair was casually tied into a loose bun, and she was wearing a light green floral dress. She exuded a lazy yet gentle temperament.

She walked to the balcony and patted Riyao's muscular back.

"Stop being elegant, hurry up and change your clothes so we can go shopping. Lucy and the others are already waiting for us downstairs."

Riyao's elegant demeanor instantly crumbled, his mouth gaping open to reveal an extremely unwilling and disgusted expression.

"Hey, why don't you guys go by yourselves? It's a group of girls shopping, what would I do there?"

Mirajane stepped forward, her two fair arms naturally encircling Riyao's neck. She tilted her head back and blinked her watery eyes.

"We need someone to carry our bags. Do you really want to watch someone else carry their own shopping bags, honey?"

Riyao swallowed hard. Reason told him that if he continued today, he would be treated like an animal.

"Let Lucy summon Virgo."

Riyao is trying to escape this terrible path of purgatory.

Accompanying several girls shopping—what kind of punishment is this?!

Mirajane held his arm tightly, feeling a soft sensation in his hand, and he was unwilling to break free.

Easy to handle.

Mirajane had long since figured out her man's temperament. She pressed her body against him and gently drew circles on his chest with her small hands.

She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and rested her head on Riyao's shoulder.

As soon as the two went downstairs, Riyao glanced at Lucy and the others, his expression instantly changing.

These unlucky ones, except for Wendy and Levy.

Lucy and the others keenly noticed Riyao's disgusted expression.

Lisanna howled in dissatisfaction.

"Brother-in-law, I saw it! You even looked down on me, waaaaah! You skipped over Levy and Wendy with your glance, but not me!"

Lisanna jumped up from the sofa and angrily pointed at Riyao's nose, accusing him.

Riyao had his hands in his coat pockets, his chin held high, and his eyes glancing down at her.

"Nonsense, you're the most troublesome one."

Riyao reached out and placed his hand on Lisanna's head, then withdrew it after a moment's thought.

Lisanna and the others dressed up nicely today; if they were to look like a bird's nest, they'd be crying.

She punched Riyao twice with her little fist.

"You actually tried to mess up my hair!"

"How could that be? I was just testing if you're balding."

"That's even worse! You bastard brother-in-law, take two more punches from me!"

After Lisanna finished speaking, she punched him twice more, but it wasn't a big deal, at least not against Riyao.

"Let's go! We'll explore the Flower Capital today!"

Lisanna tossed her short hair, raised her arms and shouted like a victorious general, grabbed Mirajane's wrist and rushed out the door.

Riyao blinked, finding his hands empty, and sighed helplessly. He followed behind them, beginning his day as their bag-carrying assistant.

From the boutique clothing street in the East District, to the perfume and jewelry section in the South District, and then to the magic item shop in the Central District.

The girls seemed to have inexhaustible energy, going from shop to shop, trying on one item after another.

Riyao watched Lucy walking ahead, humming a song as she picked out ribbons. His eyes darted around, and he quickly moved closer.

On the way, he urged Lucy to summon Leo.

"Lucy, Leo is a social butterfly, he knows the latest fashion trends in the capital best. Why don't you ask him to come out and give you his opinion?"

Lucy was overwhelmed by the choices, but upon hearing this, she found it quite reasonable and casually took out the golden Leo key and swiped it in the air.

A burst of golden light erupted.

The two unfortunate brothers are all here.

Leo, sporting sunglasses and a dashing black suit, made a dazzling entrance. Riyao swiftly slung half of his shopping bags over Leo's shoulders.

He stared at Riyao with a resentful look.

"You bastard, you never ask me for good things, but you're quick to think of me for this kind of hard labor."

"Wow, so many beautiful girls accompanying you shopping, isn't that a good thing?"

Riyao had one hand on Leo's shoulder, smiling broadly, with a shameless look that said, "Brother, I'm just taking care of you."

Leo rolled his eyes at him.

As the sun sets, the bustling Flower Capital is illuminated by rows upon rows of streetlights.

After a day of walking, the two were covered in shopping bags, their hands were too full to carry anything else.

Mirajane fed Riyao two grilled sausages, which he ate with relish while raising an eyebrow at Leo.

That expression seemed to say: My wife is so loving, you playboy would never understand!

Leo's eyes were rolling so hard they almost popped out, his hands were purple from being squeezed by the bag, and his stomach was growling loudly from hunger.

Just then, Lucy walked over from the food stall with a grin, also holding a steaming hot sausage in her hand.

"Here comes the little flying stick!"

Lucy, mimicking the way she coaxes a child, suddenly thrust the sausage forward.

Leo instinctively opened his mouth, and when he bit into the sausage, he felt speechless.

Lucy gave a smug look, put her hands on her hips, raised her chin, and snorted triumphantly.

You always tease me like that!

As night deepened, the streets of Flower Capital were brightly lit. A group of people, carrying large and small bags, strolled leisurely towards the hotel amidst laughter and chatter.

Upon hearing the news, Princess Hisui in the palace couldn't sit still and wanted to go out and play with Mirajane and the others immediately.

Arcadios brought out Toma, which finally calmed the Princess Hisui's restless heart.