Three Days After the Battle

Riyao lay on his big bed, fast asleep, three days having passed since the great battle.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, letting in only a narrow sliver of sunlight, which made the dust particles in the air swirl slowly.

The room was so quiet that only the sound of long, drawn-out breathing could be heard. Even the birdsong in the treetops outside the window was muffled by the glass.

While he was sleeping, he felt a tightness in his chest and a slight difficulty breathing.

It was as if someone had placed a 50-pound bag of rice on his ribs while he was asleep, making it difficult for him to even turn over. As a result, he dreamt that a Black Dragon had sat down on him under the rocks on the coast.

My eyes slowly opened, revealing the familiar ceiling and long, white hair covering my face.

A few soft, silvery-white strands of hair landed right on the tip of his nose, trembling with each breath, making him feel ticklish and want to sneeze.

Looking down again, he saw a furry head pressed tightly against the center of his chest, with two arms wrapped around his waist like an octopus, tucking the blanket tightly shut.

"No wonder my chest felt so tight."

Riyao reached out and nudged Mirajane, who was clinging to him.

Having exhausted all his strength fighting the Black Dragon, he now had a good sleep, his stomach growling with hunger, but his hands and feet had regained their warmth.

Mirajane's eyelashes twitched at the external stimuli, and she turned her head to the other side.

Instead of letting go, she closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his chest, finding a more comfortable position. She mumbled something and continued to sleep soundly.

"Well, he's sleeping even more soundly than me."

Riyao was amused, but couldn't bring himself to push the person away forcefully.

He gathered her loose white hair and styled it into a bun.

Her fingers skillfully spun through her smooth, long hair, wrapping it twice to the left and then twisting it to the right, before mischievously plucking out that signature little tuft of hair on her forehead.

Mirajane, having been disturbed, also woke up and took Riyao's hand in her arms.

She groggily opened one eye, using Riyao's mischievous right hand as a pillow, pressing it against her warm face, and humming a soft, coquettish hum.

"Let me sleep a little longer..."

"Let me out first, I'm starving, so hungry."

Riyao withdrew his other hand and pinched her soft cheek, his stomach rumbling loudly enough for Mirajane, who could hear it clearly even through his belly.

"!!!"

Mirajane finally came to her senses, sat up abruptly, and cradled Riyao's head, looking at it from left to right.

Half of her bun on her head came undone, and she looked as if she had been electrocuted. She cupped Riyao's cheeks in her hands and pulled them apart, then leaned closer to examine his eyes closely.

Seeing that he looked radiant and showed no signs of weakness, the anxiety that had been hanging over me for three days and three nights finally subsided.

"You're finally awake, you idiot! You've been sleeping for three days straight, of course you're hungry!!"

Mirajane's eyes first reddened slightly, then a cross-shaped mark appeared on his forehead, and he poked Mirajane's forehead with his finger in an annoyed tone.

When she caught this bastard on the beach, there wasn't a trace of magic emanating from him, which terrified her so much that her hands were trembling.

"Huh?! Three days? I thought I only slept one night."

Riyao blinked, startled himself.

Goodness, this sleep turned into a deep hibernation; no wonder I feel so sore and lazy from lying down for so long.

Riyao propped himself up, buried his head in Mirajane's neck, and cuddled her.

The familiar fragrance of a hundred flowers wafted into my nose, more effective than any stimulant.

He wrapped his arms around Mirajane's slender waist and rubbed against her collarbone and neck like a large dog, making Mirajane giggle and shrink her neck. Her initial anger and accusations vanished in the blink of an eye.

After lingering for a while, I finally washed up and went out.

The two walked side by side on the cobblestone streets of Magnolia, the warm morning sun shining on them.

Riyao held a huge pork floss bread he had just bought from the bakery on the corner, took a big bite and stuffed his cheeks full.

Mirajane took his arm, wiping the breadcrumbs from his mouth as she told Riyao what had happened after the war.

The Alvarez Empire suffered a crushing defeat, and under the leadership of the Magic Council, the remaining remnants of its army were released.

After all, war is not child's play. You can't just slaughter hundreds of thousands of soldiers. After signing a bunch of treaties with reparations and trade concessions, the Western Continent soldiers, who were already terrified, ran faster than rabbits.

Without Zeref, August, and Irene, the opposing side is at best a slightly stronger empire, posing little threat to Ishgar.

The high-end combat force was wiped out by the Riyao and Fairy Tail members. The remaining Spriggan 12 are either behaving themselves or still in jail. Alvarez is now more like Ishgar's ATM.

The Universe One cast by Irene has been lifted, but it hasn't returned to the same state as before. Most guild members have accepted related commissions to help manage the disasters caused by the changes in the landscape.

For example, a river course changed direction, or a mountain peak suddenly became shorter. The Magic Council has allocated a large sum of money for reconstruction, and the mages of all the major guilds have been busy taking on jobs to earn extra money these past few days.

While the Black Dragon was being devoured, Natsu and the others were teleported out by the Riyao, and the Rift in Time was completely detonated.

The instant the golden Parasol Tree took root in the heart of the Black Dragon, Riyao used the remaining connection in time and space to pull all the Dragon Slayer were almost killed back to the beach.

In the blink of an eye, that alternate dimension filled with Magic Crystals exploded into complete nothingness.

Ishgar won the war with almost no casualties, according to the Magic Council's report.

The newspapers were full of flowery language, praising the united resistance of the major guilds to the skies, but they didn't mention Fairy Tail separately.

Apart from Natsu being unhappy, the other members of Fairy Tail didn't seem to mind; being too famous isn't necessarily a good thing.

The single-celled organism Natsu was yelling because it didn't see a large photo of itself beating up the Black Dragon on the headlines.

As for the others, they all had an indifferent attitude towards the fact that this was a mess caused by their own guild, and that its great fame would attract other troubles.

All the mages who participated in this war received rewards; for example, Jellal and his group were released from their warrants and pardoned for their previous crimes.

With the pardon personally signed by the Magic Council, the Crime Sorcière group, who had been lurking in the shadows for years, could finally walk openly in the sunlight.

"This kid really hit the jackpot! I've been unconscious for three days, and not a single one of my friends came to visit me."

Riyao swallowed the last bite of bread, patted the crumbs off his hands, and muttered a sarcastic remark with a sidelong glance.

He's supposed to be a main damage dealer and healer, so why has he been lying around for three days and his house looks deserted, like nobody wants him?

"Well, Grandma Porlyusica came to see you, slapped you three times, said 'You'll be fine after three days of sleep,' and left. Everyone else thinks you're healthy and nothing will happen to you."

Mirajane smiled and explained to Riyao, her index finger touching her lips, her eyes curving into two beautiful crescent moons.

When Porlyusica entered the room with a dark face, she slapped Riyao three times with both hands without saying a word. The force was so great that Gray and Natsu, who were standing in the room, shrank back and didn't dare to breathe.

He looked up at the sky and sighed.

Riyao subconsciously touched his cheeks. No wonder his jaw muscles felt a little sore when he was brushing his teeth. So that's the reason!

"If I really had the chance, my mother-in-law would really know how to take advantage of me. I'll avoid calling her 'mother-in-law' from now on."

Amidst their laughter and banter, the two slowed their pace.

"Your magic is really gone?"

Mirajane's eyes dimmed, and she gripped Riyao's hand tightly, her tone tinged with sadness.

Although she never mentioned it, every time she held Riyao's hand during these three days and couldn't feel the warm, spring-like life force that used to fill it, she felt a tightness in her chest.

No one knew better than her what losing the magic that made a name for a mage meant.

In contrast, Riyao seemed completely unconcerned, as if he wasn't the one who had lost his magic.

He stopped, turned around and looked at the girl in front of him with her eyes downcast. He reached out and tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear, then opened his arms and pulled Mirajane into his embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"So what if it's not there? I was afraid that the fusion of the Dragon Force and the life power at that time would cause other changes, so I abandoned Life Magic. But I still have my magic source. There are three magic sources in total. Learning any magic will be a piece of cake for me!"

Riyao gently rested his chin against her soft, bouncy hair, his voice languid.

In that situation, the seven dragon powers, the life essence, and the curse of immortality were all intertwined. If they hadn't been used as an opportunity to exorcise the black Black Dragon, who knows what would have become of him?

Now I feel light and free, with the three super-large magic sources within my body still rumbling and circulating. Just by using a basic attack and punching people, I could kill a whole group of S-Class Mages. What's there to feel sorry for?

Mirajane smiled again after hearing what Riyao said.

She lifted her little face from Riyao's arms, her bright blue eyes sparkling with mischievousness once more. With her hands behind her back, she tiptoed closer to him.

"Would you like to learn Take Over Magic?! I can teach you step by step, come on, call me teacher!"

"I suspect you're just waiting for me to say I'm learning magic!"

Riyao glanced at her sideways, seeing right through his wife's wicked scheme.

He even taught him step by step; I bet he just wanted to take the opportunity to indulge in being a strict teacher and tap his palm with a pointer.

"No way, am I that kind of scheming person?"

Mirajane blinked her innocent big eyes, asking back without batting an eye, but her fingers had already secretly hooked onto Riyao's little finger, swaying back and forth.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the guild, and the residents along the way greeted them warmly.

The fruit vendor shouted from afar that he wanted to give them a basket of apples, and the street sweeper was all smiles. Magnolia was still the same as always, lively and full of human warmth.

After turning the corner, the newly renovated gate of the Fairy Tail guild was almost in sight, and the familiar shouts and curses of Natsu and Gray could be faintly heard from inside.

They were walking along peacefully, almost at the guild, when Riyao suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him, and he fell asleep again in Mirajane's arms.

The drowsiness came without warning; it wasn't physical fatigue at all. It was more like someone had unplugged him backstage. His eyelids snapped shut, and he slumped to the side, falling into Mirajane's arms.

"Riyao!"

Mirajane's smile froze instantly. She reached out and realized something was wrong. She grabbed Riyao and rushed into the guild.