The Classic Twig

The next morning, as dawn broke, the manor was completely silent.

The tips of the grass blades were still covered with translucent dew, and the fountain in the front yard was silent, with only the occasional chirping of a sleepy sparrow coming from the woods behind the hill.

The entire estate was still shrouded in a gray morning mist.

The two tiptoed out of the manor, careful not to wake the others inside.

Riyao carried a bulging canvas backpack over one shoulder, and his feet seemed to be on springs; he would first test the ground with his toes before putting his heels down, making sure there was no movement before taking a step.

Mirajane followed half a step behind him, holding her sun hat in one hand and covering her skirt with the other, her breathing so light that she looked exactly like two thieves sneaking into their own kitchen in the middle of the night to steal chicken legs.

Yesterday, the two said they were going on a trip, which attracted Lisanna and the others, who insisted on going together.

Last night, I let slip a little about "a romantic getaway for two" in the guild lobby, Lisanna immediately insisted on coming along, even shoving her suitcase onto the living room carpet.

At that moment, Lucy was marking things on the coffee table with a "Ishgar Food Map" while Levy was making a shopping list next to her. This scared Riyao so much that he immediately wanted to buy a standing ticket and run away that very night.

If everyone comes, then what's the point of a romantic getaway for two? It'll just turn into a guild team-building event.

He had finally managed to send the two great Buddhas, Black Dragon and Zeref, to the afterlife, and was just about to find a beautiful place with his wife to live a carefree life. How could he possibly bring along a string of blindingly bright light bulbs!

If he were to let these girls follow along, he would have to be their porter during the day, carrying their bags and paying for their meals, and at night he would have to guard against his sister-in-law knocking on his door in the middle of the night to chat with his sister. Just thinking about it gives him a headache.

Click~

Riyao accidentally stepped on a classic twig, making a crisp sound. Alarm bells went off for the two of them, and they looked around.

The withered tree branch lying in the crack of the bluestone slab was stepped on and broken in two. The crisp sound was particularly jarring in the quiet morning courtyard, making Riyao's scalp tingle and his whole body freeze on the spot like a wooden stake.

His right foot was still dangling in mid-air, and he and Mirajane simultaneously hunched their necks, like two startled Owls, turning their heads left and right with a snapping sound, staring intently at the few glass windows on the second floor with their curtains drawn.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Fortunately, the curtains on the second floor remained perfectly still, and not a single person swayed; only a cool morning breeze rustled through the treetops.

"Phew, that scared me to death."

Riyao patted his chest, calming his heart which had been in his throat, and casually kicked the half-assed culprit under his feet into the bushes.

What kind of classic stealth movie scene is this? A huge yard, cleaned every day, how come a dead tree branch just happened to appear under his feet?

This tree branch must know some kind of Space Magic!

"Be careful not to wake Lisanna and the others."

Mirajane lowered her voice, put her index finger to her lips and shushed him. Her fair face showed a hint of excitement at having done something naughty. She tugged at his sleeve and quickly slipped out of the carved iron gate.

The two sneaked out of the manor, then breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other and smiled, their faces full of self-confidence.

Once they were completely out of the manor's hearing range, the two of them straightened their backs at the same time.

Riyao raised an eyebrow at Mirajane and gave her a thumbs up. Mirajane smiled back and gave him a thumbs-up. The air was filled with the joyful atmosphere of successfully skipping class.

"We can finally enjoy some time alone together."

Riyao let out a long sigh of relief, reached out and put his arm around Mirajane's shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

I've been so busy preparing for the final battle Riyao I haven't had a proper rest. Now that everything's finally settled, I can finally go out and have some fun with my beloved Mirajane.

Now that I've reached max level and entered retirement mode, the world is vast, but sticking close to Mira is the most important thing!

"Okay, where should we go first?"

Mirajane took his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder, her long, silvery-white eyelashes fluttering, and the end of her voice was sweet and cloying.

"Let me think... I heard from that old man that there are some primitive tribes to the east, let's go check them out."

Riyao rested his chin on his hand and pondered for two seconds.

Gildarts, that old rascal, mentioned it when he came back to the guild bragging that there are some primitive villages deep in the eastern wasteland that don't interact with the outside world. They have an amazing barbecue, as well as a lot of strange and unusual local products, making them a perfect first stop for a honeymoon.

Most importantly, there's no train service there. Even if Lisanna and the others woke up and wanted to chase after them, they couldn't outrun four wheels on two legs!

"Okay, then won't the Parasol Trees be recycled?"

Mirajane blinked her bright blue eyes, looked up, and asked.

That giant tree standing off the coast of Hargeon has now become the top news in the entire kingdom, with hundreds and thousands of tourists flocking to the port every day.

"It couldn't be recycled before, but now that I've regained control of Life Magic, it can be recycled. I can just go back later anyway, since no one can manipulate the Parasol Tree."

Riyao waved his hand dismissively.

That Parasol Tree was a companion creation he nurtured with the very essence of his life.

Aside from him, even if you tied up all the mages on the entire continent and tried to uproot them, you wouldn't be able to pluck a single leaf. You could just put them in the sea as bonsai for a few days and it wouldn't matter at all.

The two walked and talked, gradually disappearing into the distance in the morning sunlight.

The orange-red sunrise had just peeked halfway over the horizon, casting long shadows of the two people on the stone path, so close together that they couldn't be separated.

Steam was billowing from the steamers of the breakfast stalls, and the streetlights along the streets were not yet completely off. The entire Magnolia was just waking up from its slumber.

Upon arriving at the place where the carriage was parked, the two lifted the curtain.

That was the spacious four-wheeled carriage that Riyao had specially arranged for the carriage shop owner to park under the old locust tree on the back street last night. The carriage was also lined with thick plush cushions and stocked with dried fruit and snacks for the journey.

Riyao hummed a little tune, reached out and pinched the thick cloth carriage curtain, lifting it upwards.

The morning sunlight suddenly streamed into the train carriage.

On the originally spacious soft cushion, several long legs were haphazardly stacked, and five heads were huddled together like piglets in a kennel, fast asleep, still clutching the bag of beef jerky he had just put in the night before!

Riyao's smile suddenly cracked, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

"What are you unlucky kids doing here?! You bastards!!"

That shout was so powerful it almost shook all the sparrows in the old locust tree down.

So the two of them were just tiptoeing around the yard like thieves, and were scared half to death even when they stepped on a broken branch.

Is it all about outsmarting thin air?

They moved their supplies into a carriage in the middle of the night yesterday and were already lying in wait, waiting for their prey to come to them!

Lisanna, Levy, Wendy, Carla, and Lucy were all awakened by the shouts. They looked up at the Riyao through the curtains, their faces beaming with fawning smiles.

Five heads groggily emerged from the pile of blankets, some rubbing their eyes, others wiping their drool, their hair a complete mess as if a commotion had just occurred.

Upon seeing Riyao standing outside the car door with a face as black as the bottom of a pot, the group of people jolted as if a switch had been flipped, sat up straight in a row, grinned, revealing a row of small white teeth, clasped their hands together, and winked at him.

"Brother-in-law! We'd like to go on a trip to relax too."

Lisanna was the first to react; her voice was so sweet it could drip honey, and the ending note had an eighteen-fold twist.

"Get lost!!"

Riyao's eyelids twitched wildly. Without giving him the slightest face, he roared back, spitting as he spoke.

Relax a bit. Of all the people in this car going with him, he's the only one who can't relax!

Lisanna, Levy, and Lucy pushed Wendy to the front, trying to use Wendy to get through the situation.

Wendy, still clutching a small pillow, blinked in bewilderment, glancing left and right at her older sisters behind her, then at Riyao, whose face was dark with anger. Her little head was still trying to process what was happening.

Riyao stared at the unfortunate kids with a hostile gaze.

He stood with his hands on his hips blocking the car door, his deadpan gaze sweeping over the faces of the girls one by one.

This trip is only missing Cana from the last one. I guess Cana wants to stay in the guild and drink, too lazy to go far away because there's no alcohol to drink.

Good heavens, the original team perfectly replicated the original. It's just that Cana, that wine barrel, couldn't bear to part with the few barrels of freshly brewed wine she had in the guild cellar and didn't come along, otherwise there wouldn't even be room to step on this carriage!

He won't be soft-hearted this time; don't even think about trying to freeload again.

Riyao stiffened his neck, raised his chin high, and put on a cold expression that said, "No matter how eloquently you try to persuade me today, you'd better get off this bus."

Mirajane pulled Riyao's hand, her soft little hand tugging at his sleeve, and then tickling his palm with her fingertips.

"Okay, let's go on a trip another time. This time, let's go collect the Parasol Trees first, and then just wander around along the way."

Mirajane turned her head to look at her younger sister and a few expectant little friends, and finally softened, gently stroking Riyao's fur in a soft voice.

Riyao pursed his lips, feeling unhappy that he hadn't gone out with his wife in a long time and was being disturbed again.

His cheeks puffed out, and he glanced sideways at the group of "light bulbs" in the carriage, radiating a low-pressure aura that said, "I'm really resentful right now." He tapped his heels twice on the stone floor in annoyance.

Lisanna gave Lucy and the others a look, then took the lead and rushed over to grab Riyao's hand and shake it.

Seeing that her older sister had relented, Lisanna knew that all that was left was to win over her brother-in-law. She immediately jumped off the carriage, grabbed Riyao's left arm tightly with both hands, and swung it wildly from side to side like a rocking horse.

"Brother-in-law, just this once, I promise there won't be a next time."

Levy suit, shaking Riyao's other hand.

The petite blue-haired girl jumped out of the car right behind him, grabbed Riyao's right arm, and started whining while swaying her head back and forth, turning on the surround sound.

"Brother Riyao, I just finished a battle and want to relax."

Seeing that both of her hands were occupied, Lucy glanced at Riyao and grabbed his thigh.

"Riyao, have pity on this kid! Natsu and his gang have squandered all his money. He just wanted to go on a short trip."

Riyao only has one powerful backer left to rely on.

Carla turned her head away; there was no way she would bow down to this cunning guy.

The white cat girl, now in human form, sat on the edge of the carriage with her arms crossed, chin raised, showing the back of her head to Riyao, her cat tail swaying back and forth under her skirt.

Wendy tugged at Riyao's clothes, her big, watery eyes blinking, filled with a pure, innocent, and pitiful look.

"Brother Riyao, please take us with you!"

Riyao looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with Despair. It was hard to refuse, so he could only look at Mirajane, hoping his wife would be firm.

Mirajane shrugged and spread her hands; she was at a loss for what to do.

His wife gave him a helpless, sweet smile, casually shoved his canvas backpack onto the roof of the carriage, clapped her hands, and effectively sealed the fate of their romantic getaway.