Brothers with Different Fathers and Mothers
The afternoon sun shone through the guild's stained-glass windows onto the bar benches, its warmth making people feel drowsy.
Riyao leaned on Mirajane's shoulder, dozing off, and yawned.
He squeezed out a half-drop of physiological tear from the corner of his eye, and like a lazy cat without bones, he slid down his wife's soft shoulder.
Just as his eyelids began to droop, a strange feeling came over him; the Parasol Tree was sending a message: it was about to give birth again.
The life nerve deep in his mind, connecting him to the towering tree on the sea, throbbed twice, the transmitted vibrations like a green light flashing at the entrance of a delivery room.
He got up, took Mirajane's hand, and walked outside. Irene stroked her chin and followed. She was also curious about who would come out next.
After all, there are five colorful gourds hanging in the tree canopy, each containing either an old acquaintance or a former colleague. Even if they were transformed into twelve-year-old kids, the fun would still be plentiful.
As soon as he stepped out of the door, Riyao's ears twitched, and he heard a series of furtive footsteps behind him.
As they walked out of the guild gate, a long tail followed behind them.
Macao, Wakaba, Natsu, Gray, Lucy... most of the guild's idlers were crouching down, peeking out one after another behind the two, lined up like elementary school students crossing the street on a field trip.
Riyao stopped in his tracks, turned around and glanced sideways at the group of guys who couldn't even be bothered to hide their true colors, a tic-tac-toe sign popping out on his forehead.
"Hey! What are you guys doing? Why are you following us?"
Three!
Irene added another person to the group without any hesitation. Her shamelessness is truly admirable; she is indeed a great demon who calls herself a celestial maiden.
She stood between the couple with her hands on her hips, her twelve-year-old face tilted back, her air of entitlement making her seem like the family's child.
Seeing this, the guild members who were watching the commotion behind them not only didn't stop, but instead all raised their right hands and joined in the jeering.
"+1"+1"+1"...
The chanting went from Natsu at the front of the line to Rabbitman at the back, the order was so neat and synchronized, it was like a group of eagerly waiting onlookers.
Riyao rolled his eyes, too lazy to care about these tagalongs, picked up Mirajane and flew towards the canopy of the Parasol Tree.
With a tap of their toes on the stone pavement, the air currents lifted their feet, propelling them into the air and leaving the group below, who still had to run to the beach and climb trees, far behind.
The sea breeze whistled past their ears, and in the blink of an eye, the two had passed through layers of lush green leaves.
The two of them were the first to reach the top of the tree, where they saw two boys with light blond hair. One was looking around curiously, while the other stood with his hands clasped together.
In the open space in the center of the tree canopy, the two broken gourd shells had turned into countless specks of light and disappeared.
Two blond teenagers, around twelve years old, stood in the same spot.
The one on the left, whose brows and eyes showed signs of over eighty years of vicissitude, was looking down with curiosity, pinching his smooth, fair palm, looking left and right.
The one on the right still has a cross mark on his forehead, and even though he has shrunk to the size of a little boy, he still maintains a devout, ascetic posture.
Before Mirajane could say anything, the Fairy Tail members who followed behind erupted in chaos once again.
Natsu and Gray, who were quick on their feet, had just flown to the treetops and hadn't even caught their breath when they saw the two golden heads in the middle of the field. Without even thinking, they started yelling nonsense.
"Oh! This must be Riyao's child?!"
"They all have blond hair, no problem!"
After all, Erza just brought back a red-haired "illegitimate daughter" a few days ago. Following this logic, aren't these two blond brats the ones that Riyao secretly had behind everyone's back?
"Parasol, throw all of these down!"
The jeering crowd froze. Parasol didn't care what anyone said, and simply stretched out a branch, throwing the jeering crowd down.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
A dozen or so thick, emerald green branches swept across like fly swatters, precisely entangled the ankles of every person spreading rumors, and mercilessly flung them out of the tree canopy!
"Ahhh..."
Screams rose and fell, one after another, as did the sounds of people falling into the water.
Thump thump...
A series of white waves, tens of meters high, burst open on the sea surface, looking like a pot of human flesh dumplings, sweeping away even the halfway-climbing Macao and Wakaba.
My ears are finally at peace.
Riyao pulled Mirajane to the two boys.
He looked up and down at the scaled-down versions of August and Larcade, a question lingering in his mind.
How do these two kids resemble me? That's pure nonsense. Apart from their blonde hair, they have no other similarities.
His blond hair was a sunny and handsome style, while the two boys' hair was noticeably lighter in color, and their facial features resembled those sworn enemies, Zeref and Mavis. How on earth did those blind friends come to the conclusion of the paternity test?
Riyao turned around and gave his wife, who was still clapping, a thumbs-up.
"Mira, well done! They should be blown up."
It wasn't Riyao just ordered everyone to be thrown down, but Mirajane; she also has the authority to command the Parasol Tree.
Back when they merged with the source of life, Riyao had already given Mirajane half of Little Parasol's supreme control. In this private plot of land under the canopy, the landlady's words carried more weight than his own.
"Snort!"
Mirajane scoffed. To say that Riyao had a child in front of her was just asking for trouble.
She crossed her arms, raised her chin haughtily, and the little tuft of hair on her head stood up angrily.
The boy August across from him finally snapped out of his shock at being reborn.
He touched his now-slender, no longer hunched back. The stagnation within him, caused by the overwhelming magic that constantly burned his meridians, had vanished without a trace, replaced by a refreshing and pure youthful vitality.
"Your Excellency Riyao, what's going on with us?"
"Isn't this supposed to be a way to make up for your childhood? It's a pity your parents haven't come out yet, but the two of you have."
Riyao shrugged and pointed to the light gold gourd and the pure black gourd still hanging on the branches next to him.
An old man spent his whole life as a left-behind child, and an artificial creation spent its whole life suffering from a love-starved, immature mindset. They might as well both be washed back to the age of twelve and grow up again, to avoid becoming psychologically twisted.
Larcade and August's eyes lit up when they heard Riyao's words.
Larcade, in particular, looked at Riyao with a completely different expression, now filled with adoration.
Originally a demon from the Book of Zeref, his obsessive and fanatical tendencies have been completely washed away by Life Magic, leaving only the purest boyish heart yearning for family.
Hearing that Riyao not only spared their lives but also thoughtfully helped them rebuild their bodies into teenagers capable of enjoying the warmth of family, Larcade's eyes were practically overflowing with tears.
Mr. Riyao is truly a wonderful person!
He bowed slightly, and with his hands clasped together, he appeared particularly devout.
"Thank you, Mr. Riyao. We wonder when our parents will be able to get out?"
Just as Riyao was about to speak, August immediately chimed in.
This magic king, who had lived for over eighty years and was so sensible it was heartbreaking, was now clutching the hem of his clothes, his little face showing a rare display of the awkwardness and unease that one would expect from someone his age.
"I'm still a little dazed. Will His Majesty and Mother Mavis really accept us?"
The words had barely left his throat when the air above the treetops froze for a second.
"Ah!!"
A sharp, explosive sound came from the light golden gourd.
The noise was extremely penetrating, causing several seabirds on the treetops to squawk and flutter away.
"When did I get a baby?! When did this happen?! How come I didn't know?! Why didn't anyone tell me?!"
The light gold gourd shook violently, eventually crashing into the black gourd beside it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The vines connecting to the gourd stem were flung into a propeller, and the light golden gourd, like an out-of-control meteor hammer, slammed into the head of the black gourd next to it, making the black gourd swing wildly like a pendulum.
"Speak up, you bastard! What did you do while I was dead, you bastard!"
"I don't know either."
The black gourd emitted a muffled sound, leaving him completely bewildered. He suddenly remembered that Riyao had once asked him about having children.
Back at the Tartaros, that brat Riyao inexplicably started talking about kids. At the time, he thought the other guy was just spouting nonsense to distract him, but it turns out the kid already knew all along!
The black gourd's shaking slowed down, and his voice was full of doubt.
"Riyao, did you already know?"
"Oh dear, who knows?"
Riyao shrugged, looking completely innocent. Anyway, it wasn't his child; he could just watch the show.
He whistled, then casually pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket and distributed them to Mirajane next to him, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
August and Larcade stood there dumbfounded, only now realizing that Mavis and Zeref were awake. They dug their toes into the ground, speechless.
The boy had overheard all of their heartfelt words, only to find that his parents had no record of the child. The two brothers stood bewildered in the wind, wishing they could carve a three-bedroom, one-living-room magic castle out of a tree trunk on the spot.
On a nearby branch, Irene, who had just climbed up, smiled. She knew this would happen, and happily ate her cake while watching the show.
She sat cross-legged on a branch, holding a strawberry cake she'd taken from Erza. She scooped out a big spoonful and stuffed it into her mouth, her little legs dangling in the air.
Indeed, watching other people's family tragedies is much more satisfying than experiencing pain yourself!