The light of Fairy Tail

There were banquets held for the births of the brothers Irene and August, and this time was no exception.

Seizing every opportunity to hold a banquet is a traditional virtue of Fairy Tail.

In Fairy Tail, whenever everyone wants to drink and eat, even if a stray dog passing by barks a couple of times, they can turn it into a party to "celebrate Wangcai's loud voice."

Not to mention that this is the first president Mavis, officially regaining his physical body. This is a once-in-a-century joyous occasion. It would be a disservice to the ale stored in the cellar not to drink for three days and three nights straight!

Let's get this party started, guys!

Makarov, his face flushed, stood in the center of the long table, holding a wooden wine barrel bigger than his head, and raised his arms in a triumphant shout.

"Wooooo!"

A cheer erupted within the guild, and everyone's face beamed with joy.

The deafening cheers nearly blew the roof off the guild's newly repaired roof. Confetti and spilled wine flew everywhere, and the long table was piled high with sizzling whole roasted lambs, mountains of golden fried chicken legs, and all sorts of desserts.

The group toasted each other, ate heartily, and chatted about the interesting things that happened during the commission.

Macao and Wakaba were chatting and bragging with their arms around each other's shoulders, while Cana picked up a barrel of pure life brew and chugged it down her throat. The entire first-floor lobby was as lively as if it were Chinese New Year.

Mavis's eyes lit up; this was the perfect guild she had always dreamed of, a warm home for everyone.

She sat between Wendy and Irene, the three little girls swinging their feet together—a truly heartwarming scene.

On the high bar stools, Wendy with blue hair, Mavis with blonde hair, and Irene with red hair sat in a row, their six short legs dangling in mid-air, each holding a small strawberry cake, which made the female members who passed by frequently cover their chests and laugh like doting aunts.

Poor Zeref wanted to sit next to Mavis, but Natsu dragged him to sit next to a bunch of rough guys.

Zeref will never change his mind about who is the older brother and who is the younger brother; once an older brother, always an older brother!

Even though his body has shrunk to the size of a twelve-year-old and he's a whole head shorter Natsu, Zeref stubbornly clings to his bottom line and refuses to call him "brother."

Natsu took a big gulp of beer, wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth, his eyes darted around, and he slapped his thigh, coming up with a brilliant compromise.

"It's alright. Riyao said before, um! We'll stick to our own way. You call me brother, and I'll call you brother too."

"That bastard Riyao..."

Zeref rubbed his forehead, his expression darkening. He was wondering whether he should take Larcade and August away from Fairy Tail, that den of bandits.

That's bullshit, everyone's talking about their own version of things!

If they call each other "brother," wouldn't that make them peers? What kind of nonsensical philosophical logic does Riyao usually instill in his simple-minded younger brother?

This is really bad for educating children. He used to think Natsu was quite well-behaved... right? Now he's become so shameless.

If August and Larcade stay here for another six months, they'll probably forget how to greet people properly!

Riyao, who happened to be passing by carrying a fruit platter, overheard everything and immediately became displeased.

"You can blame me for this?! You brat, you're not a Dark Mage anymore, are you asking for a beating? Don't you know this is Fairy Tail? Any old man younger would have gotten a beating here!"

As Riyao spoke, he clenched his fist. This was a traditional virtue of Fairy Tail: if you can fight, don't talk. Might makes right.

His knuckles cracked loudly as he pinched them, as if he were ready to give his newly minted brother-in-law and nephew's father a physics orientation training session at any moment.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Makarov, who was enjoying a drink at the next table, suddenly perked up.

"You brat! You want to beat me up? Come on, let's have a go!"

The old man slammed the wine barrel on the table, his beard puffing out, and, emboldened by the alcohol, rolled up his sleeves.

The once chaotic hall displayed an extraordinary level of coordination, comparable to a military exercise. In just three seconds, all the tables, chairs, and benches were pulled to the base of the walls, leaving a large, open arena with a diameter of ten meters in the middle.

"Go! Riyao, teach the chairman a lesson!"

"Old man, hang Riyao up and give him a good beating!"

What does it mean to respect the elderly and care for the young?

Let's fight! We want to see rivers of blood!

Gajeel whistled and tapped his glass, Gray took off his shirt and stood on a chair waving a towel, and even Irene at the bar was clapping and cheering. No one in the room tried to stop the fight; they were all fanning the flames.

Makarov and Riyao exchanged a glance, both somewhat bewildered.

They were just bickering, weren't they? How did it get turned into such a serious situation?!

The two stood in the center of the field, staring at each other, and the atmosphere suddenly became incredibly awkward.

"Oh no, I'm usually the one who starts the commotion, but now I've been caught up in it too."

Riyao's lips twitched, inwardly realizing he had made a mistake.

If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet.

In the past, whenever there was an argument in the guild, he would hide behind the crowd, handing out knives and shouting "Let's fight!" He never expected that today the boomerang would slam into his own forehead.

If it were anyone else, they would have been forced to a beating... no, Makarov would have found an opportunity to beat them up.

After all, the moral constraints of respecting the elderly and caring for the young are on our shoulders. Fighting an octogenarian chairman would be considered elder abuse if we won, and shameful if we lost. Either way, it would be a losing proposition!

Makarov's face was full of excitement. He didn't believe that the brat Riyao would really dare to attack him, so this game was going to be a complete stomp!

The old man was calculating his next move. He'd been tricked by this brat a few days ago with the mayor's approval document, and today, fueled by alcohol, he was going to settle both old and new scores!

He walked towards the Riyao, his body growing larger and larger until he was a three-meter giant after three steps.

Thump, thump, thump!

The heavy footsteps made the floor vibrate, and the fist, as big as a clay pot, instantly expanded to the size of a small millstone, swaying with a whistling wind.

"You brat, behave yourself and let me give you a beating, and I'll go easy on you."

Facing the giant guild master who was approaching like a mountain pressing down, Riyao didn't even blink. His eyes darted around, and a plan came to him. He pointed at Natsu, who was watching the show from the side.

"Pah! Do you think I believe that? Someone like you, Natsu could take on ten of you by himself! Don't doubt it, look, Natsu is almost ready to come and beat you up."

Natsu, who was gnawing on a lamb leg, was stunned by what Riyao said, his mind going completely blank.

The already strained CPU completely burned out under this flattering compliment, its mind filled only with the boastful thought, "I can take on ten old men by myself." The lamb leg in its hand fell to the ground with a thud, and its fists burst into flames.

"Yeah!! Old man, take this punch!"

The floor shattered under Natsu's foot, and as he jumped into the air, Makarov punched him into the floor.

Boom!!

Before Natsu could even utter the name of his attack, while he was still flying in mid-air, Makarov slapped him like a fly, shoving him solidly into the hard bluestone floor, where he couldn't be pried out.

"I... will come back."

A hand emitting black smoke emerged from the deep pit, trembling as it made a gesture, before falling limply to its side.

When Makarov turned back to look at Riyao, he had already run to Mirajane's side, and the two were affectionately feeding each other.

There wasn't even a hint of a fight going on.

Riyao was sitting at the bar with his legs crossed, taking the peeled grapes Mirajane handed him, and even giving Makarov a peace sign.

The onlookers nearly popped their eyes out, pointing at Riyao and cursing him.

"A disgrace to Fairy Tail!"

"Hey! Are you sure?"

Riyao were full of threat. He held the guild's financial power, and if anyone said "yes," he would take all the money back and make them lose it themselves.

He slowly pulled a thick book, "Magnolia Municipal Damage Claims Ledger," from his pocket, clapped it twice in his hand, and his benevolent gaze swept over every demolition team member present.

The shouting and cursing in the hall stopped abruptly, like a rooster being choked. A fraction of a second later, everyone stood at attention, tears welling in their eyes, and raised their arms in triumph.

Fairy Tail Light!