The banquet continued until late into the night, and only then did the boisterous laughter and chatter gradually die down. Laxus had thoroughly let himself go, and when he dragged his somewhat tired yet still exhilarated body back to the room Bob had carefully prepared for them, the excitement in his heart remained difficult to calm.
Lying on the soft, comfortable bed, Laxus's thoughts raced like wild horses breaking free of their reins. He could not help recalling those arduous days in the past—the dull training he endured every day and his monotonous, repetitive life. Compared with his colorful experiences now, they were worlds apart!
Moreover, this outing had allowed him not only to enjoy thrilling battles to his heart's content and attend a banquet, but, more importantly, to significantly improve his own strength. To Laxus, everything about it was simply too wonderful, too perfect!
At the thought, Laxus could not stop turning excitedly in bed and secretly laughing. It was as though countless interesting ideas kept surfacing in his mind, one after another, leaving him completely unable to control himself. However, all his tossing and turning tormented Allen, who shared the room with him. Having been woken from his dreams, Allen was naturally in a foul mood.
"Laxus! Enough! Do you want to check what time it is? We still have a long way to go tomorrow morning to reach Rainbow Port. Settle down and get to sleep!" Allen's slightly irritated voice came from the darkness.
Hearing that his big brother was truly angry, Laxus instantly felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him and sobered up considerably. He hurriedly replied, "Okay! Big Brother! I know, I know. I'll go to sleep right away!" With that, he quickly pulled the blankets over his head, trying to hide the occasional muffled chuckles that still escaped from beneath them.
Allen helplessly shook his head, turned his back to Laxus, and pulled the blankets over his head just as Laxus had. Before long, Allen had fallen asleep.
Thanks to the precise biological clock they had developed over many years, even though Allen and Laxus had gone to bed late the previous night, the two of them still opened their eyes in unison when seven in the morning arrived. However, despite waking at the same time, what they did next could not have been more different.
Allen quickly sat up, stretched broadly, and neatly threw off the blankets, ready to begin a new day. Laxus, on the other hand, lazily rolled over and buried his head in his pillow. Clearly, he was still reluctant to leave the warmth and comfort of the bed and wanted to linger a little longer.
Seeing this, Allen walked straight to Laxus's bedside without another word, reached out, and yanked away his blankets. "Stop dawdling and get up! Once we wash up and have breakfast, we're setting out." Suddenly deprived of his blankets, Laxus felt a surge of frustration. He had planned to struggle and resist a little longer, but at that moment, Allen let out a threatening "Hmm?!" That single syllable struck like thunder, and Laxus instantly sprang out of bed on reflex.
Watching Laxus stagger sleepily toward the bathroom to wash up, his eyes barely open, Allen helplessly shook his head and scolded him, "Look at you. Who told you to get so excited last night that you couldn't stop and stayed up so late? Feeling miserable now, are you? You brought it on yourself. Serves you right for being so sleepy you can barely get out of bed."
Still, Laxus naturally had his own secret method for dealing with this kind of grogginess.
Laxus stood before the washbasin, brushing his teeth in a daze while circulating his magic power. He controlled a weak electric current and sent it rapidly through his body once. In an instant, a powerful stimulating sensation spread through him. His previously hazy mind immediately became crystal clear, and he was suddenly full of energy.
The two quickly finished getting ready, then headed together to Blue Pegasus's dining hall.
When they entered the dining hall, they were surprised to find that Bob was already sitting there, leisurely enjoying his breakfast.
Bob raised his head, his gaze instantly locking onto the two who had just entered. He smiled and waved at them, signaling for them to come eat with him.
Seeing this, the two hurried to the serving area to choose the breakfasts they each fancied, then quickly went over and sat down at Bob's table.
After they sat down, Bob looked at Allen with curiosity and asked, "Why didn't you sleep a little longer? There's still plenty of time, so there was no need to hurry!"
Allen swallowed the food he had been chewing before answering, "Actually, I've always had a habit of planning everything I need to accomplish that day in advance. If I sleep in because I'm lazy in the morning, it could easily disrupt all my arrangements afterward. Besides, I particularly dislike unexpected situations, so I may seem a little obsessive about things like this. I hope you won't find it amusing."
While Allen and Bob chatted, Laxus, sitting beside them, completely disregarded his image and began wolfing down the sumptuous breakfast before him. His exaggerated manner of eating drew sidelong glances from everyone nearby. Yet when Bob saw how uninhibited Laxus was, he not only felt no disgust, but found that his own less-than-great appetite had suddenly been stirred up. He seemed to have become much hungrier as well.
Bob said with a smile, "Laxus, you're eating with such relish. It seems Blue Pegasus's food suits your taste."
Laxus answered indistinctly, "Mmm, it's delicious. It ranks among the best things I've ever eaten."
"Hahaha, then eat some more. Take some with you for the road later."
After eating their fill and packing some food to go, Allen and Laxus cheerfully said goodbye to Bob and set off for Rainbow Port.
As the two walked side by side along the roadside, a deep, orderly clopping suddenly reached their ears. Allen turned to look and saw a grand merchant caravan slowly approaching. The caravan bore the emblem of Heartfilia, a famous conglomerate in Fiore.
Allen's heart stirred. He quickly stepped forward and politely stopped the lead coachman, asking where the caravan was headed. When he heard the answer "Rainbow Port," a flash of delight crossed his eyes. He then turned to the caravan's steward and sincerely asked whether the two brothers could ride along with them to Rainbow Port. As he spoke, Allen gently pulled up his sleeve, revealing the exquisite Fairy Tail emblem on his arm to show which guild they belonged to.
The steward was slightly taken aback. But when he saw the Fairy Tail emblem, an expression of extreme delight immediately appeared on his face.
It turned out that although this caravan had invited several mages to accompany them and ensure the journey's safety, those mages all came from obscure little guilds and were presumably of limited strength. Now that two Fairy Tail mages had taken the initiative to ask for a ride, even though they appeared very young, they still provided the entire journey with a great deal of additional security.
After receiving the steward's consent, Allen and Laxus happily boarded the carriage.
As soon as they had settled in, the steward came over and introduced himself. "Hello, my name is Todd. I'll be counting on you both for the rest of the journey."
Before you continue