Riyao walked to a door at the end of the hallway and pushed it open with force. Accompanied by the harsh screech of rubbing hinges, a musty smell of unventilated air mixed with dust blew toward him.
"Cough, cough..." Gray coughed a few times, choked by the dust, and waved his hand to disperse the particles before his eyes.
"This will be your room." Riyao leaned against the doorframe and pointed inside. "You're responsible for cleaning it yourself. Any damage to public property will be compensated at cost. As for meals, you can settle that at the guild."
Gray slowly walked into the room, approached the simple wooden bed, and reached out to touch the coarse sheets.
He turned around, looking at Riyao standing in the doorway and Cana peeking her head in. Though Riyao always mocked him, there was no malice in his eyes; though Cana always made fun of him, she had accompanied him all the way here. In this guild full of all sorts of weirdos, he seemed to have found a strange sense of belonging.
"Thank you," Gray said in a low voice, so quiet it was almost inaudible.
"Huh? What did you say? Louder, I can't hear you!" Riyao deliberately put a hand to his ear, making an exaggerated listening gesture.
"I said, stop being an eyesore standing in my doorway!" Gray instantly lost his cool, grabbed a rag from the table, and threw it at Riyao.
Riyao easily tilted his head to dodge the rag and walked away laughing. "Alright, alright, you get cleaned up first, you naked brat. Remember to come to the guild hall tonight. As a newcomer, you have to receive everyone's 'warm welcome'!"
Cana also waved at Gray. "Bye-bye, Gray! Remember to find your pants first!"
Riyao ruffled Cana's hair and said, "Don't learn from him, or Gildarts will give us all a beating when he gets back."
Cana broke free from his evil clutches, made a face, and ran off.
The guild hall was brightly lit that night. As soon as Gray appeared, Makarov shouted, "Brats! Let's get wild!"
Riyao happily pushed Gray inside to the kids' table, where Cana and Levy were sitting.
Strangely enough, Levy hadn't joined the guild yet, but she came every day to browse the books. She had just finished reading and was about to leave when Riyao kept her to celebrate together.
"This is Levy McGarden. She hasn't joined the guild, but she mooches books every day. Isn't she quite the little rascal?"
"Riyao-ge, I will join!" Levy retorted, blushing.
"Oh? Then how about joining now? We can hold the celebration party together."
"Gramps, Levy is joining the guild!"
Levy reached out to stop him, but Makarov laughed heartily. "Hahaha, fantastic! A double blessing today!" The guild's atmosphere reached a new high.
"Oh! Let's get it started!"
"Bring out the good food! And the booze too!"
"Alright!! Everyone!! Cheers!!! Let's party! Drink all night!!"
"You bastard, why are you snatching my meat?!"
"Bullshit, that's my meat!"
Everyone ate, drank, and brawled.
Riyao squinted his eyes and chuckled. Seeing this, Cana and Levy shuddered, while Gray ate meat heartily with one leg propped up on a chair.
The next morning, the sky over Magnolia had just begun to show a hint of pale dawn, and a thin morning mist shrouded the silent streets like a veil of gauze.
Riyao woke up early, carrying an unknown potion, and stepped lightly into the guild hall, where several drunks were lying on the floor.
Rubbing his hands together, he approached them step by step.
Riyao crouched down, his movements practiced and ruthless. He pinched Macao's chin with his left hand and unhesitatingly poured the viscous liquid inside. Then, he followed suit, heading toward Wakaba, Nab, and several other guild members who were fast asleep. After finishing them off one by one, he quickly stowed away the empty test tubes and, like a nimble cat, immediately slipped away toward the door leading to the backyard.
"This time, the Sobriety Potion is specially made in strawberry flavor. 10, 9, 8, 7... 1."
Wretched screams erupted from the guild hall.
"Ah, what is this taste? Blegh—" Macao suddenly bounded off the floor, his eyes bulging and bloodshot.
"It's definitely that brat Riyao! Blegh—" Wakaba rolled frantically on the ground, his snot and tears streaming uncontrollably, mixing with the pink foam overflowing from the corners of his mouth, turning his face into a mess.
"Quick, throw my tongue away! Quick, blegh—" Nab knelt on the ground, his hands desperately clawing at his mouth, trying to scrape away the taste that felt like it was etched into his bones.
"Why does it feel like it tastes a bit good? No, it's disgusting... Wait, no, it's delicious. Blegh—"
(×﹏×)
Riyao ignored the commotion in the guild hall and looked at Cana in the backyard, flashing a gentle smile. Cana saw it clearly and began to tremble.
"Ri... Riyao-ge..." Cana's voice had a noticeable sob in it as she instinctively shrunk toward the edge of the bench, trying to pull away from this smiling demon. "This potion... it won't be used on me, right? It won't, right? Definitely not, right? I didn't drink any alcohol last night! I swear I only drank juice!"
"How about I make a banana-flavored one for you next time?"
Just then, the backyard door was pushed open again, and Gray walked out yawning, wearing nothing but a pair of white boxers.
"So noisy... It's early morning; are they slaughtering pigs in the hall? It smells awful..." Gray complained while rubbing his eyes, completely failing to notice a puddle of pink slime that Wakaba had just spat out near the threshold.
Splat. Gray stepped right onto the slime, his foot slipped, and he instantly lost his balance, falling forward. "Whoa!"
Riyao was quick-witted and fast-handed, reaching out to grab Gray's arm and hoisting him up.
Gray stood firm, still shaken. Just as he was about to say thank you, he saw that Riyao's other hand was somehow holding another test tube.
"Good morning, Gray." The smile on Riyao's face grew even more radiant as he held the test tube to Gray's lips, his tone full of temptation. "You look listless. Want a sip of my newly developed 'Refreshing Banana Soup'? I guarantee that after you drink it, you won't feel sleepy for the rest of the day."
Gray looked at the yellow liquid that seemed to wriggle as if it were alive, then smelled the intense scent of vomit mixed with strawberry essence wafting from the hall. His pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinheads.
His beast-like intuition screamed in alarm at that moment. He violently broke free from Riyao's grip and retreated three or four steps, his back slamming heavily against the brick wall of the backyard.
"You... don't come any closer! You Perverted Poisoner!" Gray pointed at Riyao, his voice cracking from sheer terror.
Watching Gray's retreating back as he fled in panic, and seeing Cana beside him looking like her soul was about to leave her body, Riyao shrugged helplessly. Facing the rising sun, he took a long stretch. In the new day, the Fairy Tail Guild was still just as full of vitality and noise.