After a few minutes of meticulous cleaning, Riyao's tension relaxed, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh into the air. This breath carried the pungent aroma of freshly eaten garlic, wafting directly toward Erza's face.
Erza's face instantly tightened, her lips pursed into a straight line as she forced herself to hold her breath, her nose wrinkling slightly.
(´～`)
Riyao noticed it himself, but instead of being even slightly embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head and laughed candidly: "Ah, I rushed back this morning and had a bowl of bone soup noodles with two cloves of sugar garlic from the pickling jar. It was delicious, haha."
He then reached out to straighten Erza's head, taking the opportunity to pinch it twice. Since the Fairy Queen hadn't risen to power yet, he had to take the chance to tease her.
"Alright, don't tilt your neck. Keep this posture; I'm going to pour in the regenerative auxiliary potion." After instructing Erza, he turned his head toward the door and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Old man! For the next half hour, don't let those reckless brats barge in and ruin my work!"
Makarov's lazy response immediately came from outside the door, mixed with a slow yawn: "Got it, got it. I'll grab a stool and guard the door. I'll whack the head of anyone who tries to barge in. Just focus on your healing!"
Only then did Riyao pull an Emerald-green potion from his Magic Space. The bottle was shaped like a large eye-drop container, with his handwritten label still on it. He unscrewed the cap, carefully aimed at Erza's eye socket, and slowly poured the cool liquid inside along the bone wall. In a moment, the entire socket was filled to the brim, and he held Erza's head steadily, not daring to move.
"It's a bit itchy... is this normal?" Erza couldn't help but flutter her eyelashes and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah, don't move. If it spills, I'll have to prepare it all over again, which is a real pain."
As he spoke, a faint fluorescent green glow rose from Riyao's palm, and warm life force seeped into Erza's eye socket through his hand. While his hands were busy, his mouth wasn't idle, teasing her with a smile: "I say, little Erza, how about I give you Heterochromia? Scarlet in the left eye and Emerald in the right. People will definitely turn their heads to look at you; it'll look much better than the original color. Won't you consider it?"
"Senior Riyao, please don't bother... the original color is fine." Erza hurriedly refused.
"Are you sure? It would look super cool. All the girls in the guild would definitely envy you."
"No." Erza pursed her lips, her tone firm.
"Alright, alright," Riyao clicked his tongue twice and then came up with another bad idea, his tone sounding like a street vendor. "Then how about a special function? Do you want a Precognition Eye that can see the future, or a Mind-Reading Eye that can see through people's thoughts? You can pick any function you like."
"Eh? You can add those kinds of abilities? Is that really possible?" Erza, as expected, took the bait and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Of course not! Hahaha, I'm just teasing you!" Riyao laughed so hard his shoulders shook.
Erza was instantly rendered speechless. Drowsiness began to set in, and her voice drifted with a hint of helplessness: "Senior... Riyao... you really... have such a wicked sense of humor..."
"Feeling sleepy is normal. I added a sedative component to the potion. Just close your eyes and sleep for a while; you'll be fine by the time you wake up." Riyao stopped laughing, his tone softening, and he patted his chest in assurance. "Don't worry, your senior is a true gentleman. I definitely won't take advantage of you."
Even though it had only been half an hour since they met, Erza had already figured him out—though this man was full of nonsense and loved to tease, he had no ill intentions at heart. She relaxed and obediently closed her eyes. However, just two seconds after closing them, she heard a malicious "hehe" chuckle from Riyao, and she snapped her eyes open in a fright.
ㅍ_ㅍ
Riyao gave a fake cough and gently placed his hand over her eyelids, manually closing them for her.
Then, he completely dropped his playful demeanor and pushed his Healing Magic to its limit. The green light in his palm surged instantly, and a rich, moist Emerald mist slowly spread out, dyeing the furniture and decorations of the entire reception room in a gentle green hue. The room was filled with the fresh scent of growing vegetation.
After eighty-one minutes, simple ingredients often prepared with the most basic methods result in a fragrant bowl of Braised Beef Noodles being served.
Riyao sat comfortably at the bar holding a bowl larger than his face, with one leg crossed over the other. He happily slurped his noodles, the continuous "slurp slurp" sounds making everyone nearby salivate.
Makarov, who had long since grown hungry while waiting outside, hurriedly brought over a bowl and joined him in slurping noodles. After finishing a large piece of beef and wiping his mouth, he tilted his chin toward the reception room: "That girl has been asleep for nearly an hour and a half and still hasn't moved? Roughly how much longer until she wakes up?"
Riyao finished a mouthful of soup-soaked noodles and took a sip of the hot broth before casually lifting his eyelids: "She'll wake up when she's done sleeping."
Makarov was so annoyed his beard bristled. He tapped his chopsticks against the rim of his bowl with a 'clank clank' and scolded with a laugh: "You brat, that's a non-answer! If that's not nonsense, I don't know what is!"
"Oh, I don't know how long she'll sleep. Erza hasn't had a good rest in a long time, so I just increased the dosage to let her have a proper sleep."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Makarov's face faded slightly. He took a sip of his wine, sighed, and softened his tone: "You're right. This child has suffered enough since she was little. It's good that she can have a peaceful sleep."
Just as they finished speaking, the other side of the guild suddenly erupted into chaos. Magic flew everywhere, and various cups, plates, and bowls were sent flying into the air, hurtling toward them.
[Hahahaha]
Riyao turned to look at Makarov and said, "Old man, can you stop laughing so weirdly? It's creepy."
"Huh? I wasn't laughing."
Riyao didn't continue the bickering. Just as he was about to take the last slurp of his noodles, an empty glass hit him squarely on the forehead before he could dodge. The force was so great it pushed half his face into the noodle bowl, covering him in noodles and hot soup.
The next second, he jerked his head up. Soup dripped from his oily bangs, and his previously lazy eyes instantly became as sharp as a drawn blade. His entire aura shifted—the hunting time had begun.
(#`dish´)
He plucked the noodles from his nose, rolled up his sleeves, and gritted his teeth while suppressing a laugh: "Good! Fine! If I don't hang you all on the guild's outer wall as decorations today, I'll write the name Riyao backward!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he let out a roar and leaped up, diving headlong into the chaotic crowd. He instantly became a blur among the two culprits, and the sounds of fighting and laughter nearly lifted the roof, making the unique rowdiness of Fairy Tail even more intense.
Makarov slurped his last bit of noodles, sighed, and looked at the brawling crowd, preparing to intervene if they started endangering the guild's property.