In the desert, the hot wind whipped sand and gravel against their faces. Virgo had grown quite large, her arm muscles tensed as she held Riyao and Mirajane firmly in her embrace, striding forward with great speed.
Her footsteps plowed two deep furrows into the dust behind them. After just two days, the silhouette of a town's earthen walls entered their field of vision, with curls of cooking smoke drifting from the rooftops.
The seven days it took to get there had been like rolling through purgatory; the wind and sand had made their mouths and noses dry and gritty, and they could only gnaw on rock-hard dry rations.
Now, seeing signs of life right before her eyes, Mirajane's hand, which had been clutching Virgo's sleeve, relaxed slightly.
Virgo stopped on a dirt slope outside the town, tapped the ground with her fingertips, and gently set the two down.
She returned to her original size and gave a slight bow. A Celestial Spirit magic circle flashed beneath her feet, and her figure vanished from the spot.
The moment they landed, Mirajane's brows shot up in anger. She reached out and fiercely grabbed Riyao's ear, pulling it upward. "Oh, you! You deliberately took seven days to drag me through that desert!"
Riyao bared his teeth in pain, his ear pulled to one side, and he could only scratch the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "I just wanted to spend a little more time with you."
"We see each other every day at the guild, isn't that enough?" Mirajane's cheeks puffed out, but her grip loosened, though she still hadn't let go of his ear.
"It's not the same. I wanted to be alone with you." Riyao leaned in close, his voice low. Mirajane's ears instantly turned beet red; she quickly let go and gave him a shove.
Riyao shamelessly leaned in even closer, his chin almost touching the top of her head. Mirajane covered his face with a look of disgust and pushed him away, her nose wrinkling tightly. "Get away, get away! You stink!"
And why wouldn't he? After enduring nine days in the desert, sweat and dust had formed a crust on their bodies. They smelled like they had just rolled out of a sand dune.
Riyao scratched his neck, looked at his dusty hem, then at the sand-dusted tips of Mirajane's hair, and chuckled.
The two walked toward the town, playful banter following them. As soon as they stepped through the city gates, the sweet aroma of baking bread, the sounds of children playing, and the clanging of a blacksmith's shop washed over them like a wave of worldly warmth.
They glanced at each other, their faces still covered in dust, but they couldn't help but burst out laughing together.
Riyao looked down at his mud-spattered boots, then glanced at the clean-clothed passersby. He tugged on Mirajane's sleeve. "We look like beggars. Let's find an inn and take a bath first."
Mirajane nodded quickly, her nose still wrinkled. "Quick... let's go. My whole body feels sticky and gross, it's driving me crazy."
The two rushed into the nearest inn. Riyao slapped the front desk and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Boss, one room!"
Just as he finished speaking, the side door of the inn creaked open, and a boxer in a red and white outfit walked out, tiny sparks of electricity crackling at his fingertips.
Mirajane immediately delivered a sharp kick to Riyao's calf. Riyao jumped in pain, instantly dropping his casual act. He straightened his back and corrected himself with a forced smile, "Two, two rooms!"
They each went to their own rooms. As soon as Riyao entered, he peeled off his dirty clothes and happily soaked himself in a bathtub full of hot water.
The moment the hot water rose over his shoulders, he let out a comfortable sigh. Leaning against the edge of the tub, he scrubbed off the grime, and the water turned black instantly. After scrubbing, he changed the water and planned to soak for a while.
"This is the life! I'm never taking a crappy request like that again. Sleeping in the wild is too much suffering. It would be great if I had a portable spatial pocket to carry clothes and food." He muttered to himself while bathing. "This time, the Celestial Spirit form could use Earth Magic because it's Virgo's innate magic. If I could find a creature with innate Spatial Magic... hehe."
Unfortunately, the Celestial Spirit states were already fixed. He couldn't use Gemini to copy life information seeds for mimicry.
Riyao scratched his head and began humming an out-of-tune song: "Falling in love with the Thunder God~"
Bang! The sound of Mirajane slapping the wall came from the next room. Her annoyed voice drifted through the wall: "That sounds terrible! Stop singing!"
Riyao pouted and grumbled quietly, "Fine, fine, I won't sing."
His eyes darted around, and a mischievous smile appeared on his face. He pressed his ear against the wall, cleared his throat, and deliberately lowered his voice: "So, after Aha broke Akivili's heart, he was filled with regret. He stood under the building holding ninety-nine roses, but Akivili..."
Just as he reached the most captivating part, he suddenly stopped and started humming a little tune while leaning against the tub.
Once Riyao had cleaned himself up and changed into the clean clothes provided by the inn, he opened his door to find Mirajane standing in the hallway with a dark expression. Her cheeks were puffed out, and her eyes looked like she wanted to eat him alive.
Mirajane reached out, grabbed his ear, and pulled it. She said fiercely, "Did Aha ever win Akivili back? If you don't finish the story today, you're dead!"
Riyao grinned and put his arms around her waist, burying his head near her neck and nuzzling her. "Alright, alright. Let's go eat first. We can talk while we eat. I'm starving to death."
The tips of Mirajane's ears turned red. She let go and allowed him to hold her as they walked out of the inn together, heading straight for the town's liveliest snack street.
In the desert, they could only eat some short-term preserved jerky for the first two days; after that, they had to rely on hard rations and fruit. Seeing the street full of food now, both of their eyes lit up, wishing they could taste everything on the street.
They decided to eat from the south of the city to the east, then loop around to the north and west, specifically targeting stalls with lots of meat while ignoring fruits and vegetables entirely.
Strolling and eating like this—now that's class~
Riyao was the first to rush to a grilled pig trotter stall, ordering two large, fragrant trotters. He gnawed on the trotter until his mouth was covered in grease, not caring even as it dripped down his chin. Mirajane didn't care about her image either, devouring the other trotter as she said indistinctly, "This trotter... it's really got a kick to it..."
"Mhm... so good..." Riyao said as he reached out to snatch the trotter from her hand. Mirajane quickly hid it behind her back, and the two began bickering playfully.
Arriving at a New Orleans grilled chicken stall, Riyao waved his hand grandly. "Boss, give me one of everything: wings, legs, necks, and Qilixiang!"
"Ditch the Qilixiang! If you dare eat that, I'll hit you!" Mirajane reached out and tapped his head, her eyes full of warning.
Riyao pouted aggrievedly. "I just wanted to see what it tasted like..."
Before they had even finished what they had, they started trying to steal from each other.
Riyao was quick and snatched Mirajane's chicken leg, taking a huge bite before running off, while Mirajane chased after him, grabbing him by the back of his collar.
When they passed a fruit bowl stall, they didn't even slow down; they even deliberately sped up.
Mirajane frowned and said, "Lately, I get a headache just looking at fruit."
"When we get back, we're giving all the fruit away. I'm not touching it again for a long time," Riyao agreed, not forgetting to finish gnawing on the chicken neck in his hand.
As they were talking, Virgo's figure suddenly popped up beside them. Just as she was about to speak, Riyao immediately raised his foot and kicked her back into the Celestial Spirit World.
"She's a partner, after all. That was too much." Mirajane pulled on Riyao's arm, her eyes carrying a bit of a reproachful look.
"Forget Virgo, even if the Old Man came, he'd get a kick from me!" Riyao put his hands on his hips, sounding perfectly justified. "Coming out at a time like this, isn't she just ruining our date?"
Mirajane's cheeks instantly turned deep red. She punched his shoulder, and as they continued their antics, they arrived at a milk tea stall.
Riyao pointed at the sign that said 'Chiu Chiu Nyeh Nyeh So Good It Makes Me Miepu Tea' and said, "This looks pretty good, give me two!"
As they held their milk teas, Riyao leaned over and directly bit the straw in Mirajane's hand, taking a big gulp.
Mirajane didn't get upset; she simply took his milk tea and took a sip herself.
Just then, the owner of a nearby stall started shouting: "Come get a bowl of Douzhir! Authentic old-fashioned flavor!"
Riyao poked his head out curiously. "What's this? Boss, let me have a bowl to try!"
As a result, after just one sip, both of them frowned and spat it out. "Pfft... what kind of flavor is this!"
For the rest of the time, the two turned into 'Pac-Men,' stopping to try a bite of every snack stall in sight.
They ate their way around the entire town, finally stopping in front of a dessert shop on the central street.
"There's a dessert shop here, perfect for an after-dinner treat. Mira, can you still eat?" Riyao rubbed his slightly bulging stomach, but his eyes were sparkling.
Mirajane patted her own stomach. "Don't worry, dessert goes into a separate stomach!"
Riyao took her hand and walked into the shop, ordering one of every flavor of cake and pudding on the menu.
The two sat by the window, feeding each other bites of strawberry cake and caramel pudding until their bellies were as round as little balls.
Riyao leaned against the back of his chair, feeling his round belly with a sigh. "I really envy a rubber stomach; you can eat as much as you want and it just digests instantly."
Having eaten and drunk their fill, the two held hands and strolled through the town's streets to help their digestion.
The evening breeze carried the scent of flowers from the roadside. Riyao squeezed Mirajane's soft hand and said with a smile, "Your hand is still so soft. I suddenly remembered when I first led you into the guild."
Mirajane glanced at him sideways, a smile on her lips. "Oh, so you had your eyes on me even back then, did you!"
"How is that possible? Am I that kind of person?" Riyao tilted his head back and puffed out his neck.
Mirajane suddenly leaned in close, her warm breath brushing against his ear as she asked softly, "Then when was it?"
Riyao leaned into her ear with a grin and said loudly on purpose, "Hehe, it was when I was taking a dump in the woods behind your house!"
Mirajane's face instantly darkened. She clenched her fist, then let it go helplessly. "I knew something was wrong with you back then. I thought you were trying to kidnap my siblings, I didn't expect your target to be me."
"How can you call it kidnapping? I left the betrothal gifts behind!" Riyao said righteously.
"That was far too shabby; it hardly suits your status as an S-Class Mage," Mirajane teased him.
The two talked and laughed, unknowingly walking back to the inn. At the door of the room, Riyao suddenly hugged Mirajane's waist and refused to let go, nuzzling her shoulder while drooping his eyelids to act pitiful. "Mira~ I'm afraid of the dark sleeping alone..."
Looking at his shameless behavior, Mirajane poked his forehead with her finger, her eyes filled with doting affection. "Alright, alright, go back to your own room and rest."
"Then a kiss wouldn't be too much, would it?" Riyao turned his face slightly.
Mirajane's ears instantly turned beet red. She cupped Riyao's face with her hands, quickly pecked him on the lips, then turned and ran into her room, forgetting to even close the door tight.
"Eh, I only wanted a kiss on the cheek, that was a huge profit." Riyao stood there dazed, touching his lips with his finger. Then he suddenly realized: "Wait a minute, why does it feel like I'm the little wife?! Whatever, it doesn't matter, hehehe..."
With light steps, he returned to his room, flopped onto the bed, and rolled around with the blanket, wriggling like a maggot.
At the inn entrance, the boxer in the red and white outfit leaned against the doorframe. The sparks at his fingertips slowly faded as he let out a sigh and muttered, "Looks like today's 'commission' is down the drain."