Ever since the demolition expert Natsu officially settled into Fairy Tail, the frequency of guild brawls had significantly increased. Most of the time, it started with Natsu and Gray, dragging many other members into the fray.
The thickness of Makarov's wallet was inversely proportional to the frequency of the guild brawls.
At this moment, Makarov, with an unlit cigar dangling from his mouth, slumped over the bar counter, sighing heavily at the bills. He suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for the days when he was just an ordinary member and could be the one acting as the demolition expert.
Now, these brats were even noisier than back then, with small fights every three days and big brawls every five. They demolished the guild faster than they could save money. He now had reason to suspect that the Second Master, Precht, had run away because he couldn't stand the chaos.
Shaking his head to clear away these strange thoughts, he beckoned toward the easel in the corner.
Beside the easel, Riyao, sporting a topknot bun just like Nezha's, was leaning to the side as a model, while Reedus held a brush, applying paint to the canvas. Riyao caught sight of Makarov's gesture out of the corner of his eye, and his internal alarm bells rang instantly. He closed his eyes, pretending not to see.
"You brat, get over here!" Seeing him pretending not to see, Makarov shouted at the top of his lungs, the vibration causing his cigar to fall onto the bar counter.
Riyao covered one ear with his hand, shaking his head like a rattle-drum, humming an off-key Doraemon theme song, and intentionally smeared paint all over his face. "Oh? Reedus's paint is about to dry, I can't hear you~"
...
Reedus finished the painting: the background was the bar, with Riyao leaning against the underside of the bar, head slightly tilted, eyes closed, and a faint smile on his lips. Besides the topknot bun, there were several large lumps on his head caused by Makarov's hammer. Overall, he looked a bit dead... well, very peaceful.
Makarov blew on his cold water and took a calm sip.
Natsu and Gray stood shivering beside Riyao; they didn't know why Makarov had called them over.
"Stop pretending, get up now, I have something to assign to you." Makarov kicked Riyao's topknot.
"It's definitely not anything good, I don't want to hear it." Riyao wiped the paint off his face, sat cross-legged on the floor, and intentionally put on a resistant look. "I still have to be a model; Reedus's painting is going to be hung on the guild wall."
"If you get it done, I'll allow you to participate in the S-Class promotion exam this year." Makarov lit his cold water, eyeing Riyao's reaction.
"Then I demand to be promoted directly to S-Class!" Riyao sat up with a start, trying to negotiate for a higher reward.
"Then forget it." Makarov drank half of his flammable cold water.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't, don't, don't!" Riyao quickly raised his hands in surrender and said reservedly, "Let's hear it first, what if I happen to be interested?"
"Take Gray and Natsu out on a job." Makarov poured whiskey into his glass.
Natsu instantly bristled, jumping up with clenched fists. "Huh? Why do I have to go on a job with this black-bellied bastard!"
"The fire-breathing idiot is right!" Gray chimed in.
Makarov ignored their complaints, took a sip of his flammable oolong tea, and pushed the job request form toward them.
Riyao pinched the job request form he had just pulled from the guild counter. His brows were twisted into an ∞ shape, and his entire face was filled with the confusion of being "completely clueless." He opened his mouth to ask a long, drawn-out question: "Huh? Star-Moon Herb?!"
Upon hearing this, Gray immediately leaned his head over, his eyes wider than the ice balls he had just formed. "Star-Moon Herb?! Never even heard of it! What kind of herb is this?!"
Natsu, who was holding honey pancakes just brought from the guild cafeteria and chewing with his face covered in crumbs, had his cheeks stuffed full. He tugged and shook Riyao's arm, speaking indistinctly: "Hey, hey, what are you two whispering about?! What does it say?!"
The two turned their heads in sync and rolled their eyes so hard they could circle the guild three times. What an illiterate.
Riyao looked down to scan the request form again. As soon as his gaze fixed on the location at the bottom, he froze instantly. His fingers shook so hard he almost poked a hole in the paper. He raised his voice in disbelief: "W-what?! The Tidal Forest?! That dump is not only ridiculously far away, but it's also full of ferocious monsters. A round trip would take a month at best!"
He instantly understood Makarov's little scheme; he just wanted to dump these two demolition maniacs, Gray and Natsu, in that godforsaken place to suffer! And he had to be dragged into it too.
Just as he locked eyes with Makarov and was about to slam the table to complain about this terrible job, the old man suddenly lunged over. A pair of small, wrinkled hands covered his mouth directly, and the beard on his chin stood up like a little flag due to the sudden movement. Makarov leaned into his ear, lowered his voice, and deliberately drew out his tone: "You wouldn't want your S-Class promotion exam to go down the drain, would you?"
Riyao's eyes widened instantly, and he froze in place, his pupils shaking. He never expected this thick-browed, big-eyed old man who usually looked so upright to actually say something like this!
In the end, he could only hang his head, looking dejected like a frostbitten eggplant, and sighed as he grabbed the request form, accepting his fate: "...Fine, fine, I give in."
...
Riyao slung his neatly packed Mage's knapsack over his shoulder and pondered for a moment. He shouldn't have forgotten anything—phone, charging cable... oh no, these things don't exist here.
( ╥ ﹏ ╥ )
Before long, Natsu, who was holding honey pancakes and chewing with his face covered in crumbs, dragged Riyao along as he ran over. Just as they turned into the plaza, they saw the sturdy security guard, Old Wang, gripping Gray by the back of his collar, dragging him toward the guard booth like he was a ruffled chick. Gray's bare chest was dizzying to look at, and he was kicking his legs high in the air.
"Riyao, Natsu, save me!"
Riyao stopped in his tracks instantly, looked up at the sun at a forty-five-degree angle, and marveled at what a nice day it was.
Natsu was already holding his stomach, laughing until he couldn't straighten up, hopping around and slapping his thigh: "Hahahaha! Gray, you actually got dragged away by the security guard uncle? That's so lame!"
Riyao rolled his eyes helplessly and walked over to explain things to the security guard. Fortunately, Gray hadn't done this kind of thing just once or twice, and the security guard, Old Wang, was familiar with the members of Fairy Tail, so he quickly let him go.
The train started moving with a "clack-clack" sound. Just fifty meters out of the station, the half-pancake in Natsu's hand "plop" fell to the ground. His face instantly turned as pale as Gray's ice shards, his knuckles gripping the seat armrest turned white, and his stomach churned violently. He leaned against the carriage wall, dry-heaving: "Ugh... why is this iron box shaking like it's been blasted by a fire dragon..."
Gray, having shaken off his earlier embarrassment, leaned over and poked Natsu's cheeks, which were puffed up like buns, laughing until he was doubling over: "Hahahaha! Natsu, you actually get motion sickness? And you're a Dragon Slayer Mage! That's so pathetic!"
"This is... the side effect... of Dragon Slayer Magic..."
Riyao thought for a moment and cast "Troia" on Natsu. Natsu revived in a second and started brawling with Gray.
Natsu getting motion sickness from transportation so early on was quite a unique talent. It was hard to tell if it was a constitutional issue, after all, he had been modified by Zeref.