When the three of them emerged from the Tidal Forest, carrying that polished, straight wooden stick and stepping through sticky rotting leaves, bear blood, and alpaca saliva, they looked just like a bunch of wild boys who had just rolled through a swamp.
Natsu's messy hair was matted with semi-dried bear fur and bits of grass, Gray's Gray coat was covered in grass clippings, and Riyao's tattered coat was stuffed full of the freshly harvested star-moon grass. A few stray alpaca hairs still hung from the wooden stick, clattering as they walked, and the scrapes on the backs of their hands were still red and raw.
They hadn't walked even half a mile when the hot spring inn at the edge of town, with its blue cloth banner fluttering, came into view. Natsu's eyes lit up, and he took off running.
Gray grabbed him by the back of his collar, rolling his eyes so hard they almost hit the back of his head. "What's the rush?"
Riyao, meanwhile, leaned against the banner pole while hugging the wooden stick, shaking his grass-covered feet as he looked it over. "Whoa, this place looks a hundred times better than that stinking pit in the forest. Let's hurry inside and scrub up!"
The three of them paid for the room and immediately dove into the hot spring pool, which was steaming with thick, swirling mist.
Riyao tilted his head back against the stone ledge of the pool, squinting his eyes in pure contentment. He casually stretched his foot toward Gray, splashing hot spring water all over his face. "This is life~"
Gray wiped his face, closed his eyes, and leaned against the side of the pool. His voice was soft, lacking his usual urge to retort. "Ah~ This is great. We finally made it out of that damn saliva-filled forest."
Natsu clung to the tiles at the edge of the pool, kicking his feet in the water and sending sprays flying everywhere. Little orange flames flickered on his fists, and his eyes shone as if they were burning with little suns. "Wahahaha, let me turn up the heat in this hot spring! It's only satisfying if it's hot like this!"
"Absolutely not!" x2
Gray and Riyao both bristled instantly; one reached out to freeze Natsu's flaming wrist, while the other grabbed his arm and shoved him back into the pool.
Natsu struggled and kicked, sending water splashing everywhere. The three of them caused such a commotion that the water in the hot spring surged half a meter high, and even the shower curtains by the pool were sent swaying wildly.
Just as they were having fun, the innkeeper, wearing a faded white cotton apron, walked over carrying a wooden basin and waved his hands with a gentle smile. "Guests, I am terribly sorry, but the water temperature of our hot spring is fixed. If you use magic to raise the temperature, the wooden beams of the building won't be able to withstand the heat."
The three of them gave sheepish smiles, quickly stopped their roughhousing, and scrambled out of the pool, wrapping themselves in the bathrobes provided by the inn.
Natsu pouted and muttered, "Cheapskate, a little burning wouldn't hurt anything..."
Gray used ice magic to freeze his wet hair into stiff strands and retorted, "If you really burned it down, we'd be sleeping on the street feeding mosquitoes tonight."
Riyao's shoulders shook as he tried to hold back his laughter.
As soon as they stepped out of the bathhouse, they took out the drinks that they had specifically asked Gray to chill with his ice magic.
The three of them moved in perfect synchronization, tilting their heads back and gulping down their drinks. The sound of their swallowing blended together like a little chorus.
Natsu drank too quickly and started coughing violently, spraying soda all over Gray's face.
Gray immediately raised his hand, conjured some ice crystals, and froze the tip of Natsu's nose until it looked like a little red radish.
Riyao stood by, laughing so hard he slapped his thigh. "Hahahaha, that's what you get for being in such a rush!"
Finally, the three of them leaned against the bluestone slab at the inn's entrance, wiped the soda foam from their mouths, and shouted in unison, "Ah~ Refreshing!"
Gray suddenly poked Riyao's elbow, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. "By the way, I've been wondering for a long time—how do you have so much magic power, Riyao?"
Riyao was busy picking at the bark on the wooden stick. He looked up nonchalantly and gave an annoying whistle. "Huh? I don't have that much magic power."
Gray rolled his eyes so hard they almost hit the back of his head and flicked the ice crystals from his fingertips onto the grass at Riyao's feet. "Give me a break. When we were fighting that Iron-Mane Magic Bear a few days ago, you cast over a dozen enhancement, healing, and restraint spells in a row without even catching your breath. If it were me, I would've run out of magic power and been on the ground eating dirt long ago."
Riyao scratched his messy, bird's nest hair, a smug, "humble-brag" smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He patted his chest and swung his legs. "Oh~ It's just using a mix of magic power and life force to drive it, no big deal."
"Whoa! That sounds amazing!" Natsu jumped up instantly, crushing the soda can in his hand even flatter with a crisp "clatter." He grabbed Riyao's sleeve and shook it violently. "I want to learn this!!"
"Learn my ass." Gray flicked an ice crystal directly onto Natsu's forehead, making him jump around holding his head in pain. "With your brain, you want to learn this?"
Riyao also kicked Natsu in the butt, sending him stumbling forward a couple of steps, and laughed gleefully. "It's already a miracle that a dummy like you managed to learn Dragon Slayer Magic, and you want to learn this?"
Natsu held his butt and puffed out his cheeks in protest. "I'm not a dummy!"
If Igneel heard that, he would probably say that raising kids is really hard work.
Fortunately, Riyao's magic could make Natsu immune to motion sickness from vehicles; otherwise, Natsu probably would have died on the road during the trip back.
Too bad~ This magic actually has a tolerance buildup, hehe.
The one-month deadline had arrived! Fairy Tail welcomed back its strictest demolition leader.
The guild gate—I don't know which number this one was—was the first to go offline. The carvings on the top of the door crumbled into a pile of debris, and even the door hinges were twisted into pretzels.
Bang!
The setting sun stretched the three of them's shadows out long. Standing against the golden-red afterglow in front of the blasted-open gate, they struck a ridiculously flamboyant pose.
Everyone in the guild, who had been busy and bustling just moments before, instantly stopped what they were doing. Those polishing glasses, practicing basic magic, or gnawing on bread all froze with their hands in mid-air, their gazes locking onto the three guys at the entrance.
Makarov and Erza, who were even stricter than the demolition leader, narrowed their eyes.
Riyao shielded Gray and Natsu behind him, casually shoved the star-moon grass he was carrying into their arms, and whispered to them, "Go on in. Here, help me hold the star-moon grass; I need to tie my shoelace."
Natsu didn't think twice and walked into the guild carrying the heavy star-moon grass. Gray rolled his eyes even harder, grabbed Natsu's arm, and followed behind, not forgetting to retort, "Hold it steady, don't scatter the grass everywhere, or Erza will catch us and make us scrub the floors again."
Erza silently crept up behind Natsu and Gray, who had just stepped into the guild gate. She pressed her hands onto their shoulders, the grip as steady and firm as if they were welded in place. Natsu, who had been swaying and humming an off-key tune while clutching the star-moon grass, instantly froze into a wooden stake nailed to the floor.
Gray was just about to open his mouth to complain about Riyao tying his shoelace, but before the words could come out, his shoulders were pressed down half an inch. The massive eye-roll on his face instantly froze...
The two of them were like puppets that had been hit with a pause button, stiffly turning their necks, their faces twisted into pretzels. Natsu's lips trembled like leaves in an autumn wind, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a shaky sound: "Er... Erza..."
As Gray and Natsu lay peacefully on the floor, Riyao finally strolled slowly into the guild, grinning as he passed by the two of them.