This is one of the most important moments in Fairy Tail.
Riyao had a foxtail grass in his mouth, swinging his legs as he aimlessly wandered the fields on the outskirts of Magnolia.
As for why, the chapter title already said it. Shouldn't I follow the plot and see if there are any Dragon Slayers who just graduated from their dragons?
Pick them up as underlings—everyone can fight and take a hit. Later, when I get hit by the Guild Master's iron fist, there will be someone to block it for me. What a steal!
After searching all morning, I didn't even touch a single dragon scale, but I accidentally stumbled upon the village where Mirajane and her siblings live.
Riyao squatted on a mound, fiddling with grass leaves and pondering: That's right, Mages who haven't joined a guild are penniless and rely on their feet. Wandering around Magnolia and ending up in Magnolia is perfectly reasonable.
Whenever he couldn't figure something out, he would scratch his head. The more he scratched, the more annoyed he got, so he simply lay on the grass and rolled around, covering himself in grass clippings: It's so strange. Before, when I recognized Cana early or reunited with that idiot uncle early, there was no reaction. Why did curing Erza's eyes trigger a curse?
Does this mean changing the future itself isn't the trigger condition? Then what on earth triggers it?
When I have time, I really need to check out the ruins that bastard uncle mentioned, but the problem is... Riyao rolled to the edge of the mound and "thumped" his head. He climbed up, clutching his head and grimacing. To find the ruins, I have to reach S-Class first!
That old miser Makarov won't let me go, and that idiot uncle won't leak a single word about the location. Isn't this just purely blocking my progress?
Having rolled enough, Riyao "slapped" his movements to a stop and patted the burrs and grass clippings off his backside.
Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. Since I've stumbled upon Mirajane's village, it never hurts to come over early and get familiar.
He hunched his back and shrank his neck, inching toward the village with a peek at every step.
He made up his mind that if he heard any weird or wrong laughter, he would turn around and run immediately—no losses allowed.
But this appearance of him clinging to a tree stump and hiding, in the eyes of Mirajane who was watching her younger siblings pick wild fruit nearby, looked exactly like a sneaky human trafficker invading the village!
"Who are you! What do you want?!"
A sudden, clear reprimand smashed over. Riyao was so startled he shuddered, and the foxtail grass in his mouth fell out. Without thinking, he turned to run, but after dashing out a meter, he slammed on the brakes. Wait, no! Why am I running? I haven't done anything bad!
He stiffly turned his head, not noticing the half-patch of prickly burrs stuck to his back, and scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly until his face wrinkled: "Hahaha, hello there~"
The teenage version of Mirajane before him was wearing a short jacket with holes, a standard delinquent girl outfit. Her eyebrows and eyes were bright as if tempered with light. Riyao stared straight ahead, secretly whistling in his heart: Wow, teenage Mirajane is actually this cool! She looks even better than that gentle tavern owner in the guild ( ﾉ ∇ ︎ 〃 )!
Mirajane walked over slowly, clenching her fists, scanning him up and down. Riyao looked right back at her openly. Mirajane's brows furrowed even tighter, her vigilance almost pulling up a warning line: "What are you doing here? What is your name?"
Riyao slowly straightened his collar, which had been messed up by the wind, struck a pose he thought was cool, and solemnly spouted nonsense: "I am a pilgrim from the Great Tang in the East."
Mirajane was stunned on the spot, three big question marks appearing on her forehead. She couldn't help but think: Where did this lunatic come from?
She clenched her fists until they cracked, not bothering to beat around the bush with him. She stepped forward, intending to give this crazy guy who was spouting nonsense a few punches to wake him up: "What Great Tang? What pilgrim? Why are you sneaking around behind my house? Are you trying to kidnap my younger siblings!"
Riyao rubbed his chin and pondered: Setting aside the fact that I'm really not here to kidnap children... that actually makes sense!
Bad ideas spun rapidly in his mind, but his face immediately piled up with a pitiful expression. His legs went weak, and he sat down on the grass, waving his hands like a rattle-drum, his voice trembling: "I'm not, I didn't. How old am I? I don't have the ability to kidnap children."
He added in his heart: "I came to scout, I came to scam, I came to take a dump—everything for the old man!"
He looked at Mirajane, who had walked up to him, and said, "I came to take a dump, do you believe me?"
→ _ →
Mirajane's mouth twitched for a long time until it was almost cramping before she squeezed out a sentence: "Should I believe that?"
As soon as she finished speaking, two little heads popped out from behind a tree nearby—it was Lisanna and Elfman.
Riyao glanced over. The little girl with pigtails was bouncing around like a little squirrel; she was indeed as lively and cute as the rumors said.
Looking at Elfman, Riyao spat in his heart on the spot: You sister-choking maniac! Later on, you choked Lisanna's neck quite a few times. I have reason to suspect that Lisanna's neck is so long because you choked it!
Lisanna dug into her pocket, pulled out a crumpled tissue, held it up, blinked at Riyao, and said seriously: "I heard you. You came to take a dump, right? Here is some paper."
Elfman stood behind his sister, his face flushed like a ripe apple. He fidgeted for a long time before squeezing out a whisper: "Um... can you go... somewhere else to do it?"
Mirajane felt her temples throbbing, reached out to support her forehead, and felt like her blood pressure was about to blow the top of her head off.
Seeing that the show had gone on long enough, Riyao patted his butt and stood up, smiling with a gentle face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three fruit candies wrapped in colorful paper, handing them to Lisanna: "Oh my, what a cute little girl. Come, big brother will give you some candy."
"Lisanna! Don't eat things from unknown sources!" Mirajane immediately shouted to stop her.
Riyao instantly clutched his heart, putting on a devastated face and sagging: "I am so upright and honorable, how am I an unknown source! Let me introduce myself: I am Riyao. Listen to this name, how sunny it is! I am a Mage from the Fairy Tail Guild, nicknamed the Super Invincible Awesome Healing Mage. I am a legitimate, registered Mage—one fake, pay ten!"
After finishing, he proudly raised his head and thumped his chest. Lisanna and Elfman hadn't really seen many Mages from the outside world, so hearing "Super Invincible Awesome," their eyes instantly lit up like two small lanterns, their faces full of unconcealable admiration.
Mirajane glanced at him sideways, her eyes clearly writing "Do you think I believe you?" She crossed her arms and spoke slowly to expose him: "Didn't you say you were a pilgrim from the Great Tang in the East?"
Riyao waved his hand indifferently: "Don't focus on the details."
"Don't focus on the details? Then what should I focus on? Focus on you?!" Mirajane couldn't take it anymore and roared on the spot, her voice shaking the leaves off the nearby trees.
Riyao instantly became bashful, scratched his cheek, and even showed an embarrassed smile: "Hmm... that's not impossible either~"
Mirajane: "..." I can't take it, I really can't take it anymore!