The guild's reconstruction was in full swing, with the ruins as bustling as a marketplace every day.
In truth, the progress depended entirely on everyone's mood.
If everyone was in a good mood today, progress might reach thirty percent; if Natsu and Gray had a fight tomorrow and blew up half a wall, it would regress to twenty-five percent.
Makarov was already too tired to get angry; since they kept building and then tearing it down, he just treated it as a form of exercise.
During the lunch break, everyone sat around the ruins in small groups to eat.
Some munched on sandwiches, some drank, and some just lay on the grass to sunbathe.
Mirajane mysteriously pulled out a large rolled-up piece of paper from behind the bar, her face beaming with a triumphant smile like a kitten that had stolen a fish.
"Ta-da! This is what the new guild will look like!"
With a flick of her wrists, she unfurled the paper and held it up for everyone to see.
On the paper was a drawing of the building's facade.
The colors were quite rich—red, green, blue, purple, everything was there.
But as for the design... the lines were crooked, and the windows were out of proportion.
A giant flower was drawn on the roof, and two stick figures stood at the entrance—one labeled "Riyao" and the other "Mirajane"—with a heart drawn next to them.
The entire image was filled with the atmosphere of a kindergarten art class.
Everyone fell silent for two seconds.
Gray, with a sandwich in his mouth, leaned in to take a look, tilted his head for a moment, and then commented with a serious face, "Who drew this? It's so ugly."
The air froze instantly.
The smile on Mirajane's face vanished in a second, her crimson eyes narrowed slightly, and the curve of her lips shifted from sweet to dangerous.
An invisible pressure radiated from her, and the surrounding temperature dropped by three degrees.
Gray hadn't realized he'd said anything wrong and was about to add a few more comments when he felt a force suddenly grab his ankle.
The next second, his world turned upside down.
Bang!
Gray was stuffed into an empty wine barrel, leaving only his two legs kicking helplessly outside like a pair of caught frog legs.
Cana, sitting on a nearby barrel, kindly picked up Gray's discarded clothes and draped them over those flailing legs.
"Your clothes, Gray," Cana said, patting the pile of clothes in a tone as flat as if she were commenting on the nice weather.
After dealing with Gray, Mirajane turned back, her face once again wearing a sweet smile as if nothing had happened.
She hugged Riyao's arm, pressing herself against him, and looked up with a radiant smile.
"Darling, do you think my drawing is good?"
Riyao looked down at Mirajane's drawing, then at her sparkling eyes, his mind racing.
He cleared his throat, his expression serious and sincere, his tone as soulful as if he were reciting a love poem.
"This drawing is full of innocence, with brilliant colors and rich layers; it's suitable for hanging at home to be admired slowly."
He didn't say it was beautiful once, but he didn't say it was bad either.
Perfect diplomacy.
Mirajane happily stood on her tiptoes and kissed Riyao on the cheek, then glared fiercely at the others, her eyes screaming, "Anyone else have an opinion?"
Natsu, Elfman, and Macao immediately turned their heads away and began whistling in unison, looking up at the sky, the clouds, and the birds, pretending they hadn't seen or heard a thing.
Their level of coordination was as if they had rehearsed it a hundred times.
Lucy stood behind the crowd with her arms crossed, looking at the drawing and silently complaining: "Talk about low EQ... this drawing looks like a child's work; I'd be embarrassed to show it to anyone. And what kind of evaluation was that, Riyao? 'Innocence'? That's just a nice way of saying it's terrible."
Just as she was thinking this, a blue figure suddenly popped up behind her.
Happy had flown onto Lucy's shoulder at some point; he tilted his head and leaned in close to her ear with a devious look, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Lucy, you said your inner thoughts out loud~"
Lucy shuddered all over and nearly jumped out of her skin, her heart almost leaping out of her throat.
She whipped her head around to look at the surroundings, nervously observing the reactions of others, terrified that someone had heard what she was thinking.
But the people around her continued eating and drinking, and no one looked her way or showed any strange expression.
Lucy paused, then realized what was happening; her face turned bright red as she reached out to grab Happy.
"Stupid cat! I'm going to tear your mouth apart! You scared me to death!"
Happy nimbly dodged, circling in the air with a fish in his mouth, and said with a giggle, "Lucy is so mean~"
Lucy chased Happy all over the place, the two of them darting up and down the ruins like a game of cat and mouse.
Natsu watched this scene while chewing on some meat, commenting indistinctly, "Lucy and Happy are getting more and more in sync."
Gray finally managed to struggle out of the wine barrel, his hair stained with wine and looking utterly pathetic.
Just as he was about to complain, he saw Mirajane shoot a smile his way; he immediately shut his mouth and silently went to the side to wring the wine out of his clothes.
Right at that moment.
Clang!
A wine glass flew over, tracing an arc as it whistled past Lucy's ear and smashed against the wall behind her, shards flying everywhere.
Lucy shrieked in fright and instinctively ducked with her hands over her head, her heart pounding like a drum.
The glass shards scattered around her feet, nearly hitting her in the head.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked in unison toward the direction the glass had come from.
Laxus was still holding half a glass of wine, his blonde hair shimmering in the sunlight, his expression cold and arrogant.
Erza put down her teacup and slowly stood up, her brown eyes staring straight at Laxus on the second floor, her face as dark as the sky before a storm.
"Say that again, I dare you!"
Her voice was calm, but everyone could hear the fury beneath that calm.
Laxus looked at Erza, a cocky smirk playing on his lips, his eyes full of contempt.
"Then I'll take this chance to make it clear."
He put down the glass, his voice low and icy, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
"This guild doesn't need weaklings!"
His gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on Jet and Droy in the corner.
Laxus scoffed, his voice dripping with mockery, "You're truly pathetic, being completely looked down upon by those Phantom Lord trash."
Jet and Droy lowered their heads, their fists clenched until their knuckles turned white, yet they didn't dare to talk back.
They had indeed performed poorly in the battle; there was no denying that fact.
Seeing them lower their heads, Laxus became even more disdainful: "Actually, I don't even know what your names are."
Jet's shoulders trembled slightly, and Droy bit his lip hard.
The surrounding members looked at each other; some wanted to say something, but they swallowed their words under Laxus's overwhelming pressure.
After mocking the two of them, Laxus turned his sights on Lucy.
"And you, the culprit, a rich young lady who only knows how to play with Celestial Spirits."
Lucy's face turned pale instantly; she gripped the keys at her waist, her lips trembling, but she couldn't find a single word to retort.
The reason Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail was indeed because of her.
This fact was like a thorn in her heart, and Laxus's words were pushing that thorn even deeper.
Just as Laxus was about to continue, he caught a familiar movement out of the corner of his eye.
Riyao had pulled out that damn Crystal Ball at some point and was sneakily recording, the lens pointed right at Laxus, with a look on his face like he was enjoying a show.
Although Laxus didn't think there was anything wrong with his behavior, nothing good ever happened whenever Riyao started recording.
Laxus's words got stuck in his throat, and his expression turned sour.
"Hmph."
He let out a cold snort, turned his head away, and stopped speaking.
Riyao clicked his tongue and put away the Crystal Ball, looking disappointed.
"I wanted to keep recording; what a shame."
Laxus glared at Riyao, the fury in his eyes almost erupting, with golden lightning flickering on his body.
"A guy who only knows how to rely on women... if I were to become the Master, the first thing I'd do is kick you out."
Riyao rolled his eyes and spoke in a lazy tone, as if talking to a throwing-a-tantrum child: "Are you still a little kid?"
Laxus's tone became even more vicious, his voice carrying a bone-chilling coldness: "All you're good for is using your mouth to please women."
Mirajane's anger was instantly ignited.
She forcefully broke free from Riyao's hand, her crimson eyes burning with rage, as demonic magic surged within her; she looked like a lioness on the verge of a rampage.
"What did you say?!"
Riyao grabbed Mirajane, his strength so great that she couldn't break free.
A mischievous smirk played on his lips as he said slowly, "He's just a kid; how could a single dog who's never had a girlfriend understand such things?"
The entire place went silent for half a second.
Then, the air was filled with the crackling of lightning.
Laxus's face turned a deep shade of purple-red, and golden lightning danced wildly across his body like a swarm of enraged electric serpents.
His fists clenched until they cracked, the veins on his temples bulged, and he looked like a volcano about to erupt.
"WHAT! DID! YOU! SAY!"
Instead of backing down, Riyao continued his assault, a punchable grin on his face and his tone full of mockery.
"Oh my, whose kid is this? His taunt failed, and now he's worked himself into a tizzy. No way, no way—someone's so mad they're actually going to get physical."
Laxus's lightning grew even more intense, leaving scorched marks on the floor.
Laxus took a deep breath, and then another, his chest heaving violently.
He stared deathly at Riyao, the murderous intent in his eyes almost becoming tangible.
But Riyao just looked back at him with a smile, showing no sign of fear at all.
Laxus snorted coldly, his body turning into a bolt of golden lightning as he vanished from the scene instantly.
Mirajane huffed and pulled her hand away from Riyao, her cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish.
"We should have just gone up there and pinned him to the ground for a good beating!"
Riyao reached out and pinched Mirajane's puffed-up cheek, smiling gently.
"Calm down, calm down. Giving him a beating won't make him learn his lesson."
Mirajane snorted, but she was calmed by Riyao's pinching; her cheeks flushed slightly, though she was still defiant.
"If he ever says that about you again, I'll definitely hit him."
Lucy stood nearby, patting her chest with lingering fear as she complained, "I really can't accept his attitude toward his comrades. But surely he won't become the Master, right?"
Lisanna approached with a smile, her hands behind her back, and tilted her head as she said, "Laxus is the Master's biological grandson, so it's actually quite likely he'll become the Master."
Lucy was greatly shocked, her eyes widening.
"What?! The Master is so kind, while he's so awful. How is that possible!"
Lisanna continued, her tone as casual as if she were chatting about the weather.
"It's said that the Master refuses to retire precisely because he's afraid of Laxus inheriting the position."
Lucy's mouth formed an 'O' shape, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Riyao and Mirajane walked over; Riyao reached out and poked Lisanna's forehead, making her pout as she covered it.
"What are you thinking? If Gildarts had been willing to agree, he would have been the Master long ago. Laxus wouldn't have dared to let out a peep then."
Mirajane chuckled, covering her mouth as her eyes curved into crescents.
"You're talking about Uncle Gildarts, but didn't you refuse as well?"
"Eh?!"
It was the first time the people around had heard of this, and they all turned to look at Riyao in unison, their eyes filled with curiosity and shock.
"Riyao refused to be the Master?" Natsu asked indistinctly, a bone in his mouth.
"When did this happen?" Cana put down her wine barrel.
Riyao shrugged, looking indifferent.
"The old man just thinks my reputation is useful; the Master doesn't necessarily have to be the strongest in the guild. For all we know, even Macao might become the Master one day."
Macao was drinking water nearby, and hearing his name, he nearly spat it out.
He scratched his head and gave a silly grin, unable to help but daydream, his eyes beginning to shine.
"Me, the Master? Hehehe..."
Wakaba threw cold water on his fantasy from the side.
"You? You can't even handle your own wife, and you want to handle the guild?"
Macao's face instantly collapsed.
The crowd erupted into laughter, which echoed over the ruins, and the gloom that Laxus had brought earlier gradually dissipated within the laughter.