Fairy Tail: This Healing Mage's hits hurt so much!

The stall competition that warmed up the Harvest Festival has ended, and unsurprisingly, Lucy did not win any prize money.

Lucy dragged her tired body home, took a nice bath, wrapped herself in a bathrobe, and snuggled into bed.

He sank into the soft bed and let out a satisfied sigh.

Goodnight~

( ´▽` )

As soon as she finished speaking and closed her eyes, her hand touched something slippery under the covers. It felt like fabric, but it didn't feel like her own bed sheet.

She frowned, pulled the thing out and looked at it; a scarf with a scale pattern was spread out in the moonlight.

The more I look at it, the more familiar it seems.

Isn't that Natsu's precious scarf?!

Lucy instantly woke up, jumped out of bed, and yanked the covers off. Sure enough, she saw Natsu curled up on the other side of the bed, sleeping like a log, with drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

Happy was lying on Natsu's belly, fast asleep.

Lucy grabbed Natsu's scarf and pulled him off the bed, while Happy rolled onto the floor with a "gurgle gurgle".

Natsu stood up groggily, his eyes still closed, and waved unsteadily toward the wall, giving a mumbled greeting.

Good morning, Lucy.

"I'm here!"

Lucy stood behind him and shouted angrily, her voice so loud it shook the entire building.

(▼ヘ▼#)

"And this is my bed! Why are you here?!"

Lucy grabbed Natsu's scarf and swung it around forcefully, sending Natsu spinning like a top twice.

"Bang"

He collapsed onto Lucy's bed, buried his face in the pillow, and immediately started snoring again.

"I still really want to sleep...zzz..."

Lucy's forehead veins bulged, and her fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Hey! You weren't listening at all!"

Happy groggily got up, rubbing his eyes with his little paws.

"Um, give the scarf back to Natsu. It was left to him by Igneel, and he treasured it very much."

Lucy looked at the scarf in her hand, sighed, and handed it to Happy.

Happy took the scarf, folded it skillfully, and gently placed it next to Natsu's pillow, being careful not to crush it.

"Happy, why is Natsu so sleepy?"

Lucy sat down on the edge of the bed, looked at Natsu who was fast asleep, and asked with some concern.

Happy tilted his head and thought for a moment, then tapped his chin with his little paw.

"Natsu was like this before when he ate Laxus's lightning; he would become drowsy afterward. But logically, Solar Flare feeds Natsu fire, and Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer Mage, so it should be fine."

"Then why is he still so sleepy?"

Harpy shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

Just then, a lazy voice came from behind them, drifting in from the direction of the window.

"That's because my fire is mixed with dark magic."

The person and the cat were so frightened that they huddled together.

Riyao leaned against the window, his chin resting on the frame, smiling at them. The moonlight shone on him, making him look like a big cat that had sneaked in.

"During the battle at the Tower of Paradise, the flames I replenished for Natsu contained dark magic from my demon form. His body is still digesting and absorbing it, which is why he's feeling sleepy. It's similar to how people feel sleepy after eating too much."

He paused, then added something.

"But don't worry, digesting it will actually benefit him, indirectly strengthening his resistance."

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

"Could you please stop making that noise all of a sudden? You scared me to death."

Riyao chuckled.

"Mira and I were taking a walk when we saw Lucy's house was still lit up, so we jumped up to check it out. We also wanted to see if there was anything funny going on."

"What's so funny...?"

Happy's little bundle fell out during the chaos, scattering its contents all over the floor. A flyer fluttered down and landed on Lucy's face.

Lucy ripped the flyer off her face, and when she looked at it in the moonlight, her eyes widened instantly.

"Fairy Tail Miss Contest? Prize money 50 J!"

Those large characters seemed to glow, shining directly into Lucy's heart.

500,000 J! That's enough for her to pay seven months' rent!

Happy slapped his head and his little wings flapped.

"Oh yeah! I came to give this to Lucy! I almost forgot!"

He pulled another flyer from the scattered bundle, handed it to Lucy, and then tilted his head, his tone tinged with sympathy.

"Lucy can participate, but Mira, Erza, and Cana will also be participating, so Lucy's chances are slim~"

Lucy clenched her fists, cheered herself up, straightened her chest, and looked confident.

"I'm young! I have a fresh charm! I can do it!"

Mirajane had somehow gotten onto the windowsill next to Sunrise, resting her chin on her hands and speaking with a smile.

"Seventeen-year-old Lucy~ is only two years younger than me~"

Lucy was startled again and almost fell off the bed, clutching her chest with one hand.

"Wow! Where did Mira come from?!"

Sunrise looked at Lucy speechlessly and sighed.

"Didn't I say I was taking a walk with Mira? I told you not to forget the setup just to make fun of things. You always automatically ignore the foreshadowing when something surprising happens."

Mirajane covered her mouth and chuckled, and Sunrise then added insult to injury.

"And Lucy, who's three years younger than me~ Have you forgotten your zero success rate with your honey trap? You've never succeeded in using it, have you?"

Lucy's face flushed instantly, as if her Achilles' heel had been struck, and she clenched her fists and waved them in the air.

"That's because our opponents are abnormal! Who would have thought those guys are immune to honey traps!"

Sunrise and Mirajane exchanged a glance and laughed at the same time.

Poor Natsu was trampled underfoot by Lucy in the chaos just now, his soul even came out of his mouth, a white blob floating in mid-air.

Happy frantically tried to stuff Natsu's soul back in, his little paws reaching out but unable to grasp it.

"Natsu! Wake up! Your soul has emerged!"

"Ugh... five minutes... just five more minutes of sleep..."

Seeing that there was nothing more to see, Riyao and Mirajane jumped down and continued their walk.

The two walked hand in hand along the canal. Moonlight shone on the water, making it sparkle. The streetlights cast a warm yellow glow, stretching their shadows long.

The autumn night wind carried a hint of coolness, but the hands we held were warm.

"Mira~"

Riyao suddenly spoke, his tone tinged with a hint of mischief.

"What do you think about me participating in the Fairy Tail Miss Contest? Hehe..."

As he spoke, he thought of an interesting idea and laughed, but the smile looked anything but malicious.

Mirajane glanced at him sideways, a sly smile on her face, and tapped her chin with her index finger as if she were deep in thought.

"Then you need to change your look. I'm tired of seeing the blonde, mature woman look."

Riyao stroked his chin and rolled his eyes.

"How about a different look? What do you think of me as a female version of a blue dragon?"

"Hehe, I think it's a good idea."

( ˆoˆ)/(ˆoˆ )/

The two exchanged a knowing smile, plotting how to infiltrate the selection competition. Their laughter echoed along the canal, startling several night birds perched on the riverbank.

Under the moonlight, their shadows overlapped as they slowly walked away.