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

Makarov and Riyao stood aside, watching the mother and daughter embrace tightly, tears streaming down their faces. The two grown men couldn't help but feel a lump in their throats.

Makarov shakily pulled a crumpled tissue from his pocket, blew his nose hard, and then wiped his eyes.

Riyao reached out and grabbed a tissue, wiping his face haphazardly a couple of times before spitting out a sunflower seed shell without batting an eye.

The sunflower seed shell traced an arc in the air and landed precisely in the trash can in the corner.

Uru turned around, crying, and looked at Riyao with teary eyes, her voice trembling with sobs and a hint of panic.

"Sunrise, why can't I stop crying?"

Riyao sighed, then slowly stepped forward and touched the mark on the back of Uru's neck.

I turned off the tear-inducing engraving setting as decisively as turning off a tap.

Urudia stood aside, watching helplessly as Sunshine performed all sorts of actions on his mother.

His expression shifted from confusion to shock to speechlessness, until finally his entire face was covered with dense black lines, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, as if he had been electrocuted.

Sunlight noticed Ultear's murderous gaze and quickly covered his face with his hands, only peeking out from between his fingers. His muffled voice came from behind his hands.

"Don't look at me like that. It's my first time making a doll, so I'm a bit clumsy. The tears are real, and they just won't stop."

He said that "ha" with particular hesitation, and the last syllable even floated upwards.

Urudia lifted her head from Uru's arms, and just as she was about to say something, everyone finally saw her face clearly.

The wood had left deep and shallow marks on one side of his cheek, crisscrossing his skin and making him look both comical and pitiful.

Riyao's gaze fell on those marks, his lips suddenly pressed into a straight line, and he twisted his neck, forcibly turning his head to the other side.

His shoulders began to tremble slightly, once, twice, three times, until he finally couldn't hold it in anymore.

He burst out laughing, a short, sharp laugh that seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

Urudia's face flushed red instantly. She grabbed the crystal ball on the table, raised it high above her head, and gritted her teeth.

"Let me do one last wrong thing!"

Riyao's smile froze on his face. Without saying a word, he darted to Makarov's side as if his feet were greased.

With outstretched hands, he lifted the still-unresponsive Makarov up in front of him like a shield.

Makarov's short legs dangled wildly in the air, his mustache bristling with anger.

"You brat, put me down right now! Don't you know anything about respecting the elderly and caring for the young?"

Riyao poked half his head out from behind Makarov and nodded solemnly.

"I understand, the elderly love the young, and they dote on children."

"The statue in front has been eaten by a dog!"

Makarov turned and yelled at him.

"Anyway, I didn't eat it."

Riyao blinked, looking completely innocent.

"Bang!"

A solid thud landed on Riyao's head. Makarov withdrew his fist, and Riyao finally quieted down, clutching his head and muttering something like "disrespectful to elders."

Uru grabbed Urutia's arm tightly from behind and finally managed to snatch the crystal ball from her hand.

Ultear's chest heaved violently, her glare at Sunrise filled with the message, "I'll make you pay one day."

After the commotion subsided, Urutia calmed her breathing, straightened her clothes, and prepared to head back.

Her staying here for too long will indeed cause unnecessary trouble.

Just as she turned to leave, Riyao suddenly reached out and rubbed his index finger and thumb together against her.

Urudia stopped and turned around, frowning in confusion.

"what?"

Riyao spread his palms out, facing upwards, and shook them confidently.

"Please pay for your mother's medical expenses."

Urutia clenched his fist again instantly, his knuckles cracking.

She took a deep breath, then another, repeating this several times before she could barely suppress the urge to punch someone.

She found herself constantly breaking down in front of Riyao; he was the ultimate test of her emotional control.

In fact, the first breach of the defenses dates back to when Urutia had just infiltrated the Council.

That day, Riyao happened to be accompanying Makarov to the council to pay compensation, and the two brushed past each other in the corridor.

For some unknown reason, Riyao suddenly opened his throat and sang "Only Mother is Good in the World" with deep emotion. The song echoed in the solemn corridors of the council, its lingering sound resonating long afterward.

Urudia was sitting next to him taking meeting minutes when he heard the song, and the quill pen in his hand snapped in two with a "crack".

She stared intently at Riyao's smug face, with only one thought in her mind.

They shoved the crystal ball from the table into his mouth, so deep that he would never be able to sing again.

Riyao has always had a good impression of Leijie and has long wanted to tell her the truth.

But he kept quiet because he wasn't sure if Urudia would believe him. If she didn't, it might attract enemies later on, and then the situation would be difficult to manage.

He only chose to reveal the truth after seeing the possibility of Uru's recovery on Galna Island.

After all, there is no stronger evidence than Ulu Benru; a living piece of wood standing right in front of you is more effective than any explanation.

Urudia snapped out of her reverie, pulled a heavy money pouch from her bosom with annoyance, and tossed it to Riyao.

Then she activated her magic, and her figure rapidly changed in a burst of light, transforming into an inconspicuous young man in the blink of an eye.

She walked to the window, braced herself against the windowsill with one hand, and nimbly flipped over and leaped out of the window. Her movements were clean and swift, and she disappeared into the shadows of the street in the blink of an eye.

Riyao looked down at the heavy money bag in his hand, chuckled, plopped down on the ground, poured all the money out of the bag, and began to count it with relish.

He was quite skilled at counting money, flipping through the banknotes one by one with his thumb and forefinger while muttering to himself.

Makarov's eyes lit up, and he no longer cared about his image as a chairman.

He scurried over and squatted down next to Riyao, using both hands to help sort the money into piles, looking as serious as if he were handling some important official business.

Uru put one hand to his forehead, looked down at the old man and the young man happily counting money on the ground, and shook his head helplessly.

She sighed, turned and walked towards the door, reached out and grasped the doorknob, and pulled gently.

"Ouch!"

Amid a series of gasps, Gray was the first to land face-first on the ground, making a solid face-first mistake.

Juvia then lay down on his back, pressing down on Gray and causing him to groan.

Lucy, Levy, and Lisanna followed suit, piling up one after another until they formed a rickety mountain of people at the doorway.

Only Mirajane deftly dodged to the side the moment the door opened, gracefully avoiding the disaster, and stood firmly in place, without even her skirt getting ruffled.

Mirajane's gaze swept over the people lying haphazardly on the ground and precisely locked onto the pile of money in front of Sunrise.

Her eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"Huh? Where did you get so much money?"

As she spoke, she walked over with light steps, squatted down next to Riyao, and naturally joined the group counting money.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, counting faster than the sun.

Riyao raised his head with a smile, looking smug.

"Medical expenses paid by the patient's family."

(ﾉ∇︎〃 )

Makarov rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining with anticipation, and leaned closer to ask in a low voice.

"The compensation you promised?"

Riyao glanced at him sideways and replied in a cool tone, "?"

"I don't handle money."

Before he finished speaking, Mirajane had already gathered all the money on the ground with lightning speed, neatly stacked it into a pile, and stuffed it into his pocket.

She raised her head, revealing a sly smile, a smile that was sweet yet shrewd, and shrewd yet cunning.

"Give me the bill."

Without a word, Makarov quickly turned around, walked to his desk, opened a drawer, took out a thick stack of bills, and respectfully handed them to Miraj with both hands.

Riyao glanced at the stack of bills, then his eyes suddenly sharpened. He reached out, pulled one out, and held it up to examine it closely.

His eyes instantly turned hostile, and he slowly turned to look at Makarov.

"Sir, why is there a foot massage receipt among these bills?"

Makarov's smile froze on his face as he frantically reached for the receipt.

"Haha... I took the wrong one, I took the wrong one."

He chuckled twice, then suddenly realized what he was doing and asked with wide eyes.

"Wait a minute, how did you recognize me at first glance?"

Riyao snorted coldly, crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and spoke with pride and self-righteousness.

"Hmph, don't try to sow discord between me and Mira. She took me there."

Upon hearing this, Makarov was completely stunned, his mouth agape and his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.

He turned his head stiffly and looked at Mirajane with an incredulous gaze.

Mirajane's cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her head away guiltily, her gaze drifting towards the ceiling, her voice carrying a hint of unnatural panic.

(◔◡◔)

"Don't listen to his nonsense. He dragged me there, saying he had to try and see if this place was legitimate."