The scent of charcoal-grilled food drifted through the town streets at dusk. Natsu, Gray, and Riyao leaned against the wooden table of a skewer stall, gnawing on skewers.
After all, the request form didn't even have a clear time limit, so Riyao didn't take the journey seriously at all. The three of them hit it off on the train and jumped off at an intermediate station just to find a decent late-night snack stall for a feast.
Riyao slapped the table, making the copper coins in his pocket clatter, and with a grand wave of his hand, he swept across the entire menu: "Give us fifty of every kind of skewer to start! We'll order more if it's not enough!"
The stall owner and his assistant had been slowly flipping the skewers, but seeing this spectacle, they exchanged a look. Their previously listless eyes instantly lit up like burning charcoal, and that long-lost drive surged up in a "whoosh."
The owner suddenly grabbed a handful of sauce-coated chicken wings and slammed them onto the grill, sending oil splattering high into the air, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Hey! Don't you dare underestimate our town's skewer stall!"
The assistant wasn't to be outdone either. He grabbed a handful of glistening kidneys and "slapped" them onto the grill, sending cooking oil flying from his arm. He shouted even louder than the owner: "Let us show you the passionate combo technique of the 'Golden Skewer Duo'!"
Natsu's eyes lit up. He stepped on the edge of the table, jumped onto the wooden surface with a "thump-thump," clenched his fist, and blasted a large cluster of orange-red fire into the sky. His voice was so explosive that even the chicken wings on the grill shook: "Whoa! It's fired up now!"
Gray had just picked up a cold drink and taken a sip, nearly spitting it out. He hurriedly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, held his forehead, and looked utterly defeated: "Hey, hey, hey! We were just here for a late-night snack! Why is it fired up now?!"
Riyao, possessed by a dramatic spirit, put his hands on his hips and stood on tiptoe, his eyes shining as he waved an imaginary conductor's baton: "Wow! Could this be the legendary barbecue technique that can ignite the soul!?"
Gray whipped his head around to look at Riyao, forgetting to put the skewer in his hand into his mouth, his brows furrowed deeply: "What kind of nonsense is that! Is there really a 'divine technique' for barbecue? Is that even right?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a crowd of town residents gathered around the skewer stall with a "whoosh." There were burly men clutching half-cans of ale, little girls with pigtails chewing on half a candied hawthorn, and old stall owners leaning against the wall with cigarettes in their mouths—all of them unable to pull their feet away, hooked by the passionate grilling display.
"Boss, don't give up! Our town's skewers are our signature!"
"Assistant, don't stop! Another hundred skewers are no problem!"
"You two are the pride of our town!!! Go for it!"
The cheers merged into one. Some people brought over small stools to serve as temporary seats, holding their skewers high like cheering sticks and banging them with a clatter; even the ale cans at the corner of the table were shaken.
By now, the boss and the assistant had finished grilling the mountain of skewers. Their arms were shaking like sieves. The boss's apron was charred black by oil splatters, and the assistant's tongs had "clattered" onto the muddy ground. Finally, the two slumped back-to-back against the grill with a "thud." Their faces were as pale as if they had just been dug out of a snowdrift, and even their breathing carried the smell of burnt oil. Two light, wispy white shadows drifted out of their mouths, wavering like dying charcoal embers as they floated slowly toward the night sky.
Natsu, who had still been gnawing on a skewer, had his eyes light up with a "whoosh." He tossed the half-eaten meat skewer onto the table, kicked off the table edge with a "thump-thump," and hopped over to Gray, pounding his chest as he roared: "Hey! Ice-block idiot! Let's see who can eat more!"
Gray had been wiping sauce from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and upon hearing this, he rolled his eyes dramatically: "Who wants to compete with a glutton like you..." The cold drink on the table spilled onto his clothes, and in a fit of rage, he let out an "argh" and stripped off his jacket and shirt, leaving only his black boxers. He grabbed two skewers of sausages and began eating with both hands, the sticks moving so fast they were almost smoking: "Fine, let's compete! Sss-ha~ Fire Dragon idiot, looks like I'm going to win!"
Natsu didn't care about his jab. He stuffed his cheeks until they were bulging, his lips even pushed outward by the skewers. The sticks in his hands sparked with tiny flames as he rubbed them, and he roared indistinctly: "I'm not losing! @%#￥!"
Riyao had long since pulled his camera from his satchel, clicking away incessantly, and muttered to himself while leaning against the viewfinder: "Perfect!"
Gray's shirtless skewer-eating dark history + 1!
Natsu's cheeks-stuffed-to-bursting record + 1+1+1!
The commotion here drew all the customers over again.
"Pervert guy, go for it!"
"Oi, fired up, kid!"
"You guys are the pride of our barbecue stall! Go for it!"
A drunken uncle accidentally knocked over the ale barrel at the corner of the table, and the golden liquid spilled all over the ground, but no one bothered to wipe it up. Everyone was squeezed in front, stretching their necks to watch the match. Even the boss and assistant, who had been slumped on the ground, were woken up by the noise. They dazedly shouted "Go for it" a couple of times, and the two white shadows floating in the air even swayed along, as if joining in the commotion.
Gray and Natsu soon finished the mountain of skewers. Both of them lay on the ground, their stomachs looking like they were ten months pregnant. White shadows drifted out of their mouths, and these two white shadows even greeted the white shadows of the boss and the assistant.
Just as the rowdy cheering filling the street died down slightly, Riyao "slapped" his camera back into his satchel. He wiped his oil-stained sleeves and stared at the Natsu and Gray slumped on the ground, as well as the boss and assistant who were yawning while half-floating in the air, and sighed helplessly.
Riyao crouched down and gently grabbed their ankles, intending to drag them to a hotel to stay the night.
"A Mage in my left hand, hey, a Dragon in my right hand, ha..."
Just as he secured his grip on their ankles, Natsu kicked his legs and struggled, still holding half a skewer of meat in his mouth, roaring indistinctly: "Riyao... let me go... I can walk myself..."
Gray was dragged forward half an inch, his back scraping against the rough stone path. He frowned in pain and groaned weakly: "Ugh... so full... Riyao, let me go~"
Riyao dragged them toward the side of the road, his tone carrying a gentle smile: "I am a proper Healing Mage, how could I let you two walk on your own?"
Every time Riyao made contact with Natsu's body, a strange feeling would rise in his heart.
Natsu's physical composition is truly complex.
Wait, right, why is there a Natsu in Edolas? The Earth Land version of Natsu in his hand is from hundreds of years ago; logically, there shouldn't be a Natsu in the current Edolas.
Whatever, after all, there's still Granny Porlyusica, and that wasn't explained in the anime either.
"I bumped it, I bumped it."
Riyao didn't react at first, turned his head, and asked Natsu: "Bumped what ship?"
Natsu held the back of his head and said: "What are you talking about? My head hit a pebble."
He took them to check into a hotel, got a good night's sleep, and continued on their journey the next day.