After speaking, Geno gave a light wave of his right hand. The natural magic in the air instantly gathered around the carriage.
"Let's go."
Tossing out those words with easy confidence, Geno once more glanced in Juvia's direction.
"Heh..."
He smiled faintly. By the time his right hand fell back to his side, the carriage had already accelerated under the push of surrounding magic. In the span of a single blink, Geno and the carriage vanished from everyone's sight.
"So bold... so handsome... he talks so well too... but why did he leave... was he not coming to confess to Juvia... uuh..."
...
Outside a restaurant in Magnolia.
People flowed back and forth along the street, the atmosphere lively and full of energy.
Above the entrance hung a large sign with a name written in curving letters: "Lolita Gourmet Restaurant."
At the center of countless girls' stares, a carriage rolled up and came to a stop in front of the restaurant.
"Wow, look at him, he is so handsome. Is he a mage? He is not just good looking, he has that special aura too."
"My god, that face... this is illegal levels of handsome. He looks a hundred times better than those famous mages on the posters."
"Look at his eyes, they look like they are glowing. Should I go up and ask him for an autograph?"
"Hey, hey, do not block me. Let me look a little longer. If I miss out on a face like this, I will regret it forever."
...
"Lolita Gourmet Restaurant, huh. Interesting name, and there are quite a lot of people. Let us eat here."
Saying that, Geno jumped down from the carriage. He lifted the curtain... and the healing little scene inside had not changed at all.
He really did not want to ruin it, but he had no choice.
"Yukino, Rufus, we are in town. Time to get up. If you do not wake up, I will have to declare both of you failed in your A rank mage exam."
He leaned his upper body into the back of the carriage and called to them.
In truth, he did not take the so called A rank exam very seriously. Geno knew exactly how strong the two of them were. They were future core members of the Sabertooth guild.
"Eh... fail the exam, no... no, Geno big brother, I am awake... wait, I was already awake... no, I mean..."
Rufus was the first to stir. He opened his eyes slowly, still a little dazed. If he had been fully alert, this usually sharp boy would never have shown such a silly expression.
"Ah... are we in town already? Geno big brother, what did you just say... wait, no..."
Yukino rubbed her eyes, still half asleep, then suddenly realized how close Geno's face was to hers. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but she quickly composed herself.
"It is nothing. I was just kidding. Come on out, both of you. We are here."
"This place looks pretty good. It is about dinner time anyway. We can eat here, then go wander around and find an inn for the night."
...
Inside the Lolita Gourmet Restaurant.
It was completely different from the understated exterior.
The interior was overflowing with sweet, bubbly energy. It felt like stepping into a maid café, everything drenched in soft pink tones.
Round vintage tables were covered with lace floral cloths. The tableware was decorated with bows and tiny crown patterns. Along the walls stood antique dolls and fairy tale reliefs.
Even the waitresses were dressed in poofy skirts with big ribbon hair accessories, and the air was thick with the scent of desserts.
"Sir, which do you think tastes better, our strawberry pancakes or our caramel pudding?"
"They are both delicious, both of them... but still not as sweet as you."
"Oh, what are you saying, you are so bad, sir."
"Right, right, anything you bring will be delicious."
...
"Uh... this..."
As Geno stepped inside and took in the overly cute decorations, he was momentarily speechless. When he looked at all the male customers acting like complete simps at every table, his face flooded with secondhand embarrassment.
"Oh, oh... so this is the kind of place you like, Geno big brother. I have been to your house before, there were a lot of decorations like this too. I thought someone else had done the decorating for you, but it seems it was your taste all along."
Rufus walked up beside him, finally putting his cleverness to use for something entirely different: teasing his guild's only S rank mage.
"Really... Geno big brother likes this kind of interior."
Before Geno could deny it, Yukino lowered her head thoughtfully at Rufus's words, her mind already running wild.
"Should I change my style a little?"
She glanced at the cheerful waitresses.
"Maybe I should try wearing something like their outfits. That way, when I am with Geno big brother, he will be even happier when he looks at me."
"You little brat, Rufus... are you saying you do not want to become an A rank mage? You are really using that quick tongue of yours just to make fun of me now."
Geno's gaze fell on Rufus, a touch of frost in his eyes.
"W-wait, no, Geno big brother, I was only joking. Please do not take it seriously. I still want to become an S rank mage in the guild, just like you. Please do not mark me as a failure."
"Someone as dashing and upright as you could never like this kind of thing. I know that. The décor in your house is just what the previous owner left behind. You probably just thought changing it was a bother and left it how it was."
Rufus put on a fawning, almost embarrassed smile that looked nothing like his usual serious self, and shuffled closer to Geno, starting to knead his shoulders without thinking.
"As for why you chose this restaurant, it was probably just because there were a lot of people outside, and from the outside it looked pretty normal, so you wanted to try it. No one could have guessed the inside would be like this."
"Please do not be mad. You are definitely not like those guys we are seeing around us right now..."
...
"Eh... really..."
Hearing Rufus suddenly spin things that way, Yukino immediately felt a little disappointed. She had already started planning outfits in her head, and she had really believed, for a moment, that Geno liked this kind of style.
She was sure her figure was better than most of the waitresses here, so if she dressed like them, she was confident she would make Geno big brother even happier.
"All right. If you were joking, then of course I was joking too. I am a perfectly upright person. I am not so petty that I would fail you over a few comments."
"Forget it. I am already tired of talking about this. Let us switch restaurants."
"N-no, there is no need, Geno big brother. I think this place is great. Look at all the pretty ladies here. They might be a little behind Yukino in looks, but they are still very nice to look at. Sometimes, as men, we should really allow ourselves to relax a bit."
Relax your head, kid.
You are not even that old, and you are already saying things I would feel embarrassed to say out loud. You...
I have never seen someone so shameless.
You have completely shattered the impression I had of you from the anime.