Chapter 193

【Black Natsu smacked his lips, then pointed at all the steamed buns inside the steamer.】

【The stall owner was stunned on the spot upon hearing this.】

【"Ah? You mean... all of them?"】

【"Of course. Don't worry, I can afford it."】

【As he spoke, Black Natsu pulled the bag of gold beans that Anna had given him earlier out of his pocket.】

【Originally, when his last journey ended, Black Natsu had already returned the unused portion to Anna.】

【However, at the moment of parting, Anna still refused to take them back.】

【According to her, since she had given them to Black Natsu, she hadn't intended to take them back, and who knew when they might come in handy later?】

【Furthermore, Anna had patted her chest quite proudly at the time and told Black Natsu:】

【"Just take them and use them with peace of mind! For things like these, your teacher Anna still has plenty more at home... Hmm, I reckon you couldn't finish using them in several lifetimes."】

【Regarding this point, Black Natsu also knew that Anna wasn't lying.】

【During his travels, although he had stayed in the Kingdom of Dragnof the whole time, he had still heard rumors about the wealthiest family of that era, the Heartfilia family.】

【That was a truly wealthy-enough-to-rival-a-nation existence; this bag of unfinished gold beans really didn't amount to much.】

【Returning to his senses, Black Natsu immediately fished a gold bean out of the bag and handed it to the stall owner.】

【Although they were called gold beans, they were actually of varying sizes.】

【The small ones had already been mostly used up; the ones remaining in the bag now were all about the size of marbles.】

【Looking at the glittering object in his hand, the stall owner's eyes went straight.】

【Although four hundred years had passed, gold, as a universal currency, remained an extremely valuable item.】

【As a bun seller, when had he ever seen such a display?】

【Even the hand holding the gold bean was trembling.】

【"Th-th-this... honored guest, are you trying to buy my entire stall?"】

【"No, this is enough to buy several stalls; I really can't provide change for this."】

【Black Natsu raised an eyebrow slightly.】

【"No need for change. Just keep it; that's fine. The value of money itself is determined by demand. Right now, I really need these buns, and this is all I have to trade with you."】

【"But... my conscience won't allow it."】

【The stall owner still looked conflicted.】

【But Black Natsu couldn't wait any longer.】

【"Let's just do it this way. I'm about to starve to death, so I'm starting now."】

【Immediately after, Black Natsu picked up the buns and began to eat them like a whirlwind.】

【That speed, that appetite—it nearly stunned the stall owner before him.】

【Before long, all the food at the stall had entered Black Natsu's stomach. Rubbing his belly with a sense of lingering desire, Black Natsu waved at the stall owner.】

【"What are you staring at?"】

【"Uh... it's just that I haven't seen someone with such a massive appetite in a long time, so I'm a bit surprised."】

【The stall owner wiped the sweat from his forehead.】

【He then said: "Regardless, you should take this money back. Just come pay for these when you have smaller change. I really don't dare to take this gold bean."】

【As he spoke, the stall owner pointed in a direction.】

【"Little brother, the City Lord's Mansion is over there. There is a foreign exchange window there where you can take this gold bean and exchange it for the corresponding paper currency."】

【"You can't just toss out a gold bean every time you eat, right? You'll inevitably be targeted by people with ill intentions. At your age, that's very dangerous."】

【Following the stall owner's finger, Black Natsu could see a tall building standing in the distance.】

【He then nodded lightly.】

【He didn't actually have the intention of tossing out a gold bean for every meal; that would be pure stupidity. He had just been too hungry earlier.】

【"Thanks, boss. As for this, you don't need to return it to me; consider it a reward for pointing the way."】

【Pushing aside the hand the owner used to offer the gold bean back, Black Natsu strode toward the City Lord's Mansion.】

【Soon, Black Natsu arrived near the tall building.】

【Even though it was very early, the various operations of the City Lord's Mansion had already begun.】

【Among them, what attracted Black Natsu the most were the various notices posted inside one of the buildings.】

【After exchanging two gold beans for one million J, if he was frugal, it would last him for quite a long time.】

【Afterward, Black Natsu entered the building where the various notices were posted.】

【"Mission: Help capture the perverted molester who frequently haunts West Street. Reward: 50,000 J."】

【"Mission: Help pick a medicinal herb called Fortune Grass in the deep mountains. Reward: 200,000 J."】

【"Mission: Subjugate the bandits who frequently attack the main road outside the city. Reward: 500,000 J..."】

【Black Natsu looked up; it was obvious that what was posted here were various mission request forms.】

【After asking someone carefully, he understood that this was a mission hall specifically used for posting and accepting missions.】

【Because there was no organization like a Mage Guild in this town, yet there were many needs for mages in the world of magic...】

【... this town had set up a mission-posting hall within the City Lord's Mansion.】

【At the same time, it used these missions to attract wild mages wandering through the area to complete them...】

【One side earned money, the other side solved their difficulties—a win-win situation.】

【Black Natsu looked at the missions above and fell into deep thought.】

【He touched his cloth bag; there were still over twenty gold beans inside.】

【But if he didn't earn money, it was obvious that sooner or later, these twenty-plus gold beans would be used up.】

【Sitting around and eating through his savings was not Black Natsu's personality.】

【"I must earn money. So..."】

【Soon, Black Natsu's gaze locked onto a mission form at the very top of the mission board.】

【The layout of the mission request forms here was also very particular: the simplest missions were placed at the bottom, and they increased in difficulty accordingly. At the very top, it was obvious that those were the most difficult missions.】

【But difficulty also meant the reward would be very high.】

【For example, the one Black Natsu saw now.】

【Mission: Subjugate the wyvern entrenched in the northern mountain range.】

【Reward: Two million J!】

【"Four gold beans?"】

【Black Natsu smiled, then reached out and tore off the top mission request form.】

Outside the sky screen.

Watching this scene, Gao Deman, Bobu, and even Makarov, Jellal, and the others all had their hearts jump into their throats at this moment.

"It's over, it's over. Could it be that Black Natsu really isn't joining any guild and is choosing to go it alone?"

【At the same time, on the other side.】

【Makarov had also arrived at the place where the comet fell last night.】

【But, just as he arrived, everything displayed before his eyes left Makarov completely dumbfounded.】

【The surroundings were completely intact; there wasn't even any charred ground.】

【There were no trees ignited or destroyed either.】

【Everything appeared so normal.】

【However, for Makarov, this was the most abnormal part!】

【You have to know, a comet had landed here last night.】

【That was a comet! A celestial body!】

【Could the fall of such a thing not cause any destruction?】

【An incredulous Makarov immediately began searching the surroundings.】

【Soon, he discovered something unusual.】

【"This feeling..."】

【Makarov arrived at the tree stump Black Natsu had leaned against last night and squatted down.】

【His brows furrowed slightly.】

【"There is still a faint fluctuation of magic power remaining in the air, but... why is it so familiar?"】

【Makarov was very puzzled, his mind constantly recalling the various mages he had met.】