Chapter 30

It was just... his heart wasn't in it.

[In the days that followed, Natsu was taken by Igneel to the forest every morning to Anna's wooden house to learn knowledge with the other Dragon Slayers.]

[As well as all kinds of common sense.]

[The lessons lasted until noon, and then it was the Dragon Slayers' cultivation time.]

[Of course, for Natsu and Gajeel, the cultivation of the two was almost always fighting each other.]

[And whenever anyone was injured, it was Wendy's time to step in.]

[Treating the two guys every day also made Wendy's healing magic advance by leaps and bounds.]

[And the healed Natsu and Gajeel would always continue to fight, and then be treated again, forming a perfect closed loop.]

Gajeel: "I finally know why I feel very annoyed the moment I see you."

Natsu: "I'm the same, I guess I was born hating you, this guy."

Gajeel: "? It should be me hating you, look at the screen, isn't it you who was often being a jerk when you were little?"

Natsu: "You weren't much better, didn't you often provoke me too?"

Gajeel: "Anyway, no matter what, the one who won more on the screen was me!"

Natsu: "What kind of bullshit are you talking about? It was obviously me who won more. Do you want to have a contest?!"

Gajeel: "Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!"

In the Fairy Tail guild, the two guys started fighting again without a word.

And it just so happened that at this time, on the screen.

Little Natsu and little Gajeel were also fighting simultaneously.

Everyone watching this scene couldn't help but twitch their mouths.

"So, why have these two people been able to stick together from childhood to adulthood?"

[In the footage, day after day, Natsu was doing the same thing almost every day.]

[Eating, sleeping, and fighting with Gajeel.]

[Every day was like this; it could be said to be extremely self-disciplined.]

[Such days lasted for nearly a year.]

[On this day, Natsu and the others had no lessons, and the giant dragons and Anna prepared a rich dinner.]

[The five Dragon Slayers, the five giant dragons, and Teacher Anna were all gathered together.]

[They ate meat together, raised their glasses together, laughed together, reminisced together, and recalled together.]

[For the few little guys, this was perhaps the happiest day of the year.]

[They even thought it was Teacher Anna's farewell banquet, so one by one, they laughed even more happily.]

[Perhaps for a naughty child, the day a strict teacher leaves, you won't have any reluctance.]

[You might even be glad that in the days to come, without the teacher's discipline, you will be so free and easy.]

[But, the moment a naughty child matures, the moment he truly grows up, perhaps they will appreciate the strictness of the teacher when they were young, and understand the teacher's painstaking efforts at that time.]

[Of course, Wendy was the exact opposite; this little girl kept pulling on Teacher Anna's clothes.]

[Refusing to let go.]

[Until Anna gently stroked Wendy's sky-blue hair and whispered softly.]

["Don't worry, Wendy, I won't leave."]

["No matter where you go in the future, I will always be with you, watching you grow up, and protecting you until you are an adult."]

[The banquet gradually came to an end amidst laughter and joy.]

[The children said their goodbyes in front of the bonfire, then followed their parents back to where they lived.]

[Perhaps it was because they had enjoyed themselves too much at the carnival today.]

[When Natsu returned to the forest where he lived with Igneel, he had already fallen into a deep sleep.]

[Igneel carefully placed Natsu down from its back.]

[Its loving gaze was fixed on Natsu, with some reluctance in its eyes, but more of it was worry.]

["The time has come..."]

[It raised its head and gazed at the full moon in the sky.]

[Its eyes were hazy, and its thoughts were constantly drifting.]

[Finally, it settled on that day, when a black-haired boy, holding a cherry-blossom-haired infant, found it.]

[From that day on, the Fire Dragon King, who was famous throughout the dragon race, completely disappeared.]

[Hiding in a forest, it became a boy's foster father, or rather, a nanny would be more accurate.]

[Over the years, it watched that infant gradually grow up, with laughter along the way, as well as anger and rage.]

[But, without a doubt, the days spent with Natsu were the happiest time in Igneel's life.]

[Even the day it was crowned as the Dragon King of the Fire Dragon clan was not this happy.]

[If it could, Igneel would infinitely want to stay by Natsu's side forever.]

[Just living in this primeval forest like this would be fine too.]

[But, fate is fickle; for the sake of that plan, for the sake of being able to defeat Acnologia, Igneel had to do this.]

[It lowered its head again, and its lantern-like eyes gazed at Natsu.]

[Staring and staring, it couldn't help but use its claw to gently poke Natsu's cheek.]

[Seeing Natsu in his sleep irritably brush away its claw and turn over to sleep soundly, Igneel smiled.]

["If only there were more time... if there were more time, and you were stronger... perhaps I wouldn't be so worried."]

["What a lazy little brat..."]

[But, even with all the reluctance, even with all the worry, Igneel had no other way.]

[Its body could no longer support it.]

[Staring at the sleeping Natsu, Igneel slowly lay down, placed its head beside Natsu, and then slowly closed its eyes.]

[For the final moments, just being together quietly was already very good.]

[The wind was howling.]

[Seeming to notice a hint of chill, Natsu tightened his small body.]

[Then he sat up from the ground, and his small hands rubbed his somewhat dazed eyes.]

[He turned his gaze and found Igneel lying beside him with its eyes closed in sleep.]

[Smacking his lips, Natsu crawled onto Igneel's body using his hands and feet.]

[Then he climbed onto the dragon's claw and leaned against Igneel's shoulder.]

[The heavy and massive body blocked a large amount of cold wind for Natsu, and the warm and comfortable environment made Natsu quickly fall into a deep sleep.]

[In his dream, Natsu seemed to dream that he had grown up, grown into a young man, and grown into Igneel's pride.]

[Of course, he didn't forget in his dream to fiercely step on that annoying guy Gajeel.]

[But, just as Natsu was about to show off to Igneel, he turned his head and found that Igneel had completely disappeared.]

["Igneel?"]

[Natsu whispered in his sleep.]

[His brows were tightly furrowed, and his body was shaking uneasily.]

[Finally, seeming to have dreamed of some terrible scene, Natsu woke up suddenly, and a cry of surprise escaped his lips.]

["IGNEEL!!!"]

[Whoosh...]

[All around there was only the breeze carrying away pieces of dry leaves; other than that, there was nothing that could respond to Natsu.]

[He couldn't help but twitch his nose; a Dragon Slayer's sense of smell was not something an ordinary person could compare to. As long as there was a hint of a scent, he could capture it.]

[But... this time there was none. The surrounding jungle was filled with all kinds of strange scents, but the scent of the giant dragon in his memory did not exist in the slightest.]

[Natsu's figure stiffened, and tears were frantically spinning in his eye sockets.]

[July 7th, year X777.]

[In this year when Natsu was eleven, Igneel disappeared. It didn't say any parting words, and there were no omens; it just disappeared from Natsu's world out of thin air.]

[At this moment, he was like a child abandoned by the world, powerlessly kneeling alone in the strange forest, sobbing alone...]

The white-bordered screen also froze accordingly and gradually dimmed.