Chapter 105

As Aizen Sōsuke finished speaking, the entire scene plunged into silence.

Everyone, including Natsu, froze in stunned expressions the instant Aizen Sōsuke fell silent.

"W-what?!"

"Mr. Aizen Sōsuke, you're saying Natsu is actually four hundred years old this year?!"

Lucy's expression was filled with disbelief.

After all, no matter how you looked at it, Natsu seemed like a teenage boy.

He had absolutely nothing to do with an age that sounded impossibly ancient.

"Mm, that's right."

"Based on what I've observed so far, Mr. Natsu has crossed through time."

Aizen Sōsuke slightly pushed up his glasses with his index finger and smiled: "That's why it shows four hundred years."

"As for his actual physical age, Mr. Natsu remains normal."

"Crossed through time?"

Gray, who had barely spoken until now, caught the key point.

Looking at Aizen Sōsuke, Gray asked curiously: "What do you mean by 'crossed through time'?"

"In simple terms, Mr. Natsu came from four hundred years ago."

"Because he passed through a time channel, his aura differs slightly from ordinary people's."

Aizen Sōsuke delivered his final conclusion.

Of course, all of Aizen Sōsuke's statements above were complete nonsense.

Aizen Sōsuke had no idea, could not sense, and could not detect any so-called temporal aura—he simply deduced the process backward after Lin Cheng finished reading the entire Fairy Tail series.

Since Lin Cheng already knew Natsu came from four hundred years ago via the Shi Zhi Sect, he could just invent any plausible-sounding reason to explain how he knew.

Likewise, thanks to this small revelation about Natsu, Lin Cheng completely drained the last scraps of emotional value from Erza and the others; to get emotional value from Erza and the others again, he'd have to wait until tomorrow.

"I see."

"So Natsu is a person from four hundred years ago who came to our era due to some special reason."

At this moment, Erza, Lucy, and Gray all suddenly understood.

After hearing Aizen Sōsuke's explanation, many things they had previously been unable to comprehend suddenly became clear—why Natsu's adoptive father was a dragon.

Dragons had not appeared for hundreds of years and had nearly become mythical beings.

And why Natsu had searched the entire world for seven years without finding his adoptive father, the Long Wang Igneel—because from the very beginning, they were not on the same timeline.

Natsu's adoptive father, the Long Wang Igneel, likely died four hundred years ago.

Everyone present considered this possibility, but none voiced it aloud, as it was far too cruel for Natsu.

"Dragons have very long lifespans."

"Four hundred years, while not short, is still only a small portion of a dragon's entire life."

"Natsu's adoptive father, the Long Wang Igneel, might still be alive somewhere in the world."

"Perhaps, even while Natsu was searching for Igneel, Igneel had already found him first—but chose not to reveal himself."

As he spoke, Aizen Sōsuke glanced thoughtfully at Natsu.

After all, Natsu's adoptive father, the Long Wang Igneel, was right now inside Natsu's body.

"So Natsu crossed through time from four hundred years ago?"

"By the way, Mr. Aizen Sōsuke, I'm actually curious about you."

Erza also glanced thoughtfully at Natsu beside her; she had always regarded Natsu as her beloved younger brother, never imagining his identity was so complex.

Far more complex than she had imagined.

But Natsu's identity could be discussed later; right now, what interested Erza more was Aizen Sōsuke himself.

Thinking this, Erza's expression grew calm again as she asked Aizen Sōsuke: "I just heard you say you're already a deceased person, a Shinigami..."

"I don't quite understand what you mean."

Undoubtedly, at this moment, Aizen Sōsuke resembled the late Ace in Erza's mind.

Both appeared suddenly, were incredibly powerful, and had never been heard of before.

"This explanation might be complicated."

"Humans have souls; when they die, their souls do not vanish but go to a very special place."

"I call that place Rukongai."

Aizen Sōsuke, watching Erza intently, paused slightly, then glanced at the R-system beginning to flicker: "This place seems unstable."

"And after talking so long, I'm hungry."

"Shall we find somewhere to eat and continue talking over food?"

As he finished speaking, Natsu's eyes instantly brightened.

Food? That's perfect!

Natsu rubbed his stomach and wiped away the drool that had involuntarily dripped from his mouth.

Come to think of it, since Erza was suddenly kidnapped, Natsu hadn't eaten in a long time.

【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Obtained Emotional Value!】

【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Obtained Emotional Value 75145!】

【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Obtained Emotional Value 54247!】

Inside the small tavern, a system alert jolted Lin Cheng awake.

'Hahahaha, I knew it.'

'How could the emotion points provided by a Long Wang-level existence be anything less than substantial?'

Watching the emotion points surge by over two hundred thousand in an instant, Lin Cheng couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face.

Erza and the others had already hit that day's emotion points cap; now the only one who could continue contributing emotion points to Lin Cheng was the Fire Long Wang Igneel within Natsu's body.

Only the Fire Long Wang Igneel — that terrifying existence standing in the world at the very pinnacle — could provide Lin Cheng with so many emotion points all at once in such a short span of time.